The First of the Reseda Blvd Summer Art Series Events a Huge Success!

The first of a series of four summer art events on the evening of May 7^th has proved to be an instant success.  Due to the organizational skills of CJ Berina and his partners at Collective Lifestyle, the street was buzzing with activity in the early evening hours.  Music, dance, art and crafts were aplenty on Reseda Blvd at the intersection of Reseda and Rayen. 

To revitalize a neighborhood, you need to involve the neighborhood.  This cannot be accomplished by just that simple recognition.  Each of the preceding events on the boulevard (first, the opening of the street improvements, then the three holiday events coordinated by CD 12) built upon each other to create the success of May 7^th.  That success would not have been possible without the others.

What CJ Berina has been able to accomplish was to build on that success and program in a way that would speak to the hardest demographic to capture:  the young.  The street was bursting with youthful enthusiasm and talent this May, and the next three summer events will doubtless build on that success.

Cultural identity, social media, and a good old fashioned shopping ethic have built to make the boulevard a real option to many. Not just to the comfortable middle class population who initiated this change and which has found a connection with the street as Northridge Sparkle, the Northridge South Neighborhood Council, Council District 12, and the Museum of the San Fernando Valley have worked to make it a place to shop and eat and congregate.  The street has struck a sympathetic chord with the young as well, allowing them a place to congregate, celebrate and consume.

Whether it was the Pilipino dance troupe, or the photo booth where you could send yourselves the pictures online, or the mural of Kobe Bryant being painted that evening by a popular young muralist, the event tapped a spirit which can help revitalize the boulevard and encourage some of the 40,000 CSUN students to look below Nordhoff for their entertainment, and, as importantly, as a place to spend their money.

The next Summer Art Series will be on May 21^st.  If you missed the last event, do not miss this one.  There will be two more events in June, on June 4^th and 18^th.  Businesses participating in the May 21^st event include Collective Lifestyle, Reload LA, House of Vitamins, Sol y Luna and Domestique Cycles.  

 For more information on the event, or to participate as an artist or vendor, please contact CJ Berina or Shane Ferguson at ResedaBlvdSummerSeries@gmail.com.