This is one of those weekends for which events are so numerous that it’s hard to narrow down just a few choices to fill your fleeting hours.
If you’re interested in starting out really early, though not especially local, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Los Angeles’ 238th birthday celebration, which kicks off Saturday at 6 a.m. (yes, you read that right) with the annual walk following the historic 9-mile route of “Los Pobladores,” the 44 original settlers and four soldiers who founded the city in 1781. The walk starts at the Mission San Gabriel, 428 S. Mission Dr., and ends at El Pueblo de Los Angeles, in downtown LA, where there will be special celebratory events all day from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Highlights will include birthday cake, live music and dance, a special Jazz and Spoken Word Festival, lectures, poetry, a blues workshop by Michael “Hawkeye” Herman, and a lecture by Jazz great Barbara Morrison.
Meanwhile, also not quite local, but getting closer and still worth mentioning, the Silverlake Neighborhood Council will host a community workshop and walk behind the fences at the Silver Lake Reservoir. It’s the second of six events the Council is planning to help gather community input as part of the Silver Lake Reservoir Master Plan process. The event starts at 8 a.m. on Saturday, and participants will meet at the Silver Lake Meadow (2300 Silver Lake Blvd). Guided tours run from 8-11 a.m., and partipants can arrive at any time during that window. Children and families are welcome.
Back in our own back yard, the Petersen Museum will hold a special Youth Workshop: The Science of Cars on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., for kids ages 9-14. According to the museum, “The automobile is one of the most important technological innovations in history and embodies the intersection of art, society, and science. Cars are excellent demonstrations of a host of scientific principles, from the physics governing motion to the chemistry of propulsion.” See the link above for tickets. Registration is limited and non-refundable. Tickets include one child general museum admission, and museum members can receive a $10 discount using code “WORKSHOP_M” at checkout.
Meanwhile, across the street at LACMA, from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, families can also enjoy a Family Art Class: Focus on Painting, for ages five and up with additional family members. Participants will view selections from LACMA’s collection, and then – in the studio – use acrylic paints and other materials on stretched canvas to create a family heirloom. The class will be taught by artist Rosanne Kleinerman. Tickets are $40 for LACMA NexGenLA members (plus one adult), and $25 per additional family member; or $50 for the general public (plus one adult) and $30 per additional family member, including art materials and parking. Pre-registration is required.
Just a few blocks away, at the Japan Foundation Los Angeles, 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 100, will host a Japanese Calligraphy Performance at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Performer/instructor KOKA（光華）, a Japanese calligrapher based in New York, will demonstrate live mural writing and provide a short Japanese calligraphy (Shodo) lecture…and participants can try their hands at the art after the demonstration. The event is free, but registration is required at the event link above.
An hour later, starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, at the John C. Fremont Library, 6121 Melrose Ave., Theater 40’s John Leslie will host “Now More than Ever–An Afternoon of Humor,” featuring professional actors reading pieces by Saki, Mark Twain other masters of good-natured humor. Admission is free…and bring your sense of humor!
Back on the Miracle Mile, from 3-6 p.m. on Saturday, the Craft Contemporary will host a People’s Workshop: Quilting as Memory and Vision – Community Crafting for LGBTQ+ Liberation. Participants will use techniques such as hand-stitching, gluing, and embroidery to create quilt squares inspired by past, present, and future LGBTQ+ movements and communities. Quilt squares created during the workshop can also be incorporated into two large-scale community quilts. Registration is required at the link above; tickets are $8 for museum members, and $10 for the public, including materials.
For those in the mood for an early, family-friendly movie on Saturday, the American Cinematheque, at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., will screen “Once Upon a Time,” a 1944 comedy in which Cary Grant plays a huckster showman who has to come up with $100,000 to save his theater…and then stumbles on a singing, dancing caterpillar that becomes an national sensation. Showtime is 3 p.m.
Moving into Saturday evening, the Cinematheque’s schedule continues at the Egyptian Theater with a 7:30 p.m. double-feature of 1972’s “Cabaret,” and a 40th anniversary screening of “All That Jazz,” both directed and choreographed by the legendary Bob Fosse. There will also be a live talk featuring actress Deborah Geffner, moderated by Steve Peros, before “All That Jazz.” See the link above for tickets and more information.
Moving on to Sunday, it’s time for the Petersen Museum’s monthly Breakfast Club Cruise-In, starting at 9 a.m. and this month featuring celebrity guests Jay Leno and Bruce Meyer. Leno will select his favorite vehicle for “Best in Show,” and Meyer will pick “Petersen Perfection.” It all takes place on the third level of the museum’s parking structure, along with free parking, coffee and bagels for attendees. Museum members also get early access to the museum with their membership cards.
Starting at 12 p.m. on Sunday, return to the Craft Contemporary for Assembling Stories with Rosalyn Myles: An Assemblage Sculpture Workshop. Artist Rosalyn Myles will guide participants through an intuitive assemblage workshop using a variety of found, used, and collected materials. Participants are encouraged to bring materials, photographs, or mementos to use in their sculptures. Please note that advance registration is required at the link above; tickets are $40 for museum members and $50 for non-members; materials included.
Also, at the same time, from 12-3 p.m. on Sunday, the Craft Contemporary is hosting another of its five Steam Egg – Steam Parties in the big silver Steam Egg installation. Attendees are “invited to climb up and immerse themselves in a hot, intimate setting with friends and strangers”…where the steam will be infused with specially-devised scents selected by a guest “Herb-J,” or “Olfaction DJ.” It’s all free with museum admission, but if you’d like to participate, please arrive early and bring your own towels and bathing suit – you will sweat! (Drinking water and changing rooms will be provided.)
Starting just a half hour later, and running from 12:30-3:30 on Sunday, LACMA stays in the workshop game with the second-calligraphy-based event of the weekend, Andell Family Sundays—The Art of Korean Writing. Drop in anytime during the event hours to visit the exhibition Beyond Line: The Art of Korean Writing, to learn about calligraphy’s fascinating history, including work by kings, queens, painters, monks, and others. After the exhibit, the artist instructor will help you make your own handmade books for writing and more. It’s free and open to the public, but children must be accompanied by an adult.
For more film fun on Sunday afternoon, you could also head back to the Egyptian Theatre, where the American Cinematheque will screen a Jean Harlow double-feature – Three Wise Girls and Red Headed Woman– as part of it’s “The Style of Sin: Pre-Code Film with Kimberly Truhler.” The program begins at 1 p.m., with an illustrated presentation by film historian Truhler, who will talk about the films made between 1930, when the industry’s restrictive Production Code was adopted, and 1934, when Code was in full effect. The films begin at 2 p.m.
And finally, since this list – and the weekend – started with one big birthday bash…it’s quite appropriate that it finishes with another, as the Original Farmer’s Market celebrates its 85th birthday with an “All-Out-’80s Anniversary Event.” From 2-7 p.m. on Sunday, you can enjoy DJ Ricky spinning ’80s tunes and leading ’80s karaoke on the West Patio. Guests can also enjoy a photo booth with ’80s props, as well as arts and crafts activities, making CD spinning tops and ’80s pop culture pins. Then put on your dancing shoes and rock out to the sounds of The Radio Rebels, “Southern California’s premier ’80s rock and variety dance party band,” performing hits of the ’80s on the Plaza. All are welcom and everything is free of charge.
Have a great, big, busy weekend…and a very special Happy Birthday to the Farmer’s Market and the City of Los Angeles!
