June 27, 2014
Starry Solstice, Summer Sights, Holy Rollers & Carnival of the Mind

  

UNIQUE NIGHTS THIS WEEKEND: 

MUSEUMS aren't just places to go to see static exhibits anymore.  Most of them have all kinds of special events and entertainment. This week's highlight: KCRW's Peterson Concert Series launches on Sunday featuring Wildcat!Wildcat!

 

FESTIVALS are always popular. This week: The Festival of Masks in Leimert Park on Sunday.

 

RECREATION everything from whale watching to evening campfires on this page. This week spend a starry night at Vista Hermosa park gazing at stars and story telling.

 

TOURS & EXCURSIONS this isn't a "tourists" page.  You'll find the most unique and unusual places walk, roll, and float.  This week why not try a Summer Sights and Sips Cruise in Marina del Rey.

 

These are just a few of the highlights this week, visit eyespyla.com for additional events. 

 

MORE:

 

EVEN MORE: Some things are always fun to do... Check out our Places to Go Anytime and Things To Do pages for plenty of ideas that are available on a regular basis.

  • KIDS STUFF - Shows, activities, teas and more for families with toddlers, tykes and teens.
  • MUSIC & CONCERTS - Outdoors or in, music is perfect this time of year.
  • FILM - This is the time of year where outdoor films are the hottest happenings.

PLAN AHEAD what's going on all month on the JULY CALENDAR  

  HorzLine

 Find more? Check out our Editor's Picks selected at the start of every week.  

  

DiscountsDISCOUNTS - there are some really good ones right now. From whale watching to kids shows to festivals... 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.

  

TIP OF THE ICEBERG: you'll find lots more events and other things to do near you - on our neighborhood and regional calendar links at the bottom of all Eye Spy LA web pages.


Have a Happy Weekend!

 
Long Live the Queen: Ellen Geer as "Lear" at Theatricum
by M.R. Hunter

Ellen Geer Lear
 
Shakespeare's women are not shy about donning on a codpiece when necessary, but gender-reversals can bode uneasy misgivings and critical doubt from the outset as to how successful the sex-switcheroo might pan out. The title character of King Lear is not one so easily redressed given the patriarchal overtures and the blustery folly of a man steeped in ego and arrogance.

Having seen both Harry Groener and Dakin Matthews in the preeminent Antaeus production 4 years ago, I was a bit skeptical about this version starring the incomparable Ellen Geer as Lear. I didn't go charging up the hill to see it on opening weekend. It took awhile to mull the idea over. Queen Lear? I'm no purist, yet whenever gender trumps the integrity of a story, let alone a title character, it's been my experience that usually the idea is about provocation rather than insight.

I was wrong...
 

HorzLine

Fireworks! Where to go on the Fourth of July

Grand Park July 4
OOH AAH - FIREWORKS! In our safety obsessed society, where no hang nail goes unlitigated, normally cautious people become momentarily unhinged with delight at the thought of lighting up a hot, sparkly, multicolored, illegal incendiary device on Independence Day. Play it safe, we have lots of recommendations for a fun and fiery fix.
 
Whether you have a favorite "hot spot" to watch these patriotic displays or don't know where to go, our annual list has them including some of our tips for getting the most for the least.     
HERE IS THE EYE SPY LA ANNUAL LIST OF THE TRIED AND TRUE PLACES TO GO ON THE 4TH and where to find last minute info...

 

 




HorzLine

Eyestrology: Happy Birthday Cancer! by Cici Psy-Chic
 
Eyestrology WindowFor the month of 6/21/14-7/22/14
 
Happy birthday to these celebrity June Cancers: Meryl Streep (6/22), Randy Jackson (6/23), Solange Knowles (6/24), Carly Simon (6/25), Sean Hayes (6/26), Khloe Kardashian (6/27), Kellie Pickler (6/28), Neil Perry (6/29), Michael Phelps (6/30)
 
Celebrity July Cancers: Missy Elliott (7/1), Ashley Tisdale (7/2), Tom Cruise (7/3), Neil Simon (7/4), Edie Falco (7/5), Kevin Hart (7/6), Ringo Starr (7/7), Kevin Bacon (7/8), Tom Hanks (7/9), Jessica Simpson (7/10), Lil' Kim (7/11), Bill Cosby (7/12), Harrison Ford (7/13), Jane Lynch (7/14), Forest Whitaker (7/15), Will Ferrell (7/16), Donald Sutherland (7/17), Vin Diesel (7/18), Benedict Cumberbatch (7/19), Sandra Oh (7/20), Robin Williams (7/21), Selena Gomez (7/22)
 
This will be a high energy, go-go-go kind of early summer. We'll be packing a lot into our weeks. Things can become stressful if we try to do too much both in work and play. Be selective about how to spend your free time. Now that Mercury is going direct, communication should be better. Stay on top of emails, texts and calls and try to be on top of all your daily correspondences now. Air and Fire signs should bite their tongue while Earth and Water could be more expressive about their needs. This is not an ideal period for being opinionated or stubborn. Blame the heat!


HorzLine

El Paso BBQ in Tarzana

El Paso BBQ Meal
Good ol' American BBQ is often a matter of taste and style. Do you like it sweet, smokey, spicy? Do you prefer it Kansas, Missouri, Texas or Southern style.  And these are just a few of the variations out there.  

Cooking methods, sauces and rubs all play a role.  But I think the most important foundation for great Q is the quality of the meat.

The key to the food here is quality. The ribs are succulent, the brisket and the steaks are tender, salads are crisp and fresh...
 

HorzLine

Summer Outdoor Entertainment 2014

Levitt Pavilion  

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.
 
FREE CONCERTS: 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...


HorzLine

Theater the Way it Should Be: "The Brothers Size" @ the Fountain Theatre by M.R. Hunter

The Brothers Size

Following last year's widely acclaimed "In the Red and Brown Water," the second installment of Tarell Alvin McCraney's "Brother/Sister Plays" trilogy at the Fountain is impactful and stunning. One does not need to have seen the first play as each is a standalone piece relating to the themes of African Yoruba mythology, interpersonal relations, struggle, locale and McCraney's signature style of vocalizing the stage directions as a reminder that THIS is a theatrical art form.

And it is definitively theater-not pseudo-theater plaguing many underwritten, uninspired or creatively hesitant new plays as of late. McCraney's stories work on the stage because he writes FOR the stage instead of the other way around. From the melodic dialogue with its poetic underpinnings, mythological symbolism, multilayered characters filled with pathos, hubris and complexity, "The Brothers Size" is one of those rare gems of contemporary playwrighting that gives hope to the future of the craft. Being able to tell a story is a privilege most people enjoy. The art of storytelling however is a very exclusive ability and when it unfolds in such a way to leave one breathless and clamoring for more, then a certain respect must be paid to its talent.

McCraney infuses his work with folklore from Yoruba, located in southwestern Nigeria which made its way to the southern states of the U.S. This play is set in the rural Louisiana bayou in elder brother Ogun Henri Size's home and his auto shop. Younger brother, Oshoosi has just come home after being paroled from jail, struggling to adapt to his newfound freedom. Elegba, Oshoosi's friend infiltrates the tenuous relationship with his own secret agendas only Ogun can sense as he watches his brother fall into a seduction of good vs. evil, inevitably setting him free...


HorzLine

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 L.A. EYE SPY LA CONTRIBUTORS:

 

M.R. Hunter - editorial and reviews

Mark Share - reviews

Kelly Hargraves - dance and reviews

Leena Deneroff - food adventures

Charles Phoenix - retro slide of the week