Photo by Ella Gonzalez
There’s something unmistakably sad about the second week of school. The novelty of coming back has worn off, nostalgia for a bygone winter break sets in, and the melodic incantation of “If I can just make it through this week,” increases in familiarity. We occupy the present unsatisfied, reflect on the past wistfully, and look to the future longingly.
But within the triad of present, past and future, there is the weekend. It’s a closer version of the future ready to coincide with the present, and it will soon enough become part of the moments in the past we pine for. Here’s what to eat, see and do for the weekend, that will soon enough, become your present.
EAT
Indian Vegetarian Cooking Workshop
Jan. 26, 3 – 4:30 p.m. — Malibu City Hall, Multi-Purpose Room
At some point, the phrase “there comes a time” becomes less abstract and hackneyed, and the words that follow it become ever more applicable to one’s current circumstance. Allow me to demonstrate: There comes a time when a college student must learn to cook a meal and not rely on ramen or the classic frozen meal college student tropes.
This “there comes a time” line is not as eloquent as one from classic literature (though it is vaguely reminiscent of some modern culinary bildungsroman), nor has the author of this article thrown down her own ramen-entwined gauntlet for a life of homemade meals. The Indian Vegetarian Cooking Workshop at Malibu City Hall by Instructor Farhana Sahibzada offers the opportunity to eschew the microwave in favor of fancier cookware. If there is anything to know about Indian food, it’s that the savory aroma of herbs and spices will rival any frozen meal or ramen, or at the very least, provide one with the accoutrements to literally and figuratively spice up meals wrecked by freezer burn. Recipes will include aloo methi, basmati rice and traditional condiments and sides. Tickets are $10.
Jan. 26-28 — The Kinney Hotel, Venice Beach
It might seem campy and perhaps a little odd for a hotel to play the role of art gallery. But if 2017 has taught us anything, it’s that the most unsuspecting people and things can assume the strangest and most far-fetched roles and titles. And perhaps, a hotel playing the role of art gallery is the least strange among them.
stARTup Art Fair LA will bring artworks from more than 50 artists to the Kinney Hotel that will temporarily transform its rooms into exhibition spaces. The Fair will also include music, performances, food and special “Art Conversations” about emerging issues in the art world. Featured artist Parker Day will set the stage for what is possible in the realm of contemporary art with her surrealist photography, use of lurid (and slightly bilious) colors, and addition of costumes that explore the nature of identity in a manner that is all at once explicit, grotesque and redolent of Lisa Frank stickers. Tickets cost $10 to $40 (or $100 for VIP).
Jan. 28 — Various locations
Museums Free-For-All returns with another year of free cultural fun at some of Los Angeles’ leading institutions. The opportunity to explore multiple museums in one day is both plausible and encouraged due to the dozens of museums with waived admission.
While some of the participating museums are already free of admission (like the Getty Center and Getty Villa), recommended museums that usually do come with a $10 to $15 price tag include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Japanese American National Museum, Craft & Folk Art Museum, Pasadena Museum of California Art and many more.
Talk of the past, present and future can be a dizzying, metaphysical goose chase with no end in sight. Sometimes the weekend feels like this: elusive, abstract and subject to philosophical debate. But when the weekend does come, satiated by vegeterian Indian food, art fairs and museums, this talk finally ceases — at least until the start of the new week when the goose chase resumes again.
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