FREE Events in the Valley

Nothing is more fashionable now then “free”.  Especially with the recent recession keeping us cash-strapped, all we want is to spend less – free news on the Web, free apps for our iPhones and free shipping and handling even if it means we buy an extra book we didn’t really need. (For more on this phenomenon, read the book “Free” by Chris Anderson).

Anyway, here I present to you (free of charge!) a list of fun FREE things to do in the Valley this summer:

Los Angeles Public Libraries: all over the Valley, addresses here.

I’ve been reading articles from all over the country stating that due to the recession, more people are going to libraries than ever before.  One trip to the Platt Library confirmed it for me.  In the middle of the afternoon, the parking lot was full and to find a spot, I had to venture out to the overflow parking behind KFC.  Besides having AC, which by itself is a big bonus, unlike going to read at Barnes and Nobles, you don’t need to shell out that extra cash to buy a drink at Starbucks that you don’t really want. Besides have all the FREE books you want (albeit temporarily), the library also has books on CD for your long commutes, internet access, and you can also rent FREE movies.  I was impressed to find recent titles such as Slumdog Millionaire at the library, and it made me wonder why anyone would go spend money renting movies.

For kids, each branch has its own FREE Summer Reading Club (it started June 21 and runs until August 6), where they have reading logs, and prizes for reading.  At Platt, they have FREE events such as the Musical Coopers on July 16, 4 pm (“a musical sea-faring adventure” according to the library) and on Augus 6, 4 pm, Geebo the Clown will be visiting the branch.  I really don’t know many people who are not afraid of clowns, but if your child isn’t, bring them there!

Family Film Festival: Edwards Cinema at the Calabasas Commons

At the movie theater at the Commons, there will be free family movies on Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 am.  For example, this week they will be showing Madagascar 2 and Everybody’s Hero.  To find out the movies shown on future weeks, consult the Commons Website.

Sun sets – Calabasas Summer Series: Calabasas

The City of Calabasas is putting on a number of different concerts and events on Sundays, some of which will be in the new-ish Calabasas Civic Center Plaza, which is behind the Commons.  The list of performances are here, but per usual, I’ll help you out a bit.

July 26, 2009, 6 pm –  WBG tribute to Johnny Cash at the Civic Center Plaza, where you can bring your dinner and listen to this band recreate the unique voice of Johnny Cash.  Or for the younger generation you’ll know Cash as the “guy played by Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line”

August 2, 2009, 6 pm – Salsa Night with Figueroa de la Cominacion by the Calabasas Lake (next to the Calabasas Swim and Tennis Center).  Bring your dancing shoes for some salsa dancing, or just come to swing your hips and pretend that you’re salsa dancing.  It’s all good.

August 16, 2009, 6 pm – Dan Crow Family Concert at the Civic Center Plaza.  This guy looks friendly enough in his picture.

Dan Crow, courtesy of http://www.cityofcalabasas.com

Restore the lands of the Santa Monica Mountains

If you are interested in helping make the world a better place or just wanting to find a fun way to get community service, you can help with restoration at Malibu Creek State Park, Cold Creek Preserve, Solstice Canyon or Topanga State Park.  On the weekends at 8:45 you can go to plant, water and weed the area for community service credit.  However, you need to first reserve at spot through volunteer@treepeople.org.  Full schedule here.  They also have family events such as:

August 8, 2009, 9:30 am – Part of the Youth Naturalist Program, children ages 8-12 will learn about reptiles and amphibians and take a hike to find some in the wild.

September 12, 2009, 9:30 am – This time children ages 8-12 can learn about mammals.

Theatricum Botanicum Herta’s Roundtable Discussion: Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, Topanga

Come chill with a Theatricum artist to talk about the plays in the upcoming season and read excerpts of hte plays.  The next (and last) roundtable will be on August 9, 2 pm and will be covering The Miser.  Totally FREE, this will be a way to really know the background of these play before you watch them.  For directions and more go here.

Concerts at Warner Center

I mentioned this one earlier, here is the schedule again for upcoming concerts!

THE GRAND FINALE OF FREE STUFF – Metro Art Tour

This one isn’t exactly in the Valley, but I thought it was so very cool.  There are FREE tours of the transportation art project around the Los Angeles County.  “From bus stops to rail stations, streetscapes to bus interiors, construction fences to poetry, art creates a sense of place and engages transit riders,” said a Metro brochure.  Tours are offered the first Saturday and Sunday of every month, both at 10 am at the Hollywood/Highland Metro Rail Station on Sat and at the Union Station on Sunday.  How cool. I want to go.  The site for the Metro is metro.net, but somehow I couldn’t find the info on the site.

courtesy of http://www.metro.net

OK! I hope you find something to do for FREE! And save up your money for something else like…red velvet cupcakes? I don’t know, something worthwhile 🙂

Hello, cupcake!

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I’ve started teaching summer English classes (to pay for all the meals I’ve been buying).  I know, I know, that’s no excuse, but to make up for the lack of posts, I present to you a very delicious post.

Ever since Sprinkles cupcakes became the new big thing in LA, these bite-size desserts have been all the craze.  The cupcake phenomenon is similar to the fro-yo trend I posted about last month… after Sprinkles, it seems like cupcake shops are becoming a more and more frequent sight.  And here in the Valley, we have our own old-fashion bakery: SusieCakes in Calabasas.

Located across the Commons in the Courtyard at the Commons, SusieCakes (one word) calls itself “An All-American Bake Shop.” Take a step inside, and you’ll be greeted by the warm smells of freshly-baked cakes and pies.  The small bakery holds a few tables and a window into the kitchen, however it’s hard to take notice anything but the rows of decadent cupcakes, pies, and layer cakes tempting you from under the glass display case.

SusieCakes first opened in the summer of 2006 in Brentwood and the Calabasas shop opened at the end of 2007.  It is reminiscent of a 50’s-era bakery with desserts baked fresh everyday created in the old-fashion way – everything baked on site in small batches from scratch and no artificial preservatives, said general manager Becca Coffman.

I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside the bakery, so this was taken back at home, and yes, the Red Velvet pictured is half-eaten, I couldn't wait.

Their most famous cupcake is their award-winning Red Velvet cupcake, pictured above.  After buying the cupcake, I was planning on saving it to share with my parents, but on the whole car ride home, I couldn’t help but scrape off the AMAZING cream cheese frosting.  Maybe I lack discipline, but more likely, the frosting is just simply irresistible.  I’ve talked to friends who tell me their Red Velvet is better than the one at Sprinkles (I’ll be honest, I’ve never been) and I don’t doubt them.  Although at first $3 seemed a lot to pay for such a small cake,  the quality definitely made up for the quantity.  This was an amazing experience.

A half-melted Strawberry-filled cupcake

The summer special is a cupcake with strawberries baked into the cupcake and topped with its smooth frosting.  It’s funny because since I was in kindergarten, I’ve always hated frosting – it just seemed to always get in the way of the good stuff.  But with SusieCakes, the frosting IS the good stuff.  The above picture really doesn’t give the cupcakes justice because it was taken on a hot hot day, so the frosting was melting in my hand.  For real mouth-watering pictures, check out SusieCakes’s site.

Cupcakes cost $3 each while 6″ layer cakes come in at $33 and 9″ at $46.  They also make custom layer cakes that can be designed to your liking (think Ace of Cakes..)

Location: 23653 Calabasas Rd. Calabasas, CA

4th of July Fireworks!

Tomorrow, we will celebrate the 233rd aniversary of the nation’s independance with our family members and friends.  We will gather around our grills out in the sun eating barbeque, corn-on-the-cob, apple pies and celebrate all things American.  But seriously, what would July 4th be without fireworks? Yeah they might be illegal to light your own, but thankfully, there will be places around the Valley where you can enjoy these firework displays with the ones you love.  And maybe, if you live close enough, you won’t even have to leave your backyard.

For a full list of all the fireworks showings in the LA County, check out this site.

Calabasas High School: 22855 W. Mulholland Hwy, Calabasas, CA

Fireworks will go off at 9:00 p.m., tickets can be purchased for $10 but must be purchased before tomorrow. There will be rides and games and even a dance party afterwards by Jack Mack & the Heart Attack! For more info check out this.

Malibu: 80 Malibu Colony Road AND 30100 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA

Fireworks at both locations will go off at 9:00 p.m. from barges off the coast.

Porter Ranch: 19700 Rinaldi St., Porther Ranch, CA

Fireworks at Shepherd of the Hills Church will go off at 9:00 p.m.

Hansen Dam: 11770 Foothill Blvd. Lake View Terrace, CA

An all-day event with rides, prizes, games, concerts, etc and fireworks going off at 9:00 p.m. For more info check it out here (turn your speakers down before clicking, learn from my experiences…).

Woodland Hills: 21820 Califa Street, Woodland Hills

This was mentioned earlier about concerts at Warner Park, and this one will include big band music along with fireworks at 9:00 p.m.  Man, I’m guessing 9 p.m. is the ONLY time for fireworks.

Studio City: 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City

“Summer of Love” put on by CBS 2/KCAL 9 and  Studio City Chamber of Commerce.  They’ll be magicians, music, barbeque and of course fireworks at 9:00 p.m.  Tickets are $20 at the door, $8 for kids under 12.

Ok everybody, have a safe and fun fourth of July weekend!!!

Calabasas Farmer’s Market

Drive down Calabasas Road on any given Saturday morning, and it’s sure to be packed with cars and people.  That’s because from 8 am-1 pm in Old Town Calabasas, families from all over come out to the Calabasas Farmer’s Market.

Located near the intersection of Calabasas Road and El Canon (across from Sagebrush Cantina), the Market is filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers, dried fruit, freshly-squeezed juice, bakery goods, fish and clothing.  You’ll find people taste-testing blood oranges, children drinking strawberry lemonade in the shade, and old women squeezing avocados to find to freshest ingredients for their kitchen.

As I made my way over there yesterday morning, the bright sunny weather seemed to attract more people than usual.  There was ample parking in parking lots along Calabasas road, although parking near the market costs around $2.  As I ambled my way through the rows of stalls listening to a man sing covers of Michael Buble, I found a variety of fresh produce from farms all over Southern California for a decent price.

Just so you get a better idea of what the place is like, I made a video about my visit to the farmer’s market below.  I interviewed the owners of a fruit stand and of a fish stand to get a glimpse of what it is they do. Enjoy!! 🙂