Fourth of July in downtown L.A.'s Grand Park: face painting, selfies and a day spent with family

Fourth of July in downtown L.A.’s Grand Park: face painting, selfies and a day spent with family

July 4, 2017 7 PM PT

The melting pot that is America — and Los Angeles — was on display Tuesday at a Fourth of July celebration in downtown’s Grand Park.

By late afternoon, hundreds of people milled across closed streets, snapping selfies with sno-cones or perusing food trucks selling grilled cheese and pizza. Many wore some variation of red, white and blue. Some wore Dodgers gear.

There were young couples who walked hand in hand. Families who took turns pushing strollers. Groups of teenagers who laughed as they posed for pictures. They came to Grand Park from Pasadena, Inglewood, West L.A., Reseda — many for the first time, looking for a new way to spend the holiday.

Natalie Ayala, 15, stood in the center of a closed First Street with her mom and two sisters, soaking it all in. The Fourth of July symbolized freedom and independence, she said, but also something else.

“America is so diverse,” she said. “I think it represents that too.”

“Fourth of July means a lot to me since I love L.A.,” chimed in her younger sister, 13-year-old Sarai Ayala.

Children play in the fountain at Grand Park during the Fourth of July celebration.

It is the fifth year that Grand Park has hosted a Fourth of July celebration, a block party with games, face painting, music and a fireworks show. Several downtown streets were closed surrounding the park, which stretches between the Music Center and City Hall.

Maiken John, 59, and her 15-year-old daughter, Lily, took the Metro Gold Line from Pasadena to Grand Park. John said she usually watches fireworks at the Rose Bowl, but decided to “mix it up this year.”

“It seemed like a fun, free event,” John said.

For the Johns, the Fourth of July has a special significance, marking the day Lily’s great-grandfather died. It was fitting, they said, because it was his favorite holiday.

Maria Hill, 70, walked across the closed streets with her daughter, Jamie, and her daughter’s boyfriend, Drew Adams. Hill was wearing star-spangled leggings, with red and blue beads around her neck. It was their first time celebrating the holiday in Grand Park — they also wanted to try something new this year.

“I think it’s great,” Hill said. “So far, so good.”

Adams said the day carried mixed emotions for him as a black man. He’s proud to be an American, he said, pointing to freedom of speech and hardships people face in other countries. But, he said, “we have a dark past.”

“Technically it’s our independence,” he said of the holiday. “But independence for who? As a country, black people weren’t free until 100 years later.”

His girlfriend and her mother nodded in agreement.

Down the street, Michelle Meyer stood with her 2-year-old daughter on her hip. Her husband rested his hands on a stroller, where their 8-year-old sat as the family figured out where to go first.

What does the holiday mean to them? Meyer paused to think.

“Having fun with family,” her 8-year-old daughter chimed in.

“That’s a good answer,” Meyer said.

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@katemather

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