Third Annual Grand Avenue Festival

From downtownla.com

Experience the tastes, sights, and sounds of vibrant Downtown LA. Downtown Los Angeles’ highly acclaimed restaurants, theatres, concert halls, museums and other attractions along Grand Avenue offer an unbeatable day of entertainment, including music performances inside Walt Disney Concert Hall and free admission to MOCA to name only a few.

Discover Downtown Los Angeles for the best in arts & family fun with Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, Center Theatre Group, Colburn School, Grand Performances, Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Music Center of Los Angeles County, REDCAT – Roy & Edna Disney/CalArts Theater.

Plus – Sample delicious creations for $5 and under by the area’s finest restaurants at The Taste of Downtown, presented by the Downtown Center Business Improvement District.

Date: October 7, 2006
Time: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: Grand Avenue
Address: Various Locations on Grand Avenue , Los Angeles , 90012
Cross Streets: Grand Avenue / 4th Street
Phone: (213) 624-2146
Admission: Many events free, some ticketed, check site for more details.
Click to visit the main website for more information and schedules.

LA’s Theater Scene

LA has such a HUGE theater scene. While it may not be as commercial as NYC’s Broadway it might just be as broad as NYC’s off broadway. These are the current show listings from LA Stage TIX.

This is from their weekly e-mail which can be found at www.LAStageTIX.com/weeklyemail

I would post some of it but it’s HUGE!

Various Events This week…

I’m struggling with this blog as to should I keep a news paper worthy story type stories, or keep it personal. I’ll keep it personal.

Anywho was looking around on Goldstar and found this event going on this Saturday:

Enter the Decadent Canton Jazz Cabaret’s Cherry Blossom Fundraiser

Stepping into this transformed artist’s studio transports guests into the swingin’ Jazz Age–in Canton! The “Canton Jazz Club Cabaret” presents music of the decadent 30’s and 40’s, and guests can dance and mingle with the artists. Come dressed to the period of the times–flappers, hep cats, bohos and daddios, for an evening of music, art, and laughter that helps fund the annual Cherry Blossom Festival.

Saturday, Sep. 30 @ 7:00pm

Cherry Blossom Canton Jazz Club Cabaret (website)
Armory Center for the Arts (Pasadena, CA)
Goldstar Price: $12.50

Goldstar info and ticket order page.

Sounds fun… I don’t think I’ll be going though.

Also on Thursday, The Scissor Sisters are performing at the Shrine Expo Center here in LA. I really want to go but I can’t. Tickets are $35 with a $10 BS “Convenience Charge” through ticket master. And they still have some left! It’s all unreserved general admission.

I am going to see this play called, “The Fat of the Land” at the Theater District at the Cast tomorrow night. Goldstar has tickets for free. (just pay a service fee of $5) I’ll give a full review Friday.

Then Friday, I’m scheduled to see “Closer” at the Attic Theatre and Film Center. I’ll post a review of that on Saturday.

Right now at the Pacific El Capitan, “The Little Mermaid” is showing.

Cheers!

~J

Food: El Cid Sunday Jazz Brunch with Jerrie and Friends on the Patio

If you like jazz and you like Sunday brunch, you can’t go wrong with El Cid’s.

Every Sunday from noon until 3PM, Jerrie Thill and friends perform at El Cid’s Sunday brunch. Jerrie has been performing in Los Angeles since the mid 1940s spending all of her time making music. Touring for two decades beginning in the 60s with the group Peggy Gibert and the Dixie Bells. She’s even appeared on the tonight show with Johnny Carson.

Brunch is held in their outdoor courtyard. Sitting under umbrellas you can choose from a number of different items from classic steak and eggs to Crab cakes benedict.

While the food is just okay, the atmosphere and the local feeling of being in Silver Lake really makes it worth while. Jerrie sings and takes request from behind the drum set.

$15 includes brunch and the jazz.
Goldstar Events has tickets for half cost.

If you’re not a Goldstar member,join here.

El Cid
4212 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
http://www.elcidla.com
323-668-0318

Some info on El Cid:

El Cid was built in 1900 by D.W. Griffith and is modeled after a 16th century Spanish Opera House. He filmed Birth of a Nation, the first “talkie” movie here. El Cid serves some of the finest Spanish food (included tapas) in Los Angeles. There is a beautiful stage, wooden dance floor and beautiful red booths.

Film: Oscar’s Docs

From September until November 27th, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is having a screening series of every short subject and feature to win the Oscar for documentary filmmaking resumes in celebration of the Award years 1961–1976.

This comprehensive screening series of every short subject and feature to win the Oscar for documentary filmmaking resumes in celebration of the Award years 1961–1976. Screenings will be held on Monday evenings beginning on September 18 and continuing through November 27, offering a unique opportunity to observe the historical impact and evolution of the theatrical documentary. The retrospective will feature the best available prints of these films – often newly struck or restored editions from the documentary collection of the Academy Film Archive. Program handouts will feature comprehensive notes on the making of the films and include original still reproductions from the shorts and full-color reproductions of the original feature poster art. These will be complemented on many of the evenings by panel discussions with the filmmakers (schedules permitting). In addition, a special cast and crew reunion/panel discussion evening for Woodstock will be held on Tuesday, October 24.”

Mon 9.25 (7:30pm)
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
8949 Wilshire Blvd, 310.247.3000
$5 General Admission

More event info here.

Theater: The Playground

I went to see “The Playground” at the Unknown Theater last Saturday night for a special midnight performance and was blown away.

THE PLAYGROUND is a powerful rock-drama inspired by the true events of teenage runaways and street kids that combines live theatre, rock music, urban vibes, video, and street style dance. Michael Justen adapted their stories from journal entries, interviews and documentaries.. Members of the production team and cast spent time on the streets without food or money with actual street kids to gather true stories for the production. THE PLAYGROUND has joined forces with Los Angeles Youth Network in efforts to promote community involvement to end teenage homelessness.

It’s a great play with a great cause. I wish I had heard of this earlier. I read about it on Gold Star Events and it looked interesting so I got tickets.

The show tells the story of what it’s like to live on the streets of LA as a teen. It’s taken from real teens and I think it’s very well portrayed. It’s meant to raise awareness and funding for youth support programs.

Some of the performers were just amazing. They had so much energy and so much passion for what they were telling. I haven’t seen that much passion in a show in a long time. The show is nicely put together with large video screen projected showing clips of interviews with the teens provide good transitions. They also show facts about homeless teens. There are some 8,000 youths that live on the streets of LA 12-17 years of age. Most resorting to prostitution and drugs to get by.

There’s talk of it becoming a movie along with an extended run in LA and other US cities.

A tip: bring some pocket change to give to the actors. They interact with the audience a lot and ask for money. I’m sure they give everything they collect to the LA Youth Network. =)

The show closes THIS SATURDAY! SO GO SEE IT THIS WEEK! Tell all your friends too!

The Playground
Unknown Theater
1110 Seward St., L.A.
unknowntheater.com
Tickets are $9 through Gold Star Events (if you’re a member click there, it’s free to join)
or $18 on their website or $24 at the door.
Wed-Sat only at 8PM

Also check out the Los Angeles Youth Network at http://www.layn.org/ for more information and to make a donation.

Cinespia – Graveyard Zombies

This week is CineSpia’s last screening of the season. This week features “Dawn of the Dead”, directed by George Romero. If you’ve been before, you know what a great night this will be especially since it’s cooled off a bit since mid summer.

There’s nothing like seeing a classic movie under and beside the stars with a bottle of wine.

This week also is featuring DJs Zach Cowie, John Wayatt, and Jun.

If you’ve never been to a CineSpia screening before at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, read below for all the info. If you get there early you can park inside the graveyard. Bring a picnic, a blanket, and some friends and listen to the DJs spin before the show.

It’s gotta be one of the quintessential LA experiences.

From LA.com: LA.com info page

Remember back in high school, when all the cool kids used to hang out in the cemetery and drink six-packs? Well, thanks to Cinespia, you can relive those days of being tipsy with the tombstones.

Every Saturday in the summer, Hollywood Forever Cemetery opens its gates to the picnic basket-toting masses who come armed with blankets, bottles of wine and Trader Joe’s favorites. As diners munch and uncork, DJs play retro tunes to the backdrop of a slide-show collection of vintage-movie-poster slides projected on the side of a mausoleum, the cemetery’s makeshift movie screen. The films screened are a mix of classic and cult; this year’s selection includes Hitchcock’s feathered thriller The Birds, film-noir forerunner Detour, sci-fi standard Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the “based on a true story” teenage-rebellion flick Over the Edge, and love-triangle favorite The Philadelphia Story. Unlike the crazed atmosphere of the local multiplex, cemetery viewing is laid-back (people smoke cigarettes and casually banter during screenings) and friendly (a neighboring couple offered us their extra blanket when it started to get chilly). Odds are against hearing any angry shushing—flowing booze keeps everyone in jovial spirits. —Elisa Jacobs

CineSpia’s Main Website
Saturday, September 30th 2006 – Gates 6:30PM Film 8:00PM
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
6000 Santa Monica Boulevard (at Gower)
$10 Donation Tickets available at the gate

Filter This!

Hello world! I’m starting a new blog to start posting about things I find interesting in LA.

I’ve been in Los Angeles for about six months now and I’ve been diving in trying to find culture. Yes, culture in LA, sounds like a stretch I know but it’s there, you just have to dig below the surface.

After coming across sites like Caroline on Crack and Flavor Pill, I wanted to create something of my own that would reflect my view.

I want to try and post about interesting events I find that are going on in the LA area as well as review things such as theater, movies, restaurants, and just about anything else that’s worth noting.

My goal is to inform and perhaps entertain a bit. I want to make it easy for people to be able to find everything that’s great about LA. When moving here I found it hard to know where to go and know what to see.

I love getting out finding new things exploring new places so I look forward to everything that is to come. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please feel free to write or post a comment.

This site is in beta for now until I see where it goes. If it becomes popular I’ll put some more stuff into it and build it up a bit more. We’ll see.

Happy reading!

~Jonathan