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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 25 events. We'll be back on Monday to help you plan the week ahead.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 19
FILM: Rose McGowan curates a slate of films for Dawn Fest at the Downtown Independent, from Friday through Sept. 25. She’s screening her short film directorial debut "Dawn"—“a disturbing tale of a young girl’s budding sexuality and one’s desire to experience the unknown”—along with other films in which women are given a strong voice. Screening with "Dawn" on Friday at 8 pm is Thelma and Louise. Tickets: $12.
LIT: Skylight Books presents a special reading by Junot Diaz on Friday at 7:30 pm. He’ll be reading from his novel This Is How You Lose Her. Diaz is in town to receive the Los Angeles Public Library's 2014 Literary Award. To get a ticket to the signing line, you must purchase a Diaz book from Skylight. Admission is free, but space is limited, so get there super early.
MUSIC: The 2014 Angel City Jazz Festival continues through Sunday, Sept. 29, with shows taking place at various venues throughout the city including REDCAT, Blue Whale, The Aratani Theatre, Zipper Concert Hall at The Colburn School and at Barnsdall Art Park. On Friday at 6 pm at LACMA as part of the festival, the Robert Miranda Trio performs for free along with the Young Artist Competition Winner.
ORIGAMI ART: The exhibition The Curious Art of Origamiopens on Friday at Shumei Hall Gallery in Pasadena, as part of the AXS Festival (where art meets science). The show features works by origami artists Robert Lang, Linda Mihara and Giang Dinh who often make intricate paper designs out one square of paper with no cuts or glue. The opening reception is on Saturday from 1-4 pm. The show runs through Nov. 19. Admission is free.
COMEDY: All Things Comedy (ATC) network presents All Things Comedy Live Podcast with Bill Burr and Al Madrigal, on Friday at 7 pm at NerdMelt. Guests this week include ATC comedians Neal Brennan, John Caparulo, Moshe Kasher and Karen Kilgariff. Proceeds from the show help support the ATC network. Tickets: $10. The show is 18+.
POETRY: Red Hen Press presents an evening of poetry readings, art and adult beverages at Bergamot Station Arts Center on Friday at 6:30 pm. Featured poets this week are Kate Gale, Kim Dower and Brendan Constantine. Free.
MULTIMEDIA PERFORMANCE: Vox Lumiere-The Phantom of the Opera is a new mashup of music, dance, technology and silent film. This new experience blends the 1925 silent film with original songs and live performances. Things kick off on Friday and Saturday night at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, with additional performances on Oct. 10-11, Nov. 14-15 and Dec. 12-13. 8 pm. Tickets: $40-$75.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 20
Rob Sato's art show 'Curses' opens at Martha Otero gallery this weekend. (Image: Courtesy of the artist and gallery)
ART: Martha Otero gallery presents the show Curses, featuring work by Rob Sato. There’s an opening reception on Saturday from 7-9 pm to celebrate his first exhibition with the gallery. “Curses collects Sato's latest adventures on paper, including his massive project Five Movements For Little Guys, a series of ten foot high watercolors where he set out to paint every single person he can remember.” The show also includes new series by the artist. The works remain on view through Oct. 25.
THIRD STREET: Downtown Santa Monica is celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Third Street Promenade. On Saturday from 5-10 pm, Sonic Submarine takes over the Promenade, with a one-night electro-music festival featuring five KCRW DJs Raul Campos, Mario Cotto, Chris Douridas, Travis Holcombe and Garth Trinidad. (And there’s a block party scheduled for the Promenade on 11 am-3 pm on Sunday). Both events are free.
FILM : Barnsdall Saturday Night Movie Series + Wine Tasting runs Saturdays from Sept. 20-Oct. 18 in Barnsdall Park. The outdoor fall film series fundraiser “School Nights” celebrates beloved school movies. The series opens on Saturday with a screening on School of Rock. Wine and music begin at 5:30 pm with the movies starting at sundown (around 7.30 pm). Tickets: $25 for movies plus tasting (3 pours of wine or beer) or $10 for the movie alone.
MARKET: Parachute Market makes its debut inside the new JF Chen showroom in West Hollywood on Sept. 20-21. Titled “Ever Present,” the market provides access to new and antique collections from various dealers and current designers. Participating dealers/designers include: Reform Gallery, The Window, Inheritance, Big Daddy Antiques, Cliff Fong, Parasouk Rugs, 100xBTR, Wolfum, Doug McCollough, Chris Earl, Stephen Kenn, Otto Design Group, Untitled Rug, Jason Koharik, Atelier de Troop and Mary Little / Design Bius. Admission: $10-$12. 11 am-6 pm both days.
LIVE READING: Black List Live! presents a live table read of Seekers by screenwriter Victoria Strouse on Saturday at The Ricardo Montalban Theatre. The comedy from the Black List online scriptwriting community is about a trio of dysfunctional siblings who go on a road trip with a New Age-y deprogrammer to save their sister from a cult. The cast features Alison Brie, Nathan Fillion, Seth Green, Justin Bartha, Melanie Lynskey, Jean Smart and Dean Cameron with Cooper Thornton as Black List Live’s narrator. Tickets: $35 General admission; $30 WGA members and students. Doors at 7:30 pm and show at 8 pm.
TARFEST: Tarfest—the arts and culture festival along the Miracle Mile—celebrates its 12th year this year. The free, all-ages festival runs from 1-8 pm and features performances in the La Brea Tar Pits by headliners Hunter Hunted, The Moth & The Flame, DNTWN, Tapioca & The Flea and The Dead Ships. Local artists Greg “Craola” Simkins, Nicola Verlato and DevNGosha will be live painting. Food trucks confirmed include The Grilled Cheese Truck, Baby’s Badass Burgers and Sky’s Gourmet Tacos. Lagunitas Biergarten and the Little Bar Wine Bar are providing the libations.
NEW FILM: NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) holds its monthly screening with an extended program of films beginning at 1:20 pm with a documentary track, followed by a screening of short films at 3 pm, 4:45 pm and 6 pm. The evening concludes with a special screening of Denzel Washington’s The Equalizer at 8 pm. There are pre- and post-receptions for all programs as well as Q&As with filmmakers and actors. Tickets for the documentary and shorts programs are: $5 online or $7 at the door or $15 for an all-night access pass, which includes complimentary drinks. Tickets to The Equalizer are free, but RSVP is mandatory.
FLEA MARKET: The Artists & Fleas' LA market returns on Saturday and Sunday (and every third weekend of the month) to the Arts District. The alternative marketplace brings together art, design, fashion, vintage items, food and activities like lawn games, DIY workshops and even a beer garden. Guest DJ sets throughout the weekend, too. Free entry and free parking. The market is located at (647 Mateo Street DTLA). Hours: 11 am to 6 pm.
PERFORMANCE: MOCA's new performance series Step and Repeatcontinues on Saturday at The Geffen Contemporary, bringing together performance art, music, poetry and comedy. This week’s lineup includes a performance by Wu Tsang and boychild in collaboration with Patrick Belaga; comedy by Kate Berlant and Derrick Beckles; sound and music experiences by NYC-based artist and composer Marina Rosenfeld and San Francisco based experimental artist Oxbow. Doors at 5:30 pm with DJs and performances running from 6-11 pm. Food trucks and cash bar from 6-10 pm.
DANCE: Fleetmac Wood is a party/dance/night dedicated to Fleetwood Mac that features edits, remixes and original Fleetwood Mac tracks (no covers) and it’s at Los Globos on Saturday with the theme “Big Love Disco.” 9 pm-3am. $10 in advance.
ART WALK: Cerre, CES Contemporary, Little Big Man Gallery and Wilding Cran Gallery are pleased to host theSouth of Seventh Neighborhood Walk(in the Arts District in DTLA) on Saturday from 6-9 pm. This inaugural edition of South of Seventh invites visitors to check out the art, retail and eating establishments of the burgeoning community.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 21
LACMA opens the exhibition 'Haunted Screens: German Cinema in the 1920s' on Sunday. (Image: Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' (1927), courtesy of Cinémathèque Française)
ART: LACMA opens the exhibition Haunted Screens: German Cinema in the 1920s, which explores the masterworks of German Expressionist cinema. The exhibition features more than 150 drawings, manuscripts, posters and set models. Most of the items were collected by German film historian Lotte Eisner. The exhibition closes on Jan. 4, 2015. Haunted Screens admission is included in museum admission. (Adults: $15.)
FELINE FILM FEST : The Walker Art Center and Organikat present the Los Angeles Feline Film Festival, hosted by Internet cat stars Lil Bub and Tara the Hero Cat. The festival takes place on Sunday from 1-10 pm at Christmas Tree Lane at Exposition Park and features a 75-minute compilation of the most popular Internet cat videos. There's also a product vendor area, cat adoptions, cat costume contest, beer tent and food trucks. Guests are welcome to dress in their favorite cat attire and bring along their pet cats. Tickets start at $15
MUSIC: Brazilian superstar Caetano Veloso brings his Tropicália grooves to the Hollywood Bowl with Andrew Bird & the Hands of Glory (Tift Merritt along with Alan Hampton, Eric Heywood and Kevin O'Donnell), Devendra Banhart and DJ Frosty. $13-$143+ fees. 7 pm.
ANIMATION CELEBRATION: The Alex Theatre in Glendale serves as the venue for Chuck Jones: 102Gether,a Celebration of Creative Collaboration on Sunday from 3-5 pm. The film festival, presented by the Chuck Jones Museum, pays tribute to teams that helped usher in the Golden Age of Warner Bros. cartoons. The families of many of the era’s great directors, writers, producers and animators will come together, and also expected are guests June Foray, Auril Thompson and Martha Sigall. Cartoons from each of the directors will be shown on the big screen. A question-and-answer hour will follow the presentation. Tickets: $10-$50.
FILM FESTIVAL: The Ambulante! film festival rolls into town on Sunday and runs through Oct. 4, screening documentary films at alternative, mostly outdoor venues. Each night, Ambulante! pops up in various neighborhoods throughout the Greater LA area with filmmakers doing Q&As at nearly every screening. The opening film is Bronx Obama, paired with the short film "Ink & Paper" at 7 pm in MacArthur Park. Bring blankets and low lawn chairs.
OKTOBERFEST: Angel City Brewery celebrates a California Oktoberfeston Sunday from noon to 10 pm, featuring German food, polka music, specialty brews, games, a specialty bazaar and other activities. Tours of the brewery from 1-5 pm.
READING: Tongue & Groove, a monthly literary variety show, celebrates its seventh year of celebrating the spoken word. Produced by Conrad Romo, Sunday night’s readers include Chris L. Terry (Zero Fade), Renee Swindle (A Pinch of Ohh La La), Tony DuShane (Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk), Brandon Jordan Brown and musical guest Adam Levy. 6-7:30 pm at the Hotel Cafe. Tickets: $7.
Related:
- Your Ultimate Guide to September Events
- Sunset Strip Music Festival
Want the 411 on additional events and happenings in LA? Follow @LAist or me (@christineziemba) on Twitter.
