Walktober: We did it!
By Liz Schiller
The holidays are upon us, year-end wrap-ups are around the corner…but before we declare the year over, it’s time to look back on one of the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition’s signature events: WALKTOBER 2022!
It was big! It was ambitious! And it was amazing!
Let’s start with the numbers:
Total events: 25
Events organized by Pasadena CSC: 10
Number of locations and neighborhoods: 15
Number of participants: 502
Number of volunteers: 19
Photos taken (estimated): 10,000
Number of City Council members who walked in their districts with constituents and visitors: 5
Number of times a participant said, “Wow, I didn’t know that!” or “What a beautiful building / view / mural / house / place / bird!”: 792
OK, I made up that last statistic, but it’s probably close.
A sampling of feedback from participants:
I’ve lived here 41 years. I learned about places and things in Pasadena that I never knew about before.
Bringing people together in a way that helps more people explore Pasadena is always a good idea. It fosters community pride and helps people understand their own as well as surrounding neighborhoods.
I learned a lot about the city and will be more likely to support local business.
A great way to utilize City funds!
I got to meet amazing people and our City Councilmembers as well!
It was healthy and completely engaging.
Pasadena CSC organized the city’s first Walktober in 2018, powered entirely by volunteers and on a shoestring budget. In 2020 and 2021 we had mostly self-guided walks because of Covid. This year, the City of Pasadena Department of Transportation fully funded Walktober for the first time and our partners at Day One were hired as the primary organizer for the month. Day One turned to us to lead ten of the events.
“Funding from the City establishes Walktober formally as a city event. That support helped us include organizations like Pasadena Heritage and the Audubon Society, who offered some of the paid tours that happen during the rest of the year. On top of that, the City’s Public Information Office gave Walktober extra publicity on the City’s social media and website, and encouraged attention from local media outlets and in the council district newsletters that go out to residents,” said Colin Bogart, Day One’s Active Transportation Director, who staffed Walktober. PasCSC volunteer Pilar Reynaldo, who has been involved since our very first Walktober, said, “Support from the city gave us added visibility we just didn’t have before.”
“We were so ambitious this year. We really came back from the modest, mostly virtual events in 2020 and 2021…and people kept coming back throughout the month! Walktober events had a lasting impact on people,” said Deborah Spector, a volunteer organizer with PasCSC.
Organizers and volunteers worked hard, and also had fun. Some of the feedback we have from volunteers:
A few people came to almost every walk! Some people came to just one or two. But at every walk, people who started out as strangers connected with each other.
The buzz was everywhere! People found out about the walks from flyers in local businesses, from social media, and from friends and family.
Experts and local residents showed up to multiple walks! A local activist with the preservation of Route 66 attended the Route 66 walk; researcher, writer and organizer Marcus Renner came to the Arroyo Link walk and talked about the history of the Arroyo area; multiple local residents took part in the Grace Hill walks and told attendees more about their neighborhood, including owners of the two most notable buildings on the hill, the historic mansion and the water tower.
All but one of the City Council Members led or co-led a walk in their district. It was lovely to have the support of the council members.
People had such a great time! Our guides were excellent and our volunteers cheerful and well-organized.
You’ll find photos of most of the events on Instagram and elsewhere on social media with the hashtag #WalktoberPasadena
Here’s a sampling of our photo albums - the full list of albums is at the bottom of this post.
NAACP walk: https://photos.app.goo.gl/3S1rULWbkms8Zc1e8
Arroyo Seco Placekeepers Walk: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jQuHdGUdKyWXygmK9
Grace Hill Neighborhood Tour #1: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1jLtnqFaJw7agaSaA
There are so many people and organizations to thank! We very much appreciate the individuals and organizations that partnered with Day One and Pasadena CSC: Pasadena City Council Members Tyron Hampton, Justin Jones, Andy Wilson, Jason Lyon, Gene Masuda, Jess Rivas, and Felicia Williams and their Community Liaisons Cushon Bell, Darla Dyson, Susanna Porras, Noreen Sullivan, Margo Morales and Pam Thyret, the District 3 student interns, the Audubon Society, the Pasadena NAACP, Pasadena Heritage, the Pasadena Museum of History, the Playhouse Village Association, Old Pasadena, Pasadena Village’s Urban Walkers, Julia Long (@exploringpasadenaonfoot), Betty Sword, the Caltech Women's Club docents and the Gamble House.
Thank you to the volunteer organizers, and the folks who came out to support each walk and who helped spread the word about the event: Misch Anderson, Cary Belling, David Chiang, Dan Huynh, Jonah Kanner, Bin Lee, Topher Mathers, Noel McCarthy, Blair Miller, Christy Moision, Tom Priestley, Wes Reutimann, Aaron Salinger, Liz Schiller, Kaly Trezos, Marshall Yale, Claire Zeng, and especially Colin Bogart, Pilar Reynaldo, and Deborah Spector.
Last but not least, here’s one more comment from a participant:
I wish these were more frequent.
Your wish is our command! We’re organizing a walk AND a bike ride for every month in 2023 (plus, of course, extra rides during Bike Month in May, and plenty more walks next Walktober). Come ride with us, usually on the second Saturday of each month, and take a walk on the third Sunday. Keep an eye out for our newsletter with information about the upcoming bike ride near JPL on Saturday, January 14, and a birdwatching walk on Sunday, January 15.
ALL THE PICTURES WE TOOK:
Pasadena Haunted Walk: https://photos.app.goo.gl/eU2ECT1sZ457mv9c8
Audubon Book Signing & Bird Walk: https://photos.app.goo.gl/aoHBL1RtVBumhdZg9
Taste of East Washington Village with District 2 Councilmember Felicia Williams: https://photos.app.goo.gl/zhDGQSQtCQg6vNtB8
Guided Tour of Caltech: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fA5aHWXHj9H2yUPM9
Public Art in Pasadena #2: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Nwo74BTrZpE4b4av7
Marshall Fundamental WTSD: https://photos.app.goo.gl/S71fko32A82YABodA
Walk to the Gamble House with District 1 Councilmember Tyron Hampton: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZEjpNjLULr5cTQoF7
Route 66 with District 4 Councilmember Gene Masuda: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Mims8YZh1PfSTptA6
Discover the Arroyo Link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/NHkEzGgdDhSt2Cbw7
Walk with District 7 Councilmember Andy Wilson: https://photos.app.goo.gl/e4d5TzLcMHt4WaPW8
Grace Hill Neighborhood Tour #1: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1jLtnqFaJw7agaSaA
Washington Park with District 5 Councilmember Jess Rivas: https://photos.app.goo.gl/3NsNVyPwgXYyoLkeA
Lower Arroyo Nature Walk: https://photos.app.goo.gl/uXvKWZAiMWaG5wPv7
Grace Hill Tour #2: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9G9uTyeWwY6VWbBU9
NAACP walk: https://photos.app.goo.gl/3S1rULWbkms8Zc1e8
Arroyo Seco Placekeepers Walk: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jQuHdGUdKyWXygmK9
Public Art in Pasadena #1: https://photos.app.goo.gl/bvWsLPf3vgwbptsy5
Discover Birding: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FktnuxnpiS5e6XNd8
Hollywood Backlot Tour: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kV3Y5fFJbQ4h2bJM8
