Once again, this weekend – the third in the Month of Big Sundays – begins with a whole bunch of great volunteer opportunities, in all sorts of venues and appropriate for all ages (they also provide official community service hours for students who need them). This week’s list includes two local school garden and beautification events on Sunday – one at Carthay Center Environmental Sutdies Magnet, and one at Wilshire Crest Elementary School (the latter of which is being coordinated by yours truly!). Sign up at the individual event links above, and show your local schools some love this weekend!
Meanwhile, if you’d rather focus on your own gardens (or learn things you might also be able to use at the school events on Sunday), the Los Angeles Board of Public Works’ Office of Community Beautification is holding its 2nd Annual Beautification Conference starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, in the 3rd floor Rotunda of City Hall, 200 N. Spring St.. The conference will bring together “key industries” and “major players” that help keep Los Angeles beautiful, and all which share “the vision of a clean and sustainable Los Angeles.” It’s a great opportunity to network and learn more about how to keep our city beautiful.
Also starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday (and running through Sunday), is the Natural History Museum’s 33rd Annual Bug Fair. Come “celebrate our winged, multi-legged, squirmy, and sometimes bug-eyed friends,” with two full days of bug-themed exhibitions, products, chefs and cooking demonstrations, crafts, exotic insect collections, bug hunts, and more. You can also, of course, meet lots of crawly creatures up close and personal, including pet tarantulas, millipedes and centipedes.
Meanwhile, in a less itchy vein, LACMA will be holding a full-day symposium for its new exhibit, Isaac Julien: Playtime, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The event will include film screenings, talks, and panel discussions with historians, scholars, and artists responding to four additional important films by Julien, the British filmmaker who has “gained acclaim for his cinematic interrogations on the politics of blackness, queerness, gender roles, and the remnants of how colonial pasts inform contemporary society.” According to LACMA, “The symposium will explore a variety of perspectives on these topics and others in Julien’s work, and ways to understand his practice in the contexts of contemporary art, cinema, and theory.” It’s all free, but tickets are required. For the full schedule of events and speakers, seee https://www.lacma.org/sites/default/files/icon-upload/date%3Acustom%3AY%5D-05/Isaac-Julien-Symposium-Program.pdf
Just a bit later, starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, you could take the kids to a special “Pay to Paint” fundraiser at the community art organization, St. Elmo Village, 4830 St. Elmo Dr., 90019. St. Elmo is sprucing up its big, vibrant courtyard murals in time for its coming 50th anniversary celebration, and you can help. Just drop in at 10:00am. It’s free for youth and there’s $25 suggested donation for adults. Snacks will be provided, and comfortable clothes, sunscreen, sunglasses and hats are recommended. Everyone is welcome!
Meanwhile, bargain hunters can check out two big annual neighborhood yard sales in historic West Adams. One is in Wellington Square, the West Adams area bordered by Washington Blvd., Crenshaw Blvd., the 10 Freeway and Buckingham Rd., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. And the other is in Lafayette Square, located between Venice and Washington, Crenshaw and West Blvd. Note that Lafayette Square is a gated community, with the only entrance at Crenshaw and St. Charles Place (midway between Venice and Washington, on the west side of Crenshaw).
As you may have heard, May is Bike Month, and on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m., Metro will hold a special Culver City Architecture as Art Ride for bikers. It’s billed as “a leisurely art and architecture bike ride with LA County Bicycle Coalition local chapter Bike Culver City, on a 6-mile bike ride through Hayden Tract and the Arts District presented by Metro Bicycle Education Safety Training (BEST) Program.” You’ll “learn about the art and architecture that make biking in Culver City special,” as the curated tour “connects a series of citywide public art installations with Bike Culver City’s efforts in making Culver City a more bike-friendly and transit-friendly place for all to enjoy.” The event is free and transit-friendly (staying within a mile of the Metro Expo Line for the entire ride). See the links above for the full schedule, route, other details and registration information.
Back in the Larchmont area, the John C. Fremont Library’s talend Play Readers group will perform a staged reading of Clifford Odet’s “Waiting for Lefty,” on Saturday afternoon at the library (6121 Melrose Ave.), starting at 2 p.m. It’s free and all are welcome.
Last but not least on Saturday, for those up for some vintage film fun, the American Cinematheque, at the Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., will be running two programs starting at 7:30 p.m. The first is ““The Hidden Voice,” and More Adventures from the Silent Serials,” which includes a complete episode from “The Exploits of Elaine” (1915), plus scenes from “The Lightning Raiser” (1915), both starring Pearl White, and both Chapter 2: (“The Iron Chair”) and Chapter 3 (“Trapping the Traitors”) from the “Wolves of Kultur” (1918), starring Charles “Lightning Hutch” Hutchison, Leigh Baird, Sheldon Lewis and Karl Dane. The show will be hosted by Tom Barnes, with live musical accompaniment by Cliff Retallick.
Meanwhile, at the same time, and on a different screen at the Egyptian, there will be a double feature of Martin Scorscese’s mobster masterpiece”Goodfellas” (1990) and John Cassavetes’ “Husbands” (1970), with a special guest appearance by the two films’ producer, Irwin Winkler.
On Sunday, Flemish artist and local resident R. Van Langenhove will have paintings available for purchase at his home at 134 South Larchmont Blvd. You can view the work any time between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Starting at noon on Sunday, you can celebrate the 150th anniversary of the LAPD with a special celebration at the Wilshire Community Police Station, 4861 W. Venice Blvd. Take a station tour, meet your local police officer, see vintage LAPD police vehicles, and learn more about the history of your local police station.
Meanwhile, Mother’s Day may have officially been last Sunday, but you can continue celebrating this week, starting at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, as local resident Vickie Bascoy and the Gamma Tau Sorority host a “very special catered garden Mother’s Day luncheon,” with live entertainment, to benefit the Good Shepherd Shelter for Women and Children (in Los Angeles) and the Holy Family Orphanage (in Lebanon). The event will be hosted at a private home – see the flier for details.
Just a bit later, from 2-5 p.m. on Sunday, you can join the Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society at the historic O’Melveny House, 501 S. Plymouth Blvd., for “The O’Melveny House & LA House Histories.” Hosts Kevin MacLellan and Brian Curran will welcome author and architectural historian David Silverman, who writes custom-made books about the history of Los Angeles homes, commissioned exclusively for homeowners. Silverman’s works have chronicled the houses of classic Hollywood icons, such as Shirley Temple, David O. Selznick, Cecil B. Demille, Marlene Deitrich and Frank Sinatra. He will speak about many of the houses he has researched, showing rare photos of the homes, their residents, and historic LA. Tickets are $30 for WSHPHS members, and $40 for non-members, at the link above.
And finally on Sunday, from 4-5 p.m., you can wind down after your busy weekend, or in anticipation of the busy week to come, with a Meditation Workshop and Individual Reiki Healing at the Dr. Pilates Studio at 418 N. Larchmont. This Workshop will focus on” clearing your energy system through intense breathwork, guided visualization, music, vibration, lighting, healing crystals, essential oils.” Beginners are welcome. Meditation Workshops take place monthly at Dr. Pilates, and this month’s topic is “Manifesting and Growth as Springtime Heads into Summer.” Seats are limited, so book in advance at the link above.
Have a great weekend!
