Crawling for Art in the Snake Run

By CJ Gronner

Last night was the March Venice Art Crawl, and it was great. It kind of felt like First Fridays used to feel, where you saw a lot of locals and neighbors, and places served up free booze and music. The Art Crawl is actually better than First Fridays used to be, because the whole point is to appreciate local art … the very reason Venice became cool in the first place.

Cool doesn’t begin to describe how excellent it was to approach the Venice Skatepark just after sunset, seeing it all lit up, with a DJ blasting out good jams over the entire Boardwalk. They built a little entrance ramp so that people could go down in the snake run of the park, where the art of Mark Farina was hung.

It was a party, seeing all sorts of familiar Venice faces and catching up, all while checking out the brightly colored and highly political pieces from Farina.

These are the kind of original, fun ideas that make Venice special, and the kind of things we NEED – to show the world that they can keep their corporate chain stores and hum drum sameness.

WE have art openings IN skateparks. Bam.

There was a lot to see and do, so I had to crack the whip and keep us moving along … to Small World Books next.

Among all the zillions of books I covet every time I walk in the best book store in the West, I now also want one of the pieces by Christina Mills showing at Small World.

Her work feaures the typical Venice scenes, with surfers and the Venice sign type images, with scads of tweets from Venice 311 behind them … truly an example of “Where Art Meets Crim

On to The Gallery on Market Street, where we saw the gorgeous photography (featuring a bunch of Venice neighbors – Tawney! Shawn!) of Nicol Ragland.

The sign said, “A photographic exhibit raising questions about our ability to access primal and immaterial forces within the commercial ethos of western industrial society. The images stir a vital and confrontational animism by juxtaposing taxidermied wild animals in the arms of domestic U.S. citizens provokingly situated in the iconic centers of mass commerce.” Phew. That’s weighty stuff … but the photos sure were lovely.

We stopped in to see my girls at Kiki Designs (and spied even more cool rings we all wanted) and raise a glass, then did same at Gotta Have It, where the lovely Venice native, Mattea Perrotta, was showing her work. I knew almost everyone I saw, making it such a delight to be out and about, among friends.

Art was everywhere, and it was hard to take it all in when there was also so much socializing to be done. We did pretty well, but did get to Shulamit Gallery a bit too late to fully enjoy it, since they were kicking people out.

James Beach had Shark Toof and Tom French work featured – always a pleasure – and across the street at the Canal Club, owner Danny Samakow showed his very Venice paintings, that he was auctioning off for his upcoming AIDS Lifecycle Bike-A-Thon. We drank champagne with “Team Venice” and I soon found myself being the person that drew the raffle tickets for the lucky winners of Danny Samakow originals. We had a blast with the boys, even more so knowing that it was all going for such a good cause (that you can still donate to. Contact Danny.)

We covered a lot, but we didn’t cover it all … so there will be a lot to look forward to when the next Art Crawl rolls around June 20th. The night was starry as we strolled back home, way later than I had planned. We passed underneath the Venice sign again, and I smiled to myself that I get to live here, where there are still staunch preservationists of what is truly cool, proven by nights like this.

I love you, Venice. (We say that a lot here)

Annenberg in the Dog House

By John Davis

The philanthropic Annenberg Foundation has undertaken many projects that benefit society as a whole. However, it’s proposal to build a dog and cat kennel on the wetlands preserve is absurd. The City of Palos Verdes flatly rejected this project.

It was then offered to the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, who accepted.

Cal DFW euphemistically calls the big dog house an,“interpretive center.”

As described, the project will also consist of retail, office space, and baseball diamonds. The footprint of the 46,000 square foot building would be extended by a parking lot. Builders’ stakes have already pierced the public land, even before the people decide if the project will go forward or not.

Cal DFG announced the big dog house will be part of the “restoration” of the Ballona Wetlands. The basic idea is oxymoronic. Placing a building on wetlands or upland habitat restores nothing.

Public agencies are not supposed to act as cheerleaders for projects they undertake. Their purpose is to inform the public, collect comments and execute the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process. The agency is to remain neutral.

It appears that Annenberg foisted a stratagem on Cal DFW to build the wetland dog house. It provided to the State a document called, “Ballona opposition emails.”

On the other hand, Annenberg and Cal DFW arranged what it called “Conservations with the Neighbors,”  recording the attendance of two meetings. The public was not noticed. Only persons favored by the State Agency and Annenberg were invited, excluding all others.

The list included Cyndi Hench, President; Denny Schneider, Board Member and Past President; and Sibyl Buchanan, executive of Playa Capital Corporation and Board member, all from the Westchester/Playa Neighborhood Council. Elizabeth Zamora, Vice President of the Del Rey Neighborhood Council was invited too. Lisa Fimiani and Stephen Groner of the Friends of the Ballona Wetlands, a private business, participated.

Representatives of a number of non-profit businesses also attended, as did officials from the County of Los Angeles. The meetings were held on December 6^th and 12th, 2012.

The list is long. It did not include the Venice Neighborhood Council.

The question is, why did a State Agency engage and meet with this select list of people and groups, while failing to let any other stakeholders participate? The VNC should clearly have been invited.

Annenberg wants a long-term lease on the public property. It would result in bulldozing and filling valuable habitat in the Ecological Wetlands Preserve. The land deed restrictions do not speak to a long-term lease. Only Annenberg has the connections to pull it off.

There is no money to complete the overall project. That is probably why Annenberg was let in. If the enormous outlay of taxpayer money necessary for the project was disclosed, the public would shudder.

Getting Around

By Delores Hanney

Always flush with imaginative ideas and the cash to fund them, Abbot Kinney – the milieu-maker of Venice, California – liked to do things with a flair. One of the most winning notions he brought into being, for his Italian-inspired settlement by the sea, was a pair of miniature trains. They were here from the very beginning in 1905, chugging over arching concrete bridges that spanned the canalways while circumnavigating the town site with frequent regularity. Initially they were tasked as the mode of transportation for schlepping prospective buyers of real property to check out the development’s offerings. Before long locals and vacationers were big enthusiasts of the five-cent service as well.

Even as Kinney’s ambitious Venice-of-America was still about the business of rising out of a marsh, he contracted with civil engineer John J. Coit to supervise the building of his Venice Miniature Railway made up of components similar to Coit’s own diminutive train then causing gladness at Eastlake Park in Los Angeles. Kinney commissioned two of them. Built by the Johnson Machine Works out of L.A. to a one-third scale, each consisted of a black Prairie-type engine and five 12-passenger cars that sometimes offered an al fresco ride, other times carried travelers beneath a fringed, awning-like top. Each one of the cars sported a lion’s head relief on the sides. And for a time, the dashing little engine from Coit’s Eastlake train lent a hand in Venice as a substitute.

By way of enrolling his younger kids into a kind of participation in the beachside resort venture, Kinney’s nine-year old son Carlton was listed as president of the Venice Miniature Railway on its State of California incorporation documents. Three years older, son Inne,s was named as Chief Engineer, though John Coit actually operated the railroad early on. Jauntily suited up in appropriately impressive uniforms, the boys were trotted out to take bows on ceremonial occasions or for visitations by dignitaries. One such event – in 1908 – was the gathering of 140 midwestern members of the National Association of Railroad Agents, at which time the annual inspection of Kinney’s Miniature Railway was executed for their edification.

A dog showed up one day and rapidly self-appointed himself as the mini railroad’s mascot. Buster Braun was a Spitz that had become dissatisfied with the situation at home after his people brought home a newborn baby. Hanging out at the roundhouse and riding atop the tender as the train percolated around town – at a normal cruising speed of 20 miles per hour – apparently alleviated the loving-attention deficit the new home conditions caused and gratified his breed’s natural herding instinct hereby undertaken, nontraditionally, with a rumbling mechanical assist.

Over the years the railway suffered a few modest catastrophes. Train number two smashed into an unseen-till-too-late grocery wagon witlessly left on the tracks. A boiler explosion took out engine number one as it was parked at the Windward Avenue turnaround. On another occasion a fire at the roundhouse caused heat damage to both engines when flames engulfed the building. The passenger cars were successfully hauled off to a safe spot. None of these resulted in human harm but a horse was hurt in the train-wagon collision.

On a more ebullient note, the miniature railway was a not unusual element in Kinney’s recurrent hosting of orphans for a day of jolly good fun in Venice: amusement-parking, hunting Easter eggs or whatever. The pintsized trains performed as a prop in train robbery spoofs carried out by passels of comely beachwear-clad cuties.

Though lacking the current tug of nostalgia blocked by their au courant status in Kinney’s time, trains still ranked high in appeal factor. Miniature trains, then as now, packed a special cachet. The photogenic images of the little Venice trains adorned copious quantities of postcards that were sent to friends and family by happy visitors and residents alike. They made tasty bait for attracting even more tourists and new dwellers to Abbot Kinney’s dream, where their own sprightly presence added to the environment’s inimitable élan.

They breathed their final chug as a Venice, California feature in February of 1925.

Happy 25th Birthday, Hal’s Bar and Grill!

By CJ Gronner

Hal’s Bar and Grill is celebrating 25 years on Abbot Kinney in Venice, and loyal fans turned out Wednesday night to hear Linda and Don Novack and Hal Frederick in discussion with Jeff Gordon from the Writer’s Boot Camp (and Hal’s regular) at the Electric Lodge. It was packed with the fine folks that you can regularly see bellied up at Hal’s, eager to hear and share stories of the many years of fond memories.

They opened up with the question, “What was Venice like 25 years ago?” to which an audience member piped up, “It was GREAT!” You could tell that most in the room were nostalgic for times when it really was more about the people, and the art, than the great money grab of the present, which Novack commented on, saying, “The street’s gone crazy.” True story.

Escalating rents are pushing out many of our old standbys, and a rumor was flying recently that Hal’s would be another victim of the greed, but that was put to rest with a relieved sigh. This night of story-telling was pure appreciation for a true neighborhood landmark.

I knew many of the stories from having done an article on Hal’s a while back, but it was a delight to hear all the locals chiming in with their 2 cents, in what became sort of an open forum. Artist Ed Moses made the room laugh when he said, “The food is always B+, which is very good, always consistent, I love the Chef (Manuel), and that’s why I like it.” Meaning that Hal’s food is very good, and he didn’t WANT it to be A+, because that’s for foodies and that’s what makes you not be able to get a table, and what brings all the people from all over, not all your favorite people in town that you can catch up with whenever you want. For instance, Don got more laughs with, “I love Gjelina. If people can’t get a table, they come to Hal’s for B+ food.” Which happens a lot. Which is great for everyone. (If they can find parking … which is why locals should walk or bike and take it all back over again).

All in attendance agreed that Hal’s has been the center of the Artist’s community in Venice, and as Linda Lucks of the Venice Neighborhood Council decreed (with certificates handed out), “Hal’s is the unofficial City Hall of Venice.” Another audience member said that no street has gone through as much change, so quickly, as Abbot Kinney, not even in New York … and the locals come to Hal’s to feel comfortable. And they do. Because of the consistent menu and local favorites – we learned that their famous (it has its own Facebook page!) turkey burger is due to Stockard Channing wanting a burger back when they were not on offer – to the familiar faces and warmth extended from everyone involved in the operation. Hal’s is clearly a local treasure, and has been since they opened their doors back in the 1980′s, when its address was the hard to locate West Washington Boulevard.

Local artist Peter Lodato spent a lot of time in New York, and he said that when he arrived back in L.A., Hal’s became his spot because, “It felt like home.” Don Novack added to that, saying, “Venice has STUFF. Grit, like New York.” At least it always has, and God willing, that will remain in spite of the best (worst) efforts of the developer vultures circling.

Certificates were given, lovely Linda Novack got a beautiful bouquet of roses, and all the artists and locals in the Electric Lodge were thanked by the grateful panel from Hal’s. Then we all ambled across the street, to get swept up in what Frederick called “The Mix” in the bar at Hal’s. “It’s ALWAYS been about the mix.” By which he means, everyone is welcome … struggling artist, millionaire artist, all ages, all races, all genders, all sexual orientations, any and everyone is in the mix. ALL will be welcome, at this beloved place that is “just a restaurant, but NOT just a restaurant … it’s so much more.” It’s Hal’s.

Congratulations to all the Hal’s family on 25 years of great times in Venice! And many more.

Food for the Soul

By Anne Alvarez

New Life Society is a local grassroots non-profit which was founded in 2001 by Millie Mims, in the mountain community of Badger, California. The original intent was to provide shelter on the family property to people who were in need of temporary housing.

For over ten years, Millie helped people who came to the community and needed lodging. She began going to the local farmer’s market, asking for donations of fruits and vegetables for the small local school, and for families that were in need of food.

In 2010, Millie relocated to Venice, and immediately set up a spot on the Boardwalk to feed the homeless and anyone in need of a hot meal. She sets up a minimum of five days a week, across from the Venice Bistro at 3:30 in the afternoon, and stays until all six gallons of homemade soup, 2 1/2 gallons of salad, rice and bread are all distributed.

She is able to maintain this schedule through the generous donations of local farmer’s markets. On Sundays, she heads to the Mar Vista Farmer’s Market, where local farmers, like Lupe Cordova and her grandson Kyle Moran, donate on a weekly basis.

For about six months, New Life Society was out on the Boardwalk, seven days a week. However, the number of volunteers needed was not met, and she has been unable to maintain that schedule. “We are in need of help on Thursdays and Fridays, in order to get back to a seven-day-a-week feeding schedule. We also need a person with a car to come to the apartment where the food is prepared, to help pick up and drop off at the beach … We need help with people serving, and we need someone that can return back with all the containers. We are also looking for volunteers to help with clean up in the evening for 1 hour, either from 6 to 7, or 7 to 8 PM, would be ideal.”

The New Life Society offers clean water, vegetarian food and emergency shelter to all. Millie and her company are true advocates in the fight to end hunger and homelessness. Remaining persistent in her commitment to help those in need, she is a strong, wise and gentle human being.

Currently Millie is in search of a building in the Venice area, where New Life Society will be able to offer shelter to some of the unhoused looking to get their lives in order.

If you are interested in volunteering please visit http://www.newlifesocietycalifornia.org or you can reach Millie at 310-398-1901.

Poetry

Abbot Kinney’s Confession – by Jim Smith

Pink Cloud Poem – by Philomene Long

A Night in the Ruins – by John Thomas

Packaged by Me – by Ronald McKinley

Of Philomene Long – Kristine Mary Gloviak Ferry

Tuesday, March 26 – by Roger Houston

Water Fasting – by Majid Naficy

What I See – by Emily Wood

The Light – by Lynette

—————————————————–

Abbot Kinney’s Confession

By Jim Smith

I never wanted to build a city

My partners cheated and left me a swamp

I would have given up

except for my little dove

She was walking on the beach

with a parasol in hand

I couldn’t pass her by

If I had I would begin to die

She greeted me and smiled

The sea gulls watched

from dunes piled high

as we sat upon the sand

She took my hand

and told me how she loved

the canals of old Venezia

and cried to be there now

As with Helen of Troy

A thousand dreams

Were launched that day

by Paloma of Venice

Sweeter than my Caporals,

more delicate than a dove

my Paloma gave her spirit and heart

to me and my new Venice.

———————————–

PINK CLOUD POEM

I walk out on the beach —-

only one pink cloud

and it above my head –

low in the sky.

Such silence!

I raise my writing book

as if it is a chalice

and pen

for the cloud to give me

a poem

A soft rain fell.

The poem fell

onto the page –

Such silence!

— Philomene Long August 31, 2000

—————————————–

A NIGHT IN THE RUINS

By John Thomas

Pen frozen in a fist

cold and slick as a stone.

Dark purple shapes

that boil and bloom

beneath closed eyelids.

Silver dreams, too sad

even for poetry.

Wretched, hungry poems.

Poems written for nothing

in small dark rooms.

———————————————

Packaged By Me

By Ronald K. Mc Kinley

Do I exist because I say so

One moment flowing into another

Aware that I am aware

I can give my power to another

Give up my right to be me

To be lost is to let others define you

The image in others’ eyes is just an image

To be called a thing does not make you that thing

Unless you convert

Existence is more than what you think you perceive

Most connected to your senses

You can be fooled

Beware of people who think they know you

They will construct a model that is for their use

Stealing your power and ancestry

Live with others but think your thoughts

Feel what you feel

It is your music

You will discover You

—————————————

OF PHILOMENE LONG

By Kristine Mary Gloviak Ferry

Full moon over the

Water

caught my Soul

Oh! My Soul!

A famous Venice Poet

Died this week

Steps below my feet

We both suffered

in heartache

She up there now

Me below

I caught her ageless

Youthful Glow

This I know. This I know!

————————————

22:50 Tuesday, March 26th, 2013, Adullam ….. Observatory Griffith; there, today. I gazed in the direction of the bay. My bold imagination had to stretch. A glimpse of the Pacific, tried to catch. I followed the contour of roads, gone west, Imagining a Venice in the mist. I stood beneath the Windward lettering. The breeze, come off the waves, made reckoning. The crowds upon the boardwalk, shadows cast, As countless, long-necked palms conveyed their trust. Then, realizing suddenly, that such were merely my mind’s tent stakes that I pitch. Content, was I, to know that, while away, The Venice that I love is here to stay ….. Roger Houston, homesick

————————————-

Water Fasting

By Majid Naficy

“I am a mute dreamer and the world is deaf” Rumi

We are approaching midnight

Without a conversation or a shining eye

The dusty day has settled

The noise of the city has died down

And you are left alone in your bed

Your son is dreaming in the next room

And uttering words like a mute

Tomorrow he is going to a summer camp

And during his absence

You want to pick Rumi from the shelf

Hang down the pot and potlet

Blow out the flame on the stove

And waterfast for five days

Perhaps what you haven’t found in feeding

You will discover in emptiness

He has packed his knapsack

And placed it near the front door

His sneakers are shining in the dark

And you are asking yourself:

“What he is dreaming now?”

———————————————

What I See

By Emily Wood

I once met a man in a white coat

and asked him

“Why do you believe what you believe?”

He paused for a moment

Looked around and replied

“If you must call it belief, I believe what I see.”

I once met a man in red robes

and asked him

“Why do you believe what you believe?”

He paused for a moment

Closed his eyes and replied

“If you must call it belief, I believe what I see.”

Now I stand here with you

and you ask me

“Why do you believe what you believe?”

I pause for a moment

Look in your eyes and reply

“If you must call it belief, I believe what I see.”

——————————————

The Light

Fateful grey evening sky,

Trees, black silhouettes

rising from the parched soil like motionless messengers of doom,

A cloud of ominous silence sailing over the valley,

We wait.

It arrives,

Expanding,

Illuminating the vast darkness,

A thundering ball of billowing smoke and yellow flame

Consuming Time,

A spectacle of Science.

It spreads,

A bright veil singing the dry earth in its wake,

A violet wind of dust and wood splinters,

Threatening,

Rolling hungrily toward us.

Devoured by the strange golden blast,

Our faces charred black by the ashes,

Frantically

we whisper loving words,

Intense heat melts our bodies together,

Gently

our spirits feed the conflagration.

Treeless,

Barren and poisoned countryside,

A city of rubber and choking ashes

decaying like a corpse in the Aftermath,

Our voices silenced forever by this day.

– Lynette

Carol Tantau is Just Tantau – And So Much More

By CJ Gronner

March 8 is International Women’s Day, so we at The Beachhead like to have the March issue be one for the ladies. There is probably no one better to speak to about women and Venice than Carol Tantau. Not only has she owned and operated her shop, Just Tantau, on Abbot Kinney since 1982, but she also heads the advocacy program at Sojourn Services for Battered Women and their children in Santa Monica.

We sat down to talk in the back of Tantau’s shop, as her cats, Ricky and Lucy, cruised around and walked over her bare feet, all totally at home. Tantau grew up in Northern California, and headed to Venice in 1971, like so many who found their way here, “because it seemed like a good idea.”  She had her BA in music, (there is a grand piano in the middle of the shop) and was making her living as a seamstress, which led to a stint teaching quilting classes. Again, like so many who not only found their way, but MADE their way here, she often stumbled into her situations quite by accident. Like when she met her husband, Leon, who was making jewelry on the Boardwalk when she happened upon him.

They married and lived in a little one room pad on the beach, where the jewelry manufacturing soon outgrew their place, and needed to find a space for a work shop and storefront. In 1982 there wasn’t much happening on West Washington Boulevard (which you now know as Abbot Kinney) other than The Merchant Of Venice (open only for breakfast and lunch) and The Comeback Inn. That meant that they could afford the space they found at 1353, where Just Tantau still operates right now. They could afford it because back then the idea was that rent was based on “fair market value” – meaning a rent that enables a business to survive. Ahhh, the good old days …

Anyway, Carol and Leon made and sold their jewelry in the shop, never adding t-shirts and sunglasses to cater to any tourists that might have happened by, because “Why would you want to be the same as everyone else?” Another point that might be well taken today, People.

They attended trade shows all over the place and began to wholesale their wares, and began buying from other jewelry sellers to bring to their shop back home. The business grew and grew, with show rooms across the country. Busy as they were, when The Merchant of Venice closed at three in the afternoon, that meant the work day was pretty well done for everyone, and they’d wrap up and enjoy the rest of Venice. They were good times. (Ok, and it was not a good neighborhood at all back then, so it may have had a little to do with safety too, as they slid the metal gates closed at 3 to be closed by dark. But still.)

Years of travel and trade shows went by smoothly, but then the manufacturing business started to tank, and so did the marriage with Leon. In 2001, they split the business and the marriage, with Carol keeping the retail store, and Leon taking over the wholesale side of things. They remain friends today, and Just Tantau remains a crucial, ORIGINAL store on Abbot Kinney.

Not having to travel so much anymore, Tantau began to get more and more involved with the Venice community. She was the head of the West Washington Merchant’s Association (and was instrumental in getting the street’s name changed to Abbot Kinney, as well as getting the palm trees planted up and down the boulevard) and then became President of the Chamber Of Commerce. That led to involvement in the Community Police Advisory Board, and after the O.J. Simpson verdict in 1995, it was made clear that there really was no domestic violence bridge to the LAPD. Sojourn Services (the second oldest shelter in the state) created an Emergency Response team to respond to domestic violence calls, and soon Tantau found herself not only training and becoming a volunteer, but suddenly in charge of the program! Once you know her, this is not at all surprising. As she said about herself, “I have the personality for it.” She now manages 35 volunteers, support groups, a legal clinic, court accompaniments, and acts as an advocate/liaison to the LAPD, where she recently began teaching about domestic violence at the Police Academy. Women, Carol Tantau has your back.

Tantau is able to do all of this important advocacy work, on top of being a small business owner on Abbot Kinney, which is a luxury she attributes to her “wonderful employees.” They enable her to have the best of both worlds, and keep her perspective fresh for both. Obviously, Tantau has seen her share of change in Venice, as she has lived and worked on Abbot Kinney for over 30 years. The thing that keeps her here and that she loves the most is the diversity – endangered though it may be.

“I am in Venice by choice. This is my chosen home, I wasn’t born here. There is a depth that ties me to this place …” We share this feeling, and acknowledged the changes around here now. First Fridays and the food trucks have scared off a lot of old school regulars and neighbors from the shops because it’s such a hassle, and not that fun when you don’t see anyone you know anymore. But as we were talking, Tantau made a great point. “We are still here. Real, true Venetians can still take ownership, but not if they’re not here. Don’t forget US.” Yeah. C’mon, Venice! We can hole up and avoid the masses on Abbot Kinney, or go out there and take it back. Show THEM what Venice is about. Have OUR fun. Be nice, but don’t kiss ass. Don’t be all about the money, but about the sense of place. I remember hanging out once with Bunny at The Green House, and someone came in and asked if it was ok to bring in their dog. Bunny replied, “Of course, this is VENICE.” Somewhere different. Somewhere special. Somewhere not like everywhere else. Somewhere with a strong history of that diversity, and somewhere that has always had our sense of fun and creativity.

Carol Tantau has so many stories of Venice through the decades, she really needs to write a book. But she’s awfully busy, so take the opportunity to stop in to Just Tantau and hear some tales for yourself. Be a regular again. Be a neighbor. Share your stories. Take ownership of YOUR chosen home.