We’re heading into a nice long weekend, with a nice selection of ways to enjoy it.
First up, this being the last weekend in May, it’s also the last weekend of Big Sunday’s Month of Big Sundays, a full month of great volunteer opportunities for people of all ages and with all kinds of interests. This weekend, there are six events to choose from: helping clean up a coastal wetlands site, building a garden at a family housing facility, preparing a meal for seniors, revitalizing a puppy play yard, going on a fun cruise, or helping with a barbecue and carnival for handicapped teens. Check out the list and have a great time pitching in to help some wonderful people!
If you’re in the mood for something creative, Hello Critter Yoga will host a Write and Laugh with Goats workshop, starting at 10:45 a.m. on Saturday, at Anthony Meindl’s Actor Workshop, 905 Cole Ave., in Hollywood. The organizers invite you to “nurture your creative spirit by doing something that’s completely out of the box, imaginative & magical.” The event will includ guided writing, improv, creativity and mindfulness exercises “to release the inner-critic, be in the moment, have fun and tap into the wisdom, whimsy & Zen of Nigerian Dwarf Goats BeBe & Gigi.” All levels are welcome, and no previous experienced is needed…but please note that the class is for adults. Space is limited, so advance registration is required at the link above. Tickets are $50 for one, or $80 for two (so you can save by bringing afriend).
Also getting its creative groove on on, starting at 11 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, the St. Elmo Village community arts organization, 4830 S. Elmo Dr., 90019, will hold a 50th anniversary Celebration and Street Festival, a two-day celebration featuring live jazz, blues and dance performances, spoken word, artisan vendors, food trucks, and art-making. Peformers will include theTepeyollotl Danzantes Aztecas (Aztec/Mayan), Kabasa (Drumming), Lula Washington Dance Theatre (Dance), “Poetic Moment” (Spoken Word), The Rev. Shawn Amos (Blues), La Verdad (East LA Rock), Fernando Pullum Youth Orchestra (Swing), the Watts Prophets (Amde Hamilton) (Spoken Word), Sandra Booker (Vocal Jazz), Dwight Trible (Vocal Jazz), and M & M: the Afro-Persian Experience (World). It’s all free and open to everyone…but please note that if you drive, you should park at either the Midtown Shopping Center (Pico & San Vicente), or the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center (4708 W. Washington Blvd.). Shuttles will be running from both locations to the event. See the event link above for the full schedule and details.
This last weekend in May is also the last weekend in natioal Bike Month, and Metro continues its own month of bike-centered events with a special Crenshaw-area bike ride, through Leimert Park Village, starting at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Join folks from the Metro Bicycle Education Safety Training (BEST) Program to preview some of the future train stations along the incoming Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project, with stops at a few local community gems along the way…including Eso Won Books, the Ride On! Bike Co-Op, and the Vision Theatre. Get some exercise, meet local neighbors and learn some important bicycle safety tips and tricks. It’s all free and you can come for the full ride, or just part of it. The full route map is here…and you can sign up here. Attendees will also receive a special-edition Metro Eat Shop Play TAP card, while supplies last.
Meanwhile, the American Cinematheque, at the Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., has a lot for movie lovers to love this weekend. It all begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday, with a 6-film “Godzillathon” extravaganza, including Godzilla: The Japanese Original (Gojira)(1954, shown in the original Japanese, with English subtitles), Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla’s Revenge (aka All Monsters Attack) (1969),
Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (KAIJÛ DAISENSÔ) (1965), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (aka Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster) (1974), and Godzilla vs. Megalon (1976). For tickets, trailers, and exact start times for each film, see the link above.
And later, starting at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, the Cinematheque will present a Malcolm McDowell double-feature – Cat People and Time After Time, with a live discussion with the actor between films. See the film link for tickets and details.
Moving into Sunday, the Petersen Museum revs up at 9 a.m. with its annual Japanese Car Cruise-in. According to the museum, last year’s event brought out more than 350 of SoCal’s finest street, show, and track cars, from Civics to Skylines and everything in between. And this year, “We are highlighting 5 generations of the Toyota Supra and bringing up the 1997 Supra Mark IV from our Vault! This Supra is fitted with a rare Ridox body kit from Japan and most of the pieces on the Supra are full carbon fiber with a stunning coat of Ferrari Rosso Corsa paint!” Note that the event will happen rain or shine (and yes, rain may be in the forecast for Sunday). Admission is free for spectators, with RSVPs at the link above, though parking and museum admission (if you’d like to visit) are extra.
Just a bit later on Sunday, and just up the street at the Miracle Mile Toy Hall, 5464 Wilshire Blvd., you can enjoy the Bob Baker Marionette Theater’s “Something to Crow About” show, starting at 11 a.m. Enjoy the BBMT’s “classic brand of magic and whimsy,” in a show described thusly: “A glamorous chicken, MISS CLARISSA, as she was billed on Broadway, has retired from the theater. She will live..according to her last press release…on her “Estate” surrounded by admirers and lovingly cared for by her faithful retainers. The truth is..that Miss Clarissa, to her chagrin, is now laying eggs on a farm instead of Broadway..and she views her “twilight years” with alarm. Her “faithful retainers”..Mama and Papa Goat..prove that Clarissa may accept her social security checks with aplomb secure in the thought that “Broadway is not all that glitters.”” Tickets are $10 and all ages are welcome.
And finally, on Sunday, we go back to the Egyptian Theater, where the Cinematheque will present two more fun programs. The first, starting at 7 p.m. is a free screening of an episode of the TV show, “Good Girls,” described as “mixing a little Thelma & Louise with a bit of “Breaking Bad.” In the episode shown, Beth (Christina Hendricks), “has just returned home to find Rio (Manny Montana) in her dining room, with a gun trained on her bloodied and beaten husband, Dean (Matthew Lillard).” What happens next “has life changing consequences that ripple through the entire season for Beth and her fellow grocery store robbers Ruby (Retta) and Annie (Mae Whitman).” After the screening, there will be an panel discussion with with writer-executive producer Jenna Bans, and actors Christina Hendricks, Mae Whitman, Retta, Matthew Lillard and Manny Montana. And then, after the discussion, there will also be a screening of the 1980 comedy classic, “9 to 5,” starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton.
And the second Cinematheque event on Sunday, starting at 7:30 p.m. on another screen, is a double feature of “Wakaliwood” films Bad Black and Who Killed Captain Alex? , with a discussion afterward with Bad Black producer Alan Hofmanis. According to Wikipedia, “Wakaliwood, also known as Ramon Film Productions, is a film studio based in Wakaliga, a slum in Uganda’s capital of Kampala. Its founder and director is Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey Nabwana, a.k.a. Nabwana IGG, who has been called Uganda’s Tarantino, after the gratuitous violence in his films. Wakaliwood is best known for its ultra-low budget (estimated to be in the region of $200]) ultra-violent movies, such as Who Killed Captain Alex?, Bad Black, Tebaatusasula, and the upcoming crowdsourced film Tebaatusasula: Ebola.” Bad Black is called “the craziest, most over-the-top action film ever seen,” and according to Nick Allen, writing in “The Film Stage,” Who Killed Captain Alex? “features Ugandan commandos, kung fu, a MIDI version of Seal’s ‘Kiss From a Rose,’ a rambunctious (and sometimes farting) in-film commentary track, and some more supa action.”
Have a great weekend!
