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The Amazing LA Race It all begins in Hollywood by Nyla Arslanian I t’s a sightseeing tour… It’s a game… It’s a scavenger hunt. It’s an immersive experience. It’s, well, it’s all of the above – and more! The challenge is how to write an article about Hollywood and Los Angeles’ most unusual sightseeing “event,” the Amazing LA Race, without telling too much about it and spoiling the fun. Launched in LA a year ago by actor/ writers Larry Toffler and Bob Glouberman, the race is a cross between the DaVinci Code and the popular Amazing Race real- ity show (which they assert could have been “inspired” by their pitch to a TV net- work). It is actually the second such race after a Cozumel, Mexico version created for Carnival Cruise Lines. “It’s a very active experience,” says Larry. “You can’t just sit and watch. You actually need to interact with your surroundings in order to get from one place to another. And by surroundings, we don’t just mean places. We mean people too.” Teir newest venture is the Amazing Santa Monica Race. Te Los Angeles race is run each Satur- day and Sunday with future plans to make it a daily event. It convenes in the Hollywood Bowl picnic area adjacent to the historic Hollywood Studio Museum and unfolds 46 DISCOVER HOLLYWOOD / FALL 2010 from there. After official welcome by a staff member (on the day we played Larry Toffler did the honors), participants arrange themselves into teams and choose a team name. No need to worry about this, teams are made up of who you came with, of two to eight people. Te more hands and feet and brains you have on your team, the better the chance of winning or, at the very least, completing the race before dark. All teams meet at the starting line, where Co-organizer Larry Toffler welcomes the participants and explains the rules.