With Halloween behind us and a couple of days to go before Election Day, this weekend would have provided for a nice reprieve from the chaos... and then came Sandy. First thing on your weekend itinerary, text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate to The Red Cross or consult this list for more ideas.
After you've done your part, have yourselves a good weekend -- from what we can glean from our Instagram feeds, that's what those New Yorkers are trying to do... Gotta love that east coast resilience!
Friday
If you are one of the lucky few that managed to snag tickets to see R Kelly's Single Ladies Tour tonight at the Nokia Theatre -- congratulations, we are officially jealous of you. If not, we feel your pain. Comfort yourself with a visit to Tortilla Republic for healthy(-er) Mexican food. Then, get yourself to Book Soup, where Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick will be discussing and signing their new book The Untold History of the United States (also the name of their new series on Showtime).
Later, head east to Echo Park for a performance by rising local band, Lord Huron. Then, finish off your Friday at the Gold Room, where the night almost always ends with dancing (thanks to their $1 tequila shots, no doubt).
Saturday
We might just spend all day Saturday at LACMA, to be perfectly honest. First off, it's a Bank of America "Museums on Us" day -- meaning all B of A account holders get free entry. The museum's highly anticipated Stanley Kubrick exhibition opened on Thursday, and the much-lauded Ken Price retrospective is still on view. Plus, it's always nice to give Levitated Mass a visit every so often.
At noon, join FamilyFarmed.org and the Santa Monica Farmer's Market for the Good Food Festival & Conference (also at LACMA), with food-themed museum tours and panels discussing regional and national food systems. If all of that made you terribly hungry, pop into the museum's fantastic restaurant Ray's or head down the street to Five Guys (that's where we'll be).
After, swing by the Santa Monica Civic Center for the Contemporary Crafts Market and get an early start on some serious holiday shopping. Then, you're going to have to hop on a few freeways (sorry) to get all the way east to Silver Lake for the Independent Label Market, where you'll snag exclusive releases and hobnob with people who are a lot cooler than you.
Later, grab a light dinner at M Café on Melrose, where they've just introduced a slew of new fall menu items, before going to The Fonda to see legendary '90s electro-pop band Saint Etienne.
Grab a nightcap at the Blue Palms Brewhouse, then pack it in for the night -- there's still more weekend to be had tomorrow.
Sunday
Sunday morning, go to Culver City, where the roving indie art and craft festival Patchwork has landed for the day. After, make your way to West Hollywood for Pink Taco's new-ish Sunday Funday. In addition to games and a raffle, this holiest of days also includes bottomless mimosas until 3 p.m., plus a happy hour after that.
If you've had one too many bad experiences with tequila, go downtown instead and take a spin through the Japanese Food Festival in Little Tokyo (they had us at sushi-eating contest). It's a little pricey ($60), but you'll get your sushi fix for the next six months (at least), which could end up saving you big bucks in the end. Later, work off all that sake and sushi at Day of the Dead at the Echo, where Chicano Batman will play psychedelic soul music that will put a spell on you.
Wind down your night and this weekend at home--with the election just two days off, you know you're going to have a big week ahead. The good news is that Sunday marks the end of daylight saving time, so you'll get an extra hour of sleep tonight. If time is money, this makes you just a little richer, no?
