a glimmer of an idea long ago...

2008 - Weedpatch Visits

Oct 2, 2008 -  On October 2 Michael, Nico and I visited Weedpatch with our friend from Arts Council of Kern, David Nigel Lloyd.   David brought in a community-based arts company from the UK, CoLab, to do a project with Weedpatch in October/November 2006.  As part of that project 3 sub-groups were defined in the community- English speakers who migrated west during the Dustbowl, Spanish speakers who immigrated from Mexico and Latin American countries, and Mixtecan speakers who immigrated from the Mexican state of Oaxaca.  The CoLab project ended up being a collection of stories from all three groups that were translated into all three languages. 

On our tour we saw where the main part of town is (maybe the equivalent of 12 blocks) including a trailer park where most of the Oaxacan community lives.  One mile south on Weedpatch Hwy is the Sunset School.  This elementary school might be a housing option for us.  They also have a cafetorium which might be useful.  About half a mile east from there is Sunset Labor Camp.  Formerly Weedpatch Labor Camp, this is an enclosed area with housing for seasonal workers (in use April? thru September).  The camp also include a few original buildings from the 1930s including a community hall that includes a small stage.

This would be an outstanding performance venue (with a serious amount of clean-up).  Another half mile down the road is another school- Vineland Elementary, another housing possibility.  David Lloyd has many connections with all these organizations & locations.  There is a “Dustbowl Festival” on October 20 (8am – 3pm) at Sunset School.

One idea Michael suggested is to plan for I-6/2009 in Weedpatch, allowing us to do story circles with the permanent community in the winter, and with the migrant camp residents in the summer of 08, during I-5 and involving I-5 students.

Oct 20, 2008 - Michael and I attended the Dustbowl Days Festival in Weedpatch.  The event was held at the Sunset School so we had a good opportunity to case the school for how it might accommodate as a living/study facility for an Institute Summer Residency.  It would be great since in addition to many classrooms there is a “Cafetorium” that includes a kitchen.  Seems like we’d rely on outdoor solar showers there similar to the set-up in Grayson.  Unlike Grayson, however, and just like, Holtville, all staff would likely be living on the school campus with the students since the motel options are not nearby.

It’s less than 10 minutes walk to the Community Hall and the Migrant Camp.  The historical buildings there were all cleaned up for the Dustbowl Days event.  We talked with some people at the historical buildings—two women who had lived at the camp as children, and some younger folks (including the nephew of the two women) who have an interesting theater company in Bakersfield called The Empty Space.  They were at the festival in costume and handing out flyers for their current production called Onionheads, that is set in the Dustbowl era.  One of the actors was familiar with Cornerstone from having participated in the 2000 Cal State Fresno Summer Arts program led by Bill Rauch the year before we did Growing Home.  He also came to LA to see For Here Or To Go?   There was a friend with them who works with the Mecca Health Clinic which serves mostly migrant farm workers.  She took extra fliers to post at the clinic since a lot of their clients spend part of the year living in Weedpatch.

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We ended up not going to Weedpatch, or even pursuing more tangible support & information at that time.  Our Institute Summer Residency in 2008 was planned for much of the year to be in a Ventura County town called Piru.  But it's a very small town and we could not secure housing for a residency there.  Our last best option of living at Piru Elementary School was 100% not viable late in the game-- March 2008.  Instead we did our I-5 collaboration in our own home neighborhood where Cornerstone is based: the downtown Los Angeles Arts District.  

In 2009, we worked with folks in Eureka CA, in Humboldt County.
In 2010, we were again closer to home, in the NE Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacoima.
In 2011, we returned to the Central Valley as we collaborated with Fowler in Fresno County.  
In early 2011 The Arts Council of Kern reached out to us and invited us to please come work in Kern County once again.  (Our first Institute took place in Lost Hills, an unincorporated town in west Kern County.)
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May 26, 2011 As we gear up for I-8 in Fowler, we are also looking toward next summer, trying to work farther out to determine collaborating communities.  Some communities we are exploring for 2012 and 2013 are Oildale, Tehachapi (both in Kern Co), San Pedro, Sylmar, East Salinas and a partnership with Amino Pat Brown Charter High School in central Los Angeles.