The Ho-Ho Show, May 18, Hollywood Hotel

The Ho-Ho Show will return to the Hollywood Hotel for a spring run on Friday, May 18 at 10pm. The show is $5 with a two drink minimum at the bar. The line-up consists of Brendon Walsh, Lizzy Cooperman, Chris Fairbanks, Lenny Shelton, Amber Tozer, Joe Dosch, Ian Jasper, Andy Sell, Rick Wood and Pat Regan. The night will be hosted my Asterios Kokkinos, who has written for National Lampoon, Cracked Magazine and many others.

Hollywood Block Party, May 19, Hollywood & Highland Center

This Saturday, there will be a block party within walking distance of most hotels near Hollywood Walk of Fame!  Cirque du Soleil, the Hollywood & Highland Center, Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussands Hollywood are hosting Hollywood’s own Block Party on this Saturday, May 19 from 10am to 1pm.

As part of the block party, there will be free tours of the Kodak Theatre and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, along with free popcorn. Visitors can also explore Madame Tussands Hollywood for free. Iris make-up, costume and prop demonstrations and photo booth experience will be available at the Kodak Theatre lobby 1 after your free tour. There will be in-store offers at select Hollywood & Highland Center retailers, including Crumbs, Cirque Boutique, and Spa Luce at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel. Radio Station 104.3MYFM will be in the Hollywood & Highland Center Courtyard playing music for three hours. Visitors are encouraged to pick up a passport at the booth and get it stamped at all Block Party locations for a checklist of their experience. @Cirque will use the hashtag #hwdblockparty on Twitter to discuss the event all week.

Hope to see you at either of these events this weekend!

Re-Animator The Musical comes to the Hayworth Theatre following a sold-out run at the Steve Allen Theatre in 2011. The musical will travel on to New York and Edinburgh following its Los Angeles run.  The musical is highly entertaining, for a production largely about defying death. The musical is based on the cult-classic 1980s horror film: “H.P. Lovecraft’s Re-Animator” and features the cast of the original sold-out show.  “Re-Animator the Musical” is set at a fictitious college where Herbert West discovers the formula for human reanimation. His creation interferes with the other character’s lives in horrifying and yet hilarious ways. Just to give you a taste of the experience: limbs are bitten off, dismembered bodies carry their own heads, and if you’re sitting in the splash zone, you may get wet with a few surprises.

The show has been called “Eye-popping,” “Way too much fun,” and “Richly Sophisticated” by the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Weekly and the Hollywood Reporter. Variety declares, “Not since Little Shop of Horrors has a Screamfest tuner so deftly balance seriousness and camp.” The production won six LA Weekly awards, including Best Musical, Best Original Music and Best Blood Effects. It also won the 2011 Ovation Award and 2011 LADCC Theatre Awards.

The show runs from Thursday May 3 to Sunday, July 8. Shows on Thursday, Friday and Sunday are at 8pm with additional Saturday shows at 7pm and 10:30pm. The show is 90 minutes long with no intermission. Concessions are sold before the show in the lobby. Tickets are $35-$50 for Thursday through Sunday night productions. Premium seats are the 4^th and 5^th row center. The first three rows are the Splash Zone, and raincoats are provided. Discount tickets can be purchased from Goldstar here. Be sure to catch a show while you’re in town; this is a campy musical you won’t want to miss!

Los Feliz Village Farmer’s Market

The Los Feliz farmer’s market is out every Sunday starting at 8am. Local favorites are the wide selection of rare fruits, such as blood oranges, antioxidant coffee, and not just one but two humus vendors! The avocado cilantro humus is highly recommended. The Gastrobus is also there every week, serving great breakfast options and juice.  The market is in the Post Office parking lot on Vermont and Franklin Ave. For more information, visit their Yelp page here.

Los Angeles Medical Center Certified Farmer’s Market

Locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables are available every week at the LAMC Farmer’s Market. On Wednesdays from noon to 6pm, the Barnesdall Art Park is filled with avocados, strawberries, poultry and international selections such as Greek hummus and Afghani flatbread. San Francisco favorite Blue Bottle company coffee is also sold at this market. During the spring, there are free cooking classes and other seasonal events. The market is held rain or shine year-round on the south side of Hollywood Blvd just west of Vermont Ave. For more information, click here.

Silverlake Farmer’s Market

This market sets up Tuesdays from 2pm to 7:30pm and Saturdays from 9am to 1pm. Much like its home, this farmer’s market is home to artsy merchandise, such as accessories made from sustainable products and vintage clothing. Also sighted here are rare fruits such as the dragon fruit, crepes, and Vietnamese treats from the Vietnamese Soy Café stall. The market is located on 3700 Sunset Blvd in Silverlake. For more information, check out their Yelp page.

Get outside and check one of these farmer’s markets out today!

The deal is a celebration of the theater’s 85^th anniversary this year. 25 cents is the price of a movie ticket in 1926, when the theater first opened.The first 25 cent screening, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” was held yesterday, April 23. Tickets went on sale Saturday, April 14^th at noon and sold out in two hours. That’s no small feat, as the Chinese Theatre can seat 1,500 people!

The 25 Cent Movie Monday’s schedule is as follows:

April 23 – Breakfast at Tiffany’s

April 30 – Hell’s Angels

May 21 – Shanghai Express

May 28 – The King and I

All of these films premiered at the Chinese Theatre way back when. The Chinese theatre has hinted that these screenings could continue throughout the year if future screenings continue to sell out. This is a fantastic opportunity to view classic films at their original venue for a very low price.

The Chinese Theatre is the most sought-after venue in Hollywood for studio premieres because of its location next to the Hollywood Walk of fame and rich history. The first film that premiered at the Chinese Theatre was Cecil B. DeMille’s “The King of Kings.” It was declared a historic-cultural landmark in 1968 and has been restored following several earthquakes in the Los Angeles area.

Tickets can be purchased at the Chinese Theatre box office and online here. There is a limit of 10 tickets per person. For more information on these screenings, follow the Chinese Theatre on Facebook and Twitter.

One of the highlights of this year’s festival is the Cooking Stage. Eight chefs will give cooking demonstrations, sign books and share their recipes. Five of the eight are known for appearing on television food shows, including Top Chef and Iron Chef. The other three are two of Los Angeles’ most esteemed chefs and an author of nine cookbooks. Preview the schedule with LA Weekly here.

Noted authors Susan Orlean, Judy Blume, T.C. Boyle and Michael Ian Black will be attending, along with celebrities John Cusack and Sugar Ray Leonard. Susan Orlean and Judy Blume will be interviewed at the Bovard Auditorium from 12:30pm to 2:30pm. The authors will be available for signings after their conversations. Cusack will discuss his role as Edgar Allen Poe in Relativity Media’s “The Raven” on Saturday at 2:30pm on the LA Times stage. Sugar Ray will discuss his new book, “The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring” at 4:50pm on the same day and stage. For a full schedule of LA Times Festival of Books, click here.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books was founded in 1996 with the goal of bringing together people to love books and those who create them. It is the largest and most prestigious of its kind in the country, attracting more than 140,000 book lovers every year.

The festival is free to attend, but tickets are required for indoor panels. There is a $1 service fee for each panel ticket reserved. To buy tickets, click here. Parking at the USC campus is 10. The festival is open from 10am to 6pm on Saturday and 10am to 5pm on Sunday.  Reserve your panel tickets today and come out to celebrate the wonder of books!

The first ever Asian Night Market in Southern California is the 626 Night Market. It will be held
from 5pm to 11:30pm between Colorado Boulevard and East Union Street on North Oakland Avenue in Pasadena. The aim is to bring Asian culture, food, and commerce to Southern California and support local businesses. 80 businesses are planning to sell their wares and eats at the Market, ranging from egg waffles, boba milk tea, stinky tofu, donut sticks and much more. Event organizers are hoping to eventually make the Asian Night Market a monthly event.

Also this weekend,  Los Angeles’ Chinatown will celebrate spring with an outdoor street festival that brings together all the unique aspects of the city—from music, art, beer, food and much more. The first SpringFest will feature performances from musical artists The Sloths, The Blessings, Stephen Sowan, The Finksville 5 and Whispertown. All selections were curated by Chinatown’s own Caveman Vintage Music. Artists Megan Stevens, AHHD, Jamie Garden, Jesse Castillo and Victoria Ramirez will perform their art live at the festival.

Chinatown restaurant Spring Street Smoke House selected the breweries for the outdoor biergarten at SpringFest, including Karl Strauss, Bootlegger’s, Golden Road Brewing and Stone & Lagunitas. They will also host a rib-eating contest where both amateur and professional rib eaters can indulge in tasty meat consumption.

SpringFest will be held on the same day as CicLAvia, an event promoting enjoying the outdoors in Los Angeles without a car. As the festival will be held at the corner of North Spring Street and Caesar Chavez Street in Chinatown, it is very accessible to those participating CicLAvia. For more information on SpringFest, check out its Facebook page.

If you’re staying at hotels in Hollywood, both of these events are great ways to get outdoors this weekend. Hope to see you out there!

The Half Marathon 13.1 mile run will start at 6am on April 7 on Lankershim Boulevard, and take contestants through Hollywood, Studio City, Sunset Blvd. and along the Walk of Fame, ending at Universal Studios.  Runners are encouraged to dress up as their favorite celebrity to keep with the Walk of Fame theme. After the race, you’ll be able to travel like a celebrity: a limo will shuttle you and your fellow runners to the post-race awards ceremony. At the ceremony, you’ll get to walk down a movie-premiere style red carpet when receiving a shining Hollywood Star Medal for finishing the race. The top 5 finishers will receive $20K in prize money.

Other race highlights include the Hollywood Health and Fitness Expo on April 6 from 10am to 7pm. Exhibitors and vendors will offers free samples, the latest in running gear, sports, apparel, health, snacks and beverages to contestants. You’ll be able to stock up at the Universal Hilton before the big day! You can also join your fellow runners for a carbo load dinner at the Hard Rock Café on Hollywood Blvd. or Universal City Walk. Brunch will also be available as early as 7am. Dinner or brunch tickets can be purchased here. The Hollywood Half Marathon benefits charities such as The Los Angeles Youth Network, Benefitting Convenant House California, The Gateway for Cancer Research and many more.

This year’s marathon is limited to only 7,500 participants. Registration fees are currently $95. Day of the race sign-up is $105. if you’re staying in one of the hotels in Hollywood, Register today for a great way to experience the sights of Hollywood!

With a coupon from the site, you can get 20% or more off at the gift stores of the following museums:

 Annenberg Space for Photography
California African American Museum
Chinese American Museum
Fowler Museum at UCLA
Los Angeles Museum of The Holocaust
Museum of Tolerance
Santa Monica Museum of Art
The Getty Center
The Getty Villa

Additional great offers are available for the below attractions.

Wells Fargo History Museum
Aquarium of the Pacific
California Science Center
Center Theatre Group
Geffen Playhouse
Huntington Library, Art Collections, & Botanical Gardens
IRIS, a Journey Through the World of Cinema™ from Cirque du Soleil®
LA Opera
LA Phil
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Music Center
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
NoHo Arts District
Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum
USC Fisher Museum of Art
Zimmer Children’s Museum

From now until April 30, you can get 2 for 1 admission to the below museums:

Autry National Center
Craft and Folk Art Museum
GRAMMY Museum at L.A. LIVE
Hammer Museum
Heritage Square Museum
Japanese American National Museum
LA Stage Alliance
Los Angeles Conservancy
Los Angeles County Museum Of Art (LACMA)
Mak Center For Art & Architecture at Schindler House
Museum of Latin American Art
Pasadena Museum of California Art
Petersen Automotive Museum
REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/Calarts Theater)
Skirball Cultural Center
The Colburn School
The Hollywood Museum
The Museum Of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA)
The Paley Center For Media
The Wende Museum and Archive of The Cold War
Valley Performing Arts Center

Coupons can be found on the special website here or at your local Wells Fargo or Ralph’s. You must present the coupon to redeem the offer. Don’t miss this chance to explore Los Angeles museums with a friend!

Friday will kick off the festival with red carpet arrivals at 5pm. This year’s opening film is Take Me Home, which will screen at 6pm. The film has been screened in film festivals all around the U.S. and won three audience and best music in a film awards. Following the screening, there will be a Q&A session with the maker and star of the film, Sam Jaeger. Music videos and other shorts will also screen after with tickets selling for $8-$11. The night will conclude at Pete’s Café on Main St. for good food and entertainment. A day pass for all of Friday’s programming is $39. You can buy tickets here.

A Saturday day pass is $59. The after party will be held at 9pm, with a mixer at R&R Gallery. The mixer will provide a bar, live music and no cover.

Sunday will feature a self distribution workshop with Jason Brubaker of popular independent filmmaking site Filmmaking Stuff. Six films will be screened, and there will be a Q&A session with Terence Leee, Kiel Johnson and Ryan Bosworth following a screening of We’ll Be Allright. The Film Festival will come with a screening of Deadheads at 5:40pm to celebrate the film’s DVD release. The after party will take place in the Downtown Independent Theatre itself. Tickets to Sunday’s events are $39.

You can get a specially priced VIP package to attend all events for only $99. Tickets can be purchased here. For more information on the film festival, visit their main site at www.lafilmweekend.com. If you love film and music, it’s a great way to catch some independent shorts, feature films, documentaries and music videos!

The Ho Ho Show is held quarterly on Friday night at the Hollywood Hotel. It is a booked show with professional comics that have performed nationally at major comedy clubs such such as the Comedy Store in Hollywood, the Laughing Skull in Georgia and Comix in New York. The comedians have also appeared on Conan O’Brien and in top comedy festivals such as Just For Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival.

The March 16th show at the Hollywood Hotel will feature comedians Hugh Moore, Jesse Case, Eli Braden, Pat Regan, Ollie Savage, Russell Mills, Ian Jasper and Maria Bamford. The night will be hosted by John Silver, who also organizes an open-mic comedy show on Thursday nights at the Hollywood Hotel called Bomb Shelter.

Maria Bamford, the show’s headliner, has a rather long list of acting and voice-acting credits. She has appeared on the Sarah Silverman Program, “CatDog”, “Dharma & Greg,” and Stuart Little 2 among other television series, movies, shorts and video games. She has also written for “The Martin Short Show.” Her stand-up has been featured in Comedians of Comedy and on Comedy Central.

“The goal of the show is to bring together the best comics of Los Angeles for a free show in a comfortable, intimate space,” says show organizer Ian Jasper. “The Hollywood Hotel also provides a great opportunity for comics to perform for an audience from around the world. So another goal…is to welcome hotel guests and make the show a memorable, enjoyable experience for them.”

The March 16th show will start at 10pm. The show is free; however, there is a two drink minimum. TheHollywood Hotel W.C. Lounge has a full bar to accommodate guests and performers. With such accomplished comedy performers, this is sure to be a fun night for all who attend. Hope to see you there!