Spring has sprung and with it comes a dazzling weekend ahead. We can’t guarantee perfect weather quite yet, but we can provide the sweet sounds of Game of Thrones in concert, the sweet taste of Tom Waits inspired cocktails and the sweet sight of butts in yoga pants at ROW DTLA. If you need some pep in your step, head over to La-La Land Gallery for an upbeat art show or jump on your bike and join the CicLAvia masses. It’s all happening, Los Angeles.
Thursday, March 23
Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience
Now that HBO has announced that GOT season 7 won't air until July 16th, we're going to need something to tide us over for the next few months. Enter, the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience. GOT composer Ramin Djawad is touring the nation with an ensemble of musicians and vocalists and will be hitting LA for one night only. It may be lacking in GOT-level sex and gore, but the promo vid
HERE will tantalize you into buying a ticket.
Deets: 8 p.m.;
The Forum; $34 - $354; Get your tickets
HERE
Friday, March 24
National Cocktail Day: Tom Waits at Salt’s Cure
On Friday, Salt's Cure Bar Manager Joe Swifka is launching his new spring cocktail menu inspired by the music of one of America’s favorite raconteurs, Tom Waits. To celebrate the new menu—which features drinks like the brooding, rye-based Black Market Baby and the gin-infused Drunk on the Moon—and to acknowledge National Cocktail Day, Salt's Cure will be running an $8 special during their Anti-Gridlock Hour. Now ain’t that a “Little Trip to Heaven”?
Deets: 3 - 6 p.m.;
Salt's Cure; More info
HERE
Joe Swifka's Drunk on the Moon. Image courtesy of Salt's Cure
Funk Trump Disco Party
The Funk Trump Dance Party began as a one-off fundraisser at the Satellite and has blossomed into a monthly shindig. Each month, the party benefits a different organization that combats Trump's policies, which means that we can help take action by simply sweating it out on the dancefloor. You can also drink for a good cause because a percentage of the bar's proceeds will also support the monthly non-profit. This go around, we're raising the roof for Planned Parenthood. DJ Groupchat (Jake Goldstein from Hunny) and Jennifer Tefft will be spinning funk and disco all night long.
Deets: 9 p.m. - 2 a.m.;
The Satellite; $5 minimum door donation; More info
HERE
Image courtesy of The Satellite
Josef Leimberg and the Astral Progressions at Union Station
LA’s Union Station has been killing it with culture lately, proving that the train station is as good a place as any to let loose. This Friday, Metro Art LA presents trumpeter and composer, Josef Leimberg who will serenade the 80-year-old train station with a FREE “night of cosmic instrumentalism” exploring jazz and fusion. Josef is perhaps best known for his sounds on the Grammy Award winning Kendrick Lamar LP "To Pimp A Butterfly" but he’s also worked in tandem with Snoop, Erykah Badu and Dr. Dre.
Deets: 8:30 - 10:30 p.m.;
Union Station; FREE; More info
HERE
Friday, March 24 - Monday, March 27
The 7th Annual Palm Desert Food & Wine Festival
If all you’ve ever experienced of Palm Desert is the debaucherous haze of Coachella, it’s time to expand your horizons. Palm Desert is turning on the class with its annual food and wine festival—three days of gourmet food, craft beer and wine tastings alongside celebrity chef demos. The event will kick off on Friday with a four-course luncheon prepared by several James Beard Award winning chefs.
Deets: The Gardens on El Paseo; $125 - $200; More info and tickets
HERE
Saturday, March 25
Coffee and Kegs for a Cause
Eagle Rock establishments Found Coffee and
Craft Beer Cellar are harnessing the power of community spirit by join forces for Kegs for a Cause this weekend. The fundraiser benefits
Recycled Resources for the Homeless, a Highland Park non-profit that provides basic necessities to those on the streets.
Found will be contributing proceeds from all drip coffee from 8 a.m. -12 p.m. and
Craft Beer Cellar has a designated keg between 6 p.m. -10 p.m. Plus, swag bags (valued at $100) will also be raffled off.
Deets: Found Coffee, 8 a.m. -12 p.m.;
Craft Beer Cellar, 6 p.m. -10 p.m.; More info
HERE
Image courtesy of Coffee & Kegs for a Cause
Opening Reception: For Goodness Sake at La-La Land Gallery
For Goodness Sake is an art show dedicated to the theme of pure, unadulterated joy. The best part? The lineup is pretty incredible — Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh, Peter Blake, who designed the cover for the Beatles’ "Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" and one of our local faves, Shepard Fairey (who designed the iconic Obama “Hope” poster), and many more. Bring a smile and a donation for Oxfam America’s Syrian Refugees Relief. The show runs till April 21st.
Deets: 7 - 10 p.m.;
La-La Land Gallery; Donations encouraged; More info
HERE
Image courtesy of La-La Land Gallery
Bender’s Spring Playground for Body + Soul
Now that spring has sprung, Bender’s Spring Playground brings together a dance party, yoga classes, meditation, an electronic sound bath and art lounge. KCRW’s DJ Travis Holcombe will bring the soulful sounds after “class” while you chow down at food trucks, chill at the bar and get wavy. BYO yoga mat.
Deets: 5:30 - 10 p.m.;
ROW DTLA; $20-$35; 21+; FREE parking at Row; *An indoor space is lined up in case of rain; More info and tickets
HERE
Sunday, March 26
CicLAvia: Culver City Meets Venice
CicLAvia is back and this time the quarterly “open streets” community event is taking over the Westside from Culver City to the beach. Dust off your underused bicycle (scooter, roller skates, recycling bin ...), or just walk with your neighbors and embrace the car-free streets. CicLAvia is a free event, but donations ensure that Angeleno kids are given the chance to play and ride in a car-free environment across our mammoth-sized city—donate HERE!
Deets: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Between Culver City: Intersection of
Washington & National Blvds and
Windward Avenue, Venice ; FREE (but donate!); View interactive map
HERE
Header image courtesy of Bender