Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day…and More – Weekend Events for March 15-17

The big holiday this weekend is, of course, St. Patrick’s Day…and you’ll have many chances to wear green, eat green, and drink green on Sunday. But you’ll also find two Ramadan-related events on our Larchmont Buzz calendar this weekend, several kinds of spring-related events, and a big, family-friendly Cesar Chavez Day celebration in downtown LA. But if none of those appeal, there are, as always, a wide variety of other intriguing ways to spend your days, and a long list of local film screenings for movie fans of all ages.

St. Patrick’s Day

For the Irish among you (or those who just want to go green for the day), we found at least six great local venues that will be offering special St. Patrick’s Day celebrations on Sunday, March 17.

Tom Bergin’s Pub (840 S. Fairfax Ave.) is always first out of the gate on what may be its biggest day of the year, with a tented parking lot party starting at 6 am and featuring multiple bars, live bagpipe performance, a DJ spinning all things Irish. An Irish breakfast is also served from 6-11 am, but the party runs all day…and all night, too.

Nearby, Molly Malone’s (575 S. Fairfax) opens just a bit later with a party that runs from 9 a.m.-12:30 am Sunday, featuring seven different live bands throughout the day.

Meanwhile, at 742 S. Highland Ave., the Cat & Fiddle Pub and Restaurant will be celebrating with events that also include a parking lot party, a burlesque show, Guinness and Harp specials, and a special menu featuring Corned Beef (and Corned Beef Sliders), Split Pea Soup, and more.

Starting at noon on Sunday, Chicas Tacos (inside All-Season Brewing Co. at 800 S. La Brea) will be offering Irish Nachos and pretzels in addition to their standard tacos, pizzas and more.

And the Original Farmers Market, at 3rd and Fairfax, is celebrating with Glen the Bagpiper strolling from 12:30-3:30 pm on Sunday, the Merry Minstrels playing traditional Irish folk music on the East Patio from 4-6 pm, Magee’s Kitchen, the Market’s first eatery, serving its world-famous corned beef, cabbage, and potato plate all day…and green beer, Guinness and other imported Irish beers on tap at E.B’s Beer & Wine and Bar 326 all day.

Finally, for a very different kind of celebration for your inner (or outer) geek, there’s also the Sir Patrick’s Day (as in Sir Patrick Stewart) celebration a day earlier, on Saturday, March 16, from 11 am to midnight at the Scum & Villany Cantina (6377 Hollywood Blvd.). It starts with Star Trek/X-Men/Patrick Stewart trivia at 1 pm, followed by Bonnie Gordon (the voice of the computer on Star Trek Prodigy) performing a mini-concert featuring geeky theme songs from Star Trek and all your other favorite fandoms.

Spring and Other Holidays

March is also International Women’s Month, which the Philosophical Research Society celebrates tonight – Friday, March 15 from 6:30-9:30 pm – with the SSG Salon, presenting Los Angeles-based women-identified artists and poets in intimate conversations about their practice, friendships, and influence. The “intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange of feminist practices” features artists María Adela Díaz, Cindy Rehm, Irka Mateo, Eva Malhotra, Rosalinda Martínez Nieves and Desiree Morales.

Also tonight (Friday), starting at 7 p.m., LACMA presents the first of its Ramadan-month Taste and Sound sunset events bringing people together over food and live musical performances. Visitors are encouraged to break their fast (if they’re observing) by bringing their own picnic blankets and refreshments or purchasing a custom mezze box created by chef Paris Rezaie. This first event features Los Angeles–based artist Maral, whose sonic palette incorporates a collage of samples pulled from Iranian classical music and folk field recordings.

Ramadan is also on the menu for a special story hour at Chevalier’s Books on Saturday, March 15, at 12 p.m. Marya Ayloushv will read It’s Ramadan, Curious George, in which everyone’s favorite monkey helps his friend Kareem with his first fast, joins in the evening celebration of tasting treats and enjoying a special meal, makes gift baskets to donate to the needy, and watches for the crescent moon with the Man in the Yellow Hat. Finally, George joins in the Eid festivities to mark the end of his very first Ramadan.

And of course, aside from all the specific holidays this month, we’re definitely heading more generally into spring, which the Grove will celebrate with its first-ever Spring Fling on Saturday, March 16 from 12-4 p.m. You’ll find a “whimsical Easter oasis” in the mall’s central park, with your favorite Apple TV+ kids and family shows and a petting zoo full of furry friends. There will also be complimentary sips from Caliwater and Caliwater Kids, with special appearances from 11 am to 1 pm from company founder Vanessa Hudgens and actresses Nikki Reed, Roselyn Sanchez and Brook Burke.

Meanwhile, another sure sign of spring is the annual opening of the Butterfly Pavilion at the Natural History Museum, which takes place on Sunday, March 17 from 10 am to 5 pm. The attraction will be open through August 25, with visitors walking among hundreds of butterflies in NHM’s outdoor, open-air netted enclosure. The seasonal experience also features colorful native plants and a peek at all the stages of the butterfly lifecycle — from eggs to caterpillars and chrysalises — for up to 30 different species, including California natives like the Mourning cloak and Common Buckeye. Museum educators and animal care specialists will be on-site to share what makes these animals so special.

And finally, for holidays and seasonal celebrations, Cesar Chavez Day is coming up later this month, but on Sunday, March 17, from 12-4 pm, there will be a special Cesar Chavez Family Day celebration at La Plaza Cultura y Artes, 501 N. Main St. in DTLA. Attendees of all ages can learn about the fight for farm labor rights and celebrate activist and labor leader César Chávez with music, dance, and art and garden workshops. Guest performers include the Tierra Blanca presenting a theatrical presentation of the life of César Chávez, the Santa Monica Youth Orchestra, Y Arriba Mexico and DJ Ani and DJ Sol. Workshops include the ¡Si Se Puede! Collage, ¡Huelga! UFW Flag, and Semillitas: Urban Gardening.

For More Variety

One of LA’s truly unique venues, the Velaslavasay Panorama, 1122 W. 24th St., will host an equally unique event this weekend – The Future Is A Well-Traveled Track: Wheary Peepers Trunk Show – a live performance of moving screen projections by Ursula Brookbank. The performance accompanies the Panorama’s new permanent installation, The Wheary Peepers — named after the premier luggage of choice for stars of old-time traveling stage shows, like those who would have performed at the Union Theater (where the Panorama now lives) during the early and mid-1930s. There are two separate events connected to the opening, the live performance by Brookbank on Friday, March 15 at 8 pm, and on Saturday, March 16, from 2-5 pm, more casual demonstrations of the improvisational shadow performance and a workshop for attendees on working with overhead projectors to create illusive, transitive portrayals of humble objects. Guests are also invited to explore the museum, gardens and grounds, and to view new paintings by artists Guan Rong and Pa Sacio Davinci.

If you’re craving some fresh air this weekend, head to Griffith Park on Saturday morning. Starting at 8 a.m. at the Griffith Park Visitors Center, 4370 Crystal Springs Dr., urban ecologist Courtney McCammon will lead attendees) on a nature walk to learn about the park’s resident plants and wildlife species. All ages are welcome, but please bring water, sunscreen, a hat and hiking shoes.

Meanwhile, starting at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, at Ovation Hollywood (6801 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 513), there will be a Hollywood Residents Town Hall Meeting with CD 13 City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez. Join the council member for a discussion of issues facing the Hollywood neighborhood, hear your neighbors’ questions and concerns, and bring yours as well. Please RSVP at the event link above.

Lastly in this section, if you’re looking for something to do on Sunday, March 17 that has nothing at all to do with St. Patrick’s Day, the LA Conservancy invites you to Meet Us at the Greek: LA Conservancy Greek Theatre Tour. This one-day-only opportunity will provide a backstage look at the historic 1930 venue, with its iconic Greek-style stage and amphitheater, which has been home to countless concerts and events for more than 90 years. You’ll visit dressing rooms where stars like Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, and Bruce Springsteen prepared before their shows, and you’ll get a close-up look at the facility’s extensive historic restoration, uncovering architectural details not visible for decades. Tours start every 30 minutes between 9 am and 3:30 p.m., but be sure to reserve a spot as soon as possible – some slots are already sold out.

Film this Weekend

We love to remind folks that we live in the entertainment capital of the world, with some of the nation’s biggest and best film organizations either in or near our very own neighborhood. So here’s a list of local-ish screenings you can see on a big screen this weekend. Click the individual links for film, location, and ticket details:

Friday:

6:30 pm – Drunken Master & Mr. Nice Guy (Double Feature) – New Beverly Cinema
7:00 pm – The Mask (1961) in 3-D – Philosophical Research Society
11:59 pm – Death Proof – New Beverly Cinema

Saturday:

12:00 pm – Classe Tous Risques – American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theater
1:30 pm – Pure Grit – Autry Museum of the American West
2:00 pm – Alice in Wonderland – New Beverly Cinema
2:00 pm – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – Wilshire Branch Library
3:00 pm – Oscar-Winning Animated Short Films – Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
3:00 pm – Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World – American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theater
6:30 pm – Drunken Master & Mr. Nice Guy (Double Feature) – New Beverly Cinema
7:00 pm – Lost in the Night – American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theater
7:30 pm – The Zone of Interest (Best International Feature Film) – Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
11:59 pm – Leprechaun – New Beverly Cinema

Sunday:

2:00 pm – Alice in Wonderland – New Beverly Cinema
2:00 pm – The Boy and the Heron (Best Animated Featured Film) – Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
6:00 pm – Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles – American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theater
6:30 pm – Drunken Master & Mr. Nice Guy (Double Feature) – New Beverly Cinema
7:30 pm – Oppenheimer (Best Picture) – Academy Museum

And One More Thing…

Finally for this weekend, more of a heads-up than an event notice: the annual Los Angeles Marathon will be run this Sunday, March 17, and while the course is mostly north of us this year (moving from Dodger Stadium to Westwood), there will be some major street closures (and freeway entrance/exit closures) that could affect mobility to and from our part of town. For details, click on the map below:

Have a great weekend…and always remember: if you don’t see something that interests you in this list, there are always a lot more events on our Larchmont Buzz calendar. Please check it daily!