MAY 1ST, 2024

WEDNESDAY

WEDNESDAY’S VIBES

Eats | Events | Activities
Community | Development
Biz | Entertainment | Sports

🐰 RABBIT, RABBIT, LA!

TRENDING 

THE HOV LANE

EATS

LOCAL HEADLINES

• 🍯 SILVERLAKE: Pop-up bar Honey House is hosting a block party tonight at In the Meantime in Silverlake. As a community, we can all enjoy an evening filled with live music, cocktails, conversations, and great times. Tonight’s event will run from 6:00pm to 10:00pm and tickets can be purchased via Eventbrite. Triple Beam Pizza will be on-hand to serve up some slices, Gelino’s Ice Cream will serve up scoops + tattoo artist Julianne Ashby will have her ink ready for those that want to rock a new tattoo. Oh, and there will be an open bar so make sure that you + yours plan accordingly if you are wanting to have a good time. Tickets are still available via Eventbrite.

• 🍓 VENTURA: The California Strawberry Festival comes back to the Ventura County Fair on May 18th + 19th. This juicy jamboree celebrates the sweet, tangy berry that's a produce aisle MVP. Held annually in Ventura, the festival offers a bounty of berry-centric treats, from chocolate-covered strawberries and strawberry funnel cakes to deep-fried strawberries and strawberry tacos. Visitors can build their own strawberry shortcake, sip refreshing strawberry beer and margaritas, or simply indulge in a classic bowl of fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Beyond the mouthwatering eats, the festival features contests, rides, crafts, and the ultra-cute Berry Baby Competition. This berry-tastic celebration marks its 40th anniversary in 2026, promising four decades of sweet, juicy fun for strawberry lovers.

• 🌳 GRIFFITH PARK: The Odd Market, a popular recurring event at the Autry Museum in Griffith Park, has now expanded to a new location: the Rooftop Night Market at Vintage Land. Starting May 3rd, this Friday night market will offer a vibrant celebration of local talent, flavors, and culture, with live music, food vendors, and a full bar complementing the shopping experience. Featuring eye-catching vintage fashion, artisanal goods, and unique finds, the Rooftop Night Market promises to connect shoppers, music lovers, and hangout-seekers in a lively rooftop setting with stunning views. Entry is five dollars, with free parking in the garage, and the market runs from 5:00pm to 10:00pm each Friday. | 📸 @vintagelandnightmarket | 💻️ Official Website

• 🥞 MELROSE HILL: We recently mentioned GGIATA, an Italian-inspired deli that recently opened a new location Highland Park. Now, GGIATA is hosting their 2nd Annual Breakfast for Dinner celebration tomorrow night at the eatery’s Melrose Hill location. The festivities take place tomorrow from 5:00pm - 10:00pm with delicious eats like hot honey chicken biscuits, loaded hashbrowns, BLTs with fried eggs on Texas Toast + blueberry pancake hand pie.

OPENINGS

• 🍣 KOREATOWN: Danbi, the latest project from the hospitality group behind the Michelin-recognized Liu's Cafe, is putting a creative spin on classic Koreatown dining. Opened in the former Tokki space, Danbi's menu features galbi-inspired zabuton steak, seafood pancakes with bay scallops, and a bibimbap brimming with uni, marinated shrimp, ikura, and edible flowers. Led by chef Lareine Ko, the restaurant draws inspiration from iconic Korean dishes and flavors, while also showcasing a spirits program focused solely on Korean makers, from traditional soju to new-wave makgeolli. Owners Patrick Liu, Alex Park, Yohan Park, and John Kim have transformed the space to capture the essence of Koreatown dining, offering a fresh take on the classic experience for both Korean American and Taiwanese American diners. Danbi’s soft opening took place on Thursday, March 21st, and this Korean eat is opened Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from 6:00pm - 10:00pm, Friday + Saturday from 6:00pm - 11:00pm and is closed on both Monday + Tuesday. | 📸 @danbi.ktown | 💻️ Official Website | View Menu Online

• 🌮 GRAND CENTRAL MARKET: The acclaimed Villa's Tacos, known for its Michelin-recognized Estilo Los Angeles cuisine, has expanded with a new stall inside the historic Grand Central Market in downtown LA. Taking over the former Belcampo Meat Co. space, the new Villa's Tacos location will offer the same signature menu as the original Highland Park outpost, featuring blue corn tortillas griddled with Monterey Jack cheese, topped with proteins like house-made chorizo and black beans and cactus salad, plus garnishes like cilantro, onion, and guacamole. Owner Victor Villa plans to introduce some new exclusive menu items at the Grand Central Market spot in the coming weeks. With its larger kitchen and prep space, the new location will help accommodate the market's high-traffic crowds seeking Villa's celebrated, charismatically-crafted tacos. 
  | 📸 @villastacoslosangeles | 💻️ Official Website | View Menu Online

• 🍪 WEST ADAMS: A cookie pop-up out of Lara Adekoya’s West Hollywood home quickly gained a social media following in 2020 for its decadent, inventive flavors like sea-salt chocolate chip and matcha white chocolate. Now, Adekoya has opened a new bricks-and-mortar shop in West Adams, offering her signature cookies for walk-in customers as well as drops that can be pre-ordered online. With flavors rotating regularly, Fleurs et Sel tempts with creations like a Funfetti birthday cake cookie packed with Golden Oreo crumbles. Though the bakery's hours and days of operation are still in flux, the bakery’s Instagram keeps customers updated on the latest offerings from this rising star, whose cookies have caught the attention of famous fans like Lena Waithe and Issa Rae. | 📸 @fleursetsel | 💻️ Official Website | 🍪 Order available cookies

EVENTS

Submit your event 

• 📆 LAST UPDATED: Both calendars are being updated for this week’s remaining events. (as of 6:45am, Wednesday).

TRENDING

BIG LIST OF EVENTS

ACTIVITIES

• 🖼️ WEST HOLLYWOOD: Louis Stern Fine Arts is pleased to present Matsumi Kanemitsu: Traction Avenue, a selection of late works by influential Japanese American artist and educator Matsumi Kanemitsu (1922-1992). The works on view were created in the last years of the artist’s life, during which he lived and worked in the historic Joannes Brothers Company Building at 800 Traction Avenue, located in what is now known as Los Angeles’s Arts District. Expressing the complex human experience of natural forces in sumi ink, watercolor, and acrylic, these works embody both the splendor and the perils of a sunset in a scorching desert, the churning waves of a Pacific storm, or rivers of rain in a summer deluge. This body of work represents the culmination of the artist’s prolific and diverse career and bears the legacy of his profound impact on cultivating a vibrant and thriving artist community in LA. This exhibition runs from May 18th through June 29th with an opening reception on May 18th from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. | 💌 

• 🌹 CRENSHAW: How Do You Grow a Rose from Concrete? will take place next Thursday, May 9th at the Crenshaw High School Performing Arts center. This is the first event in a series with Destination Crenshaw, our city’s upcoming Black public art project that explores Black history, Black art, and Black success while uniting the City of Crenshaw. Destination Crenshaw will be the largest Black public art project in the United States, and quite possibly the world. Thursday’s panel discussion will feature architect Gabrielle Bullock and Los Angeles City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson who will be joined by Destination Crenshaw’s Senior Art Advisor V. Joy Simmons on the Zócalo Stage to discuss Destination Crenshaw’s genesis and design in anticipation of the project’s imminent completion. The event is free for both in-person and virtual attendance. | 💌

• ⚡️ HOLLYWOOD BOWL: Disney Concerts, Marvel Studios + the Los Angeles Philharmonic have announced Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga Concert Experience as part of the Hollywood Bowl 2024 Season Tickets are currently available to Hollywood Bowl subscribers and multi-show purchasers. Single-show tickets go on sale next Tuesday, May 7th at 10:00am on the Hollywood Bowl’s website. Fans who are part of the Marvel loyalty program received yesterday that provided a presale code to purchase tickets before the general public an email with a presale code immediately, prior to single-show tickets going on-sale. | 💌 

• 👩‍🦳 NEWPORT BEACH: Not Your Mother’s Market takes place this Saturday, May 4th, from 10:00am to 3:00pm at Daydream Surf Shop in Newport Beach. This market includes tooth gems, tattoos, candles, textiles, vintage, portraits from Valeria Denise Metz, and much more! Daydream Surf Shop is located in Newport Beach at 📌 864 W 16th Street, Newport Beach, 92663.

COMMUNITY

• 🎡 SANTA MONICA PIER: On Saturday, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) held its largest annual fundraiser, PanCAN PurpleStride®, the ultimate walk to end pancreatic cancer. For the third year in a row, PurpleStride took place nationwide across nearly sixty cities as survivors, supporters, celebrities and special guests walked in solidarity to raise awareness and much-needed funds for pancreatic cancer, one of the world’s deadliest forms of cancer. It is the number one way PanCAN raises funds to fuel its mission and the dollars raised change the lives of people facing pancreatic cancer and advance progress against the disease. Nearly seventy-thousand people were expected to attend across the country with a goal of raising nineteen million dollars towards fighting the disease. Saturday’s event took place at the Santa Monica Pier and Los Angeles collectively beat their goal of $920,000 with $1,000,099.74. | 💌 

• 🚲️ SANTA MONICA: The City of Santa Monica has launched an e-bike voucher program to provide ninety low-and moderate-income families with financial assistance to purchase electric bicycles. Unlike a traditional rebate program, this initiative allows qualifying residents to receive the voucher upfront, eliminating the need to pay the full cost of an e-bike and wait for reimbursement. To participate, applicants must complete an e-bike safety course and a survey, then redeem their voucher at a local participating bicycle shop. There are no restrictions on the class of e-bike that can be purchased, as long as it meets the city's definition of having two or three wheels, operable pedals, and an electric motor of 750 watts or less. Increasing equitable access to e-bikes and their benefits is a key goal of the program, which will be put on hold after the initial ninety vouchers are distributed until additional funding can be secured.

• 🎟️ CULVER CITY: Culver City is making parking more convenient with a new Parking Meter Mobile Pay Pilot Program. About thirty-five meters in the downtown area have been outfitted with the capability to accept mobile payments through the ParkSmarter app. To use the service, drivers simply need to download the app, create an account, and scan the QR code on the meter to identify the specific location and complete the transaction. In addition to paying for parking, the app also allows users to add more time to their stay without having to return to the meter.

DEVELOPMENT

• 🏡 BALDWIN HILLS: An empty lot just south of the La Cienega/Jefferson Metro station in Baldwin Hills could soon yield an eight-story, eighty-unit apartment building. Applicant Kaveh Bral has submitted plans to the Los Angeles Department of City Planning for the project on W. Corbett Street, which would include one- and two-bedroom units with 103 on-site parking spaces. Designed by architect Sam Ghanouni, the contemporary low-rise structure would feature a central courtyard and rooftop deck. The developer is seeking density bonus incentives to allow for a larger building, in exchange for setting aside thirteen apartments as very low-income affordable housing. While modest in scale compared to other recent developments near the transit hub, such as the massive Cumulus District and Wrapper office tower, this new multifamily project would add much-needed housing options in the rapidly evolving Baldwin Hills neighborhood.

• 🏡 EL PUEBLO: The Los Angeles Board of Public Works has approved a five-hundred thousand dollar contract with design firm Rios to develop a new master plan for the El Pueblo historic district, the birthplace of the city. Spanning twenty-two acres and home to landmarks like Olvera Street, the Pico House, and the Merced Theater, the district will undergo a comprehensive planning process to preserve its historic structures while guiding future development, commercial uses, cultural offerings, and connections to the surrounding area. Led by Rios, the initiative will include extensive community engagement, with at least fourteen public meetings to gather input. As major changes loom for the El Pueblo area, including the redevelopment of Union Station and a proposed gondola project, this new master plan aims to respect the district's rich history while shaping a sustainable future, especially for the local businesses and families who have called this place home for generations.

• 🚈 EASTERN LA COUNTY: The Foothill Gold Line Extension is nearing completion, with 85% of the work done. This nine-mile project will extend the A Line light rail service from Azusa to a new station adjacent to the Pomona North Metrolink Station, adding four new stops in Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, and Pomona. Scheduled to be handed over to Metro for testing in eight months, the Foothill extension will become part of the world's longest light rail line, spanning nearly forty-nine miles with forty-four stops. While the current extension was scaled back due to funding constraints, the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority has already released a request for qualifications to potentially extend the line an additional three miles to Claremont and Montclair, pending cooperation and funding from San Bernardino County.

BUSINESS

• 👟 THE SHOE FITS FOR PROFITS: Skechers' recent financial performance has exceeded expectations, with the company reporting a strong quarter, according to analyst note by Nikic. The footwear brand continues to benefit from a combination of product innovation, effective marketing, global distribution, and strong internal execution. Skecher’s wholesale revenue totaled $127.1 million, with growth of 11.5% in EMEA, 15.3% in APAC, and 5.9% in the Americas region. The company remains confident in its goal of reaching $10 billion in sales by 2026. | HQ: Manhattan Beach

• 🛍️ MEET ME AT THIRD & FAIRFAX: Meet Me at Third & Fairfax will take place Thursday, July 18th from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. This beloved call to action around Los Angeles promises for an hour or two of brightness and delicious eats at the iconic Original Farmers Market. As this Southern California stalwart heads into its ninetieth anniversary. the market is planning a special one-night-only Night Market celebration. Visitors can support their favorite virtual vendors with a brick-and-mortar shopping experience, while enjoying live '90s-themed music in the Market Plaza. Admission is free, but guests will want to come hungry, ready to indulge in the market's global array of tempting treats, from gyros and burgers to crepes and ice cream. | 📝 Business owner? You can sign up for the chance to be selected as a merchant on this Google Survey Form.

ENTERTAINMENT

HEADLINES

• 🎮️ FALLOUT, SURGE UP: Fallout is dominating the charts for Amazon's Prime Video. The post-apocalyptic series based on the popular video game franchise has been a massive hit for the streamer, pulling in an impressive sixty-five million viewers in its first sixteen days of availability. This makes it the second most-watched title ever on the platform and Amazon's most-watched show among adults 18-34, with a significant 60% of the audience coming from outside the United States. The series has also received critical acclaim, holding a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with one reviewer describing it as bizarre but intensely fun. Given this overwhelming success, it's no surprise that Amazon has already renewed Fallout for a second season.

• 🎬️ PARAMOUNT GLOBAL CEO OUT: Paramount Global has parted ways with CEO Bob Bakish, replacing him with a triumvirate of executives: Brian Robbins, Chris McCarthy, + George Cheeks. This move comes as Paramount explores a potential merger with Skydance Media, led by David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Skydance has proposed a five billion dollar deal that would see it acquire a majority stake in Paramount. The offer includes a three billion cash infusion to help pay down debt and repurchase shares, aimed at appeasing shareholders who have expressed concerns about the deal benefiting Redstone at their expense.

• 📈 PEACOCK PRICES INCREASE: Subscription prices for Comcast's streaming service Peacock will increase by two dollars this summer, with the ad-supported tier rising to $7.99 per month and the ad-free version reaching $13.99 per month. The annual plans will also see hikes, going up to $79.99 and $139.99 respectively. Peacock is raising prices to capitalize on the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which will air extensively on the platform. This marks Peacock's second price increase in the last year as media companies look to make their streaming ventures more profitable through a combination of ads and higher subscription fees.

CURATEDLA EARLY SUMMER 24 PLAYLIST

SPORTS

• 💰️ BRONNY JAMES: The Lakers are reportedly very open to the idea of drafting Bronny James, LeBron James' son, in the 2024 NBA Draft in order to keep LeBron with the team. LeBron has expressed a desire to play alongside his son before retiring, and the Lakers are willing to explore this possibility as they try to convince LeBron to return for at least two more seasons. However, Bronny's performance during his freshman season at USC was underwhelming, averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. It remains to be seen whether the Lakers will be able to draft Bronny and if that would be enough to keep LeBron in Los Angeles beyond the 2024-25 season.

• 🏀 NBA + NBC: NBCUniversal is reportedly planning to bid $2.5 billion per year to acquire the NBA's broadcast rights, significantly outbidding the current rights holder Warner Bros. Discovery's TNT network, which has paid an average of $1.2 billion annually. This would mark the return of the NBA to NBC after a twenty-two-year absence, with the network planning to air two prime-time games per week on its flagship channel as well as stream games on Peacock. The NBA's current rights deals expire after the 2024-25 season, and the league is expected to see a substantial increase in its media rights fees, with Disney also reportedly set to pay around $2.6 billion per year to renew its deal.

• 🧢 DODGERS’ NO STRIKE OUT: The Dodgers' powerful offense, featuring stars like Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman, accomplished a rare feat on Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks: playing an entire game without striking out once, the first time the franchise has done so since 2006. The Dodgers' aggressive approach paid off, as they defeated the Diamondbacks 8-4 and have now won seven of their last eight games.

• 🪽 CLIPPERS + PLAYOFFS, GAME FIVE: The Western Conference first-round playoff series between the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers is tied 2-2 heading into Game 5 tonight in LA. The Clippers defeated the Mavericks 116-111 in the last meeting, led by James Harden's 33 points, while Kyrie Irving scored 40 for the Mavericks. The Clippers are 30-22 against Western Conference opponents and rank 7th in the conference in fast break points per game, led by Kawhi Leonard. The Mavericks are 31-21 in Western Conference play and average 5.6 more points per game (117.9) than the Clippers allow (112.3). Both teams have key players dealing with injuries, with Kawhi Leonard day-to-day for the Clippers and Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Tim Hardaway Jr. day-to-day for the Mavericks. This series has been closely contested, and Game 5 should be another exciting matchup between these two Western Conference powerhouses.

• ⚾️  ANGELS SNAP FOUR GAME LOSING STREAK: The Angels rallied from an early three-run deficit to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 on Monday night, snapping a four-game losing streak. Ehire Adrianza and Mike Trout scored on a wild pitch and throwing error in the seventh inning to give the Angels the lead. Jo Adell homered for the Angels, while Alec Bohm extended his hitting streak to 13 games and drove in three runs for the Phillies. The Angels' pitching staff held the Phillies to six hits, but also walked nine batters. Angels manager Ron Washington celebrated his 72nd birthday with the much-needed victory.

START MAY STRONG, LA!