Los Angeles’ all-outdoor, no-car, play-in-the-street-and-enjoy-the-views event is returning for its seventh installment, but this time organizers are bringing CicLAvia to Wilshire Boulevard and the Miracle Mile.

CicLAvia’s seventh event will come to the Miracle Mile on June 23. The no-car celebration began in October 2010 (above), and has gained momentum with each installment. (photo by Gary Leonard)

CicLAvia: Iconic Wilshire Boulevard will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 23, and will hijack the boulevard from downtown to the Miracle Mile to allow cyclists, skaters and walkers a unique view of the iconic thoroughfare and its modern architecture.

“What better place to show off the history of … modern architecture in the city than Wilshire Boulevard, which is essentially a petting zoo for the cross-section of architectural styles that formed the breadth of that initiative,” CicLAvia executive director Aaron Paley said.

The event will stretch from Fairfax Avenue to Grand Avenue, and both ends of the route will offer pedestrian zones, where cyclists will be asked to walk or park their bikes. The zones will offer performers, activities, programming, food trucks and more.

For those who can’t ditch their vehicles on June 23, organizers have included four crossing points for cars — at La Brea, Western and Vermont avenues, as well as Alvarado Street.

Paley said organizers had pitched the idea to host CicLAvia on Wilshire Boulevard prior to the first event in October 2010, but Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and city officials declined. However, when planning for the 2013 CicLAvia events, the city’s Department of Transportation suggested Wilshire Boulevard.

“There hasn’t been an event in twenty years that allows people to stand in the middle of Wilshire Boulevard and take in the architecture,” Paley said. “So this is a great opportunity. …You’ll be able to see the buildings at the pace they deserve.”

CicLAvia has partnered with the Getty Center, which has included the event in its “Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A.” The collaboration offers a deeper look into “the postwar built environment of the city as a whole,” according to a press release.

Additionally, architectural researcher and commentator Edward Lifson will host a podcast on June 23, and Catherine Gudis will offer an architectural walking guide.

At the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), officials will offer programming on campus and at the Mid-Wilshire hub at Rimpau Boulevard. Brooke Fruchtman, associate vice president of public engagement at LACMA, said the museum will offer interactive games, photo opportunities, membership giveaways and more.

“We’ve just really beefed up our programming that day,” she said.

Fruchtman said LACMA hosts its Andell Family Sundays every week, which includes outdoor family activities and free admission for everyone under the age of 18. She said that programming will be tied into CicLAvia. LACMA will also host a DJ, provide additional seating and offer more food options on June 23.

“It’s an amazing opportunity,” Fruchtman said. “The number of people going by — we would be remiss if we didn’t reach out to them.”

Many businesses and organizations have similar sentiments about the event. Steve Kramer, the president of the Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce, said he is pleased that that the area will be involved, providing a fun event for residents and good exposure for the community.

“I think it’s going to be Fantastic — with a capital F,” he said. “These events are the things that make us a community.”

While Kramer believes the event will be good for area businesses, he also praised organizers for ensuring that major streets are accessible, and for doing a lot of outreach beforehand.

“They’ve spent a lot of effort mitigating inconvenience issues,” Kramer said. “A lot of these people live in the community, and they understand [the potential dilemmas].”

CicLAvia started in Los Angeles in October 2010, but its roots can be traced back to the 1970s, when an event named Ciclovía opened the streets to walkers, skaters and cyclists in Bogotá, Colombia.

Paley said the concept behind the event spread to many other countries, and at least 80 cities now close streets to automobiles every Sunday. While the event had never reached Los Angeles, several L.A. residents, including Paley, were aware of it. In 2009, these like-minded individuals began to organize, and the first CicLAvia rolled out in 2010.

“This kind of event, which is also called an open street event or car-free event, had already spread to places like New York and San Francisco,” Paley said.

In 2011 and 2012, organizers hosted two CicLAvia events, but they still were based “along the heart of the Los Angeles route,” which ran from Boyle Heights to East Hollywood, with some deviations each year. In April, CicLAvia took a significantly different route for the first time, connecting Venice Beach to downtown, Paley said.

“The idea is to keep increasing the frequency and diversity of CicLAvia,” he said, adding that organizers hope to host events every month eventually.

This year, CicLAvia will be held three times. Following Iconic Wilshire Boulevard, participants will return to downtown for Heart of LA on Oct. 6.

Yet, the June 23 affair is slated to be the most walkable CicLAvia so far, Paley said, stressing that residents do not need a bike to participate. Approximately 150,000 people are expected to turn out.

“Ever since we started this in October of 2010, it’s become more and more popular,” Paley said, adding that he doesn’t expect the June 23 event to be as crowded as previous installments. “People are looking forward to doing it several times a year, and they want more. …We don’t need to prove anything by numbers any more.”

He said CicLAvia is a lot of fun, giving participants an opportunity to talk to neighbors, meet people and experience the city in a way they never thought possible.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, it’s about 1,000,” Paley said. “It is a great event. People have told me — I’m not making this up — that this is their favorite day in the city and this is why they love living in the city. You get to fall in love with Los Angeles all over again. It’s a really great day. It’s free. You can’t beat it.”

While CicLAvia is enjoyable, it also promotes alternative forms of transportation, showing people that there are other ways to navigate the city besides the automobile, he said.

“It encourages people to do those things, and it is having a real positive impact on how people see themselves in this city,” Paley said.

There is no beginning or end to the course. Participants can join the fun at any intersection along the route. Activities have been planned for the five hubs along the course — One Wilshire, MacArthur Park, Koreatown, Mid-Wilshire and Miracle Mile.

For information, visit www.ciclavia.org.