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Summer Festivals: BBQ & Watermelons |
FESTIVALS GALORE - Leave room for an appetite this weekend:
- 3rd Annual Long Beach BBQ Festival bbq is kind of a regional sport in the U.S. and it isn't often that you have the chance to eat from some of the best grillers from all over the country all in one place. If you've got a hearty appetite or you just like a VIP experience, this festival offers an all you can eat and drink option. Or take a group and create your own tasting table. Fri, Sat, Sun. Then work off all those good eats on the dance floor.
- Also in Long Beach local bands take to the streets on Saturday for the annual Buskerfest. Free.
- 52nd Annual Sunland-Tujunga Watermelon Festival this festival has gotten so large they've moved it to the Rose Bowl this year. Fri, Sat, Sun.
- If you'd rather watch other people pig out head to Little Tokyo on Saturday for the World Gyoza Eating Championship, a part of the Nisei Week festivities. They'll have sample booths where you can try some crazy gyoza yourself.
- 11th Annual Chalk Art Festival & Dolphin Dash turns the Redondo Beach Pier into a canvas on Saturday afternoon.
- The 33rd annual Wings Over Camarillo Air Show Saturday & Sunday offers the public the opportunity to take a ride in some legendary aircraft.
OOOH LA LA - Spice up the weekend with something sexy, smooth or soulful:
ALL SUMMER LONG ATTRACTIONS: Whatever your pleasure, we have it HERE.
- MUSIC & CONCERTS - Singalongs, live musical performances and more.
- TOURS & EXCURSIONS - Hollywood is one of the best areas to explore.
- KIDS STUFF - Do fun things with the kids before school starts.
- MUSEUMS - With so many to choose from the hardest choice is which one?
- COMEDY - Crack up with hot shows featuring funny folks.
Still scratching your head? There are more Editor's Picks this week
DISCOUNTS - there are some really good ones right now. From whale watching to a relaxing hour of yoga to magical Smoke & Mirrors entertain yourself at a discount. All at very reasonable prices. Even better, most of the discounts offered are direct from the event/activity producers and do not involve additional fees to receive the discount.
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TIP: you can find events and other things to do near you - you'll find neighborhood and regional calendar links at the bottom of all Eye Spy LA web pages.
Have a Happy Weekend!
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Literary Carnival III - Be There with Belletristic Bells On |
These cool cats are as they say, "too legit to be lit." We attended last year's 2nd annual lit-fest and had reams of fun. Located at the Lyric-Hyperion Cafe Theater in Silverlake, these renegade writers, poets and performance artists put on an entertaining evening of readings, flash fiction and includes audience participation with MadLibs and free association, lending to some surprising improvisation.
 Go early as the pre-show outside is full of colorful, witty characters. Buy a poem on the spot for a buck (our MR Hunter did in tribute to her pet rat Euripides). Purchase current and back issues of the Newer York Press literary magazine that are as visually interesting as the stories are clever.
Inside the intimate space, audience members are encouraged to sit on the floor covered with Persian rugs and pillows. How cool is that? Not only are the short stories, vignettes and theatrical performances erudite, smart and sensational, but these writers are quick on their feet, slightly absurdest in style and know how to really work the crowd.
These are the kind of artists we dig for their inventiveness and original voice. Literary magazines come and go, but these Newer York contributors are making a name for themselves and prove literary can be both smart and silly. Their small but stylish mags are available at several newsstands around the city from Studio City to Los Feliz. You can also find the Newer York Press at local book haunts like The Skylight Book Store and The Last Book Store.
It is the kind of evening where everyone walks out with a smile on their face. This event is perfect to take a gaggle of friends or impress a date with your inkhorn acumen. Either way, the admission is only ten bucks. It's a bargain given the IQ and entertainment quotient far exceeds the ticket price, (which funds the magazine in its upcoming year).
We plan to stop by again to this year's third annual festival and look forward to their new works and zany acts.
The Literary Carnival III is on Saturday, August 24 from 7:30pm - 10pm
Beer and wine are available to purchase
Recommended age due to adult content is 18+
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Yakov Smirnoff's 'Happily Ever Laughter' Tickles the Heart and Soul
by M.R. Hunter
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The name Yakov Smirnoff should ring a bell. He is the funny Russian comedian of the 80s, exclaiming with wide-eyed enthusiasm "What a country!" His meteoric rise to stardom is the epitome of the American dream. Immigrating to the U.S. and becoming a citizen in 1977 with a rudimentary command of the English language, Smirnoff soon appeared on the Johnny Carson Show and in movies alongside Robin Williams, Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks. Not bad for a guy who in ordering quiche asked for a "quickie" and received a pitcher of cold water in his lap.
What's more astounding is the Yakov Smirnoff most people don't know or hardly imagine. In his one-man hit show direct from Broadway, "Happily Ever Laughter," Smirnoff challenges preconceived notions and entrenched assumptions by revealing himself as a patriot, an artist, an academic, a father and a philosopher on the subject of happiness and love. In our current pessimistic worldview and reflexive narcissistic sensibilities, Smirnoff defies the temptation of apathy with personal reflections on his family and his comedic career.
His show has been selling out well in advance and attracting couples (some there the night I attended to celebrate their anniversary). This is the perfect entertainment choice for a date night or married couples...
READ THE FULL REVIEW
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Eyestrology - This Month's Event Forecast - Happy Birthday Leo! | By Cici Psy-Chic |
Happy birthday to these celebrity August Leos: Coolio (8/01), Sam Worthington (8/02), Martha Stewart (8/03), President Barack Obama (8/04), Maureen McCormick (8/05), Geri Estelle Halliwell (8/06), Charlize Theron (8/07), Meagan Good (8/08), Anna Kendrick (8/09), Antonio Banderas (8/10), Chris Hemsworth (8/11), Maggie Lawson (8/12), Danny Bonaduce (8/13), Mila Kunis (8/14), Ben Affleck (8/15), Madonna (8/16), Robert DeNiro (8/17), Robert Redford (8/18), John Stamos (8/19), Amy Adams (8/20), Kenny Rogers (8/21), Valerie Harper (8/22) LEO - Gold
VIRGO - Work and Play
LIBRA - Party Animal
SCORPIO - Reciprocation
SAGITTARIUS - Widen Your Perspective CAPRICORN - Potent Power
AQUARIUS - Adapt
PISCES - Out of Sync
ARIES - Cooped Up TAURUS - Rose-Colored Glasses
GEMINI - Stress CANCER - Requisite Due
The next few weeks will be open windows of opportunity and personal growth for most signs. This is a good time to pursue our ambitions without fear of pushback. We need to be mindful of how we treat others as the sun in Leo can bring out our egos in unflattering displays of arrogance and obliviousness. Jupiter could encourage us to spend too freely and impulsively. Take advantage of free or low-cost events rather than blow a paycheck in a single outing. Fire and Earth sings will be feeling sexually adventurous while Water and Air will be self-reflective.
Read your full EYESTROLOGICAL Forecast |
Al Fresco LA - Summer Outdoor Entertainment 2013 by Andrea Kirk |
Summer in L.A. is all about the experience and not so much about the money. Grab your friends and a cooler, a blanket, and a picnic. You'll find plenty of summer events and low cost al fresco entertainment all over town.
Some of the best things in summer are free. Look around you're own neighborhood. You'll find free concerts, film screenings and theatre in parks, shopping centers, museums, and other nooks and crannies that have a patch of grass or some asphalt to setup a stage and some seating in...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE
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ABOUT EYE SPY LA | |
Eye Spy LA has been the online Local's Guide to L.A. since 2003. Content is written, edited and maintained by locals and focuses on local and nearby events and the local creative community.
Editorial policy: Eye Spy LA editorials are stories written about places, entertainment and events that we go to. The opinions are those of our editorial staff and the writer of the piece. Calendar listings are ads posted by the people producing events and activities in the local area. Each week we pick and recommend events and other things to do based on our experience or sometimes because they look particularly unusual, unique or in some other way interesting. We do not recommend them based on any fees they may or may not have paid us for advertising.
You'll always find the latest events & activities plus commentary about where we've been at eyespyLA.com - updated daily.
Andrea Kirk, publisher (editor@eyespyLA.com)
EYE SPY LA CONTRIBUTORS:
M.R. Hunter - editorial and reviews
Mark Share - reviews
Kelly Hargraves - dance and reviews
Abby Abanes - food adventures
Charles Phoenix - retro slide of the week
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