Create an ad showing us what makes LA your LA. The top rated submissions will be awarded with an amazing “That’s So LA” weekend package and $1,000 spending money.
When: Oct. 4–5
Where: Various museums in Los Angeles
What: This year’s free-for-all features 23 Los Angeles museums granting free admission to all visitors. Some museums are free on both days, while others are free on either one or the other.
Scoop: For museum lovers, it doesn’t get much better than seeing the masterworks of Van Gogh, Goya, Lichtenstein and Warhol — except if it’s free. It’s a chance to catch favorites such as the Natural History Museum or the Hammer Museum without opening your wallet. For a complete list, visit www.museumsla.org.
Don’t miss this chance to vote for the overall best city in the U.S. — Los Angeles! America’s Favorite Cities, the annual survey from travelandleisure.com, is an interactive game that pits 25 cities against each other in a head-to-head battle to the finish. Visitors to the site vote for their favorites; then each week, the losers of these competitions will be eliminated, while the winners will advance to a new round of voting. Come back on Oct. 15, when they announce America’s #1 city.
Winner of more Tony Awards® than any theatre outside of Manhattan, the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum re-opens its doors to the public on Sept. 14, 2008 after a yearlong $30 million renovation with the premiere of “The House of Blue Leaves.” The distinctive circular theatre located at the Music Center in Downtown has received a much-needed updating of its technical capabilities and audience amenities. Inside the auditorium, the unique intimacy of the Taper will be retained, with upgrades such as new, more comfortable seats, upholstery, carpeting, and sleek and elegant new railings along the aisles. The acoustics of the theatre will also be improved to allow theatregoers to hear the spoken word better, and a new air conditioning system will provide quieter and more even air distribution. The theatre’s lobby will more than double in size and the lobby bar will be more accommodating. The 1,350 square-foot lower lobby will also offer comfortable, casual seating with two large banquettes, on either end of the lobby, and additional adjacent seating.
www.centertheatregroup.org/theatres/mtf
If you’ve never been to the LA Greek Fest on Pico/Normandie near the Byzantino Latino Quarter, you don’t know what you’re missing. The food is fanstastic, the OUZO and Greek beer is abundant and the dancing will get you kicking your heels in celebration. With over 20,000 visitors over the Sep. 5-7 weekend, the Greek Fest is one of the best around. Enjoy authentic Gyro sandwiches, famous Greek Honey donuts, souvlaki dinners and more. I’m so into it, that I’ll be pouring draft beers at the beer booth this year, so come by and say “YIASOU”!
Oh…and don’t be surprised if you see some celebs. Tom Hanks and his wife are honorary MC’s again this year and the Mayor loves to come out and enjoy the Greek tunes.
LA Greek Fest, St. Sophia Cathedral, 1324 South Normandie Ave., Los Angeles — 323.737.2424
The $30 million, 30,000-square foot, four-story GRAMMY Museum will open in Los Angeles this coming December to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of The Recording Academy. The museum is expected to attract 300,000 visitors annually. Entering the building on the fourth floor, guests will walk through a tunnel featuring life-sized figures ranging from Usher to Faith Hill to Frank Sinatra. A sound-sensory experience will lead visitors to an 18-foot table where they can explore 130 forms of music and how their histories connect. Exhibits will also feature a behind-the-scenes look at the art and technology of the recording process as well as the GRAMMY legacy. The museum will also feature interactive exhibits and an intimate 200-seat theater that will screen films, host lectures and present live performances and interviews.
The opening of the GRAMMY Museum also marks the culmination of the second phase of construction at L.A. LIVE in Downtown. L.A. LIVE is Downtown’s 27-acre entertainment, sports and residential district, anchored by NOKIA Theatre, STAPLES Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center.
In December, the district will be home to new restaurants, Club NOKIA, the legendary Conga Room and Lucky Strike Bowling Center. New restaurant openings include Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar; Katsuya, the ultra-hip sushi and robata bar; the Yard House restaurant and brew pub; New York-based Rosa Mexicano fine dining; ESPN Zone Restaurant and sports bar; a new Wolfgang Puck eatery at NOKIA Plaza; plus a Starbucks, a New Zealand Natural Ice Cream shop and a quick-service restaurant.
www.grammymusuem.org
www.lalive.com
www.discoverLosAngeles.com
discoverLosAngeles.com is featuring a fall 2008 lineup of all the new art exhibitions in Los Angeles, including:
The Art of War: American Posters from World War I and World War II
Norton Simon Museum
Sept. 5, 2008–Jan. 26, 2009
The Norton Simon presents selected works from its extensive collection of 20th century war posters, some of which have never been on view. Featuring well-known works such as “I Want You for U.S. Army,” the iconic image of Uncle Sam pointing an ominous finger at the viewer, the exhibition displays a range of artistic techniques as propaganda that were integral to the war effort during that time period.
Also at the Norton Simon, Johannes Vermeer’s A Lady Writing will be on loan from November 7 to February 2. It’s a rare opportunity to see the work, and will be the only Vermeer on display on the West Coast.
Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Oct. 26, 2008–March 1, 2009
When Annie Leibovitz, Man Ray, Imogen Cunningham and other renowned photographers come together in the first major exhibition of the celebrated magazine’s archive, people will start talking. The much-anticipated exhibition at LACMA culls from Vanity Fair’s long history of prints and reveals the interplay between celebrity and photography — and how it has changed in the last century.
28th Annual Sunset Junction Street Festival
When: August 23–24
Where: Sunset Boulevard (between Hyperion and Fountain)
What: Celebrating and advocating diversity, the Sunset Junction Street Festival was originally organized to bring together the communities of Silver Lake, Echo Park and Loz Feliz. These days, the street fair provides an avenue for some 40-plus nonprofit agencies to reach out to the community. It also features live bands, a host of food stands and merchandise booths.
Scoop: Bands start playing at noon on both days and go into the night, with Broken Social Scene and Isaac Hayes generating much of the buzz. Tickets: $12–$15; children under 12 and senior citizens over 65 enter free. www.sunsetjunction.org.
The Naked at the Getty Scavenger Hunt (Adults Only)
Saturday, Aug. 9 - 4:30 p.m.
Go on a humorous, mind-tingling search for nudity at the Getty Center this Saturday. Put on by Watson Adventures, “you don’t need to know anything about art or the museum—or nudity—to solve our tricky questions. After the hunt, linger in the mountaintop gardens for a great view of the sunset. This hunt is rated PG-13.”
Price: $17.50 per person
Meeting Place: After you park, take the monorail up to the museum “campus.” In the plaza near where you get off the monorail, look for a group of people and the MC in a burgundy cap that says Watson Adventures.
*Advance purchase is required!
More info, click here.
For tickets, click here or visit watsonadventures.com
On July 23 and July 31 from 5 - 9 p.m., the California Science Center in Downtown’s Exposition Park is going to juxt…a…pose. Live naked women will abut female cadavers from the science center’s Body Worlds 3 exhibit.
Event Phone Number: 323.724.3623
Click here to read more about Body Worlds 3.
