Serving Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, and the Greater Wilshire neighborhoods of Los Angeles since 2011.

Weekend Buzz – Events for October 27-28, 2018

The Halloween fun comes fast and furious this weekend…with the Larchmont Family Fair as the big centerpiece.
Witches and goblins and treats, oh my!  This pre-Halloween weekend is jam-packed with scary (and not-so-scary) fun.
Click to see full size flier.

First, if you’ve been thinking about treating yourself or your family to a new furry friend, the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services, where shelters are still full from summer’s kitten and puppy seasons, are offering special reduced fee pet adoptions this Saturday and Sunday at all six city shelters.  Adoption fees are cut by 50% for dogs, kittens and puppies.  And when you adopt a cat more than four months old, the APSCA will pay your adoption fee in full.  The special fees are: dogs (over 4 months old) – $51, puppies (under 4 months) – $75, kittens (under 4 months) – $25…and cats (over 4 months) – $0.  All shelter pets are vaccinated, spayed or neutered, and they’re microchipped before going to their new homes. Also, please note that for adult dogs, there will be a $20 dog license fee applied for LA City residents. See http://www.laanimalservices.com/adopt to start your search for the “puurfect howl-a-ween buddy.”

Starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council and Rain Barrels International will hold a special Rain Harvesting Workshop at Memorial Library Park, 4625 W. Olympic Blvd.  The free event will cover rain harvesting and rain barrel maintenance. Rain barrels eligible for the LADWP rebate may also be purchased at the workshop by ordering in advance through the Rain Barrells International website (see link above).  The event is free, but RSVPs to [email protected] are strongly encouraged. A short demonstration on electric leaf blowers will also follow the rain harvesting workshop.
Click to see full size graphic.

Also starting 10 a.m. on Saturday comes the first of many Halloween-themed events this weekend, the 16th Annual Halloween Hullabaloo at Rose Scharlin’s Cooperative Nursery School, 2414 Lake View Ave, 90039. This free event is perfect for ages 0-5.  Parents can sip their morning coffee while the kids run free and have a blast with games, bouncy slide, crafts, tasty homemade treats and more – it will be lots of fun without being scary. Just put on a costume and come play.

Click to see full size flier.

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, families with elementary-aged kids can enjoy Larchmont Charter School’s annual World Fair, at which the all of the school’s campuses join together to celebrate their diverse student body and the rich cultural heritage of their families.  The event will include games, prizes, a bouncy slide, photo booth, DJ, cultural entertainment, and native foods and crafts from more than 15 countries. This year there will also be special cultural performances including African Drums, Mariachi Teocuitalan, Hawaiian Dancers andthe  Danza Azteca Grupo Nezahualpilli.  And it’s all open to the whole neighborhood, so bring your family & friends. The festival will be held at the school’s Hollygrove campus, 815 N. El Centro Ave.  Please enter through the Waring Ave. gate…and please note that  parking will be at a premium, so the school recommends carpooling, using a ride-share service, walking, etc

Click to see full size flier.

Starting at 12 p.m. and not ending until midnight on Saturday, is the huge 19th Annual Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos festival at the Hollywood Forever cemetery. This year’s event honors Coatlicue (/kwɑːtˈliːkweɪ/), which means “skirt of snakes” and “mother of the gods.” She’s also the Mexica-Aztec goddess who gave birth to the moon, stars, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war.  And she’s “the Great Mother, in whom both the womb and the grave co-exist.”  This is one of LA’s biggest Halloween-season events, with ceremonial altars by local artists and artisans, food, and cultural, dance and music performances by Panteón Rococó, Mexican Institute of Sound, Hello Seahorse!, Y La Bamba, Loli Molina…and many more. Tickets are $25, non-refundable, and the event proceeds rain or shine.

For another kind of Hollywood tradition, the Hollywood Heritage Museum, 2100 N. Highland Ave., will present a screening of the 1928 silent horror classic, “The Man Who Laughs,”  starring Conrad Veidt, at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.  The film, reported to be the inspiration for the look of the Joker in today’s Batman comics and movies, will be projected from its original 8mm film format, with live organ accompaniment by “wizard of the keys” Cliff Retallick. Tickets are $12.

You can find some additional Halloween-appropriate chills starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday, at the John C. Fremont Library, 6121 Melrose Ave., when the library’s LA Play Readers perform an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft‘s short story, The Rats in the Walls, directed by James Kulick (who adapted the story as well). This is the sixth play in the series, performed not only by actors but by library patrons who have challenged themselves to perform in a staged reading.  So come and check it out…and consider participating in the Play Readers’ next performance, which is scheduled for late December.

Meanwhile, at the W Hollywood hotel, 6250 Hollywood Blvd., from 2-3 p.m., celebrity trainer and co-founder of state-of-the-art boxing studio GloveWorx, Leyon Azubuike, will host a fundraising boxing class in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  The event will take place on the hotel’s rooftop, and guests will “have the rare opportunity to work out with Leyon while soaking in 360-degree views of LA and supporting a good cause.” A $25 ticket includes the class, which will incorporate both boxing and strength conditioning training, and a pair of pink boxing gloves or wraps to take home. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and attendees are encouraged to wear pink (Leyon and the coaches will).

Closer to home, from 4-8:30 p.m. on Saturday, the Wilshire Park neighborhood will host its 9th Annual Halloween Haunt , on Bronson Avenue between Wilshire and 8th St.  This is the neighborhood’s biggest annual fundraising event, so tickets will be available for food and fun including costume contests, zombies, an “Island of Lost Souls” scare zone, the Kramer Ghost Train, a pinata, bouncers, a magician, carnival games, a gift basket silent auction, hot dogs, and snacks.  Special guests will include representatives from LAPD, LAFD, and City Council Member David Ryu’s office.

And finally on this very busy Saturday, middle schoolers will have a rare event all to themselves – the annual Middle School Teen Night, starting at 7:30 p.m. at LACMA.  It’s a night of art and dancing under the stars, with special after-hours admission to the 3D: Double Vision exhibit.  Outside the galleries, kids can also participate in art workshops, dance to DJs from ArTES High School, and make new friends in the taco line.  The event is free (with tacos, snacks and drinks available for $2), but registration is required at the event link above, and teens must bring their valid middle school ID (or another official document showing their birthdate).  And yes, it’s just for grades 6-8 – parents can drop kids off, and perhaps enjoy dinner at Ray’s, but it will be a kids-only zone inside the museum.  (Don’t worry, though, mom and dad – museum and security staff will chaperone the evening, and local law enforcement will be present.)

On Sunday morning, starting at 8 a.m., early risers  can get into the Halloween spirit at the Petersen Museum’s monthly Cruise-In event, this month featuring a very special look at a 1925/34 “Round Door” Rolls Royce and Fred Astaire’s 1927 Phantom One Rolls-Royce, which will both pop their trunks to show the wonderful custom luggage (never before on display) that came with them. Come in your Halloween costume, dress up your car, too, and bring some candy for a little Trunk or Treating for the kids…all part of a “festive morning of coffee, bagels, conversation and beautiful cars.”  The Best in Show award will go to the best-costumed vehicle.  The museum store will also be open, and museum members will have early access to the museum from 9-10 a.m. as our Best-In-Show award goes to the best-costumed vehicle.
Click to see full size flier.

And as if this weekend weren’t already busy enough, we’re just now getting to the biggest local event – the Larchmont Family Fair – which runs from 12-5:30 p.m. on Sunday, on Larchmont Blvd. between 1st St. and Beverly Blvd.  Young and old will enjoy a wide variety of booths from local schools and non-profits…along with games, activities, food, a petting zoo, and – of course – the traditional talent show, pie baking contest, pie eating contest, and Halloween costume contest.  Don’t miss it!

At the same time, though, and just a few blocks away, you could also join the Big Sunday organization, 6111 Melrose Ave., for its 9th Annual Spooky Sunday, from 2-4 p.m.  This events welcomes a number of local nonprofits and their families – and volunteers who would like to help out – for our a huge Halloween bash including a “horribly haunted house,” “kooky costume giveaway,” and “freaky photobooth”…along with more trunk-or-treating, arts and crafts…and “way too much candy.”  Costume donations are also appreciated.  See the event link above for details, to sign up to participate, or to donate costumes, funds or other items.

Finally, we’ll leave you with an event that has nothing to do with Halloween – but definitely involves fashion and costumes – as Emmy-award-winning TV host, podcaster, and “style influencer” RuPaul discusses and signs his new book, “GuRU!” at the Montalban Theater (1615 Vine St.), at 7 p.m. on Sunday. The event, sponsored by Larry Edmunds’ Book Shop, promises “laughs, wisdom, life lessons and fierce included!”  Tickets are available at https://livetalksla.org/.

Have a great Halloween weekend…and be sure to enjoy the “way too much candy!”

 

 

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Elizabeth Fuller
Elizabeth Fuller
Elizabeth Fuller was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN but has lived in LA since 1991 - with deep roots in both the Sycamore Square and West Adams Heights-Sugar Hill neighborhoods. She spent 10 years with the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, volunteers at Wilshire Crest Elementary School, and has been writing for the Buzz since 2015.

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