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LAist gets a lot of event announcements, and we comb through them all to bring you a curated list of what’s happening in LA this weekend, including these 10 events. And check back tomorrow when we post our June events guide.
FRIDAY, MAY 30
FILM: Visual artist Takashi Murakami’s debut feature film, Jellyfish Eyes, screens for one-night only at the The Theatre at Ace Hotel in DTLA. Murakami will introduce the film, which mixes live-action and CGI. Jellyfish Eyes is described as a film that “transforms the classic cinematic trope of the new kid on the block into a genre-defying adventure set in a post-Fukushima world.” General admission tickets: $20.
PERFORMANCE: The live stage show The Best of Craigslist,mines the now-infamous message board for material to be recited, performed or re-enacted live onstage or on video. The show takes place at 8 pm on Friday and Sunday at the Hudson Backstage Theater. Each performance also features a live band—this weekend it’s the Dustbowl Revival—and a segment called Meet the Real Posters, in which LA-based authors will be invited to the show. Tickets: $15.
STORY: There’s a highly unusual book launch event for Antonia Crane’s memoir Spent. The evening, Dirty Little Secrets, is presented by Bawdy Storytelling features burlesque, aerial dancers, Moby and readings by Crane, Dirty Laundry Lit's Natashia Deón and others. Doors at 7:30 pm at Busby’s East and a mini-Bawdy slam begins at 8:15 pm where the public gets a chance to tell their own five-minute dirty little secret. Tickets: $10, $12 at the door.
ART AND MUSIC: Friday Flights is a new music and art series in which selected musicians and artists take over the Getty Center, curating a program that fuses music, art, discussion and dance. The first flight—think of it like a cultural tasting menu—is inspired by Jackson Pollock’s Mural (on view at the museum) and is hosted by the LA experimental electronic trio Liars. 6-9 pm. Free. Park for $10 after 5 pm.
FILM FESTIVAL : Now in its 17th year, Dances with Films remains committed to indie filmmakers and filmmaking. (And btw, it's not a festival about dance—the name is a play on other “dance” fests like Slamdance, Sundance, Digidance, etc.) Dances with Films takes over the Chinese Theaters in Hollywood, screening more than 100 films (feature and shorts) and holding a number of industry panels from May 29-June 8. Tickets: $11-$13 and passes $175-$225.
COFFEE, KILL BOSS TRAILER (SOHO INTERNATIONAL) from Nathan Marshall on Vimeo.
COMEDY FILM FEST : The Comedy Ninja Film and Screenplay Festivalruns Friday to Sunday at the Japanese American Museum in DTLA. The inaugural festival celebrates all things comedy—dark humor, films, shorts and stand-up performances. There are also two free panels presented by the Laugh Factory and SAG-AFTRA. Individual tickets ($8-$14) and passes ($32) available. (Coffee, Kill Boss opens the festival. Trailer, above.)
SATURDAY, MAY 31
WALK: The Big Parade is a two-day walk (Saturday and Sunday) in LA that includes about 80 public stairways over 35 miles from DTLA to the Griffith Observatory. People are welcome to come and join the walk for as much or as little as they please. There’s a rough timetable on the website to inform participants where to be and when. Along the way, there may be music, art, history, speakers and other surprises. The walk, conversations and entertainment are all free.
SUNDAY, JUNE 1
MUSIC + ARTS FESTIVAL: The 9th annual Lummis Day Festival—a Northeast LA community celebration—takes place on Sunday from 10:30 am-7 pm. Things kick off at the Lummis Home, with readings led by Suzanne Lummis, writer Christopher Buckley and L.A. poets liz gonzalez and Mary Fitzpatrick, with arts and craft exhibitions, book sales and music until 5 pm. A 10-minute walk or short shuttle bus ride away at Heritage Square Museum, where things will be rocking with music performances beginning at 12:30 pm. The diverse lineup includes cumbia by La Chamba; the glam indie opera of Timur and the Dime Store Band; cumbia/merengue band Orquesta Mar de Ashé featuring La Sirena; Celtic-influenced Banna Baeg Mall; ’30s-style classic jazz band Blue Rhythm Jazz Orchestra; gospel band Little Faith; “speakeasy folk band” Smithfield Bargain, the eclectic pop of Sweet DizPosition, rock from Alarma and Somos Mysteriosos; and other young emerging bands. Admission to all events is free.
SOCCER TALK: LACMA presents The Upcoming World Cup in Brazil: Soccer's Current Standing in American Sports on Sunday at 1 pm. The event begins with a lecture by Andrei Markovits, the Karl W. Deutsch Collegiate Professor at the University of Michigan, on soccer in the U.S. in an historical and comparative context. There’s also a panel discussion on the sport’s recent emergence on a larger cultural stage. The event is free and open to the public. In the Bing Theater.
COMIC BOOK TALES: Captured Aural Phantasy Theater presents the show Tales from the Comic Book Crackdown on Sunday at 8:30 pm at El Cid (doors at 7:30 pm). It’s the troupe’s last show in LA in a while as they prep for their debut at Comic-Con. The evening features comedic performances of vintage, mid-century comic book stories—and especially focuses on the events of April 21, 1954, when Senators held a hearing to denounce comic books. Captured Aural Phantasy Theater re-stages and interprets the actual testimony from this hearing including the man who stood up to them: EC Comics publisher William Gaines. They’ll also perform scenes from some of the scrutinized comics. Tickets: $10+ fees.
Related:
Your Guide to Outdoor Movie Screenings in Los Angeles
Want the 411 on additional events and happenings in LA? Follow @LAist or me (@christineziemba) on Twitter.
