Wow – holiday season events are busting out all over this weekend, both city-wide and locally. This is one of those weekends that is just too jam packed with fun activities, so you’ll have to pick and choose carefully.
First up, at 9 a.m. on Saturday, for those who would like to improve their fitness and find a great support network for doing it, Everwalk will be holding its first monthly walking event at Pan Pacific Park. The Everwalk organization was started by famed long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad (who lives in Wilshire Park) to provide walking events, buddies, routes and a support network to get people up and walking. The group asks participants to commit to walking three times a week, for fun and fitness, and will be holding monthly walking events on the first Saturday of each month. This one will start in the park at near the Fairfax Library parking lot, at 161 N. Gardner St. Then, after some stretching and juice, they’ll do five one-mile loops around the park. Participants can do one, two, three, four, or all five of the loops – whatever works for you. It’s free and it’s not a race, so feel free to come, meet new walkers and have fun walking.
Next up on Saturday is the first of several holiday shopping events. The Assistance League of Los Angeleswill be holding a holiday sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 245 S. McCadden Place, to benefit the League’s Preschool Learning Center, “a high-quality preschool for low-income families.” Holiday bites and beverages will be served. See the flier for contact information.
Meanwhile, the charming new coffee and pastry pitstop, Full Service Coffee, 4450 Beverly Blvd., will be celebrating the holiday season this weekend by selling tamales from The Tamale Shoppe, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. Very easy to swing by and pick some up with your morning coffee.
One of the biggest events this weekend, and running through December 9, is the huge annual LA Auto Show. The extravaganza, which is billed as one of the largest such shows in the world, with more than 1,000 vehicles on display, opens today (Friday, Nov. 30), and serves as a “one-stop-shop for comparison shopping cars, trucks, SUVs, electric vehicles & more without any sales pressure.” There are also free test drives, displays about the latest automotive technologies, and more. And this year for the first time, discounted tickets are available online only for all adults.
Next, as the Buzz reported earlier this week, the new Buck Mason men’s clothing store will hold a Grand Opening celebration for its new location at 107 N. Larchmont Blvd. The event, from 12-7 p.m. on Saturday, will feature coffee and tea from Go Get Em Tiger, rotisserie chicken from “The Chicken Guys” (a popular vendor at the Larchmont Farmers Market), and brews from M. Special Brewery, a locally owned brewery.
For movie and book fans, the Hollywood Heritage Museuem, 2100 N. Highland Ave. will host its 7th Annual Afternoon with the Authors, from 12-4 p.m. on Saturday. The event features “a sparkling selection of authors of Hollywood-themed books,” including Jeremy Arnold, Meredith Ponedel, Mark Vieira, Tom Nolan, Mary Mallory, Marc Wanamaker, Steven L. Vaught, Erika Thomas, Ed Rampell, Allan Ellenberger, Cari Beauchamp, Romina Power, Darby Hinton, and Kathryn Sermak, whose celebrated book “Miss D & Me: Life With the Invincible Bette Davis” features “a riveting behind-the-scenes look as Bette Davis’ personal assistant during the last 10 years of her life.” Also, starting at 4 p.m., there will be a special screening of a rarely-seen, award-winning documentary chronicling Ms. Davis’ last public appearance at the San Sebastian Film Festival in 1989. Admission is free and open to all.
Also from 12-4 p.m. on Saturday is the special seasonal La Brea Holiday Shop & Stroll @ District La Brea. Retailers between 1st and 2nd Streets on La Brea Ave. are coming together to celebrate the holiday season with free, exclusive in-store activities, holiday installations, special promotions and sales. There will also be live music, food trucks, an ice cream truck and more. See the link above for the full list of participating merchants and activities.
Next up, if you want a change from shopping, there are two interesting local library events. First, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, at Memorial Branch Library, 4625 W. Olympic Blvd., David Judson of Judson Studios will speak about the historic stained glass window at the library, which commemorates twenty alumni from Los Angeles High School who died in World War I. And after the talk, there will be a special screening of the Craft In America: California television episode featuring The Gamble House, stained glass artists at Judson Studios and cabinetmakers James and Jack Ipekjian. Seating is limited, so please contact the library to sign up before the event.
Then at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, at the Wilshire Branch Library, 149 S. St. Andrews Pl., there will be a Body Positive workshop, combining elements of Eastern philosophy, yoga, and intuitive eating. Dietician and yoga instructor Mayuko Okai will help you begin your journey toward a healthier lifestyle and outlook.
Meanwhile, on Third St., between Fairfax and La Cienega, the W. 3rd St. retail district will be holding its annual Holiday Street Party from 2-6 p.m. on Saturday. More than 50 participating shops and restaurants will have exclusive in-store discounts, free food and drinks, live entertainment and special holiday visitors.
Heading back east a bit, the New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd. (just west of La Brea) will be back in business, showing its always-great linuep of vintage favorites, after being closed for upgrades since the first of the year. The theater’s first shows will be Batman Returns (at 2 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday), Butch & Sundance: The Early Years (6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (8:50 p.m. Saturday and Sunday) and Dazed & Confused: 25th Anniversary (11:50 p.m. on Saturday only).
And finally on Saturday (and Sunday) the West Adams Heritage Association will present its 32nd Annual Holiday Tour & Progressive Dinner, this year titled Hearthside in Harvard Heights. This year’s tour opens the doors to a half dozen historic Craftsman style homes – including the Lucy Wheeler Residence, designed by architects Greene and Greene – in the Harvard Heights neighborhood of the Historic West Adams District. Tickets are available for either Saturday or Sunday, with the progressive dinner tours beginning at 3 p.m. each day and departing approximately every 30 minutes after that. A separate course of the festive holiday menu will be served at each house, and will feature appetizers (and champagne!), soup, salad, entrée with sides, and dessert. Note that there is also a self-guided Walking Tour from noon to 3 p.m.on Sunday. Visitors will see the same historic houses, festively decorated for the holidays, but without the food. For tickets and more details, see the event link above. (Also, please note that several starting times for the progressive dinner are already sold out…so if you’d like to attend, please make reservations sooner than later.)
Sunday’s not quite as jam-packed as Saturday this week, but there is still plenty to do, starting with Ciclavia, the periodic open streets event that closes a large swath of city streets to vehicular traffic, and opens it to exploration by folks on bikes, skates, foot and more. This time, the event is titled “Heart of LA,” and returns to Chinatown, DTLA, Little Tokyo and Boyle Heights. The route opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m. It’s not a race, and there’s no official start of finish, just a great chance to wander, play and enjoy the area. For maps and route highlights, see the link above.
Closer to home on Sunday, at 2 p.m. the Craft and Folk Art Museum will host “Soft Spaces: A Conversation with Uzumaki Cepeda and Melian Junius,” whose work is featured in the current museum exhibit, “Daydreaming by Uzumaki Cepeda.” The talk, moderated by Sasha Ali, will focus on the representation of women of color in creative fields, the importance of creating safe spaces, and creative outlets that foster and promote inclusivity. The event is free, but space is limited, so please RSVP.
And finally, Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, begins at sundown on Sunday, and the Original Farmers Market will host its annual Hanukkah Celebration from 2:30-5 p.m. The event will feature live music by Charlie Kramer, story time with PJ Library, entertainment, arts and crafts, the building of a giant LEGO menorah and a menorah lighting ceremony.
Happy Hanukkah…and have a great big holiday weekend!
