Good Grove/Bad Grove: Send Me An Angel Edition

Whoever told you it's all happening at the Zoo was way off. If you live in Los Angeles, it's all happening at The Grove. In its short time on our city's cultural landscape, the Grove has become LA's focal point for events big and small, mainstream and offbeat, for hipsters and dweebs alike. There's almost always something going on. Of course, that means if you just want to pick up a t-shirt at the Gap, you're running the risk of getting delayed by some massive, unexpected event. Luckily, there are exactly 45,691 other Gaps in the LA area. But if you're interested in what the Grove has to offer besides shopping, here's a look at some of the events worth checking out — or avoiding — in the days ahead:

• Tomorrow at noon, Victoria's Secret brings its Angels Across America publicity tour to its outpost at the Grove. Supermodels Tyra Banks, Gisele Bundchen, Heidi Klum, Adriana Lima, and Alessandra Ambrosio will be appearing, signing autographs and pressing their appendages into wet cement. (Sorry, guys. Just their hands.)

• On Saturday at 1pm, ten gajillion kids will be on hand to meet SpongeBob live in person as he appears with his buddy Patrick Star to promote their new movie. (Memo to the guy in the foam suit: It gets hot in those things. Dress light. And bring some Advil.)

• And on Sunday, November 21 at 8pm, the Grove holds its third annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony, complete with fireworks, live music and snow, glorious snow! Also, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will be there... because who doesn't associate crappy pseudo-swing music with Christmas?

For comedy lovers, George Carlin will be doing a reading from his new book, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? at Barnes & Noble on Monday, November 15 at 7:30pm. And for lovers of unintentional comedy, there's Alicia Keys reading from her book of poems Tears for Water on Saturday the 13th at 2pm.

That's just a small sampling of the upcoming events at the Grove. If you want to keep up on what's happening there, check out their event calendar. Through its steady flurry of events, The Grove has transcended the notion of a simple shopping mall. It's become LA's de facto town square. So if you're looking for a nice quiet place to shop, why not visit the ailing Beverly Center nearby? It has most of the same stores (and more) without all the hullabaloo. The Grove is anything but quiet, but if you can tolerate the crowds, that constant buzz of activity is part of the Good Grove.