DOWNTOWN : Trouping Through the Neighborhoods

In the tradition of the entertainment industry, the city Cultural Affairs Department has taken its show on the road.

The city’s Care-A-Van program, which brings free circus acts, literary and performance art to Central Los Angeles neighborhoods, was launched April 10 to promote cultural awareness and bring art to neighborhoods lacking theaters, galleries and other arts facilities.

Every other week, a daylong Care-A-Van show is presented at recreation centers and other community gathering places. The shows feature the L.A. Circus, a small local circus troupe that stages performances and teaches children juggling, makeup and tumbling.

The shows also provide a showcase for local artists in music, dance, theater and poetry. The result is a cross-cultural mix of performers from various disciplines.

“Whatever it is Los Angeles is, that’s what we put in the Care-A-Van,” said Ernest D. Dillihay, director of the performing arts division of the Cultural Affairs Department.

Like other city programs, he said, the Care-A-Van idea was discussed for several years as a way to serve communities that do not have arts facilities, such as Downtown, the Wilshire District and Hollywood. But last year’s riots accelerated the program. Realizing the need to bring community events to riot-torn areas, city officials allocated $70,000 of the arts budget to hire performers and begin the Care-A-Van program.

Seven Care-A-Van shows have been presented since the April 10 premiere at Jim Gilliam Recreation Center in Baldwin Hills.

At a recent show at the Los Angeles Mall near City Hall, about 200 teen-agers from Henry Clay, El Sereno, James Madison, John Muir, Gasper de Portola and Francis Sepulveda middle schools joined to sing “The World I Dream About,” written by Dan Landau, who also wrote the theme song for the 1984 U.S. Olympic Arts Festival in Los Angeles.

Dillihay said he is unsure if the Care-A-Van program will be funded after July 1, the start of the new fiscal year, and is seeking underwriters.

Whatever its future, the Care-A-Van will end its first season with a grand finale. A Care-A-Van Variety Show is scheduled for June 26-27 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

Information: (213) 485-2437.