Levitt Pavilions Media Kit

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At-a-Glance...... 1 The Levitt Network...... 3 Individual Levitt Profiles...... 4 Award-Winning Artists...... 11 Bio of Liz Levitt Hirsch, Board Chair...... 13 Bio of Sharon Yazowski, Executive Director...... 14 Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation...... 15 Press Clippings...... 17

Media Contact Vanessa Silberman, Director of Communications and Strategic Initiatives [email protected] 310.275.5628 | levittpavilions.org Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | at-a-glance

Levitt Pavilions at-a-glance

Levitt Pavilions is the only national network of outdoor music venues offering free concert series.

Collage (clockwise, from top left): Levitt Arlington, Levitt SteelStacks, Levitt Memphis, Levitt Westport, Levitt Pasade- na, Levitt L.A.

Founded Our Goals 2009 Inspire the best of American city life Our Mission • Create community and social inter- Levitt Pavilions is a national nonprofit action among people of all ages and organization that exists to strengthen backgrounds the social fabric of America. We part- • Empower cities across America to ner with cities to transform neglected reclaim green spaces and reinvigorate outdoor spaces into welcoming destina- public spaces tions where the power of free, live music brings people together and invigorates • Ensure the performing arts are acces- community life. sible to all through high quality, free concerts Our Vision An America filled with thriving public spaces, creating community and human connections that extend into daily life.

1 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | at-a-glance

Signature Award-winning venues have become known as places Characteristics of program to discover new artists and genres. The Levitt Program: Levitt venues are continually recog- • All Levitt performers enjoy state-of- • 50 concerts annually at each . nized for their impact on commu- the-art sound and lighting on stage Levitt venue nities, receiving numerous awards and private dressing rooms, green and honors. Team members are rooms and catered meals backstage. • Relaxed, open lawn settings recognized for their leadership, Levitt • Free admission venues win design awards and Levitt concert series are regularly recognized The Levitt program by city publications in their “Best Of…” proves that free, live Key Features listings. Recent examples include: music is a powerful • Acclaimed, emerging talent to social connector • Levitt Pavilion Arlington voted one of seasoned, award-winning artists the top five outdoor venues in North You can see its effect on people at a Levitt concert—they’re relaxed, • Rich spectrum of music genres Texas by the Dallas Observer (2013). smiling, dancing, or simply interacting • State-of-the-art sound and lighting • Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles was with one another. The Levitt program featured in an L.A. Times cover story attracts people of all ages and walks • Easily accessible locations when legendary songwriter Jimmy of life whose paths might not cross Webb performed his hit “MacArthur • Family-friendly environments otherwise. Park” in MacArthur Park for the first time (June 2013). The Levitt program The Levitt program transforms • Levitt Shell Memphis named “Best contributes to Place to See Live Music in Memphis” healthy living Once challenged sites, includ- by the Memphis Flyer (2012, 2013). ing neglected and gang-infested People are outdoors, enjoying the parks (Los Angeles, Pasadena and • Levitt Pavilion Pasadena voted fresh air, dancing, laughing, energized Memphis), the nation’s largest brown- “Best Live Music Venue” by readers by their surroundings. of Pasadena Weekly for the fifth field (Bethlehem), a problematic The Levitt program promotes social straight year (2009–2013). landfill (Westport), and a dormant interaction, which has numerous health downtown (Arlington) are now vibrant • Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks received benefits—reducing stress and contribut- and family-friendly destinations. multiple awards for its innovative ing to our general sense of well-being. design of the pavilion, including four Levitt Pavilions: a awards from the Tri State, Pennsylva- nia and Philadelphia chapters of The The Levitt program pioneer in the creative enhances city livability placemaking movement American Institute of Architects (2012). • Green spaces are reclaimed Creative placemaking integrates arts and • Levitt Pavilion Westport voted culture into communities to spark eco- one of the “Top 10 Destinations in • Public spaces are activated nomic growth, drive community engage- Connecticut” through the Connecti- • Local economies are given a boost ment, and enhance overall quality of life. cut Office of Tourism (2012). • Communities are safer

Levitt Pavilions: A Levitt is musician • Social and economic barriers are broken generator of third friendly • Access to arts and culture is ensured places • While Levitt concerts are free to the Third places = Those informal gather- public, musicians are paid a compet- ing spots outside the realms of home itive fee to perform, ensuring a high and the workplace where all feel wel- level of excellence. come. Places where we meet friends, • With our support of emerging talent say hello to neighbors and interact as well as award-winning artists, Levitt easily with strangers.

2 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | The Levitt Network

The Levitt . Network

currenT Stats cities Over Six strong* 300+ ▪▪Arlington, TX free concerts half a ▪▪Bethlehem, PA each year ▪▪Los Angeles, CA nationwide ▪▪Memphis, TN million ▪▪Pasadena, CA people served ▪▪Westport, CT annually *The Levitt network is expanding. A new Levitt Pavilion will open in Denver in 2016, and more are on the way across the country.

3 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | Individual Levitt Profiles: Westport

Levitt Pavilion. WestPort

Location Saugatuck River Banks Westport, CT

Concert season June–August

Year Opened 1974

Website levittwestport.org

The original Levitt Pavilion opened four decades ago, when residents of Westport, Conn., wanted to build an outdoor stage that would serve as a gathering space for the community. The town donated its problematic landfill site located in the middle of Westport along the Saugatuck River, and a fund drive was launched. As summer residents of Westport, Mortimer and Mimi Levitt were approached to support the project, and they ultimately became the campaign’s largest private contributors. As a result, Westport named the new stage the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts. Carrying memories of his impoverished childhood, Mortimer was passionately committed that performances at the pavilion be presented at no charge.

Since opening in 1974, Levitt Westport has served more than 1.5 million people. Levitt Westport’s long-term success as a community destination presenting free concerts under the stars has served as a model for the national Levitt network.

Artists who have graced the stage over the years include Delta Rae, Roomful of Blues, Frank Vignola Gypsy Jazz, Hank & Cupcakes, Sultans of String and the Connecticut Ballet, and GRAMMY-winning artists like Kirk Whalum and Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience. Currently undergoing improvements that will allow for a significant expansion of activities, Levitt Westport will soon feature a brand-new, $8.5 million LEED Certified pavilion, covered stage with new techno- logical capabilities, and an updated Riverwalk.

4 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | Individual Levitt Profiles: Pasadena

Levitt Pavilion. Pasadena

Location Memorial Park Pasadena, CA

Concert season June–August

Year Opened 2003

Website levittpasadena.org

Levitt Pasadena opened more than a decade ago in Memorial Park, the first project under the Levitt Foundation’s venture philanthropy program to revitalize urban public spaces through the power of free, live music.

For many years, Memorial Park had been all but abandoned, a far cry from its former glory as a popular community destination during the first half of the 20th century when outdoor concerts at its WPA-era gold band shell were a regular Sunday activity. But by the 1950s, Old Town—the commercial area surrounding Memorial Park—began to decline, nearby public transit was discontinued, and many residents’ homes were demolished to make way for a new highway. For nearly 50 years, visitors to the park remained sparse, crime ran rampant, and the historic shell went largely unused. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that local revitalization efforts—including seed funding from the Levitt Foundation to refurbish the shell and program 50 free concerts annually—served as a catalyst for change in Memorial Park.

Today, Levitt Pasadena draws more than 70,000 people every year from both . the local community and greater Los Angeles area with a diverse range of celebrated musicians. These include The Belle Brigade, Billy Childs, Sarah Lee . Guthrie and LeRoy Bell and returning fan favorites Barbara Morrison, Incendio, and GRAMMY-winning artists like Mariachi Divas and Quetzal.

5 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | Individual Levitt Profiles: Los Angeles

Levitt Pavilion. Los Angeles

Location MacArthur Park Los Angeles, CA

Concert season June–September

Year Opened 2007

Website levittla.org

Levitt L.A. is situated just west of downtown Los Angeles in one of the city’s most historic public spaces: MacArthur Park. Centrally located in one of the densest and most diverse parts of the city, the famous park—once considered L.A.’s premiere urban oasis—fell on hard times during the 1980s, earning a reputation as one of the most gang-infested and notoriously crime-ridden parks in the country. Local residents stayed away, and its once heavily used band shell stood closed, covered in graffiti and surrounded by a chain-link fence.

Today, through Levitt L.A.’s annual program of 50 free concerts, the band shell is once again flourishing and MacArthur Park has become a vibrant hub of activity. Since opening in 2007, the Levitt program has served as a catalyst for the park’s revitalization, making it safe and attractive for the local community and a welcoming destination for Angelenos citywide. The success of the Levitt program has inspired the City to make subsequent investments in the park, including the development of new soccer fields, a playground, public restrooms, lighted walk- ways and other park amenities.

Acclaimed artists who have performed on the Levitt L.A. stage include Bomba Estereo, Rocky Dawuni, Keali’i Reichel, The Dustbowl Revival and GRAMMY-winning artists like Flaco Jiménez, Poncho Sanchez and Quetzal.

6 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | Individual Levitt Profiles: Memphis

Levitt Shell. Memphis

Location Overton Park Memphis, TN

Concert season May–June September–October

Year Opened 2008

PMS 374W Green (lightest)ebsite PMS 376 Green (lighter) PMS 355 Green (darkest) PMS 1665levittmemphis.org Orange

The history of Levitt Memphis begins with a beloved, WPA-era outdoor band shell in a beautiful park setting, steeped in decades of rich musical history in a city boasting some serious blues and rock-n-roll street cred. A shell first made memorable as the Memphis Open Air Theater, where free orchestra performances, light opera and musicals marked its early heyday. A shell where Elvis Presley made his professional debut in 1954, and where countless other legends graced the stage, including Johnny Cash, Webb Pierce, Booker T. Jones, even The Grateful Dead. A shell where hundreds of thousands of Memphians spent their summer evenings, enjoying music under the stars.

Years later, this same band shell stood dormant and dilapidated, attracting criminal activity and in grave danger of being razed to make room for a parking lot. Begin- ning in the 1970s, community and civic leaders fought to preserve the shell through various campaigns like “Save the Shell”, but they struggled to raise sufficient funds to ensure its viability. By 2004, the City of Memphis had closed the shell, citing numerous code violations and deeming it a liability. Fortunately, this closure was short-lived. By 2005, the national Levitt organization began working with the City and local residents to support the shell’s expansive revitalization and to bring back consistent, free programming at the shell. In September 2008, the shell re-opened as the Levitt Shell, continuing a 75-year tradition of bringing Memphians together.

Levitt performers on the iconic stage have included Lisa Marie Presley, The Bo-Keys, Squirrel Nut Zippers’ Jimbo Mathus, Carolyn Wonderland, Los Texas Wranglers, The Dunwells and GRAMMY-winning artists Brave Combo and Booker T. Jones.

7 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | Individual Levitt Profiles: ARlington

Levitt Pavilion. Arlington

Location Founders Plaza Arlington, TX

Concert season May–June September–October

Year Opened 2008

Website levittarlington.org

The story of Levitt Arlington begins with a dormant downtown in desperate need of revitalization. Despite having a population of over 350,000 residents, Arlington had always been a bedroom community serving nearby Dallas and Forth Worth. Locals often headed to these cities for their dining, arts and cultural experiences.

Eager to revive its downtown core, city leaders, engaged citizens and the national Levitt organization came together to bring the Levitt program to Arlington. There was no band shell in the downtown, so Levitt Arlington was constructed on the grounds of the new Founders Plaza, directly across the street from City Hall. Since opening in 2008, Levitt Arlington has experienced record-breaking crowds—growing to more than 100,000 people each year—and has helped transform the area into a popular community destination. Nearly a dozen restaurants have opened in the vicinity, with more on the way. It also served as a catalyst for major investment from the University of Texas at Arlington, which agreed to focus its $300 million expansion into the downtown area with new residences, shops, restaurants, parking and an indoor performance venue. Today, Levitt Arlington is considered the “crown jewel” of revitalization efforts in the city’s downtown.

Past performers on the Levitt Arlington stage include a range of emerging and renowned artists, including Pentatonix, Ray Wylie Hubbard, The Polyphonic . Spree, The Quebe Sisters, The Band of Heathens, The Killdares, and multiple GRAMMY-winning Asleep at the Wheel.

8 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | Individual Levitt Profiles: SteelStacks

Levitt PAvilion. Steelstacks

Location SteelStacks Arts Campus Bethlehem, PA

Concert season June–August

Year Opened 2011

Website levittsteelstacks.org

In just two years since its founding, Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks has become a powerful symbol for Bethlehem’s rebirth as a music and cultural destination. Located at the base of the awe-inspiring Bethlehem Steel blast furnaces, Levitt SteelStacks celebrates America’s history of innovation both past and present, and provides the community with a welcoming public space where the nation’s largest brownfield once stood.

At its height, Bethlehem Steel was the country’s second largest steel producer employing 30,000 workers. When the company ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in the early 2000s, the result did more than decimate the region’s economy. The vast acreage became a notorious “brownfield”—an unused, toxic site of a former industrial or commercial facility. In an effort to reduce the nega- tive impact in the surrounding Lehigh Valley, as well as breathe new life into the depressed south side of Bethlehem, local stakeholders came together to desig- nate the space for reuse as a new arts and cultural complex. The focal point of redevelopment is Levitt SteelStacks, a glistening, cantilevered steel band shell that pays homage to its industrial backdrop. The celebrated design has won multiple design awards. Since opening in 2011, Levitt SteelStacks has become a magnet for the local community, and the south side of Bethlehem has experienced a renais- sance as new businesses and restaurants open their doors.

Performers at Levitt SteelStacks have included renowned artists like Ambrosia, John Lee Hooker, Jr., Mambo Kaliente, PhillyBloco, Jump City Jazz Orchestra, Ced- ric Watson & Bijou Creole, and GRAMMY-winning blues singer/pianist Marcia Ball.

9 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | Individual Levitt Profiles: Denver

Levitt Pavilion. Denver

Location Ruby Hill Park Denver, CO

Concert season June–August

Year Of OpenIng 2016

Website levittdenver.org

The newest addition to the Levitt network, Levitt Pavilion Denver will open in 2016 in the city’s expansive, 83-acre Ruby Hill Park, located in Southwest Denver. While boasting the city’s highest elevation with breathtaking views of the downtown skyline, Ruby Hill Park nevertheless has a history of being underused and was a target for vandalism, save for the winter months when its steep hill becomes a popular spot for sledding and skiers.

In 2006, the City completed a Master Plan to transform Ruby Hill Park into a year- round, citywide destination. Among many new amenities and attractions including playgrounds, interactive fountains/splash areas, extended walking trails and a new picnic pavilion, the Master Plan called for an outdoor performance space in the park’s natural bowl. Having heard about the success of the Levitt program in other cities, the City of Denver reached out to Levitt Pavilions and a partnership was formed. Friends of Levitt Pavilion Denver is currently undergoing its capital campaign, and the project has been heralded as the centerpiece of Ruby Hill Park’s revitalization.

Construction of Levitt Pavilion Denver is slated to begin in 2015, and when it opens in 2016, Levitt Denver will be a place for all Denverites to come together on blankets and lawn chairs for free music under the stars.

10 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | Award-Winning Artists award-winning Artists

The Levitt program attracts a diverse lineup of artists from acclaimed, emerging talent to seasoned, award- winning performers. Celebrated musicians from throughout America and the world appear on Levitt stages every year. Here’s just a sampling of the exceptional talent Billy Joe Shaver featured at Levitt venues across the U.S. Levitt performers Mariachi Divas 2013 GRAMMY WINNERS GRAMMY Nominees Brave Combo Akwid Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band Leonardo Suarez Paz’s CUARTETANGO Alex Cuba Foreigner Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks Ruthie Foster Patty Griffin (Stars at the Shell) Ulises Hadjis Terri Hendrix Will Hoge Norah Jones Jazz Leaders Jim Lauderdale Sheri Jones-Moffett The Light Crust Doughboys Sonny Landreth Lloyd Maines David Lindley Mariachi Divas Los Straitjackets Joe McCarthy Ricky Luis (as a member of N’Klabe) Bill Miller Zak Morgan Jimmy Webb Ronnie Milsap North Mississippi Allstars Members of Mountain Heart Poco Quetzal Shannon McNally Rebirth Brass Band Freddy Ravel Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys Christian Scott Mavis Staples (Stars at the Shell) Billy Joe Shaver Jimmy Webb Chip Taylor Kirk Whalum Trout Fishing in America David Yaden (David & Devine) Cedric Watson

11 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | Award-Winning Artists

2012 Levitt performers GRAMMY WINNERS GRAMMY Nominees Asleep at the Wheel The Fabulous Thunderbirds BeauSoleil Feufollet Brave Combo Steve Forbert Tom Chapin Band Ruthie Foster C.J. Chenier & The Red Hot Lousiana Band Guitar Shorty Alvin Youngblood Hart Gustavo Galindo Booker T. Jones Chris Hillman Locos por Juana Van Hunt Michael Martin Murphey & the Rio Grande Band Booker T. Jones Gregory Porter Los TexManiacs Mariachi Divas Miss Amy & Her Big Kids Band Cyril Neville Herb Pederson Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys Dave Samuels & Caribbean Jazz Project Sara Watkins Ernie Watts Quartet Ruthie Foster Kirk Whalum

Other notable performers include

Ambrosia Hudson Moore Marcia Ball Barbara Morrison The Band of Heathens Dan Navarro LeRoy Bell No Age The Belle Brigade Old 97’s Delta Rae The Bo-Keys Pentatonix Bomba Estereo The Polyphonic Spree Gary Clark, Jr. Lisa Marie Presley Cory Chisel The Quebe Sisters The Cowboy Junkies Red Baraat Rocky Dawuni Poncho Sanchez Delta Rae Shonen Knife The Dunwells Todd Snider The Dustbowl Revival Spoonfed Tribe Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion The Spring Standards Sara Hickman Carolyn Wonderland John Lee Hooker, Jr. Ray Wylie Hubbard Old 97’s Incendio The Killdares

12 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | Liz Levitt Hirsch Bio

Board Chair Liz Levitt . Levitt Pavilions President Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Hirsch Foundation

iz Levitt Los Angeles and Pasadena, Calif.; Some of Liz’s recognitions include: LHirsch Memphis, Tenn.; Arlington, Texas; 2013 Honorary Citizen Award from spearheads and Bethlehem, Pa. —is a testa- the City of Memphis; 2013 recipient of the Mortimer ment to the tireless work and vision the Ruby McKnight Williams Award & Mimi Levitt of Liz. As Board Chair, she plays a from the NAACP (Pasadena chap- Founda- leadership role in the growth of the ter); 2012 Finalist for the Vanguard tion’s venture Levitt program into additional cities Award presented by the Western Arts philanthropy across America, including Denver, Alliance; 2011 Guest of Honor at The program the site of the seventh Levitt venue Joyce benefit in New York City; 2011 and serves as Board Chair of Levitt set to open in 2016. As a Founding Guest of Honor at the Empowering Pavilions, a national nonprofit that Board Member of the Levitt music HeARTS benefit for Single Mothers invigorates community life in Ameri- venues in Los Angeles and Pasa- Outreach; 2009 finalist for the Philan- can cities by transforming neglected dena, Liz was instrumental in devel- thropist of the Year by Association of public spaces into welcoming music oping each pavilion. She helped Fundraising Professionals, Los Ange- destinations where all feel welcome. establish the community-driven, les; 2008 Philanthropy Award from Liz travels throughout the country public/private partnerships at the the Gabrielle Axelrad Foundation; and to bring the message of Levitt Pavil- heart of the Levitt program. 2003 Certificate of Commendation ions to national recognition. Her life’s from California State Assembly/Carol passion is building community and Beyond Levitt Pavilions, Liz has a Liu. empowering lives through the joyful, long and distinguished history of shared experience of live music and hands-on involvement with charitable Liz is best known for her ability to she is honored to work with leaders organizations, serving on numerous connect and inspire like-minded across America to expand the Levitt nonprofit boards and supporting people and for always directing her network. organizations that foster social justice life-long passion for the performing and access to the arts. Since moving arts into a source for social change Currently, there are six Levitt pavil- to Los Angeles in 1974, the native that strengthens communities. ions across the country, forming the New Yorker has served on the boards only national network of nonprofit of The Joffrey Ballet, Dance Camera outdoor music venues. Each presents West and the Los Angeles Master 50+ free, family-friendly concerts Chorale. Liz currently serves on the every year featuring acclaimed, boards of Center Dance Arts (Found- emerging talent to seasoned, ing Board Member) and Hollywood award-winning artists. Levitt’s Arts (Founding Board Member). On relaxed, open lawn settings attract behalf of each of these organizations, people of all ages and backgrounds Liz has hosted and chaired galas, and are magnets for community. The raised funds, and provided strategic success of the Levitt program—in direction to ensure the long-term places as diverse as Westport, Conn.; viability of each.

13 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | Sharon Yazowski Bio

Sharon Executive Director Yazowski Levitt Pavilions

haron Levitt venue. She has been an invited Originally from the Midwest, Sharon SYazowski is speaker at numerous conferences, grew up in Nebraska where she began the Executive including the 2013 Art of Placemak- music lessons at the age of four. She Director of ing Conference, 2013 Denver Music earned a Bachelor of Music from North- Levitt Pavil- Summit and the 2012 National Recre- western University majoring in vocal ions, a national ation & Parks Conference. performance with a concentration in arts nonprofit that and business management. Upon grad- invigorates Prior to her position with the national uation, Sharon secured a position with community Levitt organization, Sharon was the the Evanston Arts Council, in metro- life in American cities by transforming founding Executive Director of Levitt politan Chicago, where she oversaw neglected public spaces into welcom- Pavilion Los Angeles in MacArthur the agency’s grants program, managed ing music destinations. Levitt Pavilions Park—a place once notorious for gang youth arts programs, and produced forms the only national network of activity and extreme crime. Sharon over 100 free outdoor concerts. outdoor music venues offering free witnessed first-hand the transfor- concert series. Each is a communi- mative impact of the Levitt program Sharon serves as a board member ty-driven, public/private partnership in the park, which is now a thriving of the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foun- and presents 50+ free professional community destination. In addition dation. In addition to her role with concerts annually, produced by a local to developing the organization’s Levitt, Sharon recently completed her Friends of Levitt Pavilion nonprofit infrastructure, fundraising strategies, term as Vice President of California organization. outreach and marketing initiatives, Presenters (CP), a statewide organi- Sharon also curated the 50+ concerts zation comprised of performing arts Sharon provides visionary leadership featuring diverse entertainment. presenters including universities, inti- in fulfilling Levitt Pavilions’ mission. mate performance stages, municipal She serves as the primary spokesper- Before her time with Levitt, Sharon venues, outdoor festivals and cultural son for the organization and trav- was Company Manager of Jump institutions. As Vice President, Sharon els throughout the country to build Rhythm Jazz Project (JRJP), a critically served as chair of the organization’s visibility of Levitt Pavilions and share acclaimed jazz dance company based annual conference for three years. the impact of the Levitt program. in Chicago. Sharon collaborated with Sharon provides strategic direction the company’s award-winning Artis- Sharon lives in Los Angeles, believes for the Levitt network’s growth and tic Director Billy Siegenfeld to build a the arts are a basic human need, and guides the development of each local nonprofit dance organization dedi- is passionate about the power of free Levitt venue, from first discussion cated to jazz-based rhythms. As the live music to strengthen communities through opening day, working closely first Company Manager, Sharon created and impact lives. Sharon’s current with civic and community leader- JRJP’s organizational structure and position with Levitt requires the ship. Sharon also collaborates with negotiated the company’s national and perfect combination of her passion for Friends of Levitt leadership in devel- international appearances. Years later, the arts, well-rounded arts manage- oping sustainability strategies, ensur- JRJP remains a flourishing dance orga- ment background and high-energy ing the long-term success of each nization and successful touring company. entrepreneurial spirit.

14 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | Mortimer & Mimi LEvitt Foundation

MOrtimer & Mimi Levitt FoundAtion

The Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation is a private family foundation, founded in 1963 by Mortimer and Mimi Levitt to support the arts, culture and education. Today, the main focus of the Foundation is its venture philanthropy program, partnering with cities through the development and support of Levitt pavilions across America.

he son of struggling immigrant Annemarie Gratzinger, affectionately Tparents, Mortimer Levitt grew up in known as “Mimi,” was raised in Vienna, Brooklyn. His father worked as a street Austria, where her childhood was filled vendor at the elite Luna Park of Coney with opera and other musical experi- Island. Lured by the dazzling attractions, ences. She met Mortimer in New York in Mortimer often joined his father at the the mid 1940s while working in Museum park. Unable to afford admission to rides Collections at The Museum of Modern or shows, Mortimer would stand outside Art (MoMA). They married in 1948, and the gates of ticketed concerts. Listening together Mortimer and Mimi became to these performances surrounded by philanthropists supporting youth music the beauty of Luna Park was magical programs, performing arts organizations and sparked his lifelong love affair with and educational institutions. outdoor music. In the early 1970s, residents of West- At the age of 16, Mortimer dropped out of port, Connecticut, wanted to build an high school in order to support his mother outdoor stage to create a gathering and younger brothers. Eventually, he took space for their community. The town a job at Erlanger-Blumgart, a fabric and donated its problematic landfill site, textile firm, and was quickly promoted located in the middle of Westport to salesman. In the midst of the Great along the Saugatuck River, and a fund Depression, Mortimer embarked on start- drive ensued. As summer residents ing his own business, a clothing company of Westport, Mortimer and Mimi were that would sell made-to-order shirts approached to support the project. known as The Custom Shop. By 1942, he They ultimately became the campaign’s had made his first million dollars and had largest private contributors, prompting nine Custom Shop locations throughout the town to name its new pavilion after the Northeast. them. In 1973, the first Levitt Pavilion

15 Levitt Pavilions Media Kit | Mortimer & Mimi LEvitt Foundation

Since 2003, grants from was born. Carrying memories of his growth of the national Levitt program. the Levitt Foundation childhood, Mortimer was passionately In 2012, the Foundation was renamed have assisted the committed that performances at the the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Founda- pavilion be presented at no charge. He cities of Los Angeles tion in honor of Mimi’s contributions to was extremely proud that admission philanthropy and advancing the Levitt and Pasadena, Calif.; was always free. Everyone was welcome mission. Liz Levitt Hirsch, as board chair Memphis, Tenn.; to walk under the Coney Island inspired of Levitt Pavilions and president of the Arlington, Texas; arch, sit on the lawn and enjoy concerts Foundation, continues to spearhead Bethlehem, Pa.; and at the Levitt Pavilion. the Foundation’s venture philanthropy Denver to develop and program, bringing the Levitt program to sustain their local Levitt In 1999, the continuing success of the cities across the country. programs. Levitt Pavilion in Westport inspired Mortimer to lay the groundwork for a national network of Levitt venues, so communities across the country could revel in the shared experience of free concerts under the stars. Following his 90th birthday, Mortimer sold his company (which included 70 Custom Shop retail branches nationwide) and transferred the proceeds to the Mortimer Levitt Foundation for the purpose of helping communities across America establish their own Levitt venues. He soon passed the reigns of the Foundation on to his daughter, Liz Levitt Hirsch, to oversee its venture philanthropy program.

As the Levitt program evolves, the fundamentals remain based on West- port’s organic beginnings. Each Levitt Pavilion is community driven; the site is a public space in need of revitalization; and the pavilion becomes a community-gathering place where everyone is welcome. Since 2003, grants from the Levitt Foundation have assisted the cities of Los Angeles and Pasadena, Calif.; Memphis, Tenn.; Arlington, Texas; Bethlehem, Pa.; and Denver to develop and sustain their local Levitt programs.

Mortimer passed in 2005 at the age of 98. Since 2009, Levitt Pavilions, a national nonprofit, has overseen and activated the Foundation’s venture philanthropy program supporting the 16 Ruby Hill Park Getting Ready to Shine http://www.conﬂuence-denver.com/features/rubyhill_100213.as...

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FEATURES Ruby Hill Park Getting Ready to Shine

VIC VELA | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 02, 2013

Welcome to Ruby Hill. The long underused city park is SHARE going through an extreme, culturally infused makeover ARTS AND CULTURE, that is expected to turn it into a Denver gem. It's quite a BUILT ENVIRONMENT, turnaround for a former landfill with a considerably CITY BUILDING, lower profile than many other parks in the city. ENVIRONMENT, GIVING AND PHILANTHROPY, HEALTH AND In the latter half of the 1800s, miners would camp alongside the WELLNESS, PARKS AND South Platte River, on high ground about five miles south of what PUBLIC SPACES, PLACEMAKING, SPORTS is now known as downtown Denver. Instead of gold, they would RELATED CONTENT AND RECREATION often come across red-hued gems during their extraction efforts. Nancy P. Anschutz Center opens in Park Hill WASHINGTON PARK, While the Jack A. Vickers Boys & The area was named after the gems' bright coloring, taking on WASHINGTON PARK Girls Club will take the majority of WEST the name of Ruby Hill -- never mind that the minerals found were space at the center, additional actually garnets. partners will also serve the community from the building. Today the area's landmark is Ruby Hill Park, an impressive piece of land that's always had Gizmodo trips out on experimental Denver light-rail plenty of possibilities, but is hardly considered by folks outside of Denver -- or even by those film who live here -- to be one of the city's top parks, if they know it exists at all. Something Independent's S|I Wright Award to But Ruby Hill's time to shine may finally be upon us. Nowadays, one could argue that the park salute Colorado's top lifestyle company is getting more attention than it ever has received before, even more than it did during the Denver to launch Sustainable Neighborhoods mining period generations ago. Program

The City of Denver is in the process of reinventing Ruby Hill Park as a potential companion to Knotty Tie Co. launches website for custom the nearby and uber-popular Washington Park. It started with the modest addition of a new neckties pavilion, playground equipment and picnic tables, but the project will soon culminate in the Hunger Free Colorado: Fighting Colorado's Hunger creation of an urban mountain bike course and an amphitheater with capacity for 7,500 Crisis concert-goers.

So the city has big plans for Ruby Hill Park, a long-underused 80-acre gem that the Parks and Recreation Department sees as a diamond in the rough.

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17 Ruby Hill Park Getting Ready to Shine http://www.conﬂuence-denver.com/features/rubyhill_100213.as...

"Once we get this all built, I think it's going to be a big hit and a big success," says Kent Sondgerath, Senior Landscape Architect and Project Manager for the Denver Parks and Recreation Department.

The park nobody knows

The Ruby Hill neighborhood is bounded by South Federal Boulevard, South Platte River Drive, West Mississippi Avenue and West Jewell Avenue.

Its centerpiece, Ruby Hill Park, has been around since the mid-1950s. It has 80 acres of green grass to play on and its elevated position above the city offers one of the most serene and panoramic views of the Denver skyline and the Rocky Mountains in all of town.

But if you've never known any of that, you shouldn't feel too bad, because you're not alone. TOP 10 FEATURE STORIES "We were walking around Washington Park one day, talking to people about the city's plans for Ruby Hill Park," Sondgerath says. "Probably about 85 percent of the people we talked to Hunger Free Colorado: Fighting Colorado's had never heard of Ruby Hill, and it's only a couple of miles away from Wash Park." Hunger Crisis Hunger Free Colorado is The folks at Washington Park whom Sondgerath spoke with weren't the only ones who had working to solve Colorado's never heard of Ruby Hill Park. Even those who are now playing a pivotal role in the park's hunger crisis with a host of make-over had to do a little bit of research. programs and initiatives. The nonprofit's food truck and work to increase access to the "When I first heard someone mention Ruby Hill Park, I said, 'Where's that?'" says Chris USDA's school breakfast program are just two Zacher, CEO and executive director for Levitt Pavilion Denver, the name of the amphitheater examples of how the organization is helping nourish that will open in Ruby Hill Park in 2016. "I don't think that people realize that it's not much the state's hungry residents. smaller than Wash Park. It's a big, big park that nobody knows about." Eat Like a Caveman: Denver Emerging as Paleolithic Diet Center The area has an interesting history. Aside from once being a mining hub, the park's bluff had once been used by Native Americans as a lookout point. Then there's the part of the area's Kate Armstrong, Urban Forager, Waxes on history that has posed challenges to the city, such as the fact that Ruby Hill served as a Weeds landfill in the decades that preceded it becoming a park. The landfill debris led to asbestos The Baker Boom: Revitalization on Broadway being found in the park's irrigation system, which has proven to be a costly hang-up for Hits Fever Pitch improvement projects. Top 10 Denver Startups of All Time

But the asbestos-plagued landfill that the park once was is a distant memory. And, pretty Improvising a Business: Bovine Metropolis soon, park-goers won't even be able to recognize it. Brings Improv to the Masses Screamworks on the 13th Floor and Rising The phases of Ruby Professor Phelyx and the Trick of Mentalism The initial driver of Ruby Hill Park's Hyperflesh's Signed Breaking Bad Mask revitalization efforts turned out to be the Auctioned on eBay after Series Finale success of the Ruby Hill Rail Yard, the Restaurateurs Revitalize Historic Denver country's first winter urban terrain park. The

rail yard opened in 2007 and has become a VIEW ALL FEATURE STORIES huge hit with the community.

The rail yard's success made it a model for other cities that teamed up with ski resorts The picnic pavillion was part of the first phase of the park's improvement projects. for similar collaborations around the country, according to Winter Park Resorts, which partnered with the Parks and Recreation Department and other entities to launch the rail yard.

"Our goal was to extend what we do up here for city communities, especially those underserved city communities," said Bob Holme, a youth marketing manager and terrain park and bike park operations manager for Winter Park Resorts.

Less than three years after the launch of the Ruby Hill Rail Yard, the City of Denver embarked on the first of three phases aimed at remaking the entire park.

Phase one began in the summer of 2010 and culminated with the improvement of several park projects the following year. They included the laying of 20 miles of irrigation pipes; the erection of a 150-person capacity picnic pavilion; the addition of new playground equipment; and the redoing of park roads, a dual-purpose effort that will allow access to the Levitt Pavilion and one that the city expects will cut down on cruising and other activities that local

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18 Ruby Hill Park Getting Ready to Shine http://www.conﬂuence-denver.com/features/rubyhill_100213.as...

police are looking to curb.

Sondgerath says the price tag for the total cost of phase one -- which took into account asbestos removal, design and construction – was close to $5 million. About 75 percent of the funding came from bond money, with the rest coming out of city capital improvement funds.

The two primary projects that will be included in the city's phase two work at Ruby Hill will be the building of a grand promenade, as well as the creation of a mountain bike park.

A two-mile loop will circle the park and allow for gateway trails into a mountain bike skills course area. Right now, the state's only urban bike park is located in Boulder.

The addition of the mountain bike course excites Sondgerath.

"With the rail yard and now the mountain bike hill course, we have a lot of kids who may not otherwise have a chance to do these kind of things, who now will have that opportunity," Sondgerath says. "And, who knows? They may end up going up to the mountains and trying it there."

Phase two work will also include the addition of a 32-feet wide promenade, which will serve as the park's spine, allowing access through the park from Florida to Jewell Avenues.

Phase two will cost about $1.5 million and will be funded primarily by city capital improvement dollars and grants. It's expected to be completed by the end of next year.

The 'jewel of the city'

The piece de resistance of the Ruby Hill makeover will come during phase three – an amphitheater backed by Levitt Pavilions, a national nonprofit that teams up with cities to provide venues for free music in urban areas.

The pavilion will be located in the park's bowl, below the existing picnic area, and it Levitt Pavilion Denver will break ground on a will provide more than 50 free concerts every state-of-the-art amphitheater in Ruby Hill Park in year. 2015.

Zacher says that Levitt's entry into the Ruby Hill neighborhood will be similar to that of other efforts that the nonprofit has been a part of over the years.

"We provide a cultural infusion into a community that feels a little neglected by the city," Zacher says. Zacher also says that before Levitt amphitheaters erected in parks in Los Angeles and Memphis, the areas were underused and "were in bad condition."

"They had a problem with a park or a problem getting people to a park," he says.

Sondgerath says work on the amphitheater is scheduled to begin by either late next year or the early part of 2015, with the first concerts expected to be held in 2016.

Phase three will cost $4 million, with there being "a fifty-fifty split" in funding between the city and the Levitt Foundation.

"Our hope is that people see that as a great venue," Sondgerath says. "There's not a single outdoor permanent venue within ten miles of downtown Denver, other than the Greek Amphitheater at Civic Center Park.

With all of these new additions coming to Ruby Hill Park, it's no wonder that the people involved in its revitalization efforts are starting to get excited.

"During public meetings over last couple months, a lot of people have said that ever since the improvements started, they see a lot less issues of vandalism; before that, it was a constant problem," Sondgerath says. "We want people to see that were trying to make it a better place so they want to take care of it too, take pride in in and get some of that bad behavior out of there."

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Ruby Hill Park will always hold a special place for Holme, who grew up in Littleton and who remembers sledding there when he was a boy. He's appreciative of the positive changes that are coming to Ruby Hill.

"For a city to be as progressive as Denver has been, and to open their arms to new ideas, it really speaks volumes," Holme says. "That park is going to go from something that's already special into a jewel of the city."

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How the Arts and Cultural Tourism

Spur Economic Development Topics BY CRAIG WATSON Community Services

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Craig Watson is director of the California Arts Council and can be reached at [email protected].

It’s the question that all local officials ask themselves: How can we attract and retain profitable businesses and talented people? A key component of such efforts — and one that’s often mislabeled an “amenity” —is arts and culture.

Creative businesses play a huge part in the California economy. These businesses comprise the arts, design, digital media and other fields that utilize a creative workforce. More than 134,000 creative businesses employ 500,000 Californians, with another 100,000 freelance or part-time creative workers in the mix. In addition, the Golden State’s 4,553 arts organizations contribute $3.56 billion annually to its economy.

But the value of the arts extends beyond the direct economic impact. When Gallup and the Knight Foundation set out to answer the question “What attaches people to their communities?” in a three- year study, researchers found that the key reasons cited by residents for loving their cities were

25 entertainment and social offerings, how welcoming the city is and its aesthetics — in other words, the arts and culture.

Creative Placemaking: “Every Mayor’s Dream”

Today’s buzzword to describe communities’ investment in arts and culture is “creative placemaking” — which means using the arts to develop an area where people want to live, work and congregate. Urban-planning researcher Ann Markusen defined this concept for the Mayors’ Institute on City Design in the white paper Creative Placemaking:

In creative placemaking, partners from public, private, nonprofit and community sectors strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city or region around arts and cultural activities.

The economic impact of clustering creative businesses was explained by Jamie Bennett, director of public affairs for the National Endowment for the Arts. Bennett said, “A theater has 1,000 people show up at eight o’clock and leave at eleven o’clock. A museum might have 1,000 visitors spread out over the course of an eight-hour day. A rehearsal studio might have 30 people coming and going every hour over 12 hours. You put the three different organizations in proximity to one another and, all of a sudden, you have a full day of positive foot traffic on a street — feet that belong to people who need to eat meals, buy newspapers, go shopping and take public transportation. You have every mayor’s dream.”

The key is to treat the arts as an essential part of the city’s identity. Successful creative placemaking builds the economy at the local level, enhances surrounding non-arts businesses and provides job opportunities and ways for individuals to participate in activities associated with the arts and cultural events. The results bring people together, spark community pride and create a more vibrant “place.”

Other states are actively investing in arts and culture as a challenge to California’s historic leadership in the global creative economy. The National Governors Association (www.nga.org) examined this issue in the report New Engines of Growth: Five Roles for Arts, Culture and Design. The report notes that as technology sectors have shifted from basic engineering to the added values of innovative design and creative products, establishing a network of creative workers is vital to staying competitive.

Tap Your Local Talent

Successful creative placemaking acknowledges and supports local arts and culture. “Art and artists are the asset all communities are gifted with,” noted Carol Coletta, director of ArtPlace, a collaboration of 13 leading national and regional foundations and six of the nation’s largest banks that invests in creative placemaking. “In a time when we especially need to jump-start economic and development momentum in our communities, I have to ask, ‘Why wouldn’t

26 jump-start economic and development momentum in our communities, I have to ask, ‘Why wouldn’t you put every single asset you have available to work to make that happen?’ And that includes art and artists.”

Creative clusters that combine artists and entrepreneurs have mushroomed in California cities. In Santa Monica, an old rail yard has blossomed into the visual-art gallery complex of Bergamot Station. Originally a railway station in the 19th century, Bergamot Station functioned as a warehouse storage facility until the 1980s when the City of Santa Monica purchased it for a future use as a light- rail station. When the light-rail project stalled, the city approached a local developer and architect to create an artists’ and gallery space. It opened in 1994 and has since become a key attraction both locally and for tourists, with more than 600,000 visitors each year visiting the galleries and other businesses in the complex.

In San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, a handful of nonprofits teamed up with entrepreneurs to establish the 5MPlaceWorks partnership where tech entrepreneurs mix with artists and designers. These creative clusters may seem spontaneous, but are the result of direct and meaningful planning and investment.

Yet clusters of arts, culture and entrepreneurship aren’t exclusive to major urban areas. Smaller cities can take advantage of local talent to showcase the community’s unique personality and, at the same time, provide important job training and creative interaction for local citizens.

Modesto Fosters Creative Innovation

Modesto’s new Building Imagination Center is a contemporary art and video-art venue. It’s also an education and artist residency center. Its activities, including investment in local video artists, encourage production and job training for anyone interested — mid-level professionals, recent graduates of California State University, Stanislaus, and members of the public.

The Building Imagination Center is part of a greater network of the Modesto arts and culture scene, and its monthly short documentary projects on local subjects enhance these characteristics and bring the community together, according to Jessica Gomula-Kruzic, the center’s director. The center plans to highlight other local cultural assets, such as the American Graffiti Car Show and Festival and the area’s largely unknown architectural treasures, which include buildings designed by Julia Morgan, Frank Lloyd Wright and other notable architects.

The center is not solely for professional artists and filmmakers, however. It also offers free workshops that teach individuals how to create short videos using common devices like smart phones. As technology advances, the nature of work is changing, and employers increasingly expect employees to have multimedia skills. One-minute videos for YouTube and websites are being produced by businesses from real estate to restaurants and retail. “We’re hoping to give people the skills to do those things,” said Gomula-Kruzic.

The Role of Cultural Districts

Cultural districts are zones that aggregate cultural or artistic ventures (both nonprofit and commercial) and, in the process, stimulate economic development. A dozen states nationwide have enacted official cultural-district designations, some with remarkable measurable results. An analysis of Maryland’s arts and entertainment districts notes a 17 percent growth in new jobs, goods and services, and wages from new business in the state’s arts and entertainment districts between 2008 27 services, and wages from new business in the state’s arts and entertainment districts between 2008 and 2010 — a significant achievement during the recession.

Some California communities are already moving in this direction. A part of San Diego’s downtown East Village area, called the I.D.E.A. District for its focus on innovation, design, education and arts, was conceived by a pair of local developers who have partnered with higher education institutions, the San Diego Foundation, community groups and others.

“[Local governments] need to answer the question, ‘What do people want?’ Artistic, cultural and social experiences are what keep people in a community,” said David Malmuth, one of the founders of the I.D.E.A. District.

Pete Garcia, Malmuth’s partner in the I.D.E.A. District project, emphasizes the need for communities to identify their own strengths and not be swayed by what’s popular elsewhere. Cultural district supporters need to ask the question, “What is our city about? And what is it missing?”

Malmuth encourages planners and coordinators to work quickly, perhaps in small ways rather than spending too much time on long-term planning. He said, “Take too long and the community loses focus, loses enthusiasm.”

Creating an Arts Oasis

A rebirth of the creative community is under way in Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. Palm Springs has long been a popular vacation spot for film stars. In the 1980s and ‘90s the area was better known as a retirement community than as a place of creative economic activity.

Today the creative economy is thriving in the region, notes Robert Stearns, the executive director of ArtsOasis, an initiative of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership. Policy-makers and leaders in the area sensed that the arts and creative businesses were a strong economic driver. A study of the area, Creative California Desert, revealed that the creative economy is “a robust engine that employs nearly one out of every five persons working in the Coachella Valley and produces a raw impact of close to $1 billion per year.”

This vigorous creative activity started in small ways. The Palm Springs International Film Festival began as a modest proposal in 1989. Now, almost 25 years later, it’s a major international event that draws 140,000 visitors in a 10-day period. The festival’s success encouraged film-related businesses to set up in the area. A weekend trade show grew into the Modernism Week, a celebration of architecture and related businesses, like clean energy and design, that attracts experts worldwide. Interest in visual art, architecture, design and modern art produced art festivals and fostered a unique brand of cultural tourism, where people visit different art studios and participate in hands-on projects. The area has also been successful in attracting younger people, due in part to the success of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, a six-day event spanning two weekends.

One result of local leaders’ discussions and planning around arts and economic activity was the ArtsOasis website (http://artsoasis.org), which lists the regional arts-related activities in a single comprehensive resource to help facilitate event planning and cultural tourism. Another result is the development of a creative marketplace and trade center for talent, services and products — initially for film and media workers, but with the goal of expanding to other creative industries.

Stearns sees this collaboration as a key way to build the creative economy during tough economic times. “It doesn’t take a lot of infrastructure money for this community,” he said. “Building the creative 28 times. “It doesn’t take a lot of infrastructure money for this community,” he said. “Building the creative economy requires building the creative community.”

The first step, according to Stearns, is to determine exactly who is in the local creative community. “If you look at the broad field, you may see there is a much bigger world than the ‘starving artists’ and the nonprofits,” he said. While the traditional arts play a very big role, they are only part of the overall creative economy. If your community is home to creative businesses or related industries, invite them to participate and include them in your city’s creative placemaking efforts.

Pasadena and Levitt Pavilions Partner to Revitalize Area, Create Festivals

While local governments are strapped for funding, public- private partnerships can be instrumental in building the creative economy, and Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena offers a great example.

Levitt Pavilions is a national nonprofit whose goal is bringing communities together through music. To qualify for its support, a city must make available a publicly owned space and commit to at least 50 free music concerts annually. Levitt Pavilions provides capital seed funding to renovate or build a music venue, and a local “Friends of the Levitt Pavilion” nonprofit must be formed. In addition, the local government maintains the location.

The first Levitt Pavilion project, other than one in the founders’ hometown in Connecticut, was the band shell in Pasadena’s Memorial Park. The park was run-down and suffering from the effects of crime, vagrant drug use, homelessness, graffiti and under use. Levitt Pavilions provided approximately $250,000 in capital seed funding plus annual operating support to improve the band shell for public concerts, the local “friends of” nonprofit raised the additional funds (about $1.5 million), and an annual music program for the community was born.

The free concerts are a vital part of the Levitt Pavilion model. By hosting the community events, the venue becomes a destination in the city for people from all socioeconomic backgrounds, especially families. “It brings out the entire community,” said Vanessa Silberman, director of communications for Levitt Pavilions. “There’s a sense of neighborliness — a nice small-town feel in a city.”

The turnaround for the area in Pasadena is significant, said Silberman. Nearby Colorado Boulevard in the center of Pasadena’s original downtown had undergone a revitalization, evolving into the extremely popular Old Pasadena area. Prior to the Levitt Pavilion investment, local residents avoided Memorial Park because of the crime problem. Now the area around the park has become as vibrant as Colorado Boulevard, with new condominiums, restaurants and other amenities nearby.

The success of the Levitt Pavilion partnership is due to the long-term commitment of the city, the local nonprofit and the national Levitt organization.

In conjunction with the Levitt Pavilion project, Pasadena launched an annual music festival called Make Music Pasadena. Now in its sixth successful year, Make Music Pasadena presents Grammy Award-winning musicians and top recording artists performing blues, jazz, folk, alternative rock and more. The festival’s eclectic mix of music appeals to audiences of all ages and has earned it high praise. It’s been dubbed by L.A. Weekly as “Los Angeles’ best free festival.” More than 30,000 fans flock to Pasadena to hear 500 musicians performing 140 free concerts on 35 stages spread throughout the city — all in one music-filled day.

Your Town, Your Arts

Enhancing the creative sector is essential to the future of the Golden State. But investing in the arts doesn’t necessarily need to strain the pocketbooks of local governments or require extra staff. Assess what is already in your own community. Assist and support the local businesses, nonprofits

29 and residents who propose innovative projects. Invite creative leaders to share ideas, and encourage high-quality proposals that can make a real difference. A little investment in the arts can go a long way toward keeping your community on the forefront of the creative economy.

SUBSCRIBE | LOGCreative IN | MY ACCOUNT Placemaking ResourcesSite Search 63.0F | FORECAST » Resources and funding opportunities for cities interested in investing in creative placemaking are listed below.

Our Town grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (www.arts.gov). Organizations may apply for creative placemaking projects that contribute to the livability of communities and place the arts at their core. ArtPlace funding (www.artplace.org). ArtPlace works to accelerate creative placemaking through grants and loans, partnerships, solid and imaginative research, communication and advocacy. Creating Places of Vitality grants from the California Arts Council (www.arts.ca.gov) . This program targets rural and underserved communities in California by supporting partnerships and cultural activities that create a distinct sense of place. Various websites consolidate hundreds of grant opportunity listings. These include www.California.grantwatch.com, www.foundationcenter.org, and www.arts.ca.gov (see opportunities/grants).

California communities have plenty of creative assets, both large and small, that can be utilized even in this tough economy. The California Arts Council website (www.arts.ca.gov) lists hundreds of festivals throughout the state that demonstrate our will and desire to have arts in our communities. Local governments may be strapped, but a small investment in the arts and creative communities can have a huge impact in the long run.

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33 number 3 2012 Arts and Culture at the Core

A Look at Creative Placemaking

34 Smokestack Lightning

The Rebirth of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

The SteelStacks campus with the Levitt Pavilion in the By Rebecca Gross foreground in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Photo by Mark Demko

8 ARTS 35 Smokestack Lightning

home to prestigious art institutions such as the Al- lentown Symphony, SteelStacks was designed to showcase contemporary art forms that weren’t readily available in the area. Mayor John Callahan, who is a Bethlehem native, credited the Mayors’ Institute on City Design (MICD) with providing guidance during the early stages of the site’s redevelopment. MICD is an initiative of the NEA ecca Gross in partnership with the American Architectural Foun- dation and the United States Conference of Mayors. W hen Bethlehem Steel shut operations in Since 1986, the Mayors’ Institute has helped trans- 1995, the plant that had once been Bethlehem, Penn- form communities through design by preparing may- sylvania’s main architect of economy and identity sud- ors to be the chief urban designers of their cities. In denly became its greatest scourge. The city was left with February 2004, a month after taking office, Callahan a 1,800-acre brownfield, the remnants of an industrial presented Bethlehem’s design challenge at an MICD dream gone sour. “It was a constant reminder of what conference in Charleston, South Carolina. Among we used to be,” said Julie Benjamin, vice president com- the most memorable—and prescient—feedback he munity partnerships of ArtsQuest, a not-for-profit that received was to leave the blast furnaces as they were. uses the arts as an economic engine. The most inescap- Once a symbol of the city’s industrial strength, the able reminders were the five 20-story blast furnaces furnaces now signify Bethlehem’s transformation into that loomed over Bethlehem like a desolate version of a regional arts capital. the skylines they had once helped build. “It’s one thing to feel that sentimental connection “You literally had this old Bethlehem steel mill if you live in the community,” said Callahan. “But to right there lurking above you,” said NEA Chairman have national and international experts see how im- Rocco Landesman, who visited the site in 2010. “So portant they are, it really makes you say, ‘Hey, we’re what do you do with it? Do you take it down? Do you going to stick to our guns and make sure that these ignore it and make the best of it? Or do you actually try things don’t go anywhere.’” Of the $2.2 billion worth and engage it as part of the history of that place, part of development projects that have taken place during of its culture, and try to make it into a positive?” Callahan’s tenure, he says “every one” has benefitted Today, the furnaces form the awe-inspiring back- from what he learned at the Mayors’ Institute. drop of SteelStacks, a 9.5-acre arts and cultural cam- In 2010, Bethlehem intersected with MICD once pus located on the Bethlehem Steel site. Developed again when ArtsQuest received a $200,000 MICD25 by ArtsQuest in partnership with the Bethlehem Re- grant from the NEA. These grants, designed in honor development Authority, SteelStacks has welcomed of MICD’s 25th anniversary, were the precursor to the one million visitors since opening in May 2011. The agency’s current Our Town program. They signaled campus is home to year-round programming, a first- a renewed focus by the Arts Endowment to bring art run independent movie theater, the stunning Levitt into everyday community spaces, and into the daily Pavilion, a visual arts gallery, and numerous outdoor lives of every citizen, even those “who never would spaces for festivals, concerts, and craft and farmer’s think of buying a ticket to a ballet, opera, a play, a mu- markets. Although the Lehigh Valley has long been seum,” said Chairman Landesman, who announced

NEA ARTS 9 36 The Bridge, designed by Elena Colombo, was funded by an NEA MICD25 grant. Photo by Paul Warcho

the MICD25 grant recipients at SteelStacks. Arts- “There weren’t many people a decade ago imagining Quest used its MICD25 funding to commission and that with the demise of Bethlehem Steel that we’d be build The Bridge, the signature sculpture of the Steel- on those kinds of lists,” said Callahan. Stacks campus. Featuring a natural gas flame snaking Benjamin believes that at least part of the reason along a curved piece of steel, The Bridge—much like the that Bethlehem is where it is today has to do with the rest of SteelStacks—is at once an historical reference city’s emphasis on arts and culture—a belief echoed in and a stunning piece of contemporary art. Benjamin In Philadelphia’s Shadow. In 1984, ArtsQuest launched said the sculpture has become a part of the campus’s the annual ten-day MusikFest, which was designed daily ritual as people wait for it to ignite come evening. to “provide that economic shot in the arm.” In 1996, it In the case of Bethlehem, the aesthetic benefits of converted a former banana distribution center into the adaptive reuse are hard to ignore, but the city’s current Banana Factory, which offers art classes and afford- economic profile has become just as eye-catching. able studio space. And of course, there is SteelStacks, In May 2012, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadel- which Benjamin estimates has generated $29 million phia published a report called In Philadelphia’s Shadow: since opening. Small Cities in the Third Federal Reserve. Among the 13 Both the Banana Factory and SteelStacks are lo- cities studied in the report, Bethlehem was reported cated in the city’s South Side, which has become fer- to earn the highest median household income, and tile ground for galleries, theaters, and boutiques. Tony boasted the lowest poverty rate, the lowest violent Hanna, executive director of the Bethlehem Redevel- crime rate, and the second lowest unemployment rate. opment Authority, cited the Banana Factory in particu-

10 NEA ARTS 37 Artwork peers out from the ArtsQuest Center with the Bethlehem Steel furnaces in the background.

Photo by Ryan ulvat, courtesy of rtsQuest

lar as “a seminal project for the city.” “It took us to the And there is still more to come. Forty-six units of next level, one where we weren’t just engaged in show- affordable artist housing are planned for the former ing art,” he said. “It was a place where artists could St. Stanislaus Church and a second site at East Fifth come and do their thing, do their work, and create art.” and Atlantic Streets. In August, a study was launched “Things began to grow from there,” he continued. to determine the feasibility of turning the Hoover- “A whole community grew up around it in terms of our Mason Trestle, which connects SteelStacks with the second downtown,” which Hanna described as an art- nearby Sands Resort & Casino, into an elevated walk- sier, funkier version of Bethlehem’s historic district. way similar to the High Line in Manhattan. With the addition of SteelStacks, Benjamin said As Callahan reflected on all the changes that have that the South Side has grown not only as a com- transpired since he was elected, and all those in the munity destination, but as a means of recruiting and works, he noted how incredible it has been to oversee retaining skilled employees for Bethlehem-based the transformation of his own hometown. “I always companies such as Air Products and Synchronoss. had this dream, when I first made the decision to run “[SteelStacks] is something that neighboring com- for mayor, that there was going to be a time in my life munities don’t have that we do have to offer: program- when I could load up the grandkids into the car and ming that’s year-round, programming for children drive around Bethlehem 30, 40 years later and point and families, ten different music festivals,” said Ben- to a few things that happened while I was mayor,” he jamin. “It allows [companies] to say, ‘Here’s what we said. His grandchildren should plan for a long car ride; have for you when you relocate to the Lehigh Valley.’” there might be a lot to point out. 

NEA ARTS 11 38 Levitt Pavilion brings world music to a multicultural audience - Los Angeles Times 12/31/12 12:44 PM

! Back to Original Article All the world's onstage at Levitt Pavilion The MacArthur Park venue, along with a sister site in Pasadena, taps global talent to complement its home-grown acts, all for an audience that's just as multicultural.

September 01, 2012 | By Reed Johnson, Los Angeles Times As dusk fell over the Levitt Pavilion at MacArthur Park one recent Friday, Eddie Cota drank in the scene with quiet satisfaction.

On the lawn, kids and adults executed Brazilian capoeira moves while an impromptu drumming coterie tapped out muscular rhythms. Nearby, vendors selling tamales and pupusas did a brisk trade with Central American and Mexican families who were popping open picnic coolers, while clumps of twentysomethings spread blankets and snogged under the trees.

Half an hour remained before the evening's free entertainment, the Brazilian American soul-funk-samba artist Quetzal Guerrero, was due to step onto the Levitt bandshell and fire up his electric-blue violin. But the atmosphere already suggested a friendly fusion of neighborhood block party and indie nightclub.

"MacArthur Park, it's possibly the most interesting neighborhood in the country right now," said Cota, 29, artistic director of the Levitt Pavilion summer concert series at MacArthur Park as well as the Levitt Pavilion's sister series in Memorial Park Pasadena. "Within a five- mile radius, the number of ethnic cultures and city cultures and subcultures and pop cultures that I have access to is mind-blowing. And it takes one artist to bring all those people together."

Superlatives aside, Cota indeed could make a strong case for the Westlake neighborhood's ethnic wow factor. But what's equally striking about what's happening this summer at MacArthur Park is the range and vitality of the Levitt Pavilion's performers, especially its slate of Latin-alternative and progressive world-music acts such as the Colombian electro-tropical ensemble Bomba Estéreo and the Malian hip- hip folk group SMOD.

The Levitt's lineup in those categories easily ranks among the country's most cutting-edge, drawing hundreds and sometimes thousands of weekend visitors to the city-owned urban oasis just west of downtown.

"The core is Latin and also it's an experimental community," said Cota, who spent several years working in radio station promotions before joining the Levitt organization in 2008. "We just had Nosaj Thing. That to me is very sophisticated music that just happens to be electronic, but there's classical elements, there's jazz elements. It's a very complicated neighborhood, and for that reason complicated music works."

Thanks in part to the Levitt Pavilion series, MacArthur Park's growing reputation as a warm-weather cultural hub has cast a new light on the surrounding area: a blue-collar but gentrifying enclave that's trying to shake off its old image as an after-hours paradise for gangbangers, crack dealers and fake-ID hustlers.

"I think the work Eddie's doing is amazing," said Guerrero, who moved to L.A. from his native Arizona six years ago, "because he's giving a stage for a lot of obscure or outside-of-the-box, outside-of-the-status-quo musicians and artists to really express themselves."

The 6-year-old Levitt series at MacArthur Park and its 10-year-old Pasadena sibling are relative upstarts in Southern California's outdoor concert universe. Unlike the Greek Theatre or Hollywood Bowl, which lean toward familiar names with the proven power to draw, the Levitt series favor artists just surfacing from below the radar. And unlike those venerable venues, the Levitt series are free and open to all comers. So if you're accustomed to VIP parking and luxury-box seating, you're pretty much out of luck.

Or in luck, as the case may be. Three weeks ago, at the Quetzal Guerrero show, the attendees sprawled on the grass included not only working-class immigrant families who arrived on foot but also Elizabeth Levitt Hirsch, vice president of the Mortimer Levitt Foundation and daughter of the late custom-shirt magnate Mortimer Levitt and his wife, Mimi, the New York philanthropists whose largesse helps support Levitt pavilions in several cities in addition to those in L.A. and Pasadena.

Each pavilion has its own independent board of directors and must secure additional individual sponsors and grants to meet its financial goals, said Cota, who estimates MacArthur Park's annual budget at $650,000 and Pasadena's at $480,000. It's up to Cota, who oversees booking at both sites, to recruit artists who will give each space a separate and distinct identity.

Cota said he pays artists competitively so he can keep up with bidding against clubs such as the Echo, the Troubadour and the Satellite. http://articles.latimes.com/print/2012/sep/01/entertainment/la-et-cm-levitt-pavilion-20120902 Page 1 of 2

39 Levitt Pavilion brings world music to a multicultural audience - Los Angeles Times 12/31/12 12:44 PM

Artists who've performed at MacArthur Park say they enjoy playing to audiences that are more demographically diverse than a typical club crowd.

"It's very exciting to see how it's developing," said Levitt Hirsch, who was accompanied by Renee Bodie, executive director for the Levitt Pavilion MacArthur Park. "Eddie has an intuitive sense about how to mix music and community and blend that experience. Eddie will go to every club imaginable and Eddie will go into that underground-DJ, 5-o'clock-in-the-morning experience to hear what's going on so he can be that much ahead of what everybody else is doing."

This summer's MacArthur Park series will continue Sept. 2 with a 7 p.m. show by Dehli 2 Dublin, a Canadian band that mashes up Celtic music, Bhangra, dub, reggae and electronica. Sept. 6 will bring the garage jazz of Killsonic, followed on Sept. 7 by the AfroBeatles, which is just what it sounds like: a hothouse hybrid of beats by Afro-pop pioneer Fela Kuti and tunes by the Fab Four.

On Sept. 8, the Levitt will host a Colombian double bill of electronic-dance artists Palenke Soultribe and Monsieur Periné, a photogenic young gypsy-jazz swing band that Cota recruited after spotting them at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

Cota, raised in San Diego by Tijuana-immigrant parents, said that programming Latin and world music doesn't just fit the Levitt's core mission "to reflect the community." More to the point, he believes, Latin culture is becoming the mainstream culture of a city whose population is about half-Latino, plus a recombinant ethnic cocktail of everything else.

"When you go to a La Santa Cecilia show you see everybody dancing — black, white, yellow, brown," Cota said, referring to the neo- folkloric pop ensemble that performed last summer at MacArthur Park. "La Santa Cecilia isn't a Latin band; it's an L.A. band."

Amy Davidman, a booking agent at the Windish Agency who has arranged for several client artists to perform at Levitt MacAthur Park, said Cota and his colleagues have brought much-needed attention to emerging Latin and Latino artists.

"I don't think it takes away from a focus on any other group," Davidman said. "The thing is that the community gets marginalized and not focused on all the time, so I think it's great to put some extra emphasis on that community."

Other local Latin-music advocates echo that assessment. Tomas Cookman, founder-owner of Nacional Records, a North Hollywood-based label that specializes in alternative Latin music, said he thinks "it's really brave of them doing the programming that they have done." Last year the Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux, who records with Nacional, drew more than 2,000 people to MacArthur Park.

"The challenge that they have is that it's still MacArthur Park, and as warm and fuzzy as people may want to try to make it to be, it still can get a little shady at times," Cookman said. "But if you can get beyond that, and I think enough people can, then I think it's great."

Cota said he wants the Levitt Pavilion not only to draw attention to up-and-coming L.A. bands but to let L.A. artists hear the great music the rest of the world is doing and be inspired to raise their own games accordingly.

"I want you to look at my season and see a story of what Los Angeles is," he said. "And I feel like every show is a page in the book." [email protected]

http://articles.latimes.com/print/2012/sep/01/entertainment/la-et-cm-levitt-pavilion-20120902 Page 2 of 2

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C.Q. Liz Levitt Brings Music Across America Follow Us Like 0 submit 0 submit StumbleUpon Tweet 2 Cultural Weekly managed to catch up with peripatetic ElizabethStumbleUpon Levitt Hirsch (Liz), who spearheads the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundationʼs venture philanthropy program and serves Get Cultured! as Board President of Levitt Pavilions, a national nonprofit that invigorates community life in Sign up for our free weekly emails American cities by transforming neglected public spaces into music destinations where all feel welcome. Beyond Levitt Pavilions, Liz has a long and distinguished history of hands-on Your Name involvement with nonprofit organizations, serving on numerous boards and supporting Your Email organizations that foster social justice and access to the arts. We salute and admire her work! I Want My Cultural Weekly - Adam Leipzig We won't sell or share your info.