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Truckloads of plants were dropped on Albright Street, closing the lone sidewalk and a lane of traffic. Workers were on deadline to get everything planted before Thursday’s gala.

Caruso’s Village Festivities Begin Thursday

The festivities surrounding the opening of Caruso’s Palisades Village, which is bounded by Monument, Sunset and Swarthmore, will start on Thursday and extend through the weekend.

    THURSDAY: A black-tie, invitation-only party, featuring John Legend, will be held on Swarthmore to thank Caruso supporters. Monument Street will be closed all day.

Hundreds of neighboring residents received a letter from Caruso, expressing appreciation for putting up with construction workers parking on their streets, the after-hours noise (that went unabated and unchecked by police), and for traffic jams on westbound Sunset that caused traffic to spill over into the Alphabet streets.

Not only were residents sincerely thanked for their inconvenience, but Caruso will make it up to them by having a McConnell’s truck park on Albright Street Thursday evening and dispense free cups of ice cream (7-10 p.m.).  (Full disclosure, I don’t live in the Alphabet streets and I hope they won’t be checking ID, because I like McConnell’s and plan to walk over and get in line.)

There will also be fireworks on Thursday night and residents were advised to lock up their furry friends. A permit has been pulled, according to the Fire Prevention Bureau, but we’re still waiting to hear back from Inspector Ramirez about where the fireworks will be launched.

Neighboring residents are worried about fireworks launched from nearby Swarthmore but Circling the News doesn’t see a problem because all the new buildings look great and have state-of-the-art sprinkler systems.

SATURDAY: Opening-day ceremonies for the shopping area will start with a Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting at 8:45 a.m. for Vintage Grocers (which fronts Sunset).

At 9:30 a.m., the major ribbon cutting will be held for the complex with Palisades Co-Mayors Janice and Bill Crystal, Councilman Mike Bonin and Mayor Eric Garcetti participating.

At 10 a.m. stores open. Many residents received a flyer from See’s Candies, inviting them to the grand opening. The flyer promised the first 100 customers a free tote, a free taste of See’s candy box (with a purchase of $25 or more), and free samples.

In addition to See’s, about 25 other retail business are set to open. Additionally, McConnell’s and nine eateries are set to open.  According to a representative of the Palisades Village, the Cinepolis movie theater opening is being pushed back a few months, probably closer to sometime this winter.

According to the Palisades Village website, special events and live music are planned until 8 p.m.

The lampposts that recently went up on Monument Street are stamped with a Caruso “C.”

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