Pencil This In: Food and Zombies at Vertical Bistro, Mardi Gras at the Five0Four, Beauty and the Beats Benefit and a George Carlin Memoir (of Sorts)
Architect Tadao Ando gives a free lecture at the Hammer Museum tonight. The photo above is Ando's work: the Vitra Museum, Germany
FOOD+ZOMBIES*
Tonight Vertical Wine Bistro in Pasadena hosts an evening of zombies, fleshy bites and creepy cocktails to celebrate the Season 1 DVD release of AMC’s The Walking Dead. (Vertical owner Gale Anne Hurd is executive producer of the show.) Members of the cast and crew will be on hand and guests have the chance to win a copy of the Season 1 DVD. For $35, guests get two zombie-inspired cocktails and munchies throughout the night. 7:30-9:30 pm.
MARDI GRAS
The New Orleans-themed bar Five0Four Hollywood celebrates all things Cajun and Creole tonight for Mardi Gras. Taste Hurricanes, Grenades, Cyclones and other Bourbon Street beverages. The event includes carnival games, a brass band, a photo booth and drunk specials like $2 Jello shots, alcoholic snow cones provided by Three Olives Vodka, $20 half gallons of Abita beer served in souvenir jugs.
FILM
LACMA is hosting a screening series for the films of Catherine Deneuve, one of France’s greatest actresses. Her career took off with the 1964 film The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and tonight she’ll be at the museum in person to screen her latest film Potiche, based on a stage play set in a provincial French town in the 1970s. Writer/director François Ozon's film stars Deneuve as a housebound ‘trophy housewife’ (or “potiche”) who steps in to manage her wealthy husband's the umbrella factory after the workers go on strike and take their tyrannical boss hostage. From LACMA: “To everyone’s surprise, Suzanne proves herself a competent and assertive woman of action...But when her husband returns to the factory, rested and in top form, things get complicated.”
7:30 pm. Advance tickets are sold out, but some standby tickets may be available at 6:30 pm.
BENEFIT
The Beauty and the Beats events throughout the country celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and benefits NextAid’s projects in Africa that directly benefit the lives of women and children. The LA party takes place tonight from 4-8 pm at Primrose Organics Salon & Boutique with beats provided by DJ Holly Adams (KCRW) & the beauty part is supplied by Angelique (cuts/color/styling, organic beauty products, food/drinks/great raffle prizes).
BOOKS
There’s a release party tonight for Sally Wade's book The George Carlin Letters tonight at 7 pm at Diesel, A Bookstore in Brentwood. It’s an illustrated memoir by the woman with whom George Carlin spent the last 10 years of his life, and includes artwork and writings by the late comedian woven into Wade's chronicle of their life together.
ART TALK
Tadao Ando—the only architect to have won the discipline’s four most prestigious prizes: the Pritzker, Carlsberg, Praemium Imperiale and Kyoto Prize—combines Modernism and Japanese influences in his projects. Tonight, he’ll give a free lecture at the Hammer Museum on his life and work, translated by architect Kulapat Yantrasast. There’s a book signing from 6:30-7 pm of Taschen’s recently published comprehensive monograph of his work, Ando’s Complete Works to Date 1975-2010. The program begins at 7 pm.
*Pencil pick of the day
Want more events? Follow me on Twitter (@christineziemba).
Just for fun:
Here's a cute video from Katie Costello, who's playing tonight @theHotelCafe: