As the brilliant Will Smith once sung, “Yo, yo forget the club/Today we play in the block/It’s goin’ down and it’s blazzin’ hot.” Catch the energy of the quintessential summer experience at the Funk Rumble Block Party. Featuring the sounds of local funk bands and a veritable United Nations of DJs laying down latin, soul, funk and hip hop, the Block Party will be giving Chinatown a serious injection of urban soul. Wind down the night with organic edibles and some “deep soulful afro latin jazz tunes” at the Grand Star Jazz Club’s “Spirit” after party.
WHEN: 12:00pm-10:00pm
ADMISSION: $5 before 4:00pm, $8 after
WHERE: 947 North Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012
FUNK RUMBLE BLOCK PARTY: www.thefunkrumbleblockparty.blogspot.com
As part of a travelling series on water in cities around the world, eight adventurous TaskForce dancers will perform at the LA River. Inspired by our areas complex relationship to this natural resource, the dance piece will be in conjunction with a bus tour of the LA River led by River guide Jenny Price and poet Suzanne Lummis.
As the world’s largest street painting festival, 600 artists will use 25,000 sticks of pastel chalk to create spectacular sidewalk murals at the Pasadena Chalk Festival. Attracting artists from virtually every LA community, witness the creation of elaborate pavement art that after the two day Festival will be washed away.
In a PG night of adult puppetry, REDCAT presents a special live performance not geared towards the young attendees at the concurrent Toy Theater Festival. With pieces by such artists as Alejandro Benitez, Laura Heit and Great Small Works, expect smart maneuvering, brilliant tabletop theatrical epics and the chance to redefine all your pre-existing notions about the boundaries of puppetry.
A celebration of all things literary, the 13th Annual LA Times Festival of Books brings the written word and all its genres to life. With book signings, poetry readings, performance stages, writing workshops and over 100 author panels, the Festival is a unique opportunity to see the literary world come together in LA.
The Fifth Annual Bent Festival celebrates DIY electronics and circuit bending, the short-circuiting of battery-powered children’s toys to create new musical instruments. Artists from around the globe perform music with their homemade or circuit bent instruments, teach workshops and create remarkable interactive art installations.
