We did it! Last Friday we celebrated a very special event in our community with the amazing students, families, and staff of Pinewood Avenue Elementary! The Dia de los Niños Spring Cultural Festival aimed to celebrate the beautiful cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity that is part of the Pinewood community. The event included a showcase of music traditions (Tongva, Mesoamerican, Armenian), inspiring statements, teachings, and hands-on workshops by Tongva culture bearers Tina Calderon and Lazaro Arvizu Jr., delicious and nourishing foods from Mexico, El Salvador, Ethiopia, and Armenia, student dances rooted in Africa by the 4th and 5th graders, and a wonderful poster exhibition created by the 3rd-5th grade artists who aim to bring awareness to unsafe driving and illegal dumping in our community. It was a blast! We are grateful to the amazing Pinewood administrators and staff, parent volunteers, students, Sunland-Tujunga Forward, and to @santiestevanmusic for working with Evelyn Serrano to conceive, plan, organize and bring this event to fruition. Enjoy these amazing photos by Ashley Balderrama (@momentsbyash). This festival is part of my year-long California Creative Corps fellowship with the Pinewood Community. The California Creative Corps Artist and Culture Bearer Fellowship at Community Partners was made possible through the California Arts Council @calartscouncil a testament to our State's investment in artists and its dedication to cultural equity at the intersections of social change. @cpcacreativecorps
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