Free Family Fun: J.A.M. Sessions

To contact us Click HERE
This week our Facebook has featured fun daily photos of experiencing Los Angeles through FREE J.A.M. Sessions.  Not only do these events get you "Jazzed and Motivated" through music, movement, and drumming, they are available at six locations this summer throughout the Los Angeles area.  Thanks Ford Theatre Foundation and Metabolic Studio!

If it's not enough that these free family friendly events are in Hollywood, East LA, Willowbrook, San Fernando, Whittier, and Santa Clarita, here's some more reasons to be "Jazzed and Motivated":

• Interested in many different styles of music, dance, and activities?  No problem.  Here's just a short list of featured events: West African Dance, Salsa, Drum Circles, Samba Dance Party, Accordion Night, Hula, Bluegrass, and Hip-Hop!
• Can't make it to a favorite activity?  Activities rotate throughout different locations - head out to somewhere new!  
• Go Metro!  Events are Metro-friendly.   
• Newbie?  Expert?  Events are for all ages and experience levels.

For more information, check out J.A.M. Sessions event information on ExperienceLA.com!

-Charity Tran

Ricardo Zarate and Mike Brown Among Featured Chefs of LA Street Food Fest

To contact us Click HERE

Over the past week, I have had the opportunity to engage Los Angeles based chefs Ricardo Zarate and Mike Brown in coversation. Both are featured chefs at the LA Street Food Fest on Saturday, July 21, 2012 at the Rose Bowl. A $45general admission  fee which must be purchased in advance covers all one can eat from the food trucks and other food vendors that will be participating in this 3rd annual food event occurrring in the late afternoon and into the evening. Ricardo Zarate from Mo-Chica will be in the sponsored booth from Los Angeles Food and Wine, while Mike Brown will be at the helm of the newest Los Angeles food truck Peking Duck making its debut. Here are my pictures from the press preview for the LA Street Food Fest event that might make you want to attend this great food event and meet these and other featured chefs.



Ricardo Zarate is perhaps the hottest chef in downtown Los Angeles, and I had the chance to talk with him after the ALOUD presentation of various downtown Los Angeles chefs earlier this week.  Since this was a sold out event, that proved why one should be a member of the Los Angeles Library Foundation, you can hear the Evan Kleiman moderated discussion from a podcast that is now available soon from the ALOUD website.  Ricardo is the owner/executive chef of Mo-Chica located on downtown Los Angeles 7th Street restaurant row that has been open at this location for just over a month.  I have already eaten at his restaurant twice and plan on several more visits to make my way through the entire menu. Here are my Mo-Chica pictures on Flickr from my first visit. Ricardo as a Peruvian chef has honed in skills in Japanese food at the Biltmore and in London. Ironically, there is a major Japanese influence today on modern cooking in Lima, as I discovered during my two week January 2012 culinary adventure in Lima Peru.  In fact, what makes modern Peruvian food so great is the influence of European and Asian on the traditional Peruvian cuisine.  Ricardo in order to achieve authenticity is using the distinctive large Peruvian corn in his dishes.  And of course they are makking great pisco sours.

Mike Brown who has an esteemed history cooking in Los Angeles for Octavio Becerra at Patina, various Wolfgang Puck restaurants, for Top Chef Master winner Rick Bayless at Red O in Beverly Hills, and now Executive Chef for Google Venice employees, is using the event to debut his Peking Duck Food truck.  This will be the featured dish, but he has many more ideas for interesting dishes that can be served in style from a food truck.  He explained to me and others, how it took a long time to perfect a Peking Duck recipe that can hold up from being served from a food truck such that the skin will still be crispy.  I was even more impressed by the bun that he perfected for serving as shown here.


I also had the chance to meet with Brian Chong, the owner of Iota coffee in Koreatown and the Hansik food truck that will be at the LA Street Food Fest event. Iota is among the more interesting coffee houses in Los Angeles and probably has among the largest evening crowd of any coffee house anywhere in Los Angeles and Orange County.  More than likely you will have a chance to taste some of his ice coffee at the Rose Bowl food event.  Watch for twitter posts from ExperienceLA during the event.

Photos: Grand Park Civic Dedication Ceremony

To contact us Click HERE

Today Los Angeles County's newest park held its Opening Celebration and Civic Dedication Ceremony with a dazzling show of dances, costumes, and acrobats. The event also included speeches by Los Angeles County Supervisors Gloria Molina, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Zev Yaroslavsky, Don Knabe, and Michael D. Antonovich.  County Supervisor Molina helmed the project as chair of the Grand Avenue Authority.  City of Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry, Eli Broad (as co-chair of the Grand Avenue Committee) and California Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera were also event speakers.  The park was made possible by a $50 million dollar donation from The Related Companies and designed by Rios Clementi Hale Studios.

Performers for the Opening Celebration and Civic Dedication Ceremony included LAUSD Alumni All City Marching Band, Inner City Arts, LA's Best (Aragon ES & Loreto ES), Jacques Heim and Dancers, Brass Pacifica, Futa Toro West African Drum Ensemble, Korean Classical Music & Dance, LA Taiko Project, Las Colibri, Ameenah Kaplan (Percussionist), and Stilt Walkers Michael & Christine Gump.

The celebration continues this weekend.  The Grand Park Inaugural Weekend Events include National Dance Day with So You Think You Can Dance's Nigel Lythgoe and a special performance by IRIS from Cirque du Soleil.  Sunday features Sunday Music in the Park with Grand Performances.

Go Metro!: Grand Park, located on Grand Avenue/1st, is convenient to the Metro Red Line (Civic Center Stop)and  other transit options. 

-Photos and Text by Charity Tran

 

A View of Los Angeles County's new Grand Park.

Two young performers hold up floral umbrellas during the Opening Celebration show.

Korean Classical Music & Dance were among the many groups performing.

A performer from Jacques Heim and Dancers dazzles the crowd including
the Los Angeles County Supervisors and other speakers on stage.

Stilt Walkers Michael Gump and Christine Gump.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina cuts the ceremonious ribbon held by Stilt Walkers Michael Gump and Christine Gump for Grand Park's Civic Dedication Ceremony.

Jacques Heim and Dancers' dazzling performance culminates with the turning on of renovated
Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain.

Discount: 10% off the Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival

To contact us Click HERE
Attention all foodies and wine connoisseurs, we have a 10% discount off event tickets* to the 2nd Annual Los Angeles Food &Wine Festival occurring August 9-12, 2012!  Events include lunch, brunch, dinner, and cooking demonstration events featuring famous chefs and many of Los Angeles' best restaurants and venues.  This year's festival has events in Santa Monica, Downtown/L.A. Live, Beverly Hills, and Hollywood.

More information about the events and flyer below:

To obtain the discount,

1. Click on http://bit.ly/PSfL7D 
2. You will be sent to the LAFW site.  Go to "Tickets" and you will see the discount applied to the prices.

Or, check out information on the flyer below for more information and click the flyer for the discount!


-ExperienceLA Staff
*Ticket Discount Subject to Availability

Adventures at Comic-Con: Part 2 - Unlikely Advenures

To contact us Click HERE
The beauty of spending extra days at Comic-Con this year was being able to feel free to spend time on unexpected adventures. I did not know at the start of my trip that I would be:

• figure drawing at bar;
• cosplaying, and  
• learning about Mass Effect and its voice actor fan base

While much of the focus of San Diego Comic-Con is on the events and panels in the San Diego Convention Center there are many events and activities going on outside the Convention Center's walls. 

Figure Drawing at Proper/Wine Steals

One such event was Trickster, an alternate venue for indie artists, housed this year at Proper/Wine Steals. I found myself there for an evening of figure drawing at a bar.  Most of time when you're out for a night on the town - especially in San Diego's Gaslamp District - you're probably not drawing or sketching.  But this was Comic-Con weekend and artists of all types were out and about.  So it was great just doodling away with all these talented artists while still enjoying the perks of a bar experience.  The models were compelling - often dressed in elaborate costumes and some interesting poses - giving much to contemplate on.

I spent some time as Wonder Woman and
got to meet Muppets!

The next day I thought I'd partake in a convention activity that I never participated in before - cosplaying.  My Halloween costume last year was Wonder Woman and I brought the costume with me on a whim.  In my years as a convention attendee, I had never cosplayed before (last year I wore a pink wig), but seeing everyone else in the spirit of things, I thought - why not?  Here I am with some of my favorite Muppets...I fit right in!  

Left to Right: "Mass Effect" Voice Actors
Raphael Sbarge, Kimberly D. Moore, and Courtenay Taylor

As Wonder Woman I headed out to the Mass Effect voice actor panel, across the street from the Convention Center.  There I met Raphael Sbarge, Kimberly D. Moore, and Courtenay Taylor - voice actors for Mass Effect who had a long line of fans that went out the door and wrapped around the building and down the street.  I'm not a gamer, but I don't think you need to be to understand how popular these actors are and what they mean to fans of the game.  Each of these actors took the time to take pictures with fans, sign autographs, and I think every single person that went through that line left with a grin on their face.  Sbarge also plays Archie/Jiminy on ABC's Once Upon A Time.  I overheard a number of fans state that they loved the show, but that they only started watching the show because of him!

One of the best things about conventions like Comic-Con is that it provides fans the opportunities to meet their favorite actors, writers, and artists.  But it also gives people the ability to learn new things and have new experiences - and I was glad to have not only my own new adventures, but see fans having moments that I know they'll remember forever.

Stay tuned!  My third - and last - recap of Comic-Con 2012 will feature my favorite TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  
 
-Charity Tran