CicLAvia Hits Southeast LA for First Time

The latest installment of L.A.'s sporadic break with the automobile returns Sunday to take over the streets of Southeast Los Angeles.

CicLAvia, billed as the nation's largest open-street festival, will feature a 10-mile route through Huntington Park, Walnut Park, South Gate, Florence-Firestone, Lynwood and Watts from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.

The event will close the streets to car traffic for people to walk, skate, bike, play and explore different neighborhoods.

Live music, family events and fitness classes will be available along the route's five hubs. Inspired by a weekly event in Bogota, the first CicLAvia was held in 2010.

Since then, more than one million people have participated in 14 such events in the greater Los Angeles area. The most recent CicLAvia took place in March in the San Fernando Valley.

Future installments are planned for Aug. 14 along Wilshire Boulevard and Oct. 9 in the Heart of LA.

For more information, see www.ciclavia.org.