Several fun annual events are happening this weekend…along with some great one-time opportunities, too.
As you may have heard from many sources, the big to-do this weekend, all across the city, is the annual SoCal Museum Free for All, during which more than 40 area museums, of all types, offer free admission. (Note that this usually applies just to regular admission, not special exhibits, and not parking, which will still be at their usual prices.) Check each individual museum’s website for specifics for that insititution, and the Free for All link, above, for the full list of participating institutions. Participating museums closest to us include: Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, The Broad (where the special exhibition Shirin Neshat: I Will Greet the Sun Again, will be free along with general admission on Saturday only), California African American Museum, California Science Center, Craft Contemporary, Japanese American National Museum, La Brea Tar Pits (general admission only), LACMA, Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the Museum of Tolerance (participating on Sunday only), Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (general admission only), and The Wende Museum.
Meanwhile, starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME), 2270 S. Harvard Blvd., there’s a big Candidate Forum in CD 10, where five candidates are running to replace former City Council President Herb Wesson, who’s termed out and now running for County Supervisor. There will be a continental breakfast starting at 9:30, and the panel will be moderated by Dr. Jody Armour, Professor of Law at the University of Southern California, and Alex Cohen, a Spectrum News One anchor. Candidates scheduled to appear include community organizer Channing Martinez, current LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, human rights activist Melvin Snell, former LADWP commissioner Aura Vasquez, and community leader/attorney Grace Yoo. The event is sponsored by the six West Adams-area Neighborhood Councils and a Leimert Park block club. It’s free and open to all.
Just a bit later, and just to the east at 3500 Adams Blvd., the Peace Awareness Labyrinth and Gardens, will be holding an introductory Experience the Labyrinth Workshop from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday. Participants will learn how to set intentions before before walking the labyrinth, to help clarify and energize the meditation. The cost is just $10 (includes refreshments), and the historic Guasti Villa gardens will also be open until 4 p.m., with docents available. For more information, contact [email protected] or 323-328-1937.
Back in the Larchmont area, and starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday, the John C. Fremont Branch Library, 6121 Melrose Ave., will host an LA Play Readers Roundtable, where the group will choose its next play or screenplay for an upcoming staged reading. Anyone interested in exercising their dramatic skills is welcome to join in.
For your art enjoyment this weekend, the TAG Gallery, 5458 Wilshire Blvd., will present an opening reception, from 5-8 p.m. on Saturday, for the new exhibition Blackstract, curated by gallery manager Rakeem Cunningham. The exhibition features the work of Deitra Charles, Patrice Fisher, Andrew Gray, Hasef, David Leggett, Haleigh Nickerson, and Brittney Leeanne Williams. The exhibition itself will run from January 21 – February 15, and the goal of the show “is to present black artists as fully realized human beings, not just oppressed bodies whose pain is on the display for the entertainment of the viewer.”
Moving on to Sunday, and starting at 8 a.m., the Petersen Musem, will host a special American car Cruise-in, on the third level of the museum’s parking garage, with a special panel discussion afterward with guests Peter Brock, Peter Miles, Aaron Shelby, A.J. Baime, Allen Grant, Lenny Shabes, and Charles Agapiou. Free tickets are available at the link above, and include complimentary coffee and bagels, access to the Cruise-In, and admission to the panel discussion.
Next, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, local resident Jennifer Levin will host a mobile blood drive outside her home at 153 S. Norton Ave. (courtesy of a mobile Cedars Sinai blood drive van). January is National Blood Drive Month, so this is a great way to celebrate. (Also, according to Cedars, donations are low at the moment, so the need is urgent.) Everyone is welcome and homemade taquitos and horchata will be served. Walk-ins are welcome, thoug donors are encouraged to schedule a time slot. And note that an ID is required.
Meanwhile, the Original Farmers Market will celebrate the Lunar New Year (Year of the Rat) with a full slate of festivities from 2-5 p.m. on Sunday. Activities include Lion dances, a chalk art presentation, balloon twisting, Chinese calligraphy, a dragon puppet craft, Korean fan dances, a magic show, a kung fu demonstration, and more. See the event link for the full schedule and times of each activity.
And finally this weekend, if you get hungry (and who won’t?), remember that DineLA, the big semi-annual restaurant extravaganza, is still going on, with special prix fixe menus at hundreds of area eateries (including the Grove and Farmers Market, if you’re already there for the New Year festivities). It’s a great way to try something new from an old favorite…or explore and find some new favorite restaurants for the new year.
Have a great weekend!
