Halloween Hoedown at the Hammer

This Friday, the Hammer Museum at UCLA will host a bluegrass-infused Halloween party. Joshua Tree's Shadow Mountain Band will provide live music. JP Craft Captain (aka Julianna Parr, the mastermind behind Craftnight), will help you make your own Halloween decorations.

From the Hammer website: "Your hostess Darlin’ will serve up drag hospitality in gingham as you enjoy the cash bar and seasonal menu at the Café Hammer. Costumes encouraged… think Westwood Hillbillies!"

Friday, October 30, 7:00 pm. FREE. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. Hammer members receive priority seating, subject to availability. Reservations not accepted, RSVPs not required.

Day of the Dead celebration

Tomorrow is the 10th annual Day of the Dead festival (Dia de los Muertos) at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Coinciding with Halloween, this Mexican holiday commemorates both one's ancestors and the dearly departed.

The historical roots of this celebration date back to the pre-Hispanic cultures of Meso-America, especially those of the Nahua (Aztecs, Mayans, Toltecas, Tlaxcaltec, Chichimec, Tecpanec) and others. At the center of Hollywood Forever's celebration are a traditional procession and viewing of community altars.

The festival also includes food, live music, cultural performances, arts and crafts, and family activities. Admission is $10.

Saturday, October 24, 4 pm to 11 pm. Hollywood Forever Cemetery is at 6000 Santa Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles. For more information, visit the official website.

Happy Lunar New Year!

Today is the Lunar New Year, celebrated in many Asian cultures. Today also marks the beginning of the Year of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac. There are several New Year celebrations taking place in the Southland this weekend, the major ones being the Chinese New Year festival in downtown L.A. and the Têt Festival in Little Saigon.

Los Angeles' Chinatown marks the event with the annual Golden Dragon Parade, scheduled for 2:00 pm this Saturday, January 31 along North Broadway. The parade is part of a two-day Lunar New Year Festival taking place all weekend.

Also this weekend, Southern California's Vietnamese community celebrates Têt, the Vietnamese New Year, with the largest Têt Festival in the U.S. This three-day cultural festival in Little Saigon includes food, live entertainment and something called a "Culture Village."

There is another Têt Festival the following weekend, February 6-7, in South El Monte. The program includes a lion and dragon dance, a beauty pageant, martial arts demonstrations, traditional music and dance performances, orchid and bonsai exhibits and carnival rides.

Golden Dragon Parade and Lunar New Year Festival, Chinatown. Saturday, January 31, 10 am to 8 pm and Sunday, February 1, 10 am to 5 pm. Free. Click here for more information and directions.

Têt Festival, Garden Grove Park. Friday, Jan. 30, 2-10 pm, Saturday, Jan. 31, 10 am to 10 pm, and Sunday, Feb. 1, 10 am to 9 pm. Admission $5. Free for children under 4' tall. Click here for more info.

L.A. Têt Festival, Whittier Narrows Regional Park, South El Monte. Saturday, Feb. 6, 11 am to 11 pm and Sunday, Feb. 7, 11 am to 10 pm. Admission $5 for adults and $3 for children. Click here for more info.

FREE New Year's Eve at CityWalk

Looking for something to do on New Year's Eve, but reluctant to pay the exorbitant ticket prices for parties held at various clubs, hotels and restaurants on December 31st... and equally reluctant to stay home, watching the ball drop on TV by yourself?

Universal CityWalk is having a free New Year's Eve party from 9:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. with live music, giant video screens and fireworks at both ends of the street. The Cinema Plaza Stage will feature the band Fast Times. The Globe Fountain Stage will feature 80s Rewind.

The event is free but general parking at CityWalk is $10.00. For more info, click here.

Last-minute, green holiday cards

Did you forget to send holiday cards this year? Or maybe you left it until the last minute and don't have time to sit down and stuff envelopes now...

Here's a great way to send your season's greetings, save some money and help the environment all at once. English artist Jacquie Lawson designs beautiful animated e-cards that you can send with the click of a mouse. Instant delivery, in time for Christmas!

In order to send cards from her site, you have to purchase a membership, which is only $12 for one year or $18 for two. A membership allows you to send as many e-cards as you like throughout the year--a great deal when you consider that the average greeting card costs about $3.

Besides holiday e-cards, she also offers cards for every occasion. Sure, there are lots of free e-cards out there, but these are truly lovely and unique. (I'm not getting paid to say that, either!) And because the site is supported by membership fees, there are no annoying ads or pop-ups included in the cards.

Not only are you saving money by sending e-cards, you're also saving the trees that paper cards are made from, and the fossil fuel used to transport them across the globe. Good for your pocketbook, good for the planet.

Holiday Arts Celebration on Christmas Eve

Since 1964, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission has produced a free, annual holiday show--the biggest in L.A.--at the Music Center. The best-kept secret in town happens on Wednesday, December 24 from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Forty-seven performing arts groups - totaling about 1,200 artists - will appear in the 49th Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Acts include handbells, choral performances, ballet, mariachi bands, klezmer music, taiko drums, and well-known groups like Dengue Fever and Celtic Spring.

The celebration is a gift to the people of Los Angeles County from the Board of Supervisors, so admission and parking under the Music Center are FREE.

No reservations are necessary. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. You can come and go as you please throughout the afternoon and evening. For those who can't make it downtown, the show is broadcast live on KCET.

For more information, and to download a take-along schedule and program, click here.

Free holiday movie screening

This Saturday, December 20, at the historic Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. A free family matinee with holiday carolers, juggling, and free hot chocolate!

SCROOGE (1970) - Albert Finney is the gleefully wicked miser who spreads the "humbug" at yuletide in this glorious musical adaptation by Leslie Bricusse of Dickens’ holiday classic. When elderly Scrooge retires to bed on Christmas Eve, he’s confronted by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future – who show him the lonely consequences of the selfish path he’s taken. Co-starring Alec Guinness, Edith Evans and Kenneth More.

Saturday, December 20, 2:00 pm. The Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. Free hot chocolate, carolers & juggling start at 1:00 pm. For more info, click here. FREE ADMISSION!

McCabe's Annual Holiday Show

Tomorrow, December 7th, McCabe's Guitar Shop will host its Annual Holiday Show. From the McCabe's newsletter:

This decades-long tradition sees McCabe's uber-talented staff, friends, and hangers-on take to the stage in a semi-spontaneous expression of seasonal joy. Sometimes Bob destroys stuff, too, which is always a good time. We'll provide the victuals, libations, and spectacle, and you just show up. Did we mention that it's all FREE!? Doors open about 6:45. Show starts at 7:00.

McCabe's is at 3101 Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica. Click here for parking info.

DWP Holiday Light Festival

I'm sure you already know about the annual holiday light extravaganza in Griffith Park. Every year, the Department of Water and Power decorates a one-mile stretch of Crystal Springs Drive, the main thoroughfare through Griffith Park, with a gazillion electric lights. Cars line up to drive through and gawk at the display, which includes animated scenes and every imaginable holiday cliché.

I did it once a few years ago with a carload of friends, and vowed never to do it again because it took so long just to get to the start of the display... and then it felt a lot like sitting in traffic, with better decorations. We saw people walking alongside the cars, and they seemed to be going a lot faster--but then we realized they were breathing in all the exhaust from the long line of vehicles.

Well, it turns out that for the first two weeks this year, the path is closed to cars but open to pedestrians! Apparently this is to demonstrate the city's commitment to a "greener L.A." I say, Hallelujah! The pedestrian-only nights are Nov. 24-Dec. 7th, from 5 to 10 pm. On Dec. 5-7, there will also be Family Fun Mini-Fair along the festival route.

Parking and shuttle info from the official website:

Visitors may park at the L.A. Zoo parking lot or the parking lots on the south side of the festival near the Merry-Go-Round, or the lots near the pony rides. Parking will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Walkers are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes and to dress warmly to walk the full one-mile route each way. It is also recommended that walkers have outerwear, as it can get chilly. Shuttles will assist in bringing guests from the remote parking lots to the route entrance.

A Hawaiian 4th of July

Looking for a different kind of Independence Day celebration? Tonight, there will be a special free concert at Levitt Pavilion in Macarthur Park. One Hawaii is a gathering of top musical acts from the 50th state, including Keali'i Reichel and Na Leo, performing along with guest hula dancers.

Levitt Pavilion will host free concerts throughout the summer, every night of the week except Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday is Musica Latina, Thursday is World Music, Fridays are Night Rhythms, Saturdays are American Roots, and Sunday is Children's Night. Click here for the full schedule.

Fourth of July celebration with One Hawaii. Friday, July 4, 7:00 pm. Macarthur Park. Free. Click here for more info.

Cinco de Mayo

This weekend is the annual Cinco de Mayo celebration at the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument in downtown Los Angeles. Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) is the Mexican holiday commemorating an important victory against the French in 1862.

Festivities will take place around Olvera Street, the oldest street in Los Angeles, from 10 am to 10 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 2-4. There will be live entertainment, educational activities, storytelling and crafts for children. Free.