What to do in SoCal Arts and Culture This Week (August 24 - 30)
This week’s events focus on music and history. Learn about the history of Indian spices and how they’ve made their way into dishes like tikka masala. Reflect on the life and death of Emmett Till through a livestreamed reading. Appreciate L.A.’s jazz past and future by attending the Leimert Park jazz festival. Or listen to tunes at concerts by veteran rockers Los Lobos and relative newcomer Gavin Turek.
Thursday, Aug. 27 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Cooking with ArtBites: Pigment and Spice
Maite Gomez-Rejón, founder of ArtBites, explores the intersection of art, food and culinary history through lectures and cooking workshops. In “Pigment and Spice,” learn about the complex history of spices and their uses in ancient India to today. The session’s menu items are chicken tikka masala and a mango granita. The confirmation email will include a list of ingredients and equipment needed. The Zoom link will be emailed three hours before the class starts. Tickets: $25.
Friday, Aug. 28 at 4 p.m. PDT
The Ballad of Emmett Till
The original director and cast of the Fountain Theatre’s award-winning 2010 production of “The Ballad of Emmett Till" reunite for a livestreamed reading of the play on Friday, Aug. 28. Written by Ifa Bayeza, the play recounts the death of Emmett Till, who was visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi in 1955, when he was accused of whistling at Carolyn Bryant, a white woman who was a cashier at a grocery store. Bryant's husband Roy and his half-brother kidnapped Till, beat him and shot him in the head. The men were tried for murder, but an all-white, male jury acquitted them. Till’s death spurred the Civil Rights movement, and Bryant recanted her story in 2017. The reading takes place at the Fountain Theatre’s website on the 65th anniversary of Till’s murder. Tickets are $20.
Saturday, Aug. 29 at 12 p.m. PDT
Leimert Park Jazz Festival: The Virtual Experience
The annual celebration of jazz, community, heritage and history moves online for its third year, streaming live on Facebook. Performers include Michael O’Neill & Friends, Munyungo Jackson’s Jungle Jazz Quartet, Sy Smith featuring the Myron McKinley Trio, Dwight Trible and Mfuo. Since food is always part of the music festival, organizers have partnered with local restaurants to offer a 20% discount on takeout orders placed on the day of the festival. Pick up food to enjoy while watching. Free.
Saturday, Aug. 29 at 5 p.m.
So Cal Drive In Concert Series with Los Lobos
Citadel Outlet Mall
6001 Telegraph Road, Commerce
If you’re missing live music, then head to the Citadel outlets for a live, drive-in concert experience with headliners and SoCal legends Los Lobos. They’ll also be joined by supporting acts Miriah Avila and Los Mysteriosos. Each vehicle can bring up to six people with the purchase of one ticket and is assigned a 12’X18’ designated space with a 2’ restroom walking path on each side of every vehicle. Bring your own chairs and enjoy your socially distanced personal space outside of your vehicle. Professional servers will be able to deliver food, beverages and merchandise to vehicles. Tickets start at $99 per vehicle.
Saturday, Aug. 29 from 8 p.m. PDT
Skirball Stages: Gavin Turek and Ak Dan Gwang Chil
The Skirball hosts its first online concert during the COVID-19 pandemic, celebrating music from home and around the world. Audiences are welcome to check out the YouTube livestream of L.A.’s own Gavin Turek and Ak Dan Gwang Chil (ADG7) of Seoul, South Korea. Turek gives an intimate performance from the Skirball’s Taper Courtyard while ADG7 performs a set from Korea that was specially filmed for Skirball Stages. If you can’t make it on Saturday night, the concert will be available to view through Nov. 29, 2020. Guests who RSVP will receive a reminder email and link to the concert as well as artist liner/program notes. Free.
Top Image: Gavin Turek will headline a Skirball Stages virtual concert on Aug. 29. | Larry Sandez
