LOS ANGELES – On Saturday, October 15, from 12 noon to 3pm, the 17th annual Music Box Steps Day will be held at Laurel & Hardy Park, located at 900 Vendome Street in Silver Lake. The event is organized by the Silver Lake Improvement Association.
Music Box Steps Day is an exciting film festival for the whole family that commemorates the 1932 Oscar-winning short film The Music Box, starring Laurel & Hardy, and is held across from the 133 stairs that gave the legendary comedy team such a hilariously hard time delivering a player piano to a hilltop house. The event’s co-sponsors are L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti, 4th district Councilmember Tom La Bonge, the Silver Lake Jubilee, and the Silver Lake Nieghborhood Council.
Besides multiple screenings of the 20-minute film (and other L & H classics) in a tent set up in Laurel & Hardy Park across from the Steps, the festival features Laurel & Hardy look-alikes, free food, a magic show, an arts and crafts booth, and a raffle with fabulous prizes donated by local artists, restaurants, other businesses, and residents.
“The Music Box is a cinematic treasure and we are proud to keep its memory alive,” says Vincent Brook, SLIA board member, media studies professor, and creator of the festival in 1995. “We are thrilled that this classic film, that remains as funny as ever, was shot in the heart of Silver Lake. Music Box Steps Day is our way of honoring the comic genius of Laurel & Hardy and reminding local children and their families of this historical jewel in their midst.”
The Steps are prominently featured in tourist guide books, and film buffs from around the world have flocked to see (and set foot on) them over the years. Music Box Steps Day itself, besides drawing assorted cinefiles and, of course, members of the Sons of the Desert (the international L & H fan club), has attracted visitors from as far away as Dublin, Amsterdam, Berlin, Germany, and a couple from London, England, came all the way just for this event!
For more information, call 323-663-7641.
Download the Press Release as a PDF here,
Music Box Steps Day – 2011 NEWS RELEASE
Flyers in English and Spanish can be downloaded here,
MBS 2011 Flyer English
MBS 2011 Flyer Spanish
About the Silver Lake Improvement Association
SLIA was founded in 1989 by committed neighbors who wanted to take on crime—and grime. Armed with true grit and great spirit, SLIA targeted those spots in the neighborhood that everyone whispered about, but no one took steps to fix. Before you knew it, SLIA had grown into a thriving non-profit organization with over 100 member households. The group garnered a generous grant to combat graffiti, organized neighborhood clean-ups and block watches, and a renewed sense of community blossomed. SLIA has taken a hand in the planting of over 300 trees in the community and co-founded the Gateway to Silver Lake beautification project at Silver Lake Blvd. and the 101 freeway. SLIA’s goals remain the creation and maintenance of a clean, safe and vibrant community environment, and the betterment of our youth.