It was billed as the Third Annual L.A. River Race, and maybe I was expecting too much. I wasn’t anticipating kayak races like those in the Olympics, but –c’mon, folks–what occurred wasn’t even a race. Just a series of people, one at a time, paddling a very short distance down the river in Frogtown. To liven things up, a couple of people wore silly costumes–bravo!
While it may have been fun for the participants, it was uninteresting for spectators. And, I suspect, simply a way for a kayak business owner to promote his tours, trips, safaris along this short distance on the river.
Have people begun to realize the big hype of photos that look like rapids in this very shallow river? Do prospective kayakers realize the water in the river at this point is outflow from a sewage treatment facility and is barely inches deep? Has the craze for L.A. River kayaking peaked?
Gentrification in Frogtown Elysian Park
More interesting was the long conversation I had with a man representing a homeowners association for Frogtown, Elysian Park’s nickname. He had attached posters to the fence about the harm the kayakers are causing to wildlife along the river. Tomorrow I will write more about him and the trend for neighborhood Homeowners Associations, like his and the one in Boyle Heights, to fight back against gentrification. You will even get a chance to see what gentrification looks like in Frogtown.
Anyway…here are some photos.
