FRIDAY:
Las Posadas at Olvera Street
What: Every year, Olvera Street celebrates Las Posadas, a candlelit procession of families and animals to reenact the night that Mary and Joseph journeyed through Bethlehem in search of shelter. Free pan dulce (sweet bread) and Mexican hot chocolate are served at the end of the procession, complete with a live holiday mariachi music. And, at 6:30pm, there's a pinata breaking for the kids. The event takes place each night at Olvera Street from December 16-24; the nine nights of Advent. It is a beautiful family event that is fun and warm-hearting for individuals of any race or religion.
When: Dec. 16 - Dec. 24, 6pm, Open to the public, Free
Where: Olvera Street, Los Angeles St. at Alameda St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 (www.ci.la.ca.us)
Double Feature At The Egyptian.. Holiday Style
What: Take the picture-perfect out of Christmas with its holiday double feature this Friday, featuring a grump and a bad santa. If you're feeling stressed about the holidays, get in your laughs here - first with 1988's "Scrooged", followed by 2003's "Bad Santa". In "Scrooged", Bill Murray plays the Scrooge role as a cynical, self-centered TV executive, in this remake of Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol." In "Bad Santa", Billy Bob Thornton stars as a beligerant con man who poses as a mall Santa only to have his robbery plans spoiled by an unlikely suspect.
When: Friday, December 16, 7:30pm, $11
Where: Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028 (americancinematheque.com)
Winter Benefit Party with Belle Brigade
What: Satellite music venue (formerly Spaceland) holds a weekend holiday benefit party for the PATH homeless shelter. The evening will feature live performances by Belle Brigade, Harlan and Oh Darling. The headline performer, Belle Brigade, is the sibling duo of Barbara Gruska and her younger brother Ethan Gruska. Both CalArts-trained musicians, the pair comes from a family of seriously talented musicians and composers, most notably multi-Oscar-winning John Williams (wrote the scores of "Jaws", "Indiana Jones", "Star Wars", "Jurassic Park" and "ET"!). With incredibly real and tangible lyrics and voices eerily reflective of Simon and Garfunkel, this duo makes you feel understood and uplifted. What could be more appropriate for a benefit for those who don't have shelter this holiday season.
When: Friday, December 16, Doors 8:30pm, Show 9pm, Event ends 2am, 21 and over, $12
Where: The Satellite, 1717 Silverlake Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA (thesatellitela.com)
SATURDAY:
Cinefamily 24-Hour Telethon
What: For their year-end fundraiser, Cinefamily is putting on a 24-hour event at the Silent Movie Theater, consisting of films, live music and in-person interviews. This FREE fundraiser (oxymoron?) will show cult and indie films you can't find anywhere else. Interviews at the theater will include Spike Jonez, Michael Cera, Elliot Gould, Stephin Merritt, DJ Lance Rock, No Age, Doug Benson, Jonathan Gold, Paul Livingstone, Carlos Nino and others. On Saturday at 7pm, Benicio Del Toro will kick off the event with a "Kaneto Shino" retrospective.
When: 12pm Sat - 12:30pm Sun (first come, first serve, admitted every 4-5 hours), Free, $3 parking
Where: Cinefamily @ The Silent Movie Theatre, 611 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA (cinefamily.org)
Drive-Thru-Fry-BQ
What: Is there anything more American than fried food? Yes, fried food on rollerskates. 'Tis the theme of the Drive-Thru-Fry-BQ this Saturday, put on by Echo Park's Machine Project. Here's how it works: there will be both vegetarian and bacon-covered deep-fried food. In order to get it, you have to "drive through" on some kind of wheels (bike, skateboard, rollerblades.. office chair?). Fear not: there will be loner bikes, boards and blades for those with the need for speed (and bacon).
When: Saturday, December 17, 8-10pm, $10 (you have to be a Machine Project member and monthly membership starts at $10)
Where: Machine Project, 1200-D North Alvarado Street, Los Angeles, CA (machineproject.com)
Santa Monica Pub Crawl
What: This year is Santa Monica's third annual holiday-tastic pub crawl. It's a fundraiser for the Westside Food Bank, and your $10 admissions wristband gets you drink and food specials at participating Santa Monica bars and restaurants. There will also be a SANTA Scavenger Challenge Hunt (email smpcrawl@gmail.com to register) and an after-party (location TBA). Holiday attire is encouraged. Last year over 3,000 people came out (in the rain!) to 20 Santa Monica bars and raised over 4,000 pounds of food. Since last year was so successful, this time Westside Food Bank is requesting checks instead of canned goods.
When: Saturday, December 17, 5pm, Sign up online, $10
Where: Multiple routes with bars on Wilshire, The Pier, 4th St., Third Street Promenade and Main Street in Santa Monica. Choose route online when you sign up; collect wristband and map at your starting location. (santamonicapubcrawl.com)
SUNDAY:
Tasting Brunch with Salt's Cure
What: You've waited outside Salt's Cure in the cold for an hour to get a plate of their thick cut bacon. Now you'll be able to warm up even faster this Sunday, when they team up with Domaine LA to booze up their brunch. Called a "tasting brunch," Domaine LA is serving a prix fixe menu of Salt's Cure griddle cakes and two types of quiches, as well as a flight of three different kinds of wine; sparkling red, pink and white wines. Because nothing gets rid of a hangover like a greasy breakfast and more alcohol.
When: Sunday, 1-4pm; food, $15; wine, $12/flight, $6/pour
Where: Domaine LA, 6801 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA (domaine547.com)
Tori Amos
What: Tori Amos's performance this Sunday will be anything but ordinary. This singer/composer/pianist's latest album, "Night of Hunters" (her 12th, by the way!) takes on the challenge of performing variations of Chopin, Satie and Mussorgsky. As the San Francisco Examiner reports, the album "uses Robert Graves's book "The White Goddess" - and a shapeshifting character called Annabelle - to examine the fall of female-centered Celtic mythology to male-dominated monotheism." That's a mouthful. Bonus: the Orpheum could get a surprise guest as Amos's 11-year-old daughter sings the role of Annabelle on a few of the new album's tracks.
When: Sunday, December 18, 8pm, $45-$60
Where: The Orpheum, 842 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA (laorpheum.com)