Photo by Ella Gonzalez
The past year saw many exciting and scary things, among them a solar eclipse, hurricanes, enough angry tweets that if monetized could fund every Pepperdine student’s tuition, and a new word to add to our lexicon: covfefe. Despite the humor and fright of 2017, no doubt punctuated by moments of delight and joy, there is something particularly refreshing about the start of a new year. And with that, a barrage of new spots to add to the Graphic’s Culture Collection to equip the already burgeoning greatness of 2018 with all that you can eat, see and do for the week.
Eat
Jan.12 – 26 — Various locations
There is a reason all festivities are accompanied by food, the first inklings of the holiday season are recognized by limited-time-only holiday drinks, and all spring holidays — Valentine’s Day, Passover, Easter—unleash a cavity-wreaking bonanza.
The sheer happiness brought on by sustenance is bolstered through the discounted fare brought by dineLA’s Restaurant Week, the bastion of culinary power for the New Year. Prix fixe and special menus from some of Los Angeles’ leading restaurants (like Cafe Birdie in Highland Park for mushroom toast and Moroccan-spiced fried chicken, Blue Plate Oysterette in Santa Monica for seafood, and Gracias Madre in West Hollywood for vegan Mexican fare) are being offered. A fusion of trendy spots and trusty favorites lock in dineLA’s expertise in providing two weeks of delectable fun and wallet-waning capability.
See
Jan. 25 – 28 — The Barker Hangar, Santa Monica
It is best to start the New Year off with culture, and the best, although certainly not most comprehensive, way to do this is with some art. The Art Los Angeles Contemporary, an international West Coast art fair, returns for its ninth edition of engaging the public with the world’s art gallery scene, with a special focus on Los Angeles galleries.
Galleries from across the United States and around the world, performances and lectures will be featured. Tickets are within the $25 to $65 price range, a steep price for the proverbial starving artist.
Do
Jan. 20, 10 a.m. – noon — Malibu Library Parking Lot
Touch-A-Truck is a real name for a real event that real people can attend. The excessive use of “real” is used to offset the ambiguity and initial confusion the straightforward nature of this name suggests.
Yes, this event is targeted to children, and yes, this certainly ups the ridiculousness of this already seemingly ridiculous event. But there is something to be said about reliving one’s youth by exploring, honking and touching behemoth vehicles one could never, and probably shouldn’t ever, drive.
Touch-a-Truck, presented by the Community Services Department and the Malibu Library, stipulates that “children of all ages” are welcome to attend. If Touch-a-Truck knows anything about college students and frat boys especially, it’s that they are still children and enjoy large and powerful vehicles. For those who don’t fit into the aforementioned categories or choose to reject the writer’s sweeping statements, there’s also a kind of truck that almost everyone loves: the LA-Donut Truck.
This week’s Culture Collection brings you on a journey of identities: from trendy millennial foodie with dineLA, cultured geriatric at the Art Los Angeles Contemporary, to pitiful college student attempting to relive childhood fantasies. This Culture Collection contains the highs and lows of everything under the cultural umbrella, and so too recognizes your already-crumbling New Year’s resolutions, so you might as well touch-a-truck.
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