Back in 1993, Inside LA Arts and Entertainment News was created to promote awareness about the various arts and entertainment events taking place in Los Angeles and surrounding counties. The format was that of a 30 minutes TV news program that featured and showcased all the art events, museum exhibits, festivals, theater performances, the opera, performing arts, ballet, any other cultural activity as well as outdoor activities, amusement parks and entertainment for the kids. One of the main goals of Inside LA A& E News was to be an audio-visual show-and-tell type of program that would enable the people not only to get a review about the activity showcased, but also to allow people to have a virtual experience of the attraction being featured. The idea was that you could hear, see, feel and almost touch the attraction or place being showcased.
The program was a brainchild of Flavio Guerra, an art enthusiast and promoter, who got frustrated after a bad experience that ruined his engagement for the evening and decided to do something about it. After having committed one evening to drive 10 miles to see a comedy show at a local venue, he and his girlfriend left in the middle of the show disappointed not only with the quality of the show but also with the type of venue, which happen to be a run down, dirty and uncomfortable theater. At that moment the idea was born and Inside LA Arts & Entertainment News was created.
From the first program, it was clear that the format was a winner. After the first broadcast, the phones went off the hook with people calling to express their support and appreciation for the program. The show, initially a weekly event, run for two years as a paid program on local cable and broadcast stations until it found a permanent home at KLCS a local PBS station in Los Angeles. At KLCS the program was able to flourish and make its mark in the lives of many people.
Inside LA grew and the audience was always clamoring for more so the station went on to broadcast it twice a week. Soon Inside LA became the authority on the Arts and Entertainment in Los Angeles affecting the lives of millions of people. From children to seniors everyone was glued on the tube twice a week to learn more about what was going on in the Los Angeles arts and entertainment life.
KLCS was both a blessing and a curse that ultimately led to the demise of Inside LA. Although KLCS it was a prestigious channel to be on and made the show more respectable in the eyes of the local arts scene, it did not allow for paid advertisement on the show. Unfortunately the traditional TV sponsorship acceptable by PBS stations was not attractive enough for the business community and after a couple of years on the air Inside LA was forced to shut down despite all the success that it had achieved.
From its inception, it was clear that there was a need for the type of information that Inside LA provided and that people love what they were seeing. Although under funded and not properly promoted Inside LA went on to garner significant ratings for a local PBS station, beating most of the channels own programming.
All of this success would not have been possible if wasn’t for the great group of art lovers who made the team of people that put in their time every week to make sure that Inside LA would go on against all the odds. People like Victoria Dehesa, Phil Smith, Daniel Taylor, Eddie Sanchez, Mark Reed, Audrey Davis, April Watson, Enrique Dehesa, Ben Scott, and many others were the force behind the show and made it possible.
Although Inside LA ended its run on TV, it never really died in the heart of those who believed on it. Ten years have passed and the dream is still alive, so we are taking advantage of the Internet to bring that dream back to life.
Inside LA is morphing into Fun and Arts Live.com to be the first and only website dedicated to showcasing and promoting the arts through a fully audio visual experience. The website will be a source of information where people not only from Los Angeles but from all over the world can experience the arts in the city before they commit themselves to an event or a visit. Times have changed and today, more than ever it seems like there is more acceptance and appreciation for the Arts in Los Angeles which leads us to believe that this time nothing will stop FunAndArtslive.com
We are starting with the Website and will follow with the TV show as well as many other creative ideas in order to promote healthy and fun arts and entertainment on FunAndArts.com.
Like from its inception as Inside LA, FunAndArtsLive.com is still true to form and is relying on arts lovers from L.A. and the world to become once again the authority in Arts and Entertainment News. For that we are welcoming all of those that see the value and want to be part of this great experience to join our team.