The Week Ahead – Events for February 25-March 2, 2023

Editor’s Note: While we love to make fun of ourselves for being skittish about the weather, this weekend’s storm is serious. We urge Buzz readers to heed the warnings of emergency officials and stay home, if possible.  

If you’re a brave Angeleno who isn’t afraid of driving in the rain for a short distance, then you should be able to navigate this weekend’s weather to arrive at your destinations safely and soundly. The rewards for your bravery will be great, as they would include all the wonders of the warm, dry, indoor venues that will be hosting the wonderfully curated list of events below. Ferrari Day has finally arrived at the Petersen, as has the Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society’s  Annual Tea, and several great book and art events.

Arts, Culture, and Ferraris

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE! Now that I have your attention, please do catch the last two days (thanks to me not including it in last week’s column by mistake) of Iambic Lab, happening now through Sunday, February 26 at the Independent Shakespeare Company Studio in Atwater Village.  “An actor becomes a character, a room becomes a world, an audience of strangers becomes collaborators in a singular event…In many ways, theater is the art of transformation. What’s more, the concept of transformation is central to the most theatrical stories we tell: What is true at the end of the story that wasn’t true at the start of it?” This year’s theme is “transformation,” if you hadn’t already guessed, with highlights that include a screening of Live at the Porpentine: A Comedy of Errors, followed by a Q&A with the artists, and a discussion with Dr. Juan Lamata (a bona fide scholar), about trans identities and the transience of gender in Renaissance culture. Don’t miss out on the fun! Click on the links above for all the specifics.

As always, LACMA has oodles of good programs going on, but this particular one stood out to me this calendar week and it’s titled Art & Music: Coded. To celebrate the exhibition Coded: Art Enters the Computer Age, 1952–1982, this concert in the galleries will feature members of CalArts performing poetry, music, and dance. This performance will include works by James Tenney, Alison Knowles, Catherine Lamb, and Channa Horwitz, featuring the Isaura String Quartet, vocalist Carmina Escobar, and dancers from CalArts Dance Studio, along with a specially created interactive installation from CalArts Music Technology: Interaction, Intelligence & Design, directed by Musical Scientist Ajay Kapur. The event takes place on Saturday, February 25 from 7:30 – 9 p.m. at BCAM/LACMA. Cost for Members is $20; General Public $25. Get Tickets Here.

Join the Petersen Automotive Museum as it gets the anniversary celebrations started with an exclusive Ferrari Tour Day & Evening Reception on Saturday, February 25 from 2-9 p.m. Get exclusive access to some of the biggest and best private Ferrari collections Southern California has to offer, from the 250 GTO to the F40 and everything in between, this is a day every Ferrari collector (or people who just like cool cars) won’t want to miss. Dinner begins at 6 p.m. Tickets for the Collection Tour + Dinner are $250; Museum Tour + Dinner are $100 per person. Bonus: Petersen Members receive 20% off tickets. And why not make a weekend out of it by also attending the Annual Enzo Ferrari Cruise-In on the morning of Sunday, February 26 from 8-11 a.m. In collaboration with the Ferrari Club of America, Southwest Region to be specific, The Petersen, is pleased to host this annual event, set to be the largest gathering of Ferrari on the West Coast! Complimentary parking, bagels, and coffee will be provided to attendees.

Stretch those pinky fingers, ladies and gents, because it’s that time again, time for the Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society’s Annual Tea and country club soiree, if you will.  Please join the WSHPHS this Sunday Funday, February 26 from 1-4 p.m. at the Wilshire Country Club (301 N. Rossmore Ave.) for an afternoon delight of tea and special guests, including newly elected Councilwoman Katy Young Yaroslavsky (CD5), and guest speaker, photographer and author Tom Zimmerman as he discusses his book, Spectacular Illumination: Neon Los Angeles 1925-1965. The cost for tickets is $75 for Members and $85 for Non-Members. Whether you’ve always wanted to call yourself a member of a historical society or just decided in this very moment…click here to join. You won’t be sorry!

And the Craft Contemporary is shooting out crafty workshops like a Care Bear stare this weekend and week, and I’m excited! It all starts on Saturday, February 25 with a Pendant Carving Workshop with Carve & Cast Co. from 12-2 p.m. Led by metalsmith Rainie Brazil, participants will learn how to carve your own wax pendant that Brazil will then kindly cast in bronze for you. The cost is $110 and $100 for Members. RSVP here. And why not keep the creative juices flowing until the next day, Sunday, February 26, for a Body Adornment & Wearable Art Workshop with Alicia Piller from 12-4 p.m. Create mixed media jewelry pieces and body adornment inspired by the techniques, materials, and themes in Alicia Piller’s solo exhibition, Within. The cost is $75 and $70 for Members. RSVP here. And in conclusion of CC’s week of craftiness, Maker Night: Indigo with Textile Arts LA will end things on a blue note this coming Thursday, March 2 from 6-8 p.m. Come spend the evening with friends of CC, Textile Arts LA, as they teach us how to dye natural fabrics with natural dyes. The cost is $12 and Free for Members. RSVP here.

What do story time, book talks, and Larchmont Village have in common, you ask? Why, It’s local treasure and LA’s oldest independent bookstore, Chevalier’s Books and it’s got quite the schedule for you and yours this time ’round. Let’s see, there’s Storytime (This is What I Eat by Aliza Sokolow) on Sunday, February 26 at 10:30 a.m.; a discussion of Jennifer’s Wright’s new book about 19th Century abortionist, Madame Restell, on Tuesday, February 28 at 6 p.m. (“As Wright shows in her thrilling new book of pop history, MADAME RESTELL: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York’s Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist, none of the debates we are having today are new—the fight for control over a pregnancy did not begin with Roe and it won’t end with Dobbs.”); and on Friday, March 3 around 6 pm-ish, Lou Matthews will be in the house talking about his most recent release, Shaky Town, “a timeless novel of working-class Los Angeles. From a teenage girl caught in the middle of a gang war to a priest who has lost his faith, the characters in Shaky Town live on a dangerous fault line but remain unshakable in their connections to one another.” All events are free and open to the public.

Local Government

And the Mid City West Neighborhood Council has two more on the books this week, including an all important Zoom MCWNC Candidate Forum on Monday, February 27 at 7 p.m. Come virtually meet the candidates running to serve as Board Members of the MCWNC for the 2023-2025 term. And, who knows, maybe it’ll inspire you to get more involved in your community or join yourself! Then on Tuesday, February 28, the Social and Racial Equity Committee will gather virtually from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Click here to check MCW’s calendar for details.

In conclusion, the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council has just one meeting, and it’s for the Land Use Committee on Tuesday, February 28 at 6:30 p.m. sharp! P.S. All NC meetings may go back to IRL starting next month, so stay tuned for more info.

[NOTE:  This article was updated after publication to remove the LA Zoo’s Walk for the Wild event, which was cancelled due to inclement weather.]