With Thanksgiving looming in the middle of next week, it looks like weekend events are taking a bit of a holiday slowdown this week…but there’s still plenty to do and be thankful for.
First of all, to get in a bit of exercise on what promises to be a lovely fall day, Saturday features not just one but two great active events.
First up is the United Way Homewalk LA, a 5K fun run/walk to end veteran homelessness. Â Registration opens at 7 a.m. on the front lawn of the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park, and the runners’ start time is 9:00 a.m. Â The event route will be through streets in the USC area. Â Registration is $10, participants can run/walk individually or as teams, and 100% of all money earned by runners/walkers through sponsorships and donations will go to those in need. So far more than $475,000 has been pledged.
If a longer, more social walk is more your style, check out the 10th Annual Great Los Angeles Walk.  This unique event was started in 2005 by blogger Michael Schneider to mark his 10th anniversary in Los Angeles…by walking from downtown to the ocean via Wilshire Blvd.  He has repeated the downtown-to-the-beach excursion every year since, changing the route each time.  This year’s walk will follow Olympic Blvd. About 300 walkers are expected to gather at 8:45 a.m. at the newly re-opened Clifton’s Cafeteria at 648 S. Broadway, downtown.  There will be a short talk about the refurbished landmark by L.A. Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne, and then the 16-mile westward journey will begin.  The event is free and open to the public; no registration is required.  It’s not a race, so you can walk as long and as far as you like, at whatever speed is comfortable to take in the sights. For those who make it all the way to the beach, there will be an informal after-party at Joan’s on Third in Santa Monica.
If walking and running don’t appeal, the other big focus this weekend is art.
On Saturday, November 21, from 12-5 p.m., explore the Craft and Folk Art Museum’s new Common Goods Marketplace and Holiday Shop, featuring feature one-of-a-kind contemporary craft and design creations by carefully curated vendors and artisans including the Pop-Hop/L.A. Zine Fest, Sasoon Markarian, Bar Nine, Kat Johnson, Susan M. Barry, The Moonchildren, Karen Sterling, Firebellywoman, Ruth Cushner, Tanya Melendez, Raul Grijalva, Beksan Designs, Violette Haze, and Meg Madison.  You can also stop by the regular CAFAM Shop afterwards to check out a winter wonderland filled with unique gifts for everyone on your list.
A bit further afield, but still arts-minded, internationally acclaimed ceramic artist and handmade dinnerware designer Dora De Larios hosts her biannual studio open house on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Irving Place Studio, 8560 Venice Blvd, in Culver City.  De Larios has worked as a ceramic artist in Los Angeles for more than 58 years, and her architectural commissions can be found throughout Southern California and around the world.  In addition to ceramics, she has created commissioned works in materials such as cement, brass, stainless steel and porcelain. You can meet De Larios at the event, and all works shown will be offered for sale.
On Sunday, November 22, from 1-5 p.m. you could return to CAFAM for what may be the most unusual event of the weekend: the “Shoes into Sculptures 2.0: CUBISM!” workshop with shoe designer Chris Francis.  Participants will analyze the form, shape and materials of a shoe…and then will be guided through a creative process of abstracting and deconstructing a new pair of shoes and turning them into Cubist sculptures. Tickets are $75 ($65 for CAFAM members), including shoes and materials.
Sunday also marks the opening of “Diana Thater: The Sympathetic Imagination” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  Los Angeles–based artist Thater creates, according to LACMA, “groundbreaking installations that push the physical, optical, and conceptual boundaries of how moving images are experienced. Depicting a range of natural phenomena—such as the weightless, seamless, underwater world of dolphins; honeybees who communicate through dancing; and the surprising fortitude of animals in Chernobyl in the aftermath of the worst nuclear meltdown ever—her works explore the subjectivity of animals and the complex relationships humans have constructed with nature.”  The exhibit runs through February 21.
Finally, going in an entirely different direction, the Los Angeles Auto Show runs from today, Friday, November 20, through Sunday, November 29 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  Great fun for car enthusiasts from ages 1 to 100, the annual extravaganza features new models of almost every type of car you can imagine (some of which aren’t even in production yet). So whether you’re in the market for a new car, want to test drive the latest in “green” vehicles, or simply want to gawk at the ultimate in luxury sports cars, this is the place.  Tickets are  $12 for adults on week days, $15 on weekends, $10 for seniors, and $5 for children, available online or at the door. (Note to parents of vehicle-crazy toddlers and children: many of them like this event even better than the Petersen Museum…because it’s not at all hands-off — you can actually touch (sit in! pretend to drive!) many of these cars.)
