We are partnering with our friends at USC Pacific Asia Museum on an exciting project—creating a 50 Years of PAM Story Collection to celebrate their golden anniversary. We’re inviting individuals of all ages to contribute their memories of the museum to be considered for the online collection. To kick things off, we’re hosting an online writing workshop on June 1 that will be taught by Narrated Objects editors Andrea Richards and Teena Apeles. Sign up for the free one-hour workshop and have a creative lunch date with us!

We love our new book on the city's public parks, We Heart L.A. Parks, so much—and we aren’t the only ones:

"Part travel guide, part collector’s item, and entirely fun..." —Boulevard Sentinel

"[They] celebrate city parks in a very cool way. A uniquely fun and informative guide to the city's parks. I really enjoyed this book...as did my 5-year-old!" —The Hidden History of Los Angeles

"Celebrate L.A. Parks! Check out this awesome coloring and activity book. Fun for all ages and provides info for public transit routes!" —Griffith Park News

We can’t thank the many talented contributors—more than 50 in all, ages 8 to 87—enough for sharing their artwork and stories. The book brings to life the wealth of wonders that are our local parks! Download our cover illustration of Everett Triangle Park in Echo Park by Highland Park artist Jennifer Cuellar to color and share it with friends. Or join us this summer for our 52-park challenge: can you visit all the parks included in the book this year? We are doing our best to color in the map on the opening pages of the book. Find us this spring and summer seeking the shady spots in these glorious places.

Order We Heart L.A. Parks from our online store or it's available locally at Skylight Books (Los Feliz), The Library Store (Downtown), Once Upon a Time Bookstore (Montrose), and Leanna Lin's Wonderland (Eagle Rock). A percentage of profits from the book will be donated to the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, whose mission is to contribute to the equity and well-being of our neighborhoods through the development of parks, gardens, and community-driven organizing.

We have people we look to for inspiration on how to make positive change in the world. Two of these inspirational figures open We Heart L.A. Parks: our dear friend Julio Gosdinski, who ran the merry-go-round at Griffith Park, and Julia Bogany of the Tongva Gabrieleno San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians, who wrote the book’s land acknowledgement. Julio brought mischievous joy and generosity to so many of us—along with preserving a beloved, historic landmark of the park. He made that special place sing. We met Julia Bogany through our friends at Save LA Cougars last year—she opened the online P-22 Day Festival—and with just one phone call, she gave us such wisdom and inspiration. Teena wrote about her work and life for KCET.

Photo credit: Pitzer College

The organization Hollaback! works to end harassment in all forms. They have numerous resources online and offer online training workshops throughout the year. We can’t recommend enough their free Bystander Intervention Training, which we attended in response to the horrifying rise in and nature of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Hollaback! offered their 5 Ds of Bystander Intervention: ways for us to support people experiencing harassment and hate and to prioritize their safety and our own.

Image credit: Hollaback!