One of the greatest community events to hit LA - Ciclavia - comes Sunday to Leimert Park - the Soul of LA.

Ciclavia (pronounce it as you like) closes major streets to cars and opens them to walkers, bikers, strollers, unicyclists and the like. Click here for all the details.

This is a slideshow of my trip from Leimert Park to the 2011 Ciclavia that spanned from Boyle Heights to East Hollywood.

You experience your neighborhood (or someone else's) a lot different when you are strolling rather than passing through. You notice more. Especially when there are thousands of likeminded, engaged Angelenos with you.

This is the first Ciclavia in South LA - though South LA peeps have been involved very early on and there were spurs to the Dunbar and Jazz Park on Central Avenue and to Leimert Park Village. The event spanned downtown through Culver City to the beach last year.

Imagine a street festival several miles long with several hubs of activities, planned and spontaneous. Spoken word, hip hop, jazz, dance and lots of food and food trucks. In other words, the vibe should fit right in with the artists, musicians and philosophers of the area.

This is a slideshow of the route exploration in 2011 that featured the Dunbar, The Museum in Black and the Jazz Park.

Find more photos like this on University Park Family