Over the past two years, I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with the Los Angeles-based nonprofit Clockshop, creating portraits during their annual Community & Unity People’s Kite Festival at LA Historic State Park. Through this work, we explore the significance of public parks to the community and the reasons they are worth protecting. Interviews and text are by Rhombie Sandoval.
Dwight, author of ‘Looking Into the Mind of a Lost But Found Soul,’ attended the kite festival with his nephew Stephan. “I’m 65 years old and I’m still alive. It makes me feel good to be out here. Public parks give the youth something to do. They can play football, baseball, basketball, or fly a kite here. This space fosters motivation for kids by bringing them together. There is so much going on in our world that is negative, it is important that we have positive spaces, like parks, in our world too.”
When people say “touch grass,” it can sometimes be taken as an insult, but the act of actually going to a park and touching grass instantly makes you feel better. Access to green spaces allows you to ground yourself in the city. The kite festival creates an interesting dynamic, with the kites floating above us and the grounding sensation of touching grass below. This combination brings a sense of calm and connection.
Growing up low-income, public parks were crucial because they provided a free space to gather. Nowadays, their role is even more significant for kids, helping them reconnect with each other while disconnecting from the internet. Today, I watched kids design their own kites, adults too! Not everyone had the best childhood, and being able to return to your inner child with your family or chosen family is healing—it reconnects you to yourself.
Even though I grew up in Los Angeles, I haven’t attended many community events. I went to the kite festival for the first time two years ago and was captivated by the beauty of the kites and the sensation of the wind. This year, I made my own kite with a friend, feeling like a child again, reminiscent of kindergarten days spent coloring with markers. Reconnecting with that childhood spirit makes life truly worthwhile. As adults, we often get stuck in routines, so engaging in creative activities like this is essential for being present and reigniting our imagination.
“Public parks give everybody an opportunity to have access to unimpeded space, both physically, emotionally, spiritually and sonically. For LA, parks get us closer to some sort of equity. We hope the gondola isn’t built over the park. The gondola would take away the sky from those using the park. It would make it impossible to have an event like this. It violently slices through a space that is currently characterized by and celebrated for its openness and privatizes the sky.”