East Hollywood Community Garden: Event

On Saturday, April 26, 2025 the East Hollywood Community Garden held its 2nd Spring Garden Fiesta. It was a wonderful afternoon enjoyed by first time and returning visitors to the community garden.

Sharing food, the sounds of DJ Strange Cadence, and conversation among neighbors, really lettuce celebrate to the beet of our community.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles sponsored the event. Over 150 attendees enjoyed pupusas, rice, beans, and plantains from California Grill. It was 65 neighbors first time at the food garden.

Donations from Courage Bagels and Waterloo Sparkling Water added to the feast. Volunteers made salads, sauteed mushrooms, put "ants" on a log, and cut up watermelon with produce rescued by The Hollywood Food Coalition.

Attendees collected stickers at stations to learn more about the community garden. At the nature art station visitors stamped veggies & fruit to decorate a silk screen dish towels to take home.

The compost station gave out 40 compost pails for collecting kitchen scraps. People learned about composting and took a bag of compost home.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles gave out reusable bags, fans, and hand sanitizer to attendees and shared updates on their food access hub.

At the harvest station volunteers showed visitors what is in season and available to pick in our communal area.

After collecting stickers from each station, neighbors entered the raffle for a chance to win gift certificates from neighborhood shops such as Kismet, Saffy's Coffee, Homestate, Kettle Tea, Blue Rooster, Reparations Club, Virgil Normal Skate Shop, Wacko, Too Many Jackets, and two season tickets to Fountain Theatre.

East Hollywood Community Garden thanks all the above mentioned local businesses for supporting our open-house event to connect and encourage neighbors to visit, volunteer, and donate kitchen scraps each week at the food garden.

If you missed it, make sure to mark your calendar for our Fall Garden Fiesta on Sunday. October 26, 2025, from 3 to 5 p.m. at 1177 N. Madison Ave, behind the park.

Neighbors gather with volunteers from Children's Hospital L.A. and East Hollywood Community Garden for the first ever Summer Kick-off event

by Esther Tseng | All photos by John D. Lugolecki

On June 10, 2023, the East Hollywood Community Garden commemorated a new partnership with Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). Thanks to the generosity of the private, non-profit hospital nearby, there was lots to celebrate as we kicked off the start of summer following a season that showered Los Angeles with record-breaking rainfall.

Gardener Sean Gustafson gives a tour of the garden

After our quarterly all-gardeners' meeting—which featured an informative workshop by L.A. Compost—residents in the community came to the garden to partake in free, tasty and plant-based food prepared by Louise Leonard of Plot 3, our resident chef, food stylist and cooking competition show winner.

Volunteers from Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Funds for ingredients in Leonard's delicious orzo salad, potato salad, greens salad, sub sandwiches and berries with whipped cream were made possible with produce donations from the Hollywood Food Coalition and a generous grant donation from CHLA. In total, the oldest freestanding children’s hospital in California donated $10,000 to the garden to provide for community outreach events; new, accessible and sustainable plot construction; supplies and tools for communal use by volunteers and garden members.

Look for more joint efforts with CHLA that will grow our community garden initiatives.

Enjoying plant starts from Lettuce Grow

Also in attendance at the event was Alexis Sepkovic, Creative Director of Lettuce Grow, the company behind the famous hydroponic plant stands. They generously donated starts for bok choy, butter lettuce, jalapeno peppers and more for each attendee to take home with them or plant right in their own plot. We look forward to partnering with Lettuce Grow again for an upcoming community event to take place in the fall!