We’ve got another grab bag of events for you this week, starting this Saturday with the Homecoming Gala at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, then you’ve got dance performances at The Wallis’ indoor theater for the first time this year, Elvira at Chevalier’s, LA Fashion Week at The Majestic, a Tortilla Tournament at ROW DTLA, and a Girls Empowerment Conference to round off the week nicely. I believe that should cover my “more live-action events to come” promise from last week, along with CicLAvia, which will be taking place this Sunday in DTLA (see above and below for more info).
Arts & Culture
Kicking off arts and culture this week, and as a reminder from last week’s story, is The Homecoming Concert and Gala at the Walt Disney Concert Hall this Saturday, October. 9 at 7 p.m. This event will mark the glorious return of Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil to the Disney Concert Hall stage after 579 long days, with special guests Cynthia Erivo (a Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winning actress, singer and producer) and world-renowned pianist Seong-Jin Cho. Tickets and VIP packages are still available, but hurry! Masks and proof of full vaccination required.
The Craft Contemporary’s annual sale and fundraiser, Clay LA, will also be happening this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, October 9-10 from 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Come check out emerging and established LA-based ceramic makers for a fun day of shopping, music and air-dry clay activities. Tickets are $9 at the door on Saturday (includes museum admission and clay activity) and Sunday is pay-what-you-can day (how lovely!). You also have the option to do a Brunch Preview on Saturday from 10-11:30 a.m. at the cost of $35, which gives you early access to the market, as well as a special workshop and free drinks and refreshments. Regular museum hours are Tues-Fri 11a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sat-Sun 12-6 p.m. (closed Mondays).
As for action on the Boulevard, Chevalier’s Books has a full calendar starting Tuesday, October 12, with three in-store events, including a special appearance by Cassandra Peterson, where she’ll discuss her book, Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark. Yes, you read that right, Elvira herself will be in-store on Thursday, October 14, revealing her full story and dishing on her life as the Queen of Halloween! This is a ticketed event with slots starting at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $36 for a copy of the book, which you will receive the day-of the event. Masks will be required; socially distanced selfies with the Mistress are welcome.
Also on Thursday, October 14, Pacific Standard Time and the La Brea Tar Pits will present “Fossilized and Realized: La Brea Tar Pits in Art and Popular Culture,” from 6 to 7 p.m. This in-person panel discussion at the La Brea Tar Pits Museum will focus on the inspirational significance of La Brea Tar Pits in art and pop culture, and how the location affects “the public’s overall understanding and access to the active scientific research being performed onsite.” Panelists include artists Mark Dion and Carl Cheng, Dr. Alison Laurence, PhD and lecturer at Stanford University, and moderator Yolanda Bustos, from the Natural History Museum of Los Angles County. The event is free with RSVPs required.
Next up, LA Fashion Week is upon us and happening Thursday-Sunday, October 14-17. Presented by Art Hearts Fashion, one of the leading producers of fashion week events in Los Angeles and beyond, this year’s festivities will be taking place at the historic hotel The Majestic Downtown, located on Spring Street in DTLA. Tickets start at $55 for general admission, which will give you all day access to the events and drinks for purchase, or you could go big with a Row 1 ticket for $379, that will get you a major swag bag, complimentary drinks, and after-party invites. There are also a few options in between if you’d rather keep the cost down. Proof of vaccination will be required upon entry. Doors at 6 p.m. – shows at 7 and 9 p.m.
And happening simultaneously, The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts welcomes contemporary dance troupe Bodytraffic to the Bram Goldsmith Theater, as it takes to the stage with three compelling works next Thursday, Friday and Saturday, October 14-16 As the theater’s resident dance company, Bodytraffic will be the first artists to appear indoors at the Wallis since the pandemic forced a shutdown. There will also be a special Audience Talk Back after Friday night’s performance on October 15. Enjoy an intimate discussion with the artists moderated by The Wallis’ Artistic Director Paul Crewes. Tickets range from $39-$99; showtime is 7:30 p.m. for all three nights.
And last but not least for A & C, the Angel City Jazz Fest is sold out at LACMA today, but continues making its rounds close(ish) by this weekend, as well as next Thursday and Friday. Check out the festival’s calendar of events here. As for next Friday, October 15, Jazz at LACMA Limited Edition keeps on jazzin’, from 6-7:30 p.m., with trumpeter Nolan Shaheed. As a lead trumpet player and soloist, Shaheed has played with Aretha Franklin and the touring bands for Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. He has also been a member of the Luckman Jazz Orchestra and has his own self-built recording studio in Pasadena. Tickets will be available online beginning Tuesday, October 12 at 10 a.m.
Food & Fun
In honor of one of the greatest food items ever made, Smorgasburg LA and KCRW will present Gustavo’s Great Tortilla Tournament at ROW DTLA on Sunday, October 10 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. In this year’s tournament of champions, every participating tortilleria has won at least one round in past years, so this time it will be the best of the best competing for that golden tortilla. There’ll also be sets from KCRW DJs to enjoy, scavenger hunts, and an Ask a Tortilla Expert table. In addition, you’ll have the city’s largest weekly outdoor food market (Smorgasburg LA) to browse through, with 90+ vendors of food, design, craft, vintage, wellness, and more. There is plenty of parking, too, with a newly built parking garage available to the public. This is a free, family-friendly event (sorry, no pets allowed); detailed arrival instructions for the tournament will be emailed to you after registration.
Also, what could be more fun for the whole family than the annual Rotary Pumpkin Patch, which opens tomorrow – Saturday, October 9 – on N. Larchmont Blvd. We’ll have a whole story about it tomorrow (the link above goes to one of last year’s stories), but we definitely want to give everyone at least a tiny heads-up today that the pumpkins are coming!
History & Community
Moving on to community, with another callback from last week, The Tom LaBonge Day of Service will be taking place this Saturday, October. 9 from 8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Unfortunately, this beloved LA native and former Councilmember (also known as ‘Mr. LA’) passed away earlier this year, so in honor of his service to this great city and his October 6 birthday, the City of Los Angeles will be hosting five simultaneous community cleanups around town. Each site will also include speakers, starting around 8:45 a.m., with clean up starting at 9:20 a.m. Please visit bit.ly/LaBonge for more information and to sign up.
Next is the third and final reminder from last week: “Girls with dreams become women with vision” is the mantra for the 7th annual I Matter: Girls Empowerment Conference presented by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. Join in-person from Loma Alta Park, Earvin “Magic” Johnson Park, or the Hacienda Heights Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 9, from 10 a.m – 3 p.m., where girls ages 12-18 will have an opportunity to connect with their peers and speakers to feel connected, inspired, and empowered. This free event will have live music and interactive workshops, including Women in Tech, Girls and Women with Vision: Making Your Career Dreams Come True, Pathways to College, and Sports and Dance. More than 1,200 girls participated last year, but space is limited, so register today and secure your spot!
And here’s a whole lot of that live action I promised last week, which is you taking to 6 miles of open streets< on bikes, skateboards, skates, scooters (the non-motorized kind), or on foot during CicLAvia – Heart of LA presented by Metro. Come celebrate 10 years of CicLAvia this Sunday, October 10 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., where you can breathe fresher air and feel the love of community. Inspired by the ciclovía events that started 45 years ago in Bogotá, Columbia, this year’s event will take place in DTLA, with no starting point or finish line, so feel free to roam the open streets with your own agenda (click on the links for a guide to activities along the route and a guide to local gems, courtesy of CicLAvia). This is a free event for people of all ages and abilities, with only people-powered vehicles allowed (motorized wheelchairs are the exception). Click on the links for more information on the rules of the route and to download a map.
Lastly, for H&C, the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles’s 38th Hollywood Forever Cemetery Walking Tour is, unfortunately, sold out this weekend, but the ADSLA has a another cool virtual event, London Nightlife in the Art Deco Era, happening on Friday, October 15 from 7-8:30 p.m. Go back to London nightlife in the 1920s and ’30s, with British historian Lucy Jane Santos, as you take a tour of the city’s most popular nightclubs, bars, and hotels, including the oldest surviving cocktail bar in Britain – the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel (pictured here). Meet bartenders and customers and learn about some of the iconic cocktails from the period, with cocktail making demos sprinkled throughout the lecture. Tickets are $6 for members and $10 for non-members (become a member here).
Local Government
The Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council has two meetings this week, starting with an Ad Hoc meeting for the NPG (Neighborhood Purposes Grants) Committee on Sunday, October 10 from 5-6 p.m. Click here for details on how to join. And then, on Wednesday, October 13 from 6:30-9:30 p.m., is the General Board meeting. Click here for details and supporting documents.
And, finally, the Mid City West Neighborhood Council will begin the week with a HRRRS (Homelessness, Refugees, and Renters’ Rights) Committee meeting on Monday, October 11 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Click here for details and meeting agenda. Next, is the General Board meeting on Tuesday, October 12 from 6:30-10 p.m. Click here for details on how to join. And one more for good measure, the Outreach and Civic Engagement Committee will connect on Thursday, October 14 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.< Click here for details and meeting agenda.
