826LA and the Echo Park Time Travel Mart are proud to premiere the second collection of original time travel-themed posters designed by Los Angeles-based artist Amy Martin.

This year's collection is in collaboration with the The Federation for the Advancement of Time—because no matter when you live, it's always the right time for good temporal citizenship! Each poster promotes a civic message for good citizenship in the far past or distant future, transforming the predictable aesthetic of the WPA poster with ironic sloganeering such as "Fire Good…But Also Bad" and "Robots! Clean Your Drives Daily," coupled with clean, retro graphic design.

They are available now for pre-order at the Time Travel Mart online. Each poster is $19.99, or you can buy a set of 4 for $69.99. All proceeds go to 826LA; last year's posters raised over $30,000 for 826LA's programs.

Purchase them in person and meet the artist at The Echo Park Time Travel Mart! 826LA and Stories Books and Cafe will be hosting an open house with music, art, food, and drink on September 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Lee Carroll has already been one of our Volunteers of the Month, and now she's being recognized by Causecast!

Thanks to all the volunteers, interns, and special guests integral to the unparalleled success of 826LA's 2009 English Language Learner (ELL) Camp! Hooray! Our camp, which ran at both 826LA East and West, included students at all levels of speaking and writing proficiency. With twenty to thirty-five 12-and-under students showing up on our doorstep for every 2.5-hour session, producing chapbooks every week (e.g. a giant technical manual or a slide show of beautiful classwork), there was enough going on to engage even an emerging mind in writerly challenges. Each student left ELL Camp with not only spiffy books, but also more solid foundations in the modes of English communication that they might struggle to master in school.

As pictured here, they might find a restaurant at camp so horrid that their tutors cajole them into writing a well-structured letter of complaint. Or they might take an observational eye on a walking field trip, coming up with insights like, "We saw horse poop that looked like rocks with hair"! And most importantly, we keep with 826LA tradition by providing free needed services to our local communities, so the ending of ELL gives us a chance to thank Echo Park and Venice. You guys let us nurture creative voices in your community from the seed stage, plus stage an interview with a local beach pirate.

For more coverage of this and other summer programming, please follow our blog.

Last night at midnight was the deadline for donations to be counted in this weekend's fundracer, the Second Annual 826LA Echo Park Lake Paddle Boat Regatta! (And while you can no longer influence the final results, you can still make a donation to fund 826LA's free student writing and tutoring programs!)

In third place, with $1,806 raised as of midnight last night, is Team McCheeks, a fundraising combo of 826LA staffers Joel and Bonnie, with volunteers Emily and Mac!

Finishing in second was team GOOD, comprised of friends at 826LA's longtime supporter GOOD Magazine. They raised $1,987!

And, in first place, we have Ink Invasion, a group of volunteers who help produce The Venice Wave, a student newspaper, at 826LA West. They came in just ahead of the folks at GOOD with $2,040—congratulations, Ink Invasion!

Thanks to all of our winners, all of our paddle boat teams, and everyone who donated! And special thanks to In a Regatta Da Vida, the first-place intern team with $1,744.70 (just out of third place), and regatta MVP Jamie Loos of GOOD, who raised all $1,987 of the team's money!

The Second Annual Echo Park Lake Paddle Boat Regatta may not be the most prestigious race on July 26 (it narrowly loses out to the 96th annual Tour de France), but it is the most important to Los Angeles youth.

Last year's winners, Mylissa and Hamish Grieve of Team Little Bird

On that Sunday, 45 teams of paddle-boaters will brave the elements, the geese, and each other as they race through (the possibly monster-infested) Echo Park Lake to win prizes, to earn the title of World's Best Paddle Boat Racers, and to raise funds for 826LA. The more money a team raises, the more advantages they receive at the regatta.

Last year, we raised $20,000! Are you yearning for a chance to flex your nautical know-how and quads of steel? Do your ears perk up at the sound of crashing waves, or does your heart skip a beat when given the opportunity to fundraise for our free student programming?

Then register to boat, and help us beat last year's total.

The Second Annual Echo Park Lake Paddle Boat Regatta
Sunday, July 26, 4:00 p.m.
The Echo Park Lake Boat House, Los Angeles, CA 90026

 

Former 826LA director and current board member Mac Barnett has just released his first picture book, Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem. Congratulations, Mac!

Here's a little about the book:

A blue whale is longer than thirty dogs lined up nose to tail. Its tongue weighs as much as four hundred cats. Blue whales make terrible pets… Just ask Billy Twitters.

The 826LA writing labs are wondrous spaces that leave visitors and regulars alike in awe. But, as impressive as the exposed beams, ceiling-high bookshelves, truly random knick-knacks, and framed student writing are, the best parts are the tables where our students write. Our students can accomplish a lot in a few square feet of space.

Recently, 826LA has been pairing with Tabletop Moviemaking to help students produce even more work in such a small space. With a camera and one of Tabletop's kits, students have all they need to produce movies, despite tight time and space constraints. We've put on a few workshops already, with impressive results.

826LA and Tabletop continue to work together and refine the process. We've recently entered into a friendly competition with 826NYC (follow the link for instructions on voting) and started experimenting on advanced Tabletop techniques. Check the results out below.

At Homeboy Industries on Friday, June 12, the young authors from Garfield High School unveiled their magnum opus, Sheep Can't Fly. The crowd of 100 or so attendees were treated to readings from the book, informal discussions, and those invaluable author autographs.

At this celebration of the writers' work, many had their first glimpse of Sheep Can't Fly, which is ultimately a book about heroes. It's also about breaking free from the crowd and achieving the impossible, as well as sharing the keys to that triumph with the community. It's about the unique dreams that define us and the common stories that unite us. In this collection (826LA's largest and most ambitious yet), these students have shared something very special with us all. Pick up a copy, and draw in the students' "spirit and will to fly."

Many thanks to all of those who helped me Sheep Can't Fly a success: the Goldhirsh Foundation, the teachers and staff at Garfield, all the 826LA volunteers, Father Greg Boyle and the wonderfully generous people at Homeboy Industries. Most of all, thank you to the students, for your captivating words and your call to the dormant heroes with us all.

On Sunday, July 26, 90 paddle-boaters (45 teams) will meet for the second annual 826LA Echo Park Lake Paddle Boat Regatta. These fearless navigators will brave the elements, the geese, and each other as they race through (the possibly monster-infested) Echo Park Lake to earn the title of World's Best Paddle Boat Racers and to raise funds for 826LA.

Teams pre-register online, then solicit donations from friends, family, significant others, passers-by on the street, and large corporations—all to secure a better starting position.

Regardless of any advantages secured through fundraising, regatta participants will still need to rely on nautical know-how, quads of steel, and a heart that yearns for the open water. Sound like you? Register to boat.

Felicia Perez's 11th-graders at Los Angeles High School have partnered with 826LA, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and acclaimed photographer Jo Ann Callis to learn formal art analysis, to shoot their own photographs, and to develop artist statements. The result is Attention to Tension, a photography exhibition open May 31–June 13 at The Golden State Cafe. The gallery captures implied tension in skylines and off-kilter domestic spaces, as well as overt tension in an operating room, a flexed forearm, a cat's eye, and a staged showdown.

You'll have the chance to celebrate with the young photographers at the gallery opening—2:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 31. Please follow this link to RSVP: http://attentiontotension.eventbrite.com/.