Cogs & Petels a Steampunk Hanami picnic in Van Nuys CA
From wikipedia
Hanami (花見, lit. "flower viewing") is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, "flower" in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms (桜 or 櫻, sakura).
Saturday March 13th DrClock and myself Neku_Niku will be hosting a Steampunk Hanami Picnic at Anthony C. Beilenson Park Park (aka Lake Balboa) in Van Nuys CA (20 minutes north of Hollywood).
Due to the nature of cherry blossom, we *hope* the blossoms will be in full bloom. Cherry blossoms follow their own schedule, but on average, using last few years as gauge... this weekend should In theory be 'the' full bloom weekend. if not, we can still have a good time!
The Picnic:
Our hope is that LA area Steam-Kids who can not afford to head up Bay Area way for Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition will join us for a local Steampunk Event.
This is a pot luck all ages picnic, everybody is encouraged to bring food and drinks, and don't forget blankets or chairs to sit on!
Steampunk is not required but highly encouraged, though remember we will be sitting out in the sun on the ground, so make sure you are conferable. Being a public park, we suggest no *convincing* weapons. This park does fill up very quickly on weekends, especially around this time of year. Don't expect to park directly next to where we are going to be, and anticipate walking a bit on both sidewalk and grassy banks. Please wear shoes accordingly.
DrClock & I will be bringing a few blankets a Canopy (if needed) and a badminton set!
Hard info
When: Saturday March 13th Noon.
Where:
LAKE BALBOA (ANTHONY C. BEILENSON PARK - FORMERLY BALBOA PARK)
6300 Balboa Blvd., Van Nuys, CA 91406
Lake Balboa and it's surrounded park is big area! I have hosted picnics here in the past and the largest problem has always been finding a location and letting everybody know where it is and how to get there easily.
Drclock to the rescue!!
Spot A is our #1 Choice, it is one of the more lovely area's of park with many Cherry Blossom trees. It is also one of the most desirable area's and I'm not sure we will be able to nab it.
it is near the front of the park and means closer to parking lots, and children's playground and area where large groups tend to hold big BBQ's and picnics (parking is hard)
Spot B Still a nice area, it's on a hill up behind a man made waterfall. it is best to park in one of the furthest parking lots, or along the side of the road after you've driven all the way around the lake (more or less)
Spot C is Closer to parking and has a few cherry blossom trees. it is the closest to parking, (park in the same area as Spot B)
We will be trying a number of ways communicate where we find a spot, including Twitter, we can email, lj update & text message.
Here is a link to a larger Image that you can bring and bring with you if you want.
