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Thursday is 'Bike Night at the Hammer!'
Bike Night at the Hammer on Thursday | Photo by Don Liebig, courtesy of Hammer Museum
by Jonathan Peters for LAistTomorrow night (April 8) the Hammer Museum in Westwood presents its very own homage to the bicycle with the program Bike Night at the Hammer! The free event will include valet bike parking, vegan food and a screening of the seminal biking classic, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. Also in the works is a “super secret guest,” whose identity remains a mystery even to this reporter.
Planning of the event began last year at the suggestion of artist Lisa Anne Auerbach, who was dismayed by the lack of bikes at museums. Auerbach writes in an e-mail that, “I like to bike in Los Angeles, and I often find myself the lone bike at museums or galleries.” Seeking to change that, she invited bikers into the museum for a screening of Breaking Away. A whopping 700 people showed up last year, and more are expected this cycle.
Valet bike parking, hosted by the Los Angeles County Bike Coalition, is one of the many perks meant to draw enthusiasts into the Hammer. The evening will also include two musical acts, FUSION Music Group and Dobrega. Dobrega, a project of UCLA grad Charlie Domingo, promises to meld bike sounds into a very avant-garde performance. Prize-winning short films about biking will play on a continuous loop in the courtyard and a special gallery. If you don’t ride a bike, don’t worry--come for the food and the music, stay for the movie.
This is much more than about bikes, as Auerbach writes, “I'm interested in making all Los Angeles cyclists into Hammer junkies.”
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