Lancaster City Park

Apr 12 2013

The state flower actually grows along all the West Coast

The legacy of the poppy is often seen as related to war, or the remembrance of it. It is in such a setting that Canadian John McCrae, a lieutenant colonel and surgeon in a British artillery brigade in Belgium during World War I, grieving over the recent burial of a friend, noticed how red poppies sprang up in the war-torn ground near the burial sites. It inspired him to compose the now-famous poem “In Flanders Fields.” It reads:
 

Mar 22 2013

Artisans sought

Applications are still being accepted from arts and crafts artisans who want to be a vender at the 22nd annual California Poppy Festival, to be held April 20 and 21 at Lancaster City Park, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Whether you draw, paint, sculpt, sew, make jewelry, or work with wood, iron or glass, the Poppy Festival is a great place to display your artistic talents while making extra money.

The California Poppy Festival draws approximately 50,000 visitors during the two-day event.

Apr 18 2012

Big weekend in the Antelope Valley

The 21st Annual California Poppy Festival will burst into bloom at Lancaster City Park on Saturday and Sunday with performers, events and exhibits. The festival attracts more than 45,000 visitors a year and offers an atmosphere where community and tourists come together to celebrate family, fun and the springtime beauty of the blooming poppies.

Apr 21 2011

Annual event draws record attendance

Just as wildflower enthusiasts look forward to the annual blooming of the California poppy, Antelope Valley residents look forward to the annual California Poppy Festival.

Lancaster City Park, site of the festival, seemed to blossom with more than 400 tents. Named for the California state flower, the festival turned 20 this year and drew people from all across the state.

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Mar 31 2011

Thousands come to see flowers, attractions

LANCASTER, Calif.—It’s that time of year when California’s favorite flower is in bloom, and that means festival time. The city will host its 20th annual California Poppy Festival on April 16 and 17 at Lancaster City Park.

Mayor R. Rex Parris and several city council members joined city workers to preview a few of the new attractions and consider the expected fanfare at this year’s springtime celebration.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”