Featuring the Belmont String Quartet and an opportunity drawing with wonderful items donated from many RPNA area businesses

Belmont String Quartet members Joanna Velázquez Alpízar, violin; Heather Mansell, violin; Carrie Mock, viola; and Christopher McCarthy, cello

A few weeks from now, lovely live music will be playing in Rose Park (E. 8th St at Orizaba Ave) in a one-hour concert performed by the Belmont String Quartet for the joint benefit of RPNA’s upcoming Utility Box Art Competition and Wilson High School’s Music Program. The concert itself is free. Residents and their friends and family are invited to make an afternoon of it by bringing a blanket and picnic basket. From 2:00 pm until the concert starts, you’ll be able to browse the list of terrific items offered by area businesses and purchase tickets ($1 each; $10 for 12) to the opportunity drawing. After the concert ends, we’ll draw winners for each of those donated items, distributing them to the lucky winners.

A little more about RPNA’s Utility Box Art Competition

Later this year, RPNA, working with the Arts Council, will be announcing an art competition that will result in the selection of artist commissions for decorating those plain and rather ugly looking utilityl boxes that populate parts of our neighborhood. Below you can see an example of an unpainted utility box flanked by two others whose exterior surfaces were cleaned up and refinished in creative ways.

A trio of utility boxes from around the city: Wrigley (image by Ioana Urma), Rose Park (Junipero Ave at 4th St, image by RPNA), and Belmont Heights (photo by Drew Reed, art by Doug Walker)

Our Utility Box Art Competition will require that applicants provide designs that highlight our neighborhood’s historic character and identity. To fund the competition and awards, RPNA is creating a special fund that will kick off at the Spring Concert.

An important reminder about the concert: Alcoholic drinks are prohibited in city parks.

We’ve just been notified that the AOC7 Association (Anaheim-Orange-Cherry-7th), our neighboring neighborhood association, has scheduled their 2014 Literacy Fair for Saturday, May 17th. From 10:00 am until 1:00 pm in MacArthur Park (1321 E Anaheim St.), the event will include more than just books—though those will be its main focus, of course. There will also be music, multicultural dancing, food, and fun—including fabulous free books for all the wonderful young readers in our community!

We’ll send out another reminder about the event as it nears, but this is as good a time as any to mark the event on your calendar so that you won’t, er, “overbook” yourself for that date!

p.s. Click on the above image or here to load a PDF version of the flyer, which you can then print out and share with others.