Downtown Los Angeles may be a public transit mecca, but thousands still drive there to eat, drink and play. Starting next week, a program will encourage at least one person in a group to be the designated driver. And if they do, they can reap, not only the reward of being the good friend and saving lives, but also some free stuff. more ›

Last Friday it was canceled for the rest of the year, only to be reborn into a new quartly weekend-long daytime event. Then on Monday it is was back -- at least for October as boardmembers figured out funding. And today, it was announced that funding was found and that the Downtown Art Walk will continue as it does every month, attracting 20,000 people to the streets, galleries and restaurants of the Historic Core. more ›

All good things come to an end and today comes news that one of the city's most popular events is going on hiatus for the rest of 2010. When the Downtown Art Walk comes back in January 2011 expect a quarterly weekend-long daytime event, according to Eric Richardson's blogdowntown. more ›

LACMA continues its Conversations with Artists series tonight at 7 pm. LACMA curator Leslie Jones will interview artist Robin Rhode, whose exhibit Contemporary Projects 12: Robin Rhode is on view at the museum through June 6. “Rhode will talk about his experience growing up in South Africa, recent work, and the site-specific performance created at LACMA for the exhibition.” The event will be held at the Brown Auditorium. The discussion is free, and tickets will be available one hour before to the program.
 more ›

Tonight’s the monthly Downtown Artwalk. In addition to numerous gallery exhibits, Hold Up Art curates the space at Banco Popular Center (4th & Spring) with an installation by artists Eye One & Cache. Music will be provided by Eron Surdam and SP of DANCiSM. Artist Reception at 6 pm. The Post-Art Walk Party begins at 10 pm at the Golden Gopher. more ›

Tonight through Dec. 19 Lost Moon Radio gives LA audiences a psychedelic hour of live comedy and music at St. Nick's Pub Cabaret Theater. "Imagine A Prairie Home Companion mating with Monty Python’s Flying Circus at the Woodstock festival. That's your starting point for The Lost Moon Radio." The evening's hosted by DJ Jupiter Jack with psychedelic songs and comedic sketches performed live by a company of seasoned comedy actors and a seven-piece band. The show starts at 8 pm.Tickets are $9 and include admission to a Live Band Karaoke set following each show. more ›

Ever wonder what Anaheim tastes like? Tonight from 5:30-9:30 pm, the 14th Annual Taste of Anaheim takes place at the Gardenwalk on Katella. It’s an evening of music, wine and food -- from purveyors like Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Naples Ristorante, Catal Restaurant & Uva Bar, Tortilla Jo's, Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine, Mr. Stox Restaurant, and Alcatraz Brewing Co. Tickets are $35-$40. more ›

There’ s an evening showcase by New Filmmakers LA at Sunset Gower Studios. Short films by Bruno Miotto, Nicholas Wong, Robert E. Sperlinga and Sean Christensen, will be screened at 5:45 pm with feature films at 7 and 9 pm. The first feature is the LA premiere of Gigantic (starring Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman), followed by another LA premiere of Goodnight Irene (a foreign feature from Portugal starring Golden Globe winner Nuno Lopes). Guests will have an opportunity to meet the directors and actors from the films and participate in a Q&A. Tickets are a steal at $6 -- and that also includes an an open bar and appetizers. more ›

Author Nami Mun comes to the Barnes & Nobles at the Grove to sign and discuss her debut novel Miles from Nowhere. The book follows 13-year-old Korean-American Joon “through the streets of pre-Giuliani New York City of the 1980's, after she flees her dysfunctional immigrant parents. For five years, Joon threads a path of survival through homelessness, drug addiction, and physical abuse…Miles from Nowhere is Joon's streetwise meditation on love, fate and fortune, as she begins a long climb toward wholeness.” more ›

Here’s what’s going on around town tonight. You want to start planning your weekend? Then check out the LAist Agenda: December for upcoming events. more ›

more ›

LEARNING*: Social Media Club LA presents the “Socializing the Music Industry" panel discussion tonight at 7 pm at the Weber Shandwick Offices @ The Pacific Design Center. Panelists including: Anthony Batt, president and founder, Buzznet; Scott Perry, publisher, New Music Tipsheet; Lugas Gonze, XSPF Leader at Xiph.org Foundation; and Nic Adler, owner, Roxy Theater will discuss how digital distribution and social discovery are changing the music industry. (When was the last time you BOUGHT a CD?). Btw, co-moderators are Andy Sternberg, director of Interactive, Live Earth (and LAist's news editor!), and Jackie Peters, founding partner, Heavybag Media. more ›

FESTIVAL*: The first ever Downtown Film Festival – Los Angeles began yesterday and continues through the weekend with 23 feature and 180 short films at venues throughout Downtown L.A., from the historic movie palaces on Broadway Avenue to Barker Block and SCI-Arc in Downtown’s Arts District. Featured tonight are A Beautiful Life at the Laemmle Grand and Audie & the Wolf at the Los Angeles Theatre. more ›

Thursday more ›

Thursday more ›

There's more to puppetry than Muppetry. Dr. John Bell, puppeteer, teacher and director of the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut, leads an exhibition talk at the Santa Monica Museum's "The Puppet Show" on the history of puppetry. The exhibit explores the work of 28 contemporary artists who use puppet imagery in sculpture, film, video, time-based media, animation and 2D work. more ›

Sometimes, the most fun in life comes in surprises. Last night, that surprise came in the form of a random marching band appearing out of nowhere at the corner of 5th and Spring playing a hybrid of New Klezmer Afro-Brazilian Tango during last night's Downtown Art Walk. We followed the free-jazz, experimental, all-genres-equal Killsonic for about an hour throughout Gallery Row intruding upon art galleries and people's peace and quiet. At one point, we found ourselves with the band of around 20 musicians on a city DASH shuttle. What a trip... in more ways than one. more ›

It ends tonight at 9 p.m., and really, an art walk is more fun at night anyway. Tonight lends itself well as a great chance to go see © Murakami Exhibit at the MOCA that we told you about back in October. If not that, from comedy to smaller art galleries, the Downtown Art Walk is worth a trek to LA's central core. And if you head towards The Edison first, happy hour runs 'til 7 p.m. with 35-cent martinis. Run, run! more ›

ART: Downtown’s Art Walk happens the second Thursday of each month. The Art walk is a monthly, self-guided tour of the art exhibition venues in Downtown Los Angeles, which includes commercial art galleries, public museums, and nonprofit arts venues. Museum of Contemporary Art on Grand Ave (MOCA), Los Angeles Public Library Grey Goose, LA Artcore Center are just some of the places on the Walk. more ›

Art walks, Food fairs, fashion, and film. It's fall in LA, and for another weekend we can forget about our lack of playoff-worthy baseball teams and professional football and take advantage of our final three weeks of Daylight Saving Time. The fun begins tonight, so you best start the weekend now. Downtown Art Walk Thursday, Noon - 9 p.m.: On the second Thursday of every month, Angelenos stroll up and down Spring and Main... more ›

Today in major LA Fire Department events: an early morning structure fire in North Hills sending smoke into the flight path of Van Nuys Airport, a big rig with a trailer overturned on the Southbound Harbor freeway causing a Sig Alert, and a medical emergency in the Hilton Hotel at Universal City where staff mixed ammonia & bleach solutions creating hydrochloric acid (oops!). Is it the second Thursday of the month? Ah, it is!... more ›

- In the name of the budget, Gov. Schwarzenegger seeks to end the Integrated Services for Homeless Adults With Serious Mental Illness program. The reason? The budget. The cut would save $55 million annually. - The Game was pimpin' while in custody and so a LAPD officer who decided to make a video and supposedly pimp it to TMZ. That doesn't make the bosses happy. - Even at the Downtown Art Walk, Daily News follows... more ›

You have four more hours to get yourself downtown to take a peek at what some of LA's best art galleries are currently offering. On the second Thursday of every month from noon to 9pm, museums, galleries, and nonprofit art venues participate in the Downtown Art Walk, staying open late for those who might not get a chance to stop by during the weekdays. What better way to take the edge off the workweek than with some wine, cheese, and pretty pictures? more ›

Dane Davis won the Oscar for “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” for The Matrix. He’s also a photographer. Catch is his piece and other artists at LACDA on Gallery Row at the opening reception this Thursday from 7:00 to 9:00. The show will run until April 1. more ›

THURSDAY more ›

THURSDAY more ›

The Downtown Art Walk has been growing by leaps and bounds since its inception last year, expanding from only 3 galleries to around 20 plus two museums taking part in the monthly urban art hike. We jumped in the shower (yes all of us together from LAist... we're crazy like that) and headed out to pound the pavement, asphalt and crack residue; take some photos and type some words into our communal publishing device. more ›

If you're in the mood for a leisurely stroll, head downtown at 12:00 PM for the Downtown Art Walk. Hours run until 9:00 PM, but check the website as some venues close early. more ›