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If you’re sticking around town for Frends-giving or are hosting family coming in from elsewhere, here are 17 things to do this Thanksgiving week. And don’t forget to check out the November Guide for other events.
MONDAY, NOV. 24
TV COMEDY: Adult Swim’s The Heart, She Holler, premieres its third season on Dec. 1. The demented, live-action “soap opera of a show about people who don’t use no soap and ain’t never seen no opera!” has a special screening event on Monday at 7:30 pm at Cinefamily. Watch the first few episodes and talk with the cast and creators, including Patton Oswalt, Vernon Chatman and others. Free, but registration required and then first-come, first-served for seats.
COMEDY: Sacred Fools Theatre Company opens A Trip Through the Multiverse featuring Charles—the sketch comedy duo of Charles Armstrong & Charlie Stockman—on Monday at 8 pm. The show’s described as a “genre-bending chimera of comedy goodness. It’s a police procedural within an historical epic; it’s a murder mystery with inverted light cues; it’s a ghost story told by a frustrated ghost.” Charles features sketches in the Kids in the Hall and Monty Python tradition. Mondays through Dec. 15 at 8 pm. Tickets: $12.
EATS: Chef Ayinde Howell and Zoe Eisenberg, authors of The Lusty Vegan: A Cookbook and Relationship Manifesto for Vegans and Those Who Love Them, hosts a "Friendsgiving" celebration on Monday at 6:30 pm at Mohawk Bend. The event is part of the Authors Worth Celebrating series. Tickets $35/person for a four-course vegan meal. RSVP: authors@mohawk.la.
PARTY: The V Wine Room in WeHo presents the party Celebrating Cityhood: 30 Years of West Hollywood on Monday from 7-10 pm. The evening honors the city’s 30 years of incorporation by serving up boutique California wines, presenting work by local artists and networking with other residents and business owners. 100% of proceeds from ticket sales will be donated directly to JFS { SOVA, a local food pantry. General admission: $65 (includes wine, small bites and a photo print).
SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK: Cinefamily’s Animation Breakdown takes over the Echoplex on Monday at 8 pm for a talk and performance by legendary musician/composer 90-something Bob Dorough and fellow Schoolhouse Rock co-creator George Newall. They share how Schoolhouse Rock was created, and the night ends with a Schoolhouse set by Dorough and his band. Tickets: $20/door $25.
ANIMATION: On Monday at 8:30 pm, REDCAT presents Beyond 3D: The Animated World of David OReilly. The Irish artist, based in L.A., is known for his lo-fi graphics and glitch effects. His shorts "Please Say Something" (2009) and "The External World" (2010) have won international acclaim and awards from around the world. His work can also be seen in the video games he created for Spike Jonze’s Oscar-nominated film Her. In person: David OReilly. Tickets: $11 [members $8].
TUESDAY, NOV. 25
COMEDY: The free monthly comedy show Good Looks happens on Tuesday at play, a collaborative arts space in DTLA’s Arts District. Hosts Ian Karmel and Andrew Michaan present an evening of laughs with Maria Bamford, Brendon Small, Joe Wengert, James Fritz, Eric Dadourian and Kyle Mizono. 8 pm. Free with a cash bar.
MUSIC: The Troubadour presents an evening of music with Norwegian musician Monica Birkenes aka Mr Little Jeans. Night Things opens at 9 pm. Tickets: $15.
ALBUM RELEASE PARTY: On Tuesday at 8:30 pm, Conan writer Andrés du Bouchet has a party for the digital and vinyl release of his second comedy album,20-Sided Guy. He describes the album as "an absurdly verbose, verbosely absurd, thoroughly profane exploration of ways in which the English language can be utilized for utter stupidity." The release party is being held at The Federal Bar in NoHo with du Bouchet, Jimmy Pardo, Travis Clark and Chuck Sklar. $10 admission comes with a vinyl copy of 20-Sided Guy.
COMEDY: NerdMelt presents An Evening with Andrew Santino on Tuesday at 9 pm. Santino performs a longer set with some of his friends opening, including Jake Weisman, Brian Moses and Tony Sam. 9 pm. Tickets: $5.
MUSIC: On Tuesday night, Mr Gnome plays The Bootleg Theater with Young Tongue opening. Doors at 8 pm. Tickets: $12. The show is 21+.
PERFORMANCE: The live show Rise ‘n Shine with Bette & Juliettereturns on Tuesday for the final 2014 show. The “morning show” is a stage-talk/variety show hosted by Bette Midler (Craig Taggart) and Juliette Lewis (Chris Pudlo), and The Holiday Show features “crafting tips for the holidays, special giveaways, food, great music, and A-List celebrity surprise guests will be dropping by unannounced to spread some holiday cheer!” The show takes place at 8 pm in the Cavern Club Theater (inside Casita Del Campo Restaurant in Silver Lake. Tickets: $20.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 26
FILM: The critically acclaimed Sundance 2014 horror “brainbomb,” The Babadook— directed by Jennifer Kent—opens a limited run at Cinefamily on Wednesday at 11:59 pm. From Cinefamily: “this Jungian fairy tale inflicts the Bogeyman myth on a widowed single mother Amelia and her cute, yet disturbed six-year-old son Samuel, both led by past trauma to confront the Babadook: a Burton-esque, wolfish entity that infiltrates their dreams and, ultimately, their waking lives…” Tickets: $12.
DRINK: Need to take the edge off before Thanksgiving? There’s a tap takeover at The Surly Goat on Wednesday by Chicago’s Goose Island. Taste the brewery’s barrel-aged beers including the 2014 Bourbon County Vanilla, 2014 Bourbon County Coffee, 2013 and 2014 Bourbon County Stout, 2014 Bourbon County Stout, 2013 and 2014 Bourbon County Barleywine, Class of '88 Belgian Strong Pale Ale, Rambler IPA, Sofie Saison and more.
THURSDAY, NOV. 27
TURKEY TROT(S): Before you pig out on Thanksgiving, take advantage of several “Turkey Trots” happening around LA, including the DTLA Turkey Trot (5K and 10K race through historic Spring Street, starting and ending at City Hall) to benefit the LA Regional Food Bank. There’s also the Burbank Community YMCA’s fifth annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot (both a 5K and 10K), to help the Y assist children and families in the community who need help the most.
GIVE: The Echo’s Gobble Gobble Give 2014 is looking for volunteers who can donate food, money, clothing or time by cooking, warming, packaging and delivering food to L.A.’s homeless. To help on Thanksgiving day, show up at 10 am with the following items: 1) a heated dish of food; five small toiletry kits and clothing and blankets. Read the details for how the day unfolds on the Echo’s website. The day for volunteers usually ends around 1 pm, just in time to celebrate with your own family and friends.
MUSIC: Red Bull Sound Selects’ 30 Days in LA series presents Night 27 at 8 pm on Thanksgiving. The Rock and Bowl Turkey Shootout takes place at Shatto 39 lanes in K-town and features music by The Black Cadillacs, Isaac Rother and The Phantoms. Come dressed as any character from The Big Lebowski to enter a raffle to win two 2015 Coachella tickets. Free.
Related: November Events Guide: 20 of Our Favorite Events in L.A.
Want the 411 on additional events and happenings in LA? Follow @LAist or me (@christineziemba) on Twitter.
