Spring is springing, and this is one of those weekends that’s just so full of events popping up all over that it’s almost hard to know where to start.
Saturday is looking like a day to focus on the arts…including those of the culinary variety.
A trip to the Los Angeles Public Library’s Central Library, (630 w. 5th St., downtown), is always fun…but could be even better today because it comes with chocolate. At 10:30 Saturday morning, the Culinary Historians of Southern California, a group “dedicated to pursuing food history and supporting culinary collections at the Los Angeles Public Library,” will present a free lecture, “On the Chocolate Trail: Faith Diffused Chocolate Around the World,” which examines the role of chocolate in both culinary and religious history. Rabbi Deborah Prinz’s talk explores chocolate’s religious narratives and rituals spanning several cultures, centuries, continents, and convictions.
On Saturday at 2:00 p.m., the John C. Fremont branch library, at 6121 Melrose, will hold a free “Cello Quartet – Music for Children” performance with students from the UCLA Gluck music program. While specifically designed for an elementary school-aged audience, the performance welcomes listeners of all ages.
Saturday is also a great day to take the family to a museum, as five L.A.-area institutions, including our local Craft and Folk Art Museum, are participating in the Smithsonian’s Museum Day Live! event. In the spirit of the Smithsonian Museums, which offer free admission every day, Museum Day Live! is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian magazine in which participating museums across the country open their doors – for free – to anyone presenting a Museum Day Live! ticket.
If you’re a jazz fan, your next stop could be the opening reception for “So What! — The Artistry of Miles Davis,” from 3 to 6 p.m. at the William Grant Still Arts Center, 2520 West View Street (at Adams, 90016)  This is the 8th Annual Exhibition in WGSAC’s African-American Composers Exhibition & Music Education Series.  The opening event features a live concert from Marcus L. Miller’s Project World Drum, which brings together drummers and trumpeter Dr. Alfonse White, along with electronic instruments to experiment with sounds from Miles Davis’ fusion years in the ’70s and ’80s.  The exhibit, featuring archival recordings, magazine articles, concert posters, original photographs, and a significant discography, covers the life, work, and innovation of jazz master Miles Davis…from bebop and the birth of cool to electric experimentation and beyond. It will be open through June 4.
Later, if you head north again along La Brea Ave., you could stop in for a quick bite to eat at Trejo’s Tacos, now (finally!) enjoying a “soft open” on La Brea at Sycamore, just south of Olympic.
And finally, for your Saturday evening edification, visit Wallspace, 607 N. La Brea, for an opening reception for video artist Natasa Prosenc Stearns and her “Planet Heart” installation. “Planet Heart” was first conceived as part of a video installation, Wishing Well, shown at the 2015 Venice Biennale exhibition. At Wallspace, the round semi-abstracted video of two open human heart muscles, synchronized with the sound of a water drop, is presented as a window installation.
The big reminder for Sunday morning is to set your clocks ahead one hour, since Daylight Savings Time returns, giving us a bit more daylight in the evenings again. Â (In our household we hail this day as the return of “grilling season,” since it’s once again possible to actually see what you’re barbecuing for dinner.)
Once you make sure you’re running on the same time as the rest of the world, it’s time to explore some true harbingers of spring.
As we’ve seen locally, wildflowers are booming at the moment, so if you’re up for an actual road trip out of our local area to experience nature in full bloom, try the Descanso Garden’s Cherry Blossom Festival…explore the current “superbloom” in Death Valley…or visit the poppy fields in Antelope Valley, where blossoms are just starting to appear and will get much more numerous over the next few weeks.
If you’d like to stick closer to home, however, you can still experience a more urban version of spring on Sunday.
First, check out  the free DWP-sponsored California-friendly landscaping workshop at the Carthay School for Environmental Studies, 6351 W. Olympic Blvd. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Learn how to create gardens that thrive in our local climate, use resources wisely and look beautiful all year around. You’ll also find out how to evaluate your garden as a mini-watershed , create a living soil sponge that holds onto water, treat rainwater as a resource, choose the right plants for the right place, irrigate efficiently and manage your landscape for long-term beauty.
If spring means election season to you, head on over to The Parlor, 7250 Melrose, for the Mid-City West Community Council’s candidate mixer, where you can enjoy a free breakfast and up-close-and-personal chats with the 51(!) candidates running for seats in the Council’s May elections.
Spring is also baby animal season, so our local shelters and adoption groups are doing booming business. Â If you’re in the mood to have your heart stolen and are looking for a new “fur-ever” friend, stop by the Kitt Crusaders weekly adoption event, in front of the Bank of America at 100 N. Larchmont from 12-4 p.m.
Later, starting at 1:30 p.m., return to the Craft and Folk Art Museum for its “Little Dreams on Aluminum and Ink” CraftLab Family Workshop.  “Little dreamers” are invited to delve into the magic of  the museum’s current exhibition, Little Dreams in Glass and Metal by learning how to emboss and paint on thin aluminum sheets to create their own shimmering creations. Adult tickets are $7; $5 for children.  (CAFAM members free.)
At 3 p.m., it’s time for some local(ish) history, and another trip to the West Adams area, as New York Times best-selling author David K. Randall discusses and signs his latest book, “The King and Queen of Malibu,” which tells the story of Fredrick and May Rindge, the founders of the tony beach enclave…in the stunning West Adams mansion the Rindges built for themselves at 2263 S. Harvard Blvd.  It’s a rare opportunity to see this West Adams landmark (often referred to as the “Rindge Castle”) and to learn about its dramatic original owners.
If you live in the Ridgewood-Wilton neighborhood (Wilton Pl., Wilton Drive and  Ridgewood Pl., between 3rd Street and Beverly Blvd.), or are just interested in learning more about what’s going on in that area these days, the Ridgewood-Wilton Neighborhood Association’s annual meeting would be worth your time from 3-5 p.m. on Sunday, at 221 S. Wilton Pl.  LAPD Senior Lead Officer Joe Pelayo will speak at the meeting, and there will be hosted dinner afterward.  If you live in the neighborhood and would like to run for office on the association board, please contact [email protected].
Finally, returning to books for one last event, stop by Chevalier’s Books on Larchmont at 6:00 p.m., to hear essayist/author Alan Rifkin discuss his new memoir, “Burdens by Water,” to close out your early spring weekend.
Senior Lead officer Joe Pelayo will speakÂ
Hosted dinner after meeting
If you are interested in running for office, please contact jan@ridgewoodwilton.
