For our community, and especially here in Watts, which is an underserved community.

Music and art education gives us a break from the world and all of the things that are going on in the world.

We're here to inspire you and to nurture you whenever you want to.

Please come down to see the Watchtowers Arts Center Campus and experience all of the wonderfulness that we have here for you.

Welcome to our eighth annual Unification Conference.

We're so happy to have all of you out here today.

We're here at the Friendship Auditorium at the beautiful Griffith Park, celebrating the eighth annual beautification conference every year, the Office of Community Beautification under the Board of Public Works.

We bring together all of our community stakeholders as well as city family to share the lessons learned about beautifying our community.

And what are some of the resources and challenges that we have ahead of us?

These are community activist from throughout the city.

And what this workshops will do will basically provide tools, not just the hard tool like a hoe, but in fact, the different organizations, the different ways we can collaborate and beautify our city and make it better for all of us.

This is just so vital.

This is both the starting point and the destination at the same time.

For as we build a better community, we enable all of us to enjoy the riches of the treasure that Los Angeles holds.

And community verification is the first step to get there.

It helps the environment, number one, and also helps uh the next generation that comes up behind us.

When everyone pitches in to do it, uh I really believe it's going to make a

difference.

I believe that people should definitely get involved, volunteer whenever you're available, perhaps you volunteer for tree people, planting trees.

I believe what I learned today will really help my neighborhood.

I live in and see now, and we have a lot of access to green spaces.

However, I do see we have a lot of pollution.

So I would love to learn how we can also improve pollution management.

So at the city of Los Angeles, if you see trash, illegal dumping, graffiti, please use my LA311 via telephone or by app.

And also the Office of Community Beautification is available to provide free tools and trash bags and other resources for you to host your own community cleanup.

I just think if you take a step back, we have hectic lives.

There are so many pressures upon us.

But in fact, that people take time out of their busy day, out of their life to come and make to volunteer to participate to make the city better.

That's what in fact makes LA the best city in the world.

Angels Flight is more than just a ride.

It's a little piece of Los Angeles history, powered by a clever bit of engineering.

Known as funicular, this cable-driven railway is designed to carry passengers up and down steep slopes.

Two cars named Olivet and Sinai are connected by a cable.

So as one climbs the hill, the other descends.

Together, they travel just 298 feet up and down Bunker Hill, with the entire ride taking about a minute.

It may be a short trip, but it's been part of the downtown LA experience for generations.

And soon, Los Angeles will be in the spotlight for another big ride.

The return of the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl 61 is coming to Sofi Stadium in 2027, bringing the big game back to the region just five years after Los Angeles last hosted.

From the global spotlight to opportunities for local businesses, the event is expected to bring visitors, excitement, and a major economic boost to the region.

It helps drive tourism, economic impact, but it also gives kids a chance to dream, makes them want to play program this time should be focused on flag football, makes them want to be a broadcaster, it makes them want to be a cheerleader, it makes them want to get engaged in sports getting.

Success for us at the end of the day is kids that wouldn't normally have an opportunity to play because they didn't know where there were programs.

They couldn't afford to do the pay-to-play.

We're having an opportunity to play in flag football programs that are free or close to free that were created out of our legacy program.

This stadium, this community brings the Super Bowl to real life.

It brings it closer to home and it makes it all feel much more tangible than watching from afar.

I think that's what everybody here wants for Los Angeles.

So today we're super excited.

We are hosting the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Procurement Summit here at the convention center to offer an abundance of resources and tools for small businesses to be able to enter a procurement opportunity or a contracting opportunity here in Los Angeles.

There's actually

a room full of programs over there that are helping with lending, that are helping with um procuring credentials as far as like getting certified for some of these things.

So you have to get women of business, so you get minority-owned businesses.

There's all kinds of certifications that will help you to be able to apply for some of these contracts as well as get into different business opportunities because you have those contracts.

So we just had FIFA, we're about to have LA 28.

We're gonna have a Super Bowl next year.

So this is a really good time to wake up and pay attention to maybe you've been a business, small or medium in Los Angeles for many years.

You've never sought any kind of government or private procurement opportunities.

Now is your time.

The economic opportunities that are going to be coming from the various events.

If you are not here today, I want you to know that you still have an opportunity.