Hello Hollywood Orchardists!

We are excited to be heading into April and May in the Canyon.  New adventures in community and fruit ahead!  Look below for the calendar of upcoming Hollywood Orchard events!

Newcomers welcome at every event!

Saturday, April 20th – Farmer’s Circle / Grafting with Ken Love — 9:00am – 11:00am

Where: H.O. Base Camp – 2599 Glen Green (remember: if you have to drive, park on Beachwood and walk up)   

Join us for a hands-on workshop on how to graft on fruit trees.  If you want to grow several varieties on the same tree, this will get you going.  Ken Love is Hawaii’s Fruit Specialist Extraordinaire, and has continued to provide H.O. with his wise support!

Monday, April 22nd – Harvest Dinner (Earth Day!) — 6:30pm – 9:00pm

Where: The Besant Lodge – 2560 N Beachwood Dr  Los Angeles, CA 90068

Join us for a special dinner to celebrate our Canyon’s commitment to the community and the natural world that sustains us.  In the spirit of Earth Day, this will be a unique “pack-it-in, pack-it-out” experience, with live music by our own Orchardistas.  Invitations will be sent out in April, since the seating will be limited.  If you aren’t on our mailing list, join now at hollywoodorchard@gmail.com

Saturday, May 4th – “Loco-for-Loquats” Pick ‘n Kitchen — 8:45am – 11:30am

Where: H.O. Base Camp – 2599 Glen Green (remember: if you have to drive, park on Beachwood and walk up) 

Join us for our classic adventure: The Pick ‘n Kitchen.  Teams of “Pickers” will go through the canyon picking the amazingly-overlooked fruit source in our ‘hood: the Loquat.  (We will also be picking the last of the citrus in our Virtual Orchard).  The “Kitcheners” will lead us on how to preserve the fruit, and all will take home some of the bounty.  Most of the citrus will be brought to a local food pantry. 

May Events to be Scheduled

Cheremoya Field Trip – Hollywood Orchard supports the neighborhood public school with a field trip we hold for the Cheremoya School’s Sixth Grade Class.   More details to follow.

Opening Screening of “The Fruit Hunters”  –  This documentary made by award-winning Canadian film-maker Yung Chang, will have it’s premiere in LA.  The founding of our community group Hollywood Orchard is one of the major threads in Yung’s film about all things fruit.  The premiere will be a chance to celebrate the work done so far, and to share our direction for the future.

Summer Schedule — Updates Coming…

Hollywood Orchard    …where the community grows

Would you like to join us as we go through the canyon picking oranges, tangerines, and grapefruits from neighbor’s trees (with their permission, of course) and would you like to help process this fruit into great treats in our Glen Green pop up kitchen advised by Chef Miller (from the Farmer’s Market Kitchen) and Mihn Phan (from the Beachwood Cafe)? Either way, we promise you will have a GREAT time on Saturday morning, January 12th. Are you a picker or a kitchener? Or both?

WHEN:
Saturday Jan 12 from 8:45am – 12:30 pm (Clean-up 12:30-2pm)!

WHERE:
Glen Green cul-de-sac, just up the street from Beachwood Dr. Look for signs on the street to easily find us!

Here’s the plan:

Arrive: 8:45am in the Glen Green Cul-De-Sac (If you have to drive, you will have to park on Beachwood Drive and walk up). Light lunch, beverages provided! Kids are welcome.

We will have an orientation, then picking crews and kitchen crews are formed (you can switch later in the morning if you like!)

9am-11 – PICKERS head out! (wear work pants, long-sleeve shirt, bring your own hand clippers if you have one). We will have poles, ladders, shoulder bags, and buckets. Our leaders will give pointers to the groups of six. Trees in the canyon have been pre-identified. We expect to use 300 lbs for the Pop Up Kitchen, and we hope to have 1,000 lbs for the Hollywood food pantries!

9-10:am – KITCHENERS Set up pop-up kitchen
then until 12:30pm: Process the citrus(bring paring knife, apron). Our Harvest and Kitchen Crew will lead us in making some taste treats using the bounty of the canyon!

A Clean-up Party starts at 12:30pm A Clean-up Party starts at 12:30pm with entertainment and treats. Thank-you baskets go out for those that donated their trees. Everyone will take home some ‘fruit of their labor’.

We have the ingredients/supplies for the recipes! We await the gift of your hands and heart.

We will be doing a ‘working lunch’ (provided) so we can keep momentum!

TRANSPORTATION & PARKING:
Please walk, ride a bike or carpool to the Glenn Green cul-de-sac as parking is very limited down on Beachwood Drive. Be sure to check parking signs and please be respectful of our neighbors and where you leave your vehicle.

Thanks for all your great support and we look forward to a fun Pick N’Kitchen day!

-Your Hollywood Orchard Team

Come Savor the Celebration of the Canyon! Trombones, Caroling, Singing, Festivities!

This Saturday, December 15, Glen Green St.

Hollywood, CA

6 p.m.: Potluck (Please bring holiday food in a disposable container.)

7 – 9 p.m.: Trombones-L.A. (Caroling break at 7:45.)

Dress Warmly and bring a folding chair.

Hosted in conjunction with the Beachwood Canyon Neighborhood AssociationSupported by the City of Los Angeles

photo by Mariya Stepanyan

We had our eyes on the quickly ripening Loquats up and down Beachwood Canyon for a month. They were already ripe and tasty weeks before the designated date. The drama was, ‘would they hold out till late May?’ But, as a testament to the micro-climates in the canyon, in the few days prior we found a dozen trees hidden in shady spots, laden with fruit unmolested by the birds and squirrels. A few ‘Orchardistas’, armed with flyers, in a few evening strolls, enrolled another dozen neighbors in the idea of their unused fruit going to the non-profit neighborhood food projects and local pantries.

On that glorious morning, folks started to gather at the decent hour of 9am and when we counted 35 ‘ready and willing’, we broke up into 6 groups and set out on foot, each with a map to two or three trees. We added 10 citrus to the maps because they seem to be omnipresent, in a constant cycle of flowers, green fruit and ripe fruit, sometimes all at once. Neighbors who came later where folded into the Pop-up Kitchen preparations.

We set out with pole cutters and ladders, many donated recently by the local Home Depot. In a few hours we had filled the little pickup truck 3-4 times! In the cul-de-sac, the kitchen crew had organized washing bins under the trees, where folks exchanged wives tales and plans for the future, while prepping mountains of Loquats, Lemons, Grapefruits, Oranges and the tastiest Tangerines most have ever had.

By the time the ‘Gatherers’ had returned the Pop-up Kitchen was in full swing with pots of Loquats simmering on stovetops (thanks to the equipment loaned by Chef Ernest Miller of the Farmer’s Kitchen). If it’s true that busy hands are happy hands then we were one happy bunch of neighbors. Peeling, pitting and mashing to the live music of the Maesa Pullman Band.

By cleanup time we had sealed about 150 jars of Loquat preserves and 500lbs of citrus went to Project Angel Food. Whatever didn’t go home with an Orchardista, or in one of the 15 ‘Thank You’ baskets (for the tree owners), is now laying in storage for another awesome Orchard event, come fall.

—Bill Pullman

photo by Mariya Stepanyan

We sampled whatever fruit was ripe along the way. We picked lemons from the tree of an agreeable neighbor. We snaked our way through our vegetable garden where the kids dared to eat Nasturium flowers. The garden which demonstrates sustainable practices, was lush with veggies like Kale, Spinach, Broccoli and Beets, thanks to the rainwater catchment, the localized composting, and the greywater system feeding the garden of eatin’.

We were mistaken to think the mile walk to the Pullman’s from the school might tax those kids. When they got to the cul-de-sac they were raring and ready to make guacamole, adding their individual touch of spicy Nasturtium or Mint to taste. They ate lunch (provided by our own kitchen crew) while Bob Mintzer, world class sax player, entertained us with musical tidbits and in between illustrated the importance of good nutrition for stamina and health on the road. Then Minh and Patti from the Beachwood Cafe showed up with cupcakes doused with a daub of Loquat jam. Minh gave an inspiring talk about the habits of healthy eating.

Everyone got to take home a Mother’s Day gift that they made from vegetable and herb seedlings (donated by Papaya Tree Nursery/Alex Silber and the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers/ Steve List)), that they arranged in a glass bowl and wrapped with ribbons. And finally, each one of those Cheremoya school kids went home with a Cheremoya ready to eat, and memory built to last.

- John Allen

In the words of Debbi, their amazing teacher,from her letter the next week:

“Words cannot express my gratitude for an unforgettable day! I think the looks on my students’ faces said it all, and everywhere I turned I heard “This is the best field trip ever!”"Can you believe this is all for us?!” The entire day was amazing! You organized it perfectly, and your volunteers were great with the kids. Everything was wonderful. Besides all of the activities, the impressive homegrown fruit and vegetables, lemonade and guacamole, the yummy sandwiches, and the wonderful cupcakes, the Mothers’ Day planters were the dessert with the mulberry on top! I really can’t thank you enough. As soon as our CSTs are over, the students will send you a little thank you. I’m sure they will be talking about their experience for days, and I know they will never forget it!”

WHEN:
Saturday May 19th from 8:45am – 12:30 pm (Clean-up 12:30-2pm)!

WHERE:
Glen Green cul-de-sac, just up the street from Beachwood Dr. Look for signs on the street to easily find us!

Here’s the plan:

Urban farming fun as we harvest loquat fruit throughout Beachwood Canyon. All collected fruit will be cleaned and prepared at our on-site kitchen for either donation to local food pantries or tasty treats in support of the new Hollywood Orchard!

Arrive: 8:45am in the Glen Green Cul-De-Sac (If you have to drive, you will have to park on Beachwood Drive and walk up). Bring bag lunch, beverages provided! Kids are welcome.

We will have an orientation, then picking crews and kitchen crews are formed (you can switch later in the morning if you like!)

9am-11 – PICKERS (wear work pants, long-sleeve shirt, bring your own hand clippers if you have one). We will have poles, ladders, shoulder bags, and buckets. Our leaders will give pointers. Trees in the canyon have been pre-identified. We expect to use 300 lbs for the Community Food Pop Up Kitchen.

9-10:am – KITCHENERS Set up pop-up kitchen

10am-12:30pm: Process Loquats (bring paring knife, apron). Our Harvest and Kitchen Crew will lead us in making some taste treats using the uniquely flavored Loquat!

A Clean-up Party starts at 12:30pm with live Canyon Musicians playing.

We have the ingredients/supplies for the recipes! We await the gift of your hands and heart.

Remember to bring along a snack/bag lunch since we will be doing a ‘working lunch’ so we can keep momentum!

TRANSPORTATION & PARKING:
Please walk, ride a bike or carpool to the Glenn Green cul-de-sac as parking is very limited down on Beachwood Drive. Be sure to check parking signs and please be respectful of our neighbors and where you leave your vehicle.

Thanks for all your great support and we look forward to a fun Pick N’Kitchen day!

-Your Hollywood Orchard Team

The production features Ed Harris, Glenne Headly, Amy Madigan, Bill Pullman and Bess Rous.

Written by Pulitzer Prize winner Beth Henley and directed by Tony Award winner Robert Falls, the eerie story unfolds in a seedy motel in Jackson, Mississippi circa 1964, and takes the audience on a surreal trip, rife with disturbingly dark humor.

Join Bill for a toast with our handcrafted Limoncello after the performance, learn more about our mission and share the fruits of our labor.

There are a limited number of tickets available for this otherwise sold-out, well reviewed, performance.

To purchase benefit tickets at $250.00 each, please click on this link below:

Purchase Tickets

Funds will be used for community programming and teaching events.

Hollywood Orchard is a neighborhood-generated effort with a unique mission to demonstrate how we can use locally grown and shared fruit to celebrate and engage with Los Angeles communities around issues of food sourcing, health, and sustainability.

We will also toast the The Trust for Public Land . The TPL is working to help secure the site for the Hollywood Orchard. The Trust for Public Land conserves land for everyone to enjoy as parks, gardens and other natural places. To learn more, visit www.tpl.org.

The Hollywood Orchard would like to thank the cast and crew of The Jacksonian and the Geffen Playhouse for donating this evening’s proceeds to our non-profit fundraising efforts for operations and community outreach.

Read more here

The Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse
10886 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90024