Van Nuys Arts Festival


Last Friday Night Van Nuys was young, joyous and celebratory.

It gathered, under the spire of the Valley Municipal Building, to drink beer, watch live music, eat, and walk amidst motor vehicle works of art.

Police and fire personnel mingled with guests, in a display of civic pride.

The homeless were there too, seemingly taken care of, fed on their benches beside their belongings.

For one night, the pedestrian mall where nobody walks at night, a lost dystopia, was dressed up for a party. And Van Nuys, at its very heart, seemed to regain its footing as a good, decent, well-regarded town.

 

Gallery

Burbank: Last Friday Night of Every Month.


The Grilled Cheese Truck


Unknown to me, until last night, there is a street party on Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank on the final Friday of every month. Scores of food trucks park, people pour onto the boulevard, shops stay open late, and the whole community comes out to shop, eat and socialize.

This being Burbank, the crowds are friendly and law abiding. There are not homeless people asking for money, gangs of kids playing loud music, or random garbage sales of crap on blankets littering the street offered by “undocumented” sellers. It works well, it’s pleasant,open to the public and seems untainted by fear.