Los Angeles

iWitness Concert at Grand Park

The iWitness public art installation at Grand Park in Downtown Los Angeles, showcases larger-than-life portraits of Armenian Genocide survivors. These free-standing displays vary in height and are lit at night. 

I would recommend seeing the display both in the day and at night, and more than once. The second time I went, I realized how well placed these images were. No matter what direction you look, there are rows of survivors looking straight back at you. It's amazing, chilling. 

Last night, iWitness hosted a free, outdoor concert at Grand Park featuring musicians, Sebu Simonian of Capital Cities and Harout Pamboukjian -- A night full of good music, great company, under the stars, with City Hall in front of you and Armenian Genocide survivors behind you. 

On May 23, 2015, Sebu and Harout performed at Grand Park in Downtown Los Angeles. The concert was hosted by iWitness, a public art installation of portraits of Armenian Genocide survivors.

The project is a collaboration by artists Ara Oshagan, Levon Parian and designer Vahagn Thomasian.  

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman

My sister was (and still is) a huge Dr. Quinn fan. So I surprised her with a visit to Dr. Quinn's town.  

For those who don't know who Dr. Quinn was, she was the main character in the series, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman", who was, as you probably guessed, a doctor. She moved to Colorado Springs from Boston. As you can imagine, her life in Colorado was very different than in Boston. She now had to adjust to life in the wild west. 

Her show was filmed in Paramount Ranch, in Agoura (about 30-45 minutes from Los Angeles). The land was purchased by Paramount in the late 1920's. The studio created a "Western Town" that still stands today. Movies that were filmed at the ranch include: (1937), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), Geronimo (1939), The Streets of Laredo (1949), etc.

The ranch was purchased by William Randolph Hearst (of the Hearst Castle) from Paramount in the 1950's, building permanent wild-west props. 

The ranch has a beautiful stream, amazing oak trees, and short hiking trails. Admission is FREE and it wasn't very crowded. It's a cool place to check out some Hollywood/Western history.

For those who watched Dr. Quinn, it's as if you stepped back in time, to the 1800's, to where she lived.