7TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL CHAPÍN LOS ANGELES

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The 7th Annual Festival Chapin will return to Lafayette Park in Los Angeles on Saturday August 26 & Sunday August 27. The free festival celebrates Guatemalan culture and  its vibrant community via the country’s historic folklore, music, arts & crafts and gastronomy.

Chapín is a word that many Guatemalans use to describe their ethnicity with pride, and the history of the word dates back to the 15th century, when Chapines were a type of popular platform in Spain. The footwear f eventually disappeared but the name persists as an adjective for a person from Guatemala.

Metro Los Angeles is also home to several notable Guatemalans, including the prominent street artist Mauricio “Cache” Reyes, as well as a plethora of Guatemalan restaurants serving up delicious traditional dishes. Many of them will be represented at the Festival.  Food available for purchase will including the rich, traditional foods of Guatemala like  garnachas (similar to a Mexican ‘sope’), shucos (Guatemalan-style hot dogs), chicken pepian, enchiladas, and hilachas (stewed meat).

Footwear, pottery, jewelry, clothes, tablecloths, and traditional purses.  A health fair will provide health information from L.A. Care, Dignity Health, Molina Healthcare, Party Time Pediatric Dentist, Smile California Medi-cal Dental insurance, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and Los Angeles County Office of Immigrant Affairs among others.

Musical Talent will include:

Marimba Orquesta “Alegría Chapina ” https://youtu.be/TzJprOGwLWE

Raúl Acosta y Oro Solido https://youtu.be/evPr3yjGa_w

Dennis Arana – Ganador del cuarto lugar de la Academia TV Azteca (2020)   https://youtu.be/fzmoioEZiDU

Las Divas del Swing, https://youtu.be/9zPSBlQu_rw

Los Miseria Cumbia Band https://youtu.be/XkpuxmiTtTE

Ballet Folklórico del Inguat https://youtu.be/Z5DiZOJQCEs

Juanko de Guatemala

Cesar Alvarado y International Match

The Central American country of the Republic of Guatemala historically formed the core of the Maya civilization, one of the most highly developed societies in the history of the Americas and the world. After being subjugated by Spanish rule, Guatemala became an independent republic in 1821. A decades-long civil war that began in the 1950s provided the impetus for generations of Guatemalans to seek a better life abroad, often in states like Florida, Texas, and California.

Metro Los Angeles is home to one of the largest Guatemalan populations outside of Guatemala. 

Communities with substantial numbers of Guatemalans include the cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Hawthorne, Palmdale, Inglewood, Paramount and the unincorporated communities of Lennox and Val Verde.

Chapin Summer Festival Inc. is a non-profit organization based in California that’s committed to promoting the art and culture of Guatemala abroad. Its mission is to offer resources to educational institutions in Guatemala that help to promote the education, health and well-being for children from less-advantaged homes in the country.

For more information, please visit www.festivalchapin.com

White Light White Night

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White Light White Night

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Walk With Sally hosted its annual fundraiser White Light White Night on August 19, 5:30 pm at Campus 2100 on 2100 E Grand Avenue, El Segundo.

Travis Van Winkle hosted the evening, introducing new CEO Tash Brooks.  The Youth of the Year award was presented to Heather Jenkins, and the Mentor of the Year award to Jenn Nguyen.

Supported by over thirty five corporate sponsors, the event featured 17  restaurants serving their signature dishes and cocktails.  They included Bettolino Kitchen, BOA, BuzzRock Brewing, Clarity Lounge, Eddie V’s, Hook & Plow, Japonica, Jimmy John’s, lil’Vegerie, Lobster & Beer: Coastal, Madison Brown, Nomad, Porterhouse Bourbon & Bones, Quality Seafood, ReadyFitGo, and Sushi Roku.

A live auction lead by seasoned auctioneer Letitia Frye and a silent auction featured  high-end fine art, wine, sports memorabilia and travel items.

Live music was provided by local band Identity Theft, as well as the Chargers Marching Band. Muralist Miriam Hellmann provided vibrant backdrops. 

The event was attended by over 700 attendees and over 100 volunteers were on hand for a night of unity and support. All  dressed in white,  the color universally associated with healing and referencing  a person’s own divine nature to heal one’s self  with this white light of healing and protection, as the community came together on a  beautiful, uniquely memorable summer evening  celebrating love, hope, and healing. 

Many of the volunteers were cancer survivors out there in support.  They included Kara, a survivor of two brain surgeries which took her sense of smell and removed memory on the right side of her body, making her unable to write.  About a year after surgery she realized that she could use my left hand instead, though her mom was insists that Kara not give up her right hand, and  continue to use it.  Kara now wears a brain pendant, volunteers for cancer organizations, and helps them raise money.  

Founded in 2004 by Nicolas Arquette, Walk With Sally’s mission supports children and families impacted by cancer providing them with care-centered one-to-one fellowships along with critical programs and services that include mentoring, mental health support, art healing, and financial empowerment.

For more information and tickets, please visit https://www.walkwithsally.org/wlwn

Concern Foundation’s  Annual Block Party

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Concern Foundation’s  Annual Block Party

Photo credit: Chad Villaflores 

Concern Foundation will host its 48th Annual Block Party  themed  ‘The land before time: the extinction of cancer’ Saturday July 8 on the back lot of Paramount Studios in Hollywood. The event is expected to draw 4,000 guests to raise $2 million dollars for cancer research.

The evening will honor the Kallick Family with the Lifetime of Giving Award and salute Cedars Sinai Cancer for its groundbreaking work on cancer. 

Food and beverage stalls lining the famous studio streets include long standing Block Party mainstays like Vibrato Grill Jazz, The Grill on the Alley, Factor’s Famous Deli, A.O.C., Fogo de Chao, Someone’s In The Kitchen, Dulan’s Soul Food, Nobu Malibu, STK, Porta Via, Maria’s Italian Kitchen, H & H Brazilian Steakhouse, Milagro Tequila, Deutsch Family, and Pink’s Famous Hot Dogs.  Newcomers include Calajo Catering, Brique LA, The Breakfast Club, The Hideaway, Leona’s Sushi House, The Village and Firefly. 

Musical and interactive entertainment on multiple stages  include the Tom Nolan Band on the main stage, D’ City Sound & Events on the Yabba Dabba DJ Stage presented by the Hirsch Family Foundation and the Vibrato “Grotto” Grill Jazz stage.

Scattered over the venue, will be photo studios, lounges, casino style gaming, and beauty services by the Beauty Bus Foundation. 

Online silent and live auctions sponsored by Zacuto Group will feature items, packages and unique experiences that include  concert and event tickets, restaurants, staycations, and golf packages.

A staple for the last 17 years, The Best of LA 2023 on Los Angeles magazine’s street will feature lounges, photo booths, food stations, and DJ dancing. 

For more information about the Block Party, please visit: https://www.concernfoundation.org/block-party.html

AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC CELEBRATES 25th ANNIVERSARY

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AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC CELEBRATES 25th ANNIVERSARY

Southern California is home to ocean treasures that rival those anywhere in the world, and the Aquarium Of the Pacific in Long Beach is celebrating  its 25th anniversary this year with a new Southern California Gallery to be completed later this year.

The Southern California Gallery will feature over ten exhibits and more than three dozen species.  It will showcase underwater habitats like  towering kelp forests, colorful hydrocorals, swaying seagrass, and artificial and rocky reefs and abundance of sea life a like the California two-spot octopus, sharks, scorpionfish, eels and pipefish.

In related programming, visitors can take in a new short film projected in the Aquarium’s Great Hall next to a life-sized model of a blue whale throughout  the anniversary year. The film highlights  the Aquarium’s work in saving local species and habitats.

The Aquarium’s second floor will showcase the work of the top ten winners of the Aquarium’s 25th Anniversary photo contest celebrating people’s connections to nature.  The first guest daily to find an octopus figurine hidden in a different exhibit will win a limited-edition commemorative pin. 

During the summer, the Aquarium’s First Wednesdays guest speaker series  will focus on the theme of connecting to nature and include music and a cocktail/social hour.

Finally, the Aquarium will launch its new podcast series and carry  new  commemorative anniversary merchandise in its gift store.

For more information and tickets, please visit https://www.aquariumofpacific.org

Taste of the Nation

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One of the country’s premier culinary events, No Kid Hungry Taste of the Nation, will return to Culver City’s Media Park on June 11.  It will bring  LA’s top tastemakers, celebrated chefs and mixologists creating their signature dishes, curated drinks and surprise desserts for No Kid Hungry’s efforts to end childhood hunger in California and across the country.

Featured local chefs include Jackson Kalb (Ospi | Jemma | Jame,   Season 19 Top Chef),  Shirley Chung (Ms Chi Cafe,  Runner-up Season 14 Top Chef, Food Network’s Tournament of Champions), Stephanie Izard (Girl & the Goat Los Angeles, Cabra Los Angeles,  Food Network Iron Chef, (Winner, Season 4 Top Chef) and Jazz Singsanong (Jitlada, LA Times 101 Best Restaurants 2019).

Participating restaurants include: Ospi | Jemma | Jame, B Sweet, Big Big Boi, Jitlada, The Original Southern Thai Cuisine Hanchic, Angelini Osteria + Alimentari, Gasolina cafe, market and wine bar, Ms. Chi Cafe, Theía, Kali Restaurant, Qusqo Bistro & Gallery, Beachside Restaurant, Poppy + Rose, Guerrilla Tacos, Moo’s Craft Barbecue, The Attic, SALT, and more.

Also featured will be curated sips by celebrated local mixologists, winemakers, brewers and more. Live music, raffles and brand experiences round out the fun.

100% of event proceeds help Taste of The Nation fight childhood hunger in California and across the US by raising awareness and developing programs to give all kids healthy food to thrive. 1 in 8 kids in the U.S. lives with hunger, and No Kid Hungry has provided more than 1 BILLION meals to kids in need. 

No Kid Hungry is supported by national co-presenting sponsors Citi and Sysco, national partners Food Network and KIA as well as local sponsors  Breakthru Beverage, CoolHaus, Kerrygold, MacRostie, Ting, Topo Chico and Galdones Photography.


For more information and tickets, please visit https://events.nokidhungry.org/events/los-angeles-taste-nation/

IMMERSIVE VAN GOGH

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IMMERSIVE VAN GOGH

Immersive Van Gogh is an experiential celebration of the renowned post impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh at Lighthouse Artspace in the former Amoeba Music Building on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. 

The production uses approximately 65 state-of-the-art projectors to produce 500,000+ cubic feet of projections in 119,000 video to re-create the painter’s masterpieces.  The immersive  art, light, music evokes the painter’s emotional and chaotic inner consciousness, letting the audience literally step inside artist’s colors and  brushstrokes for a totally immersive experience of his iconic works, seeing them through an entirely new, magical perspective. 

Highlights of the hour-long walk-through installation include:

● Neon Starry Night Ceiling unifies the lobby and bar space.  Inspired by one of Van Gogh’s most beloved paintings, The Starry Night, it pays homage to the exterior of the iconic Amoeba

Music Building with intricate designs of neon lights for an electric rock vibe.

● Sunflower Bar, wrapped with thousands of sun flowers, provides an array of refreshments. It evokes one of Van Gogh’s most prominent subjects –  sunflowers – which he loved for their beauty, as well as his ability to get them them easily and inexpensively. 

● Absinthe Nook, exploring Van Gogh’s complicated and seductive relationship with

“the green fairy,” lets visitors step inside a fever dream based on the legend and lore of absinthe.

● The Letters from Vincent activation is an artificial intelligence program created

from the digital scans of over 1,000 letters Vincent van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo.

Guests can ask Vincent a question and have him respond with a custom letter answer.

● Oversize Portrait, a reproduction of his famous self-portrait, lets you look deeper into his eyes,  and well as appreciate the nuances for a greater understanding of his exquisite brushstrokes. 

Since its North American premiere in July 2020, the exhibit has sold over 4.5 million tickets, making it one of the most popular attractions on the continent.

For more information and tickets, please visit https://www.vangoghla.com

MASTERS OF TASTE

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<strong>MASTERS OF TASTE</strong>

One of LA’s top outdoor, luxury food and wine festivals, the sixth annual Masters of Taste will return to Pasadena Rose Bowl’s iconic field on Sunday, April 2, 3:00 pm. 

A sold-out event last year, the event is expected to bring over 3,000 food and beverage enthusiasts to sip, savor and celebrate from over a hundred establishments – signature restaurant tastings from Culinary Masters, sweets from the Sweet Masters, while top Beverage Masters handcraft cocktail tastings from over 25 spirit brands and top cocktail bars, wineries, local craft breweries,  cold-pressed juices, and cold brew coffee.  Live entertainment  and other fun round out the afternoon.

A VIP Power Hour will be held from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm before  General Admission 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The 21+ event is completely outdoors, and as additional safety protocol, all guests will receive their own utensils and hand sanitizer throughout the event.

Hosting the event are Chef Michael Reed and his wife Kwini Reed. A classically trained chef and restaurateur, Chef Reed brings over 19 years experience at restaurants on both coasts.  He is Executive Chef and co-owner of two Los Angeles restaurants, Poppy + Rose in Downtown Los Angeles, and Poppy & Seed in Anaheim. He and his wife Kwini Reed also operate an upscale catering company, Root of All Food. 

All event proceeds directly benefit Union Station Homeless Services, a non-profit organization celebrating 50 years of providing homeless services. Committed to providing permanent solutions to end homelessness and rebuild lives, Union Station works with unsheltered and low-income adults and families across the San Gabriel Valley, recently expanding  to El Sereno and Eagle Rock. In the last five years Masters of Taste has raised over $2.7 Million in support of Union Station Homeless Services life-saving programs.

For more information and tickets, Masters of Taste 2023, please visit www.MastersofTasteLA.com.