Los Angeles Times to Present First "Above & Beyond" Awards July 19

LOS ANGELES, July 1, 2003 --The winners of the first Los Angeles Times Above & Beyond Awards, which will recognize the exceptional academic achievements, community service and cultural contributions of outstanding Southland children, will be announced during a 1 p.m. awards ceremony on Saturday, July 19, at Exposition Park in Los Angeles.

The Above & Beyond awards program will be introduced during the first Los Angeles Times KidCity, a free, two-day outdoor educational adventure designed for children ages 7-13. The event will be held July 19-20 at Exposition Park.

“There are hundreds of children in Southern California who are working to make their communities better in a variety of ways,” said John Puerner, publisher. “The Above & Beyond Awards program is one way we can publicly recognize those efforts while encouraging other children to make similar contributions.”

The finalists, ages 7-13, were nominated by parents, teachers and community leaders who submitted 200-word essays describing their nominee’s contributions.

A panel of judges – composed of parents, teachers and community leaders from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties – will select winners from each of those counties. Judging categories are: Above & Beyond in my Community, Above & Beyond in my Classroom, and Above & Beyond in my Cultural Heritage.

Winners will be announced in a congratulatory advertisement to appear in The Times. Each winner will receive an Above & Beyond Awards statue, four annual passes to a local amusement park and an Above & Beyond awards t-shirt.

About KidCity

Designed for children ages 7-13, KidCity is a weekend celebration of learning and literacy, and a showcase for the literary and creative arts, culture and history, science and technology, and sports.

KidCity will be held from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 19, and Sunday, July 20, at Exposition Park, 700 S. State St. in Los Angeles. The event is free and open to the public. Parking is $6.

KidCity is the first major children’s event at Exposition Park involving all five of the park’s venues: California African-American Museum, California Science Center, City of Los Angeles’ Exposition Park Intergenerational Community Complex, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Sports Arena and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.Event information is also available online at www.latimes.com/kidcity.

About the Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing company, is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country and the winner of 30 Pulitzer Prizes, including three this year in national reporting, feature writing and feature photography. The Times publishes five regional editions covering the Los Angeles metropolitan area, Orange and Ventura counties, the San Fernando Valley, and an Inland Empire edition covering Riverside and San Bernardino counties, as well as a National edition.