Strolling Santa Ana Artist Village...

Saturday, January 5, 2019

I decided to go to a meetup at the Santa Ana Artist Village. I have always wanted to go there, but I didn’t want to go alone. So, when I found out a group of people were planning a meetup together there, I decided to meet them there. It isn’t very far from my townhouse. I can basically take one street all the way there. I decided to go earlier than the meetup time so I can walk around on my own and browse. I drove out at 1:30 pm, and the sky looked cloudy and dark, in which I didn’t think anything of it. I was dressed warm, and I was ready for an art adventure. As I drove through Santa Ana, I noticed the town looked remodeled, like it has been given a makeover. It looks clean, neat, and organized. It kind of looks like Little LA or Little Pasadena. It looks like a fun hipster hangout. I noticed lots of artwork and murals in the street. Similar to LA and NYC, Santa Ana has a lot of one-way streets, which is frustrating. But since I researched the area on the internet maps, I was aware of the streets in that location, and I decided to go on the next street and drive around to the parking structure.

The top snapshot was at the McFadden Public Market, where the meetup started. 29 people showed up, at different times. Since I was early, I ate my raw vegan falafel at around 2:30 pm before anyone arrived. At 3 pm, around 6 people arrived, and as we were waiting, I noticed it was raining. We went to the upstairs arcade/bar until 6 pm. Then, we started walking wet streets to check out art galleries. It was an interesting block party environment, which some bands and dancing in some areas. There were also some street food. I was going to buy something, but I didn’t want to carry it around. So, I decided I will come again some other day, by myself, and get it.

We also went to the Santora Building on Broadway, in which I used to go before, but I noticed it also got a makeover. It used to be very busy, filled with people, artwork, and painting. Now, it is more organized, in which I understand why people say it is more commercialized. I remember before, in the old Santora Building, they had a memorial for Kelly Thomas, the homeless schizophrenic man who was murdered by Fullerton Police at the Fullerton train station. There were interesting art to check out. The rain was light, but at least I was wearing my knit hat. One by one, people from the group started to leave at different time. I decided to leave at 9 pm, since we were near the parking structure when I had parked. The rest were going to another gallery before they went their separate ways. I noticed the area was busy with some traffic.