Upcoming Literary Events

Panoramic Bookshelves at Skylight Books by ExperienceLA Contributor

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books recently announced their schedule of events for April 20-21 at USC.  While we're super excited for the event, it is a WHOLE MONTH away!  So while you're planning your Festival of Books excursion, here's some great events to quench your literary thirst in the mean time!  Literary events can be found throughout Los Angeles at literary venues, universities, theaters, museums, libraries, and more!

Event Ideas: The Halloween Variety of Los Angeles

amigos muertos by Karol Franks
from our Flickr Pool

There's that first Fall chill in the air and before we know it one of my favorite holidays will be upon us - Halloween! But the season is more than just costumes and sweets, it's the perfect reason to head out on a new Los Angeles experience. Here's some suggestions from our calendar that cover a wide range of what LA has to offer!

L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade September 29 Food Event

Chefs Suzanne Goin and David Lentz, along with Suzanne's business partner Caroline Styne, for the third year are assembling some of the best celebrity chefs and mixologists from Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and New York City to raise funds for pediatric cancer research on behalf of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF).  L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade event on Saturday, September 29, 2012 at the Culver Studios from noon to 4 pm will again be among the best food events occurring  in Los Angeles.  A general admission ticket is $175 with a significant portion ($100) of that amount tax deductible.  The story of the creation of ALSF by Liz and Jay Scott is heartbreaking, as they watched in amazement how their very young daughter Alex raised over a million dollars to find a cure for pediatric cancer, such that they captured her passion by creating ALSF after her passing.  Having the opportunity to talk with Liz and Jay in 2010 was a cherished moment, and I was fighting back tears.

Just like Suzanne, David, and Caroline masterminded this Los Angeles foodie event, my late wife Karen Gibbs and I also became enchanted with the mission of ALSF and we volunteered four shifts (working all day and into the night doing cleanup) during the initial 2010 event in which over $300,000 was raised.  Unfortunately, Karen was battling for her own life during November 2011 for the second one that cleared $400,000.  I so much wanted to make a token volunteer appearance,. but with the stormy weather, I could not afford to be sick, and thus be kept out of the ICU.  When Karen lost her own battle, I encouraged our friends to donate to ALSF along with several other non-profit organizations close to our hearts.

Carmageddon Survival Kit: A Collective Post of the Coming (Car)Apocalypse

And this is on a regular day...
Photo - Establishing Shot: The 405 by Atwater Village Newbie from the ExperienceLA Flickr Pool

We do our fair share of rooting for public transit, but sometimes events kind of speak the message for themselves. Carmageddon?  Carpocalypse?  Whatever you're calling the 53-hour closure of the I-405, it probably doesn't sound like a pretty commute (even if naming the event has felt like all kinds of fun).

But we've been getting ready for this event for weeks - sorting, collecting, gathering - to present to you your Carmageddon Survival Kit!

Read on for

• Background Info
• Public Transit Info
• Carmageddon Survival Ideas & Tips

Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken Restaurants to Promote IRIS on Cirque du Soleil Day LA

Thursday, June 16, 2011, is Cirque du Soleil Day in LA, and you can celebrate at Susan Feniger's STREET and the Border Grill restaurants in Santa Monica and Downtown Los Angeles that are co-owned with Mary Sue Milliken. Each of them are creating a special Cirque-themed menu that help to celebrate the upcoming opening of IRIS, A Journey Through The World of Cinema at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The picture above was taken at an LA Central Library ALOUD book panel almost five years ago, and it is our copy of a heavily used cookbook that these two Top Chef Master competitors published back in 1989 celebrating the cooking of City Cafe that opened in 1981 and City Restaurant that opened in 1985. Thus, its been 30 years of the Two Hot Tamales in Los Angeles.

Staff Picks: Upcoming events we're excited about!

Memorial Day and Father's Day (this year, it's June 19th!) are both coming up and that means summer is just around the corner! Here are a few events that have us buzzing about here at ExperienceLA (in a somewhat chronological order):

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Eclectic Events for Today

There's plenty to do on Cinco de Mayo than partake in your favorite - ahem - beverages.  If you're looking for something to do tonight (some of which you can probably order the aforementioned beverages), here are some ideas: