Enjoy amazing music and help very deserving causes at the We Are LA Family Music Festival on September 17. Proceeds from this cool event will help numerous nonprofit organizations that make a difference in Los Angeles. Entertainment includes Kevin Costner and Modern West, Katey Segal and Reluctant Apostles, Lisa Loeb, Yo Gabba Gabba and more. You will also have the chance to play games and instruments, play sports, and discover volunteer opportunities. Buy tickets here.
Enjoy delicious vegan cuisine at the North Hollywood Vegan Street Fair on September 2-3. This exclusive 2-night event is an annual vegan food celebration where local vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants and vendors come together to serve you bite-size portions of vegan eats all in one place. It will take place at The Federal Bar and should be a great time to enjoy yummy food with friends. Buy tickets here.
On August 27, enjoy a FREE open house at the legendary Second City in Hollywood. This is a perfect opportunity to try your hand at improv, writing, or musical improv. This is the world’s premiere comedy theatre and largest school of improvisation and sketch comedy. Reservations are highly recommended but walk-ins are welcome. Call 323.464-8542 for more info. Some of the most legendary actors have called Second City their home namely John Belushi, Bill Murray, Andrea Martin, Stephen Colbert, Chris Farley, Jane Lynch and many more.
We’ve all heard of the Sundance Film Festival. If you’ve never been, you can get a taste of it at Sundance NextFest in Los Angeles on August 12-14. It will take place at DTLA’s Ace Hotel. Sundance NEXT FEST is a summer festival celebrating film, music, and the renegade spirit of independent artists. This year, six bold new films fresh from the 2016 Sundance Film Festival make their Los Angeles premiere. Each is paired with either a special musical performance that embodies a shared artistic sensibility or a conversation with filmmakers and the luminaries that inspired them. For their fourth year, they’ve added a new outdoor venue to offer even more opportunity to celebrate the spirit of music and film in LA—grab a drink, mingle, soak up the summer sun, and feel the energy as we celebrate the next wave in American cinema.
Now through November 13, enjoy some of the best contemporary painters from London in this incredible exhibition at the Getty Center. Artists featured are Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Leon Kossoff, Michael Andrews, Frank Auerbach, and R.B. Kitaj. Each artist is a rebel and trailblazer in their style by rejecting what contemporary art was supposed to be. This is an inspired, emotional, bold, and prolific collection of outstanding work. Plus, it’s at the beautiful Getty Center.
Thinking of taking some classes for self-knowledge or to improve your skills? Nearby Los Angles Valley College has a wide variety of classes and it’s only a short drive from NoHo Senior Arts Colony. Apply now! Whether you’re interest in Accounting, Computers, Media Arts, Photography or more, LAVC has it all. Check out their catalogue.
Over 400 of the world’s best short films will be showcased during the annual celebration, which has emerged as one of the leading discovery platforms for the next generation of storytellers in Los Angeles. HollyShorts takes place August 11-20 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres and other locations throughout Hollywood. Among the official selections is Cuddle Party, a dark comedy Executive Produced by Golden Globe and Emmy-winner Jill Soloway, creator of Amazon’s hit series Transparent. Directed by Matthew Irving Epstein, Cuddle Party stars Yvette Nicole Brown (Community), Michaela Watkins (Casual, Saturday Night Live), and Rob Huebel (Children’s Hospital, Despicable Me). Cuddle Party will screen in competition during the festival’s opening night celebration on August 11. This year’s HollyShorts official lineup features ground breaking shorts and world premieres.
The creative Dance Center West is putting on a very cool event that combines dance with other mediums for inspired results! It takes place on the beautiful campus of UCLA. Dance Camera West (DCW) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and developing the vibrant art of dance and dance media. DCW connects diverse cultures and environments through its exploration of dance on screen, bringing hundreds of challenging and provocative films to Los Angeles from around the globe, effectively bridging the gap between the uniquely influential Los Angeles film community and the significant local dance populace. Even more importantly, Dance Camera West utilizes the accessible nature of dance as a non-verbal art form to reach across cultural, geographic, and socio-economic divides by making a special effort to engage a wide range of Los Angeles audiences of varying ethnicities and interests, offering everyone a chance to experience the thought-provoking thrill of dance media.
Saturday, June 11– The Past, Present & Future of Hip Hop, MOCA’s Ahmanson Auditorium, Downtown LA
Thursday, June 16 –Opening Night w/ Pre VIP Reception, UCLA’s Royce Hall, Westwood
Friday, June 17 –International Shorts Program, UCLA’s Royce Hall, Westwood
If you’ve never been to the Downtown LA Art Walk, here’s your chance. It’s a wonderful place to get inspired by art and people. Start your evening at the Art Walk Lounge (634 S. Spring St.), the visitor center for the Art Walk. Visitors can pick up maps, view and purchase art from uniquely curated exhibitions featuring local and international artists, support artisans and microbusinesses through the Art Mart, and sample promotional items from our sponsors. The Downtown Art Walk Lounge is open from 6-10PM. The self-guided public art phenomenon known as The Downtown Art Walk brings art lovers and community members to an ever-evolving Downtown Los Angeles. With exciting and unique offerings around every corner, Downtown celebrates the arts on the 2nd Thursday of each month, year-round, rain or shine. Please refer to your calendar for upcoming dates. Although the Art Walk Lounge opens at 6pm, local participating gallery hours may vary, typically ranging from Noon – 10PM.
Isn’t it time you got the spacious new apartment for rent in the Los Angeles area that you deserve with like-minded people?! NoHo Senior Arts Colony is a beautiful community full of resort-inspired amenities and creative inspiration everywhere you look. The unique programs and activities here let you be as active, relaxed, social, or creative as you want to be. We celebrate your independent spirit every day. CLICK HERE to view the floor plans. North Hollywood is a wonderful city with its very own arts district, abundant dining options, and cultural events.
Grand Park’s SPRINGTIME READSculminates with everyone’s favorite celebration of independent Los Angeles-based authors and publishers. This year, the annual Grand Park’s Downtown Bookfest will explore, “Literary LA: Places, Spaces and Faces,” a celebration and reflection of where Angelenos love to read and write – past, present and future. Find books by local authors and publishers. Discover great children’s books. Connect with other writers. It’s all FREE and takes place on May 4 from noon-5pm at Grand Park located at 200 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles 90012.
Springtime means baseball season is here and it’s time for Dodgers baseball! This is Vin Scully’s last season as their announcer so it makes every game this season extra special. CLICK HERE to buy individual, group, or premium tickets. Find out about the LA Dodgers history here. While we’re on the topic of sports, we congratulate Kobe Bryant on his extraordinary career with the Los Angeles Lakers. Tonight is his last game. CLICK HERE to read more about his career and legacy. Good luck in your future endeavors Kobe!
The art scene in Southern California is definitely prolific and thriving. Now until April 24, enjoy the 105th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition at the Autry Museum of the American West presented by the California Art Club. Get inspired by more than 200 contemporary-traditional fine art paintings and sculpture that pays tribute to the pioneering artists who founded the organization. This is a tremendous show that spotlights California Impressionism.
The Autry was voted “Favorite Museum” by Los Angeles Daily News Readers in 2014 and 2015. Discover the art, history, and cultures of the American West! Located in beautiful Griffith Park, the Autry features world-class galleries filled with Native American art and artifacts, film memorabilia, historic firearms, paintings, and more. Throughout the year, the Autry also presents a wide range of public events and programs—including lectures, film, theater, festivals, family activities, and music—and performs scholarship, research, and educational outreach. The Autry’s collection of more than 500,000 pieces of art and artifacts includes the Southwest Museum of the American Indian Collection, one of the largest and most significant collections of Native American materials in the United States.
Attentions writers, poets, novelists, and lovers of all things literary! The AWP Conference & Book Fair is an essential annual destination for writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers. Best yet, it’s in LA so if you live at NoHo Senior Arts Colony, you’re set! Each year more than 12,000 attendees join the community for four days of insightful dialogue, networking, and unrivaled access to the organizations and opinion-makers that matter most in contemporary literature. The 2015 conference featured over 2,000 presenters and 550 readings, panels, and craft lectures. The book fair hosted over 800 presses, journals, and literary organizations from around the world. AWP’s is now the largest literary conference in North America. Join us in Los Angeles in 2016 to celebrate the best of what contemporary literature has to offer. CLICK HERE for more info.
Next month is national poetry month and it’s the perfect time for the Los Angeles Times festival of Books. This popular event will be held at the USC campus. Enjoy a variety of booksellers, publishers, museums, theaters as well as literacy and cultural organizations. Many indie booksellers there represent diverse ethnic and cultural voices in the area. Speak with the Los Angeles area authors and/or buy their books. This event will definitely attract the top of the top of poets, writers, editors and book lovers. If you’re looking for literary inspiration, this is a wonderful place to find it all in one place.
There’s always lots to do in North Hollywood including a visit to the North Hollywood Recreation Center. Stay healthy and have fun at this local venue. Features include auditorium, baseball diamond courts (lighted/indoor), baseball diamond (lighted/outdoor), basketball courts (lighted/outdoor), children’s play area, handball courts (lighted), indoor gym, picnic tables, seasonal pool (outdoor/unheated), and tennis courts (lighted). It’s located at 11430 Chandler Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601. CLICK HERE for more information. Valley Plaza Park is also in North Hollywood and has an auditorium, barbecue pits, baseball diamond (lighted, unlighted), basketball courts (lighted, indoor, outdoor), children’s play area, community room, football field (lighted), indoor gym (without weights), outdoor gym (without weights), picnic tables, tennis courts (lighted), volleyball courts (unlighted). If you’re more into skateboarding, check out North Hollywood Skate Park.
Join Angelenos beneath Chinese lanterns in the vibrance of Downtown L.A. for the 15th Annual Los Angeles Lantern Festival. This free signature event culminates the Lunar New Year festivities with engaging community booths, museum tours, live entertainment, music, arts & crafts, and food trucks.
A hugely popular Chinese festival around the world, Lantern Festival occurs annually on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to mark the closing of Chinese New Year festivities. CAM’s annual Los Angeles Lantern Festival represents a departure from most other commercially-based street event celebrations, with its primary focus on community building and education. The Los Angeles Lantern Festival embraces the mission of the Chinese American Museum to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of America’s diverse heritage by sharing the history, cultural legacy and continuing contributions of Chinese Americans by providing a free festival that encourages the public to celebrate Chinese America.
Saturday, March 5, 2016, Noon – 7PM
425 N. Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 at El Pueblo Historical Monument
The North Hollywood (NoHo) CineFest will run March 18-24, 2016 at the Laemmle NoHo7 Theater, in the heart of the NoHo Arts District. This international film festival will showcase nearly 90 films over seven days and will be attended by celebrities, media and filmmakers from around the globe.
The red carpet on March 18 from 7pm-10pm will host celebrities such as Thomas Ian Nicholas (American Pie), Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls) and Michael Madsen (The Hateful Eight), scheduled to attend the screening/Q&A for the World Premiere of “The Lost Tree.” “EVOL: The Theory of Love” stars Conor Donovan (The Departed), Matthew Lawrence (Melissa & Joey, Mrs. Doubtfire) and Aynsley Bubbico (Hart of Dixie, Greek) will be joining the event, as well as Christina Wren (Man of Steel) who will be part of an industry panel.
Screenings include “American Bred” starring Academy Award Nominee Michael Lerner (Barton Fink, XMen: Days of Future Past, Godzilla) an d the LA premiere of the comedic film “The Life and Death of an Unhappily Married Man.” Back by popular demand Horror Night will be Monday, March 21, hosted by Ivonna Cadaver (Macabre Theatre) and a new addition to this year’s festival, Tuesday, March 22, will feature a line up of all films with women directors.
Looking for resources to get your film or script produced? Or just looking for inspiration? Check out the Black Hollywood Education & Resource Center. In 1996, the Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center was founded to remove the veil of invisibility that shrouds African Americans and other minority groups from the main stage, and to spotlight diversity and the stellar contributions of black film and television artists who brought dignity and professionalism to even the most menial of roles.
The Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center, a nonprofit, public benefit organization, is designed to advocate, educate, research, develop, and preserve the history, and the future, of blacks in the film and television industries.
The Center’s commitment to the development of future filmmakers – performers, directors, and behind-the-scenes technicians and workers – is realized not only through film festivals but also through innovative educational programs. The Center annually sponsors Artistry in Motion, a seminar led by industry professionals who introduce middle and high school students to the magical world of animation, and workshops that offer inside information about the film and television industries. Since its founding, the Center’s scholarship projects have awarded more than $500,000 in equipment, in-kind services and resources to deserving film students and independent filmmakers.
Cheer on runners at one of the most popular marathons in the nation this weekend on February 14. The Los Angeles Marathon includes runners from all 50 states and 55 countries making this truly an international event. The race starts at Dodger Stadium and finds its way all the way to Santa Monica. The top 3 finishers in each age division will receive a commemorative award. All finishers will receive a commemorative medal. KTLA5 in Los Angeles will provide live television coverage of the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon beginning at 6:00 am PDT. KTLA.com will also provide live online streaming of the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon broadcast beginning at 7:00 am PDT.
