Thursday, August 22, 2013

Events for Aug. 22-28, 2013

Get with THE PROGRAM


THURSDAY, AUG. 22
Chef Rick Bayless


FOOD


Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival in Downtown, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills
The third annual event is the ultimate city-wide food extravaganza, offering four days of cooking demos, wine and spirit tastings, book signings, parties and so much more. There's a culinary demo with Giada De Laurentiis this afternoon, followed by her Festa Italiana this evening. Tomorrow includes a discussion with Michael Chiarello; Tacos and Tequila with Ray Garcia, Josef Centeno and Rick Bayless; a demo and Asian Night Market with Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. Fabio Viviani, Curtis Stone and Ziggy Marley and Ben Ford do cooking demos, Grant Achatz and the Grahm Crew do cocktail talks and Gavin DeGraw performs at Lexus Live on Grand on Saturday. The fest concludes with demos from the Hearty Boys and Duff Goldman, champagne and cheese seminars and the final Lexus Grand Tasting on Sunday.

COMEDY


Class of Chicago Comedy Festival @ The Fake Gallery (Wilshire Center)
Radio Titans co-founder Carl Kozlowski throws his second annual celebration of Chicago comedians who now reside in the City of Angels. This year features 40 comics over three nights of festivities, kicking off with two shows this evening. There's an All-Star Improv Extravaganza at 8 p.m. with the likes of Emo Philips, Bill Chott and the Farley Brothers, while the 10 p.m. portion includes a showcase of shorts by Willy Lazlo, Luke Matheny, Ryan Ridley, Scott Vinci and Dan Jelinek.


FRIDAY, AUG. 23


CULTURE


Fiesta La Ballona @ Veterans Park (Culver City)
The neighborhood's annual Party in the Park is a free weekend event celebrating community. Aside from carnival rides and games, there will be plenty of food booths and trucks, a beer and wine garden, performances from dance groups and rock, mariachi, jazz, bluegrass, samba and zydeco bands, events with some of the Galaxy Star Squad and Kings Ice Crew and a costume celebration and competition.

FILM


In Theaters This Week
The Grandmaster, directed by Wong Kar Wai, stars Tony Leung as Ip Man. Lily Collins and Jamie Campbell Bower star in the big-screen adaptation of Cassandra Clare's YA fiction series' first installment, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones; The World's End is the final flavor (mint chocolate chip, to be exact) in Edgar Wright's Cornetto trilogy, featuring co-writer Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, a pub crawl and aliens, of course; Adam Wingard directs You're Next, and since I can't even watch its ad without covering my eyes, it's probably a good one for you horror lovers. Also in theaters: The Frozen Ground; Inch'Allah; Scenic Route; Short Term 12; Thérèse
  

SATURDAY, AUG. 24
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Dan Martensen/concept: KK Barrett)


MUSIC


FYF Fest @ L.A. State Historic Park (Elysian Park)
Can't think of a better way to bid adieu to the final days of summer than spending two days immersed in music and comedy. Musical acts include My Bloody Valentine, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, MGMT, Beach House, Deerhunter, Devendra Banhart, the Breeders, Solange and so many more. Comedians include Doug Benson, Paul Scheer, Karen Kilgariff and Ron Funches. The sheer awesomeness of talent in the lineup makes this the can't-miss show of the week. Just make sure to avoid traffic and searching for a parking space by taking the Gold Line to the Chinatown station.

FILM


Edward Scissorhands @ Brookside Park (Pasadena)
I just heard an NPR feature extolling the comedic talents of Winona Ryder on the radio the other day, and was delighted to see that Street Food Cinema is hosting a screening of one of the most beloved films she stars in tonight. Tim Burton's 1990 film stars Johnny Depp as the titular hero who falls in love with the angelic Peg (Ryder). In addition to the screening, L.A. singer-songwriter Matt Braaten performs a set while the Grilled Cheese Truck, Fun Time Kettle Corn and Don Chow Tacos serve up the movie treats.


SUNDAY, AUG. 25


CULTURE


Boot Ride Rally @ The Happy Ending (Hollywood)

The Boot Campaign's annual event raises funds to support active military members as they return home and transition back to civilian life. The day begins with a motorcycle ride across the city leading to the Boot Rally at Happy Ending. "Sons of Anarchy" cast members will be on hand at the party, along with the Boot Girls, to enjoy a performance from Blackberry Smoke.


TUESDAY, AUG. 27
alt-j (Noah Kalina)


MUSIC


Alt-J (∆), Royal Canoe @ The Palladium (Hollywood)
I know, I just like pressing alt-j way too much, leaving ∆s all across my screen. While this first night is sold-out, you still might be able to score some tickets via Craigslist or for the show tomorrow evening. Either way, you don't want to miss the English quartet's North American tour in support of their debut album from last year, An Awesome Wave, which won the 2012 Mercury Prize. The Canadian six-piece of Royal Canoe open the show, and you're sure to be treated to some new tracks from their upcoming Today We're Believers album (out Sept. 3) too.


WEDNESDAY, AUG. 28


BOOKS


Sasha Grey @ Book Soup (West Hollywood)

The actress, model, musician and former porn star is also a published author whose debut novel, The Juliette Society, released in May. The book focuses on a film student named Catherine who is in the midst of a sexual awakening and becomes drawn into a secret sex society with members that include some very powerful people. Grey discusses and signs copies of her work tonight at Book Soup.

MUSIC


Lucius @ The Echo (Echo Park)
Another sold-out show, however, there might be a limited amount of tickets available at the door tonight, so it's worth a trip over to the Echo. You don't want to miss the NYC quintet perform in such a small club while you still can. Their debut full-length, Wildewoman, is going to be released Oct. 15, yet they've already built a solid reputation as a must-see live band and garnered praise from NPR, The New York Times and were named a Band to Watch by Rolling Stone. Believe me, you'll be dancing to songs like "Hey Doreen" in no time flat.

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