Eric Garcetti was officially sworn into office Friday night as the next mayor of Los Angeles, but the real splash of inauguration will be a party in Grand Park on Sunday evening beginning at 6 pm.
Sticking to his image as a young approachable politician, Garcetti is foregoing the traditional inaugural ball type of celebration and instead throwing an outdoor event for the “people”, paid for by transition fund donations. Jimmy Kimmel will emcee the event, with performances by techno musician Moby, Afghan American singer Ariana Delawari and singer Melanie Fiona, followed by music by LA-based acts DJ Canyon, Buyepongo, Lula Washington Dance Theatre, Jungle Fire and Moonlight Trio. Food trucks will be serving bites and there will be carnival games for the kids.
Many streets in the area will be closed off, and entrance to the event will be Broadway and 1st Street, so arrival by public transportation highly recommended (take the Red Line to Civic Center stop for easiest access.)
The Huffington Post ran a pictorial piece on Friday titled “Nine Things You Didn’t Know About LA’s Next Mayor” Â that shares some fun facts about our new Mayor: he attended Harvard Westlake for high school, he cultivates a 1/2 acre fruit and vegetable garden in his Silver Lake home, he practices yoga, and has appeared in the role of mayor in an episode of “The Closer” on TNT.
Garcetti has asked for public input on how to make Los Angeles a better place and has held online open discussions with citizens who raise questions and issues on his Reddit page. You can visit the page and see the public’s questions and his responses from a June 15th meet up online, and it’s expected Garcetti will hold more of these open online forums in the future.
