Date: May 10, 2017
Contact: Zach Behrens, 805-370-2385
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- As the summer season approaches, the National Park Service is gearing up for nearly a dozen free music and performance events at Peter Strauss Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains. All told, there will be five shows as part of the annual series of Tiny Porch Concerts, two dance performances, two immersive art experiences, one artist tour, and an outdoor art exhibition that will run all summer long.
“The National Park Service is often synonymous with nature, but we also preserve culture and history,” said Tori Kuykendall, park ranger at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. “Peter Strauss Ranch is one of those special places that’s steeped in history, including a period when it was a destination for leisure and arts, so we’re taking that and activating the space through a contemporary lens.”
The site, named after actor Peter Strauss who donated the property to the public, was called Lake Enchanto during the 1940s and ‘50s. People from Los Angeles and beyond would come out to this early form of a theme park to picnic, watch theatre, visit a Fairytale Land, swim in a pool, and listen and dance to music, among other activities.
The full listing of events, which are all free, is online at go.nps.gov/summerseries (or see attached). Some events, however, do have reservations due to capacity restrictions or, in the case of Tiny Porch Concerts, a paid option for reserved seating (proceeds support park programming).
Peter Strauss Ranch is located at 30000 Mulholland Highway, Cornell, CA, 91301, near Agoura Hills.
