Less car, more art: During this weekend's LA freeway shutdown Carmageddon II, celebrate with ARTmageddon!

All Angelenos remember Carmageddon—when a portion of the 405 freeway was shut down for almost an entire weekend in July, 2011.  For the months leading up to Carmageddon, it seemed everyone was in a pre-apocalyptic panic over the horribleness that would undoubtedly ensue.  There would be gridlock traffic squeezed into every roadway in the city.  We were told to stay home and stay out of our cars. 

Well, a lot of people did stay out of their cars and to everyone’s surprise, Carmaggeddon turned out to be a blessing.  People stayed home and had a relaxing weekend instead of driving all over town.  Those brave enough to leave home stayed in their neighborhoods, enjoying local restaurants and parks.  I have heard many say that Carmaggedon was one of their favorite weekends in LA ever, because they were—for one weekend—given an excuse to just stay local.

LA will get another chance to enjoy the benefits of Carmaggedon because Carmageddon II is coming this weekend!  From this Friday night to early Monday morning, 10 miles of the 405 freeway through the Sepulveda Pass between the 10 and 101 freeways will be closed so that crews can demolish half of the Mulholland Bridge. 

One great way to celebrate is to enjoy some awesome art in your own neighborhood.  A consortium of LA-based artists and arts organizations are uniting to create ARTmageddon, a two-day celebration of the prolific and inspiring art happening all over LA.  At www.ARTmageddonLA.com, LA residents can easily find great visual, performing, and media arts events happening in their neighborhood or that they can get to via public transportation.  Who knows, you might discover a cool theater, music venue, or gallery right in your neighborhood.  So stroll around your neighborhood, invite your neighbors to a backyard BBQ, and walk, bike, or ride the bus or train to take in some art near you.  

I wish you all a happy and relaxing Carmageddon II!