Grand Park Announces Programming for 4TH OF JULY BLOCK PARTY: HOME EDITION

For the first time, the eighth annual Grand Park + The Music Center's 4th of July Block Party: Home Edition has partnered with ABC7/KABC-TV Los Angeles, Southern California's most-watched television station, to broadcast the first hour of the highly popular celebration on Saturday, July 4, (7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. PDT) on ABC7. Viewers can also stream the first hour live on abc7.com and ABC7's Connected TV Apps. The special will simulcast on L.A. County's public access Channel 36 and will continue with expanded programming streamed from 8:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. PDT on Grand Park's and The Music Center's digital channels. The event is hosted by abc7 Eyewitness News anchor Coleen Sullivan, who will be joined throughout the special by Eyewitness Newsmakers' host Adrienne Alpert, and community journalists Sophie Flay, Ashley Mackey and Eric Resendiz.

In line with Grand Park's mission to honor the County's cultural diversity through programming reflective of the "park for everyone," Grand Park + The Music Center's 4th of July Block Party: Home Edition will feature performances and profiles of more than 25 local artists and community partners representing the vitality of Los Angeles. While the family-friendly, free event pivoted to online platforms due to restrictions limiting large public gatherings, it will now also be accessible to television audiences through this unique partnership. The park will remain open on July 4th as it has been a central site for civil demonstrations; however, there will be no programming available in the park or the traditional fireworks show.

Rapper and songwriter N*E*R*D Smoke (née Daniel Anthony Farris) will headline the event, performing songs from his debut album, Black Habits. The Inglewood native was the winner of Netflix's music competition show Rhythm & Flow in 2019. Additional music performances will include Latinx soulstress San Cha, bedroom Pop singer Ginger Root and dancehall newcomer Amindi. The line-up also includes Filipino American comedians from Filipino AF performing improv and sketch routines (digital only) as well as a plant-based Street Tacos cooking demonstration from Chef Jocelyn Ramirez, owner of East L.A.'s Todo Verde. The remainder of the program features the viewpoints of L.A.-based personalities sharing their personal stories and cultural perspectives of what it means to be an Angeleno. To get the party started, Grand Park will also host two 50-minute DJ sets on Wednesday, July 1, 2020, starting at 5:00 p.m. with 143 Worldwide and the vibrant tones of R&B (DJ Jadaboo), followed by Cumbiatón and the rhythms of Cumbia at 6:00 p.m. (DJs Sizzle Fantastic and Funky Carmelo); each set will be streamed on Grand Park's Mixcloud channel.

"For seven years, Grand Park + The Music Center's Fourth of July Block Party has provided a space where neighbors from across Los Angeles were welcomed and invited to lift one another up through music, dancing and art," said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. "We may not be able to gather physically this year, but we can still bring a sense of unity to this virtual event, and appreciate the power of the arts to heal, connect and celebrate the diversity in our County."

"Grand Park is heeding the call as L.A.'s central gathering place by providing a virtual platform of joy, cultural expression, reflection and community on July 4th," said Julia Diamond, director, Grand Park. "Grand Park + The Music Center's 4th of July Block Party: Home Edition was curated to amplify voices of the multiple artists, perspectives, experiences and neighborhoods from among the many who make up one Los Angeles."

The virtual celebration is intended to help ensure the public's safety and well-being as Grand Park follows sound public health practices to slow the community transmission of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County.

Grand Park + The Music Center's 4th of July Block Party: Home Edition Highlights:

KABC-TV Broadcast Hosts

Members of the Eyewitness News Team will host and introduce Grand Park's performances and profiles featured during the 7:00 p.m. broadcast on ABC7. Eyewitness News Anchor Coleen Sullivan will host the event and will be joined by Eyewitness Newsmakers' host Adrienne Alpert, and community journalists Sophie Flay, Ashley Mackey, and Eric Resendiz.

Music

Rapper and songwriter N*E*R*D Smoke (née Daniel Anthony Farris) headlines the eighth annual Grand Park + The Music Center's 4th of July Block Party: Home Edition, performing songs from his debut album, Black Habits. The artist also chats about growing up in L.A. as well as how his education background and being a school teacher has influenced his career. (Headline Performance and Profile)

21-year old singer artist Amindi, who takes pride in her Jamaican heritage and Inglewood neighborhood, made her mark with the 2017 release of "Pine & Ginger," which garnered 25 million streams. While discussing her views on the 4th of July and her support of equality and justice efforts, Amindi also performs songs including her newest single, "Love Em Leave Em." (Profile and Performance)

Editing films, videos and other multimedia by day, and making music under the name Ginger Root by night, Cameron Lew fronts a sound described as "Aggressive Elevator Soul". Lew discusses his Chinese American heritage, growing up in Orange County and how everything from Philly sounds to Soul Stax helped influence his cool groovy music style. (Performance and Profile)

A five-resident artist collective, Cumbiatón was founded in Boyle Heights and focuses on creating a safe space for Women of Color and Queer and Trans People of Color DJ's and community. Sizzle Fantastic talks how Cumbiatón welcomes and celebrates those who have been most marginalized. (July 1st Performance; July 4th Profile)

Founded in 2013 with DJs Partytime, siik, and SOSUPERSAM, 143 Worldwide's parties have gone global, mixing love songs and R&B. The group takes their "1-4-3" name directly from the 90s pager code for "I love you;" Cody Debacker (aka Partytime) and Samantha Duenas (aka SOSUPERSAM) chat why they encourage everyone to join their music party. (July 1st Performance; July 4th Profile)

With a striking stage presence, Los Angeles' singer-songwriter San Cha spans Cumbia, Punk Bolero, Electro and traditional Mexican Rancheras. A powerful voice for Queer Latinx identity, San Cha discusses familia, acceptance and inequality before performing her song, "Capricho Del Diablo" acapella. (Profile and Performance)

A fixture of the L.A. radio scene, Sérgio Mielniczenko has been the longtime host of two shows, the "Brazilian Hour" on KXLU and "Global Village Friday's" on KPFK. Speaking about COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement from a Brazilian viewpoint, Mielniczenko also muses on the healing powers of music and his 40-year career as a cultural contributor in Los Angeles. (Profile)

GRAMMY®-nominated Thalma de Frietas is a multidisciplinary artist, performer and composer from Rio de Janeiro, known for her genre-bending mix of Brazilian traditions, pop, jazz and Latin music. Now based locally, de Frietas talks about the intersections of Brazilian music, culture and current events in Los Angeles. (Profile)

Comedy Sketch

Comedy variety show Filipino AF entertains viewers with Improv, sketch and stand-up routines about Filipino American identity and life in Los Angeles. (Digital Performance only)

Food Personalities

Started by Lorenzo and Danny Cerda, Cerda Vega is known for its homemade Birria de Res and Mexican French Dip. The popular food truck chefs discuss how their mobile catering business has survived the COVID-19 pandemic while helping the community and feeding first responders. (Profile)

A cookbook author and restaurateur, Susan Feniger's career spans decades in L.A. with the opening of her signature restaurant, Border Grill, and other ventures with business partner Mary Sue Milliken. On July 4th, Feniger chats about the beautiful food evolution in Los Angeles. (Profile)

Husband and wife, Johneric and Christine Concordia, talk about their restaurant, The Park's Finest, based in Historic Filipinotown, and discuss their love for the community and support of frontliners during this time of COVID-19 through THE FEED the Frontliners Project. (Profile)

Chef Jocelyn Ramirez founded Todo Verde in 2015 with a mission to create delicious and healthy plant-based food inspired by her Mexican and South American roots for the Eastside community. Chef Ramirez talks about Mexican Vegan food and the beauty of changing one's lifestyle before demonstrating how to make Street Tacos & Three Sisters Salad (Las Tres Hermanas in Chipotle) from her cookbook La Vida Verde. (Cooking Demonstration)

Sarintip "Jazz" Singsanong immigrated to the United States in 1979 with only $200 in her pockets. Twenty-seven years later, she and her late brother, Suthiporn "Tui" Sungkamee, transformed Hollywood's Jitlada into a cult following, specializing in spicy Southern Thai cooking. Jazz talks about living the American Dream and living her mantra: Since she is blessed, she needs to bless others with her gifts. (Profile)

Hollywood

Hailing from North Hollywood, film director and fashion designer Mikey Alfred speaks about his fashion line, which brings awareness to racism and a need for change and his hope for his fellow Millennials to lead the way. (Profile)

Known for his many roles in films, Danny Trejo is also a producer and entrepreneur as the owner of Trejo's Tacos and Trejo's Coffee & Donuts. The community leader chats about Los Angeles through his eyes, the strength and characteristics of Angelenos as well as what it was like for him growing up in LA. (Profile)

Literature

Fifteen-year-old Zoie Brogdon is a young equestrian champion and member of the Compton JR. Posse and aspiring poet. From her View Park home, Brogdon reflects on her generation's fears and hopes for a NEW DAY with the recitation of her poem, "Melanin". (Profile)

Luis J. Rodriguez was the official Poet Laureate of Los Angeles from 2014 to 2016 and is the founder of Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural & Bookstore in the San Fernando Valley. An arts advocate and community healer, Rodriguez recites his poem, "Love Poem To L.A.," which reflects on the city's external and internal beauty and how to love the good, the bad and the ugly of Los Angeles. (Poetry Reading)

Photography

B+ (née Brian Cross), a legendary Hip Hop photographer from Ireland, talks about the power of photos to tell a story and how they have the power to shape narratives, especially during the times of revolution. (Profile)

Estevan Oriol discusses Los Angeles through his eyes and how his work as a photographer and director have intertwined with L.A. identity, Hip Hop culture and familia. (Profile)

Visual Arts

The Chinese American Museum (CAM) is an L.A. landmark located in the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. As the first museum in Southern California dedicated to the Chinese AMERICAN EXPERIENCE in this state, CAM Board members Gay Yuen and Paula Madison share the importance of recognizing how racism has impacted both Black Americans and Chinese/Asian Americans and the need for unity across communities to affect change and understanding. (Profile)

Shepard Fairey, best known for his famous rendition of Andre the Giant, is a muralist and graphic artist who constantly shifts between political art, street art, fine art and more. Fairey discusses how his 20-year career span living in L.A. and the abundance of different cultures that call L.A. home have influenced his art and informed his activism. (Profile)

Born in Pasadena with a Filipino, Mexican and Native American background, artist Patrick Martinez uses various mediums such as graffiti, painting, ceramic, sculpture and neon to interpret everyday realities. From his studio, Martinez talks about his inspiration through Tupac Shakur's connection to L.A. and the strength of the arts to heal our communities while showing his recent art depicting inner city communities. The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture recently acquired one of his pieces. (Profile and Artwork)

Based in Venice, graffiti artist Jules Muck discusses Los Angeles through her eyes, protests and how her work as a muralist has become synonymous with some of the most polarizing events in recent times. She'll also display her most recent works focusing on the death of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and Minneapolis resident George Floyd. (Profile and Artwork)

Perspectives

People on the street interviews feature different perspectives of everyday people, including a high school teacher from Venice High School and a protestor from Compton, among others, plus what it means to grow up as a Black child according to 13-year-old Aedan McDaniels.

*Artists and performances are subject to change.