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The Best Things To Do In Southern California This Week: June 21 - 24

Make music on the summer solstice. Sip caipirinhas while you cook kibe. Watch Sandra Tsing Loh’s virtual cabaret. Attend a documentary film fest or an art fair. Hungry? Chow down on Greek food, smoothies, burritos and hot chicken.
Monday, June 21; 6 p.m.
BoschFinal Season - An AirTalk Virtual Event
The cast and creators of Amazon’s hit series Bosch take part in a panel discussion to celebrate the show’s final season with AirTalk's Larry Mantle (who has a cameo this season). Joining lead actor and producer Titus Welliver are actors Amy Aquino, Jamie Hector and Madison Lintz, as well as executive producer Henrik Bastin and Michael Connolly, bestselling author and creator of LAPD detective Hieronymous “Harry” Bosch. The seventh and final season of Bosch will be released on June 25.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

Monday, June 21; 5 p.m. PT
Kibe and Caipirinhas with Chef Natalia Pereira and Young the Giant
Chef Natalia Pereira (Woodspoon) takes attendees on a virtual food tour through the streets of Minas, Brasil. She’s joined by Young the Giant drummer Francois Comtois. They’ll cook kibe (beef croquettes) while sipping caipirinhas. A few tickets are available for fully vaccinated people to attend the cooking class in-person at Woodspoon in downtown L.A.
COST: $29.50 - $149.50; MORE INFO
Monday, June 21; 4 p.m. PT
Make Music Day Orange
Fête de la Musique/Make Music Day is a worldwide celebration that takes place on the summer solstice. Several Southern California communities have participated in the past. This is the first year the city of Orange is joining in. The afternoon features workshops and music by local students, the Orange Master Chorale and independent artists at several venues including City Hall, the Orange Main Library, the American Legion and the Women’s Club.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Tuesday, June 22 - Sunday, June 27
AFI DOCS
The American Film Institute's documentary film festival goes hybrid with virtual offerings and limited capacity in-person screenings in Silver Spring, Maryland. The lineup features 77 films from 23 countries. One of the world premieres is We The People, an animated civics lesson from Doc McStuffins creator Chris Nee. The talks and panels include the livestreame conversation, "History Is Out of the Closet: Excavating Queer Stories for the Screen."
COST: Individual tickets start at $10; MORE INFO
Tuesday, June 22; 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. PT
Werewolves Within
Aero Theatre
1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica
Beyond Fest presents a sneak preview of IFC’s new supernatural thriller. After a proposed pipeline divides a town and a snowstorm traps residents inside an inn, a forest ranger Finn (Sam Richardson) and a postal worker Cecily (Milana Vayntrub) try to keep the peace while finding a mysterious creature that has begun terrorizing the community.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Tuesday, June 22 - Tuesday, Aug. 17
For the Love of L.A.
The Music Center launches the third season of its weekly series featuring art that celebrates L.A.'s creative community. Tune in on Tuesdays via social media to view the works and performances. This week, it's dancer Shalini Bathina. Learn more about the artists in the series by visiting The Music Center Offstage.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Wednesday, June 23; 5:30 p.m.
Virtual Ideas Exchange with Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman
The Los Angeles Times presents a conversation between Gorman and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy K. Smith, moderated by Times columnist Erika D. Smith. Ticket price includes a copy of Gorman’s book, The Hill We Climbed.
COST: $25; MORE INFO
Wednesday, June 23; 7:30 p.m. PT
Picture This Comedy
The animated comedy show features live art from animators, cartoonists and artists who draw as comedians tell jokes. Wednesday’s lineup, hosted by Brandie Posey, includes animators Mike Hollingsworth, Mike L. Mayfield, Bryan Brinkman, Victoria Montes, Rotimi Olowu and comedians Amy Miller, Danielle Perez, Jay Jurden and Megan Gailey.
COST: $10; MORE INFO
Wednesday, June 23 - Sunday, June 27
The Bitch is Back
The virtual comedy cabaret, written and performed by Sandra Tsing Loh, this solo show focuses on what women who are 40 years and older have to face — motherhood, menopause and middle-age. Tickets are included with The Broad Stage membership. All others are pay what you can.
COST: $10 - $75; MORE INFO
Wednesday, June 23; 6 p.m. PT
Food Waste, Accessibility, and the Relationship with Agriculture
The L.A. Times Food Bowl presents a virtual discussion that addresses the issues of food waste, food accessibility and the relationship to agriculture. Panelists include LA Food Bank President and CEO Michael Flood, Secretary of the California Department of Food & Agriculture Karen Ross, Jamiah E. Hargins from Crop Swap L.A., and chef Mary Sue Milliken (Socalo, Border Grill).
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Wednesday, June 23 - Sunday, July 25
Tevye in New York!
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Outdoor Terrace
9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills
This world premiere production by writer, co-director and performer Tom Dugan (Jackie Unveiled, Wiesenthal) and Michael Vale, co-director and designer, takes place on the pop-up terrace of the Wallis. The show is set in 1914 and imagines the life of Tevye and his family after the curtain comes down in Fiddler on the Roof.
COST: $60 - $75; MORE INFO
Thursday, June 24; 5 p.m. PT
OC Parks Summer Concert Series
Craig Regional Park
3300 State College Blvd., Fullerton
The music series returns with free outdoor concerts on Thursday nights at different OC parks. The series kicks off with Flashback Heart Attack.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Thursday, June 24 – Sunday, June 27
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Virtual Live-Action Graphic Novel
Shakespeare Center L.A. and director Ben Donenberg present a one-hour treatment of the Scottish play as a graphic novel. The production stars Emmy Award-winner Keith David as Macbeth with illustrations overseen by Sheldon Donenberg.
COST: $25; MORE INFO
Thursday, June 24 - Sunday, June 27
The Other Art Fair
ROW DTLA
777 Alameda St., downtown L.A.
Saatchi Art opens an in-person fair featuring 75 independent and emerging artists. View thousands of original artworks ranging in price from $100 to $10,000. Timed tickets are required but parking is free for the first two hours.
COST: $15 - $50; MORE INFO

Thursday, June 24; 5 p.m. PT
Creating the Costumes of WandaVision
FIDM welcomes WandaVision’s costume designer, Mayes C. Rubeo, who chats about her work on the series. The event also explores her storied career, which includes Avatar, Thor: Ragnarok and JoJo Rabbit.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Thursday, June 24 - Sunday, July 11
Best of SeriesFest
If you’re a fan of short-form storytelling, tune into ShortsTV to watch five award-winning pilots, selected from previous seasons of Denver-based SeriesFest. Featured pilots include two from Aidan Largey, Farr and Eat the Rich, Super by Jeremy Merrifield, Beast from Ben Strang and Currency from Scott Gabriel. The ShortsTV screenings coincide with the current iteration of SeriesFest.
COST: Varies; MORE INFO
Thursday, June 24; 1 p.m. PT
Assembling/Reassembling (Why books NOW? )
The online discussion tackles the history and current state of independent presses and self-publishers from a female perspective. The panelists are women artists who are making books as an artform: moderator Johanna Drucker, Tia Blassingame, Alexandra Grant, Marcia Reed and Susan Sironi.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Ongoing
Free Little Art Gallery
Corner of Carpenter and Calvert, North Hollywood
Inspired by little free libraries, Free Little Art Galleries (FLAGs), dioramas that showcase tiny works, are popping up all over the country. People can take the art, contribute to it or just soak in the installation. This FLAG was started to raise morale in its NoHo neighborhood, and it has grown from there.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
TV/Streaming Pick
LFG
The film offers an inside look at the U.S. women’s national soccer team’s fight for equal pay. The documentary, from the Oscar-winning team of Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine, features soccer stars Megan Rapinoe, Jessica McDonald, Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O’Hara, Sam Mewis and Julie Foudy. (In case you’re wondering, the film’s title refers to the team's rallying cry before they take the field, i.e. “Let’s F------ Go!”) LFG begins streaming on HBO Max on Thursday, June 24.

Dine and Drink Deals
Here are a few options from restaurants and bars as we work our way back toward normal.
- Freedman’s in Silver Lake goes Greek this summer. The Jewish restaurant has transformed into Greekman’s, building an outdoor patio and offering a menu of souvlaki, salads, Greek wine and ouzo. Walk-ins are welcome but reservations are encouraged. The old Freedman’s will return around the High Holidays.
- Dave's Hot Chicken has opened a new location in Sherman Oaks (14622 Ventura Blvd.). Valley residents can nosh on hot chicken tenders, sliders, kale slaw, mac n’ cheese and French fries. Choose your heat level, from No Spice to Reaper (which requires a signed waiver).
- Old-school steakhouse Dear John's in Culver City has reopened for indoor dining and drinking. Even better, the restaurant (which is run by Hans Röckenwagner and Josiah Citrin) received a one-year lease extension through April 1, 2022.
- It’s National Smoothie Day on Monday, June 21. Juice It Up! locations are handing out a free tumbler to the first 50 guests who purchase a smoothie. Planet Smoothie is giving away a free Lunar Lemonade with a purchase of a smoothie.
- Also on Monday, Yogurtland honors and celebrates recent 2021 grads by offering a free, 8oz. frozen yogurt with toppings at 15 Los Angeles-area locations. Wear your cap and gown or show proof of being a 2021 grad to claim the deal.
- Byrdies takes over the Quality spot on West Third St., offering rotisserie chicken, sandwiches and bowls. They also donate matched, in-kind meals to the LA Regional Food Bank. (h/t Eater LA)
- Earlier this month, someone stole the van and trailer belonging to El Jefe’s BBQ (the popular Ave 26 vendor). The van was recovered but not the trailer with all the cooking equipment and generator. The pop-up vows to return and has set up a Go Fund Me to help recoup losses.
- On Tuesday, June 22, Holy Cow BBQ’s West L.A. location (10645 W. Pico Blvd.) hosts a “Meat Up” with the team from 4 to 7 p.m. The joint offers guests with a pre-packaged meal with barbecued chicken or brisket, two sides and a Holy Cow roll.
- Mokuzai, a pop-up sushi concept from the team behind Madera and Café Solar, plans to open on June 24 in a parklet at the intersection of Cahuenga, Wilcox and Franklin. The only problem? They don't have the proper permits so they're getting pushback from local officials and some of their neighbors. If the pop-up happens, expect dishes from chef Te Dong that combine ingredients such as chimichurri, truffles and fresh wasabi with sashimi.
- Juicy B is a new fast-casual burrito concept from Adam Fleischman, who founded Umami Burger and co-founded 800 Degrees Pizza. He opens the first location inside downtown L.A.’s Spring Arcade.
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