Photo: Steve Matsuda
This page is for information about the 2010 Big Parade, including downloadable routes and maps. For the latest news, go to the blog...
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO JOINED THE PARADE! The 2010 Big Parade was a huge success. We had over 200 total participants for both days, including three who flew in from Virginia just to participate. A total of 11 people did the entire Parade. Three people did the entire walk including the Friday prologue. Read Alissa Walker's account of the event here.
More info:
Total Mileage, Day One: 16.6
Total Stairs Climbed, Day One: 2,483
Total Stairs Descended, Day One: 1,086
Total Mileage, Day Two: 16.8 (plus 1.5 for the return trip from the Hollywood Sign.)
Total Stairs Climbed, Day Two: 3,329
Total Stairs Descended, Day Two: 1,821
Check out our gallery pages of Big Parade 2010 photos (Day One here. Day Two here.)
The Parade is over, but you can do the routes yourself.
Special Thanks:
- Bob Inman, who co-led a large portion of the route, and designed Friday's prologue. Buy his comprehensive L.A. stairway guide here.
- Alissa Walker, who Twittered our location and publicized the Parade.
- Andrew Lichtman, who monitored the back of the line.
- Monica Howe, who arranged Sunday's music.
- Ying Chen, who came off the Pacific Crest Trail to walk with us, and acted as a runner/advance scout along the route.
- Kalee Thompson, for being the wife of a half-crazed organizer (and transporting our camping gear.)
- Triple Chicken Foot and Telematique, who made our Sunday rest stops truly restful!
- Everyone who brought us food and drink along the way!
- Ellen Bonaduce of the The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels for arranging our Saturday morning visit.
- The kids who led our kid's segment on Saturday morning - each spent two miles running the front of the line.
- Dave Ptach, a stairway preservationist who opened his Fellowship Park home to us and told us about Echo Park's most unique stairway.
- Erik Knudsen and Kelly Coyne, who let us trample their backyard garden - and held an unexpected raffle of the new edition of their urban homesteading how-to guide that meant swag for lucky Paraders.
- Arlene Cordova of the Silverlake Recreation Center, who allowed us to camp.
- Jason Kitahara of the Los Angeles Department of Parks & Recreation for facilitating our campout.
- Eloise K. Healy, whose poem, "Artemis in Echo Park," provided Sunday's inspiration.
- Diane Edwardson, who showed us the amazing Corralitas Red Car site - one of L.A.'s most spectacular and hidden gems that needs your help if it is to remain untouched.
- Everyone who came along on the Big Parade practice walks and helped develop the 2010 route.
- Ryan Carpio, of Los Angeles City Council District 13, who pulled the right strings.
- Adam Ross and Ying Chen - the only Parader to complete every single day (including the Prologue) of Big Parades I and II.
- Puzzles.
What's Next?
- Help open "Stairs of Darkness," the 20+ public city stairways that have been closed - illegally - over the years. There's a Facebook group; please join it to support as request to the Los Angeles City Council to review the closures and reopen the stairways!
- Public stairway walks led by Big Parade organizers will resume in September. (In the meantime, try this book or this one.)
Love on a stairway...ain't it grand!
Photo: Dean Okrand
Where Are the Stairway Routes?
The Big Parade routes can be found here. Walk them on your own! Dan Koeppel's other stairway routes - ranging from two to 26 miles - are in the process of being corrected and revised, and will be posted for the public in July.
