Long Beach Harvest Festival Wednesday, September 29, 2010

By the time you read this, the misty cool weather of late, that yearly turn of summer giving way to fall, will have either abruptly reverted back to summer or impatiently collapsed into winter, whichever way the atmospheric gods of the Southland choose to satisfy their whims. Regardless of the actual weather, embrace the awesomeness of autumn at the Long Beach Harvest Festival Original Art & Craft Show, a weekend of handmade creations sure to make you happy to be alive. You can even check up on how much longer you might have at the free health screenings, courtesy Pacific Hospital of Long Beach, including blood pressure checks, skin exams, vision screenings and body mass index calculations. Ceramics, jewelry, blown glass, paintings, photography, candles, woodwork and sculptures are among the arts and crafts, in addition to holiday ornament demonstrations and child fingerprinting. Warning: "strolling entertainment includes mimes." Long Beach Convention Center, Hall C, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach; Fri.-Sat., Oct. 1-2, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 3, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; $9, $7 seniors 62+, $4 ages 13-17, 12 & under free. (800) 346-1212, harvestfestival.com. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, October 1, 2010.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 5:54 PM, ,

Feast of San Gennaro Thursday, September 23, 2010

Biscotti! Gelato! Calamari! Calzones! All that and more awaits you at the Feast of San Gennaro L.A., the City of Angels' annual celebration of all things Italian-American. And it's not just about the food (though liking Italian food helps): the Precious Cheese stage features live music every day by the likes of Ernie Barbieri, Jimmy Reno, Tre Bella, Anthony Ciaramitaro & the Sicilian Band, and Nick D'Egidio & the Dry Martini Orchestra; genealogy and culture booths; mass and a saint procession; bocce (Italian bowling); and, of course, Bada Bingo! Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla host a USO-style fund-raiser Thurs., Sept. 23 ($50-$100), benefiting the San Gennaro Foundation. 1651 N. Highland Ave., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sun., Sept. 24-26, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; $5, kids under 12 free. (818) 508-0082, feastofla.org. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, September 24, 2010.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 3:06 PM, ,

Boobs and Blood International Film Festival Tuesday, September 21, 2010

You know what would be a great name for a blaxploitation vampire film? Hemoglobin Jones. Unfortunately, that movie has yet to be made. (Roger Corman, call me!) Plenty more high-concept atrocities brimming with boobs and blood have been made, and you can view a choice selection at the Boobs and Blood International Film Festival, a decadent three-day celebration of gore and areola. The festivities kick off Friday with mistresses of alt-erotica the Suicide Girls on hand for an uncensored screening of their nude-models-at-a-remote-cabin horror movie Suicide Girls Must Die, presented in "3D-O-Vision." Saturday is "Hurrah! It's Boobs! Day," which is a much better idea for a national holiday than Crab Meat Newburg Day, which September 25 also is. Onscreen: Mega Piranha (courtesy Syfy, the cable TV channel soon to deliver Sharktopus), Pervert: The Movie (with star Mary Carey in the flesh), and a double feature of Japanese "pink" films, low-budget softcore flicks taken to out-of-their-mind levels as only the Japanese can. Sunday wraps up the mayhem with Vampyres (1973 Playboy Playmate Anulka Dziubinska in person), the S&M Hunter (his super power? extreme bondage!), and Fred Olen Ray's Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers. Awards, too, including Lifetime Achievement and Psychotronic Humanitarian of the Year. New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; Fri.-Sun., Sept. 24-26; $10 per screening, $50 three-day pass; tickets at brownpapertickets.com/event/127917; schedule at boobsandblood.com. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, September 24, 2010.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 10:51 PM, ,

An Evening With Pat Boone Monday, September 20, 2010

Pat Boone surveys his 50-plus-year showbiz career in An Evening with Pat Boone: A Pop Culture Journey, recalling his crazy days and the folks he met along the way: Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Ann-Margret, Shirley Jones, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, daughter Debbie Boone, and assorted ex-presidents. The entertainer also chats about his initial discovery on a talent show à la American Idol, his TV variety show The Pat Boone Chevy Show, his Hollywood movies, and his infamous 1997 heavy metal album In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, which got him banned from the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Fun fact: vocalist Jackie Ward, the "Mexican girl" who la-la-la'd on Boone's 1962 hit "Speedy Gonzales" (also featuring Mel Blanc as the titular cartoon mouse), went on to sing the TV-commercial jingle for Rice-A-Roni, "the San Francisco treat." Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A.; Wed., Sept. 22, 7:30 p.m.; $50-$125. (818) 995-7100. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, September 17, 2010.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 1:04 PM, ,

A Taste of Old Pasadena Wednesday, September 15, 2010

What does Old Pasadena taste like? Find out at The Taste of Old Pasadena, a foothill food fiesta of more than 30 local restaurants serving up everything from sushi to pizza, Himalayan to hot wings, vegan to fondue. Tastings are provided by a consortium of Old Pasadena eateries, and a wristband is all it takes to sample everything as you wander in, out, and about each establishment. All of this comes to you courtesy the Pasadena Foothills Association of Realtors Charitable Foundation, or PFARCF. Now that's a mouthful. Old Town Pasadena (maps provided to attendees); Tues., Sept. 21, 5:30-9 p.m.; $25 wristband. (626) 795-2455, pfarcf.org/tasteofoldpasadena. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, September 17, 2010.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 1:15 PM, ,

Long Beach Lobster Fest Thursday, September 9, 2010

If it's September, it must be Long Beach, and time once again for The Original Long Beach Lobster Festival (not to be confused with the Long Beach Crawfish Festival held here last month, or next week's Lobsterfest at San Pedro's Ports o' Call Village, or the Surf 'n' Turf Lobster Festival in Redondo Beach at the end of the month). This is the place for tasty crustaceans flown in daily from Maine, steamed in what are apparently "the world's largest lobster steamers," and served with melted butter, sliced lemon, corn on the cob, coleslaw, a dinner roll and watermelon on every plate. The lobster love is in the air for a full three days, and there's more going on than just good eats: live bands include Peace Frog (a Doors tribute), Kofi Baker (a Cream tribute), Blackout (a Scorpions tribute), and assorted soul, blues and zydeco acts, plus arts and crafts booths, a children's stage with storytellers and magicians, DirecTV's Live Sports Tent, and adult-beverage gardens with specialty cocktails like the Screaming Lobster (!). Rainbow Lagoon, 300 Ocean Blvd., Long Beach; Fri., Sept. 10, 5-11 p.m.; Sat., Sept. 11, noon-11 p.m.; Sun., Sept. 12, noon-10 p.m.; $15 one-day general admission (food not included). originallobsterfestival.com. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, September 10, 2010.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 12:19 PM, ,

Mother of Invention Monday, September 6, 2010

Ever wonder where all those kooky inventions hawked on late-night infomercials come from? Somebody actually dreamed up the Snuggie, the Flowbee, and the George Foreman Grill (probably not George Foreman), and Joseph M. Petrick and Andrew Bowser's mockumentary Mother of Invention tells the story of just such a dreamer. It's a portrait of the artist as a frustrated man, that man being luckless inventor Vincent Dooly (Bowser), taunted at every turn by the wild successes of his smug rival Martin Wooderson (Jimmi Simpson). The screening is part of L.A. Talk Radio's Film Courage Interactive series, and a discussion on the state of the movie biz with Film Courage co-hosts David Branin and Karen Worden follows. See the trailer (and web celeb Chris Hardwick in his underwear) at themotherofinvention.com. Downtown Independent, 251 S. Main St., dwntwn.; Mon., Sept. 13, 7 p.m.; $10. (213) 617-1033, downtownindependent.com. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, September 10, 2010.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 9:12 PM, ,

L.A. Times Celebration of Food & Wine Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Can $135 buy you happiness? It can if you love food and wine, and unlimited samplings thereof. That's the cost of VIP entry into the L.A. Times Celebration of Food & Wine, a Labor Day weekend pigout at Paramount Studios bringing together celebrity chefs, mixologists, food trucks, and culinary hedonists like yourself. The cheap seats go for $65, but you still get eight drink tickets, a commemorative wine glass, and the musical stylings of indie-pop rockers She & Him (concert only, $40). Tastings from the Food Network Garden come courtesy The Great Food Truck Race's Crepes Bonaparte, Nom Nom Truck, Rajin Cajun, and Nana Queen's Puddin' & Wings, but the real action's in the all-you-can-eat VIP: Babycakes NYC, BLD/Grace, Border Grill, Ciudad, Eva, First & Hope, Ivan Kane's Cafe Was, Josie Restaurant, K-Zo, Locanda del Lago, Loteria Grill, Madame Chocolat, RockSugar, Susan Feniger's Street, Water Grill, Xino, and more wineries than you can shake a corkscrew at. And it isn't a party without Aarti — as in Aarti Sequeira, the latest Next Food Network Star winner, who appears in person along with Michael Voltaggio, Ludo Lefebvre, Chris "C.J." Jacobson, and other heroes of the blogosphere. Full schedule at events.latimes.com/foodandwine. Paramount Studios Backlot, 5555 Melrose Ave., Hlywd.; Sun., Sept. 5, noon-8 p.m.; $65, $135 VIP; parking $7 (cash only). (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, September 3, 2010.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 2:42 AM, ,