Best Activities To Do This Week In L.A. - August 15
Another week of great eats, drinks, and fun is ahead of you, Los Angeles. A new Meatless Monday tasting menu kicks off at a valley eatery Monday, and the over 21 crowd will love celebrating National Rum Day with an evening of Spiked Tropical Punch tastings Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by some festive fun at the Echo Park Rising and the FIGat7th Festivals. Saturday and Sunday are all about feeling nostalgic, with a drive-in movie and a day of Art Deco aboard the Queen Mary.
New Meatless Monday Tasting Menu
Scratch|Bar & Kitchen
16101 Ventura Blvd #255
Encino, CA 91436
(818) 646-6085
www.scratchbarla.com
Move over carnivores, Mondays are for the meatless. Scratch|Bar & Kitchen is launching a new "Meatless Monday" tasting menu, available every Monday throughout the summer. The $45, six-course meal will feature amazing vegetarian dishes highlighting the best of summer, like pickled strawberries with rutabaga and cherries, tomato studded roasted zucchini, cherry tomato and cucumber ceviche, coconut pudding, and more. A new summer tasting menu has also been added to the restaurant's evening rotation, offering either a six, twelve, or eighteen course menu. The selection of bites, starters, and main dishes will be offered every night of the week during the summer.
Celebrate National Rum Day
Various Locations
Enjoyed by sailors and spring breakers alike, rum turns any drink into the perfect summertime cocktail. Classic Tiki Bar Tiki-Ti Cocktail Lounge is always a solid choice for a vacation-inspired rum drink, or get your creative juices flowing with a Hemingway Daiquiri from Downtown L.A.'s newly opened Spring, made with Selvarey Rum, Luxardo, Maraschino, grapefruit, and lime. With locations in Silver Lake and Studio City, Hyperion Public offers up its namesake Hyperion Public Mai Tai made with both white and dark rum for the day, as well as Happy Hour special Dark & Stormy, also featuring light and dark rum, ginger beer, and lime. If you're ready to take your love of rum to the next level, Caña Rum Bar offers a membership-only experience, where 140 small-batch rums are ready to whet your whistle for $20 a year.
Spiked Tropical Punch Tasting
Downtown Culver City (intersection of Culver, Washington Blvd., & Duquesne Ave.)
www.downtownculvercity.com
Right on the heels of National Rum Day, it's another chance to celebrate adult punch as Culver City's Third Wednesday "Spiked" series returns. The event offers a true staycation for your mouth, with samples of spiked tropical punch offered at participating businesses. Sip and sway to the music of steel drum band Island Rhythms, performing live at the corner of Washington and Culver. As with previous tastings, you can pick up a "Third Wednesday Passport," get it stamped when you get your taste, and turn it in at the end of the night to be entered into a raffle for some sweet summertime prizes. Non-alcoholic samples are also available for the under-21 crowd, and designated drivers.
Echo Park Rising
Various Locations Around Echo Park
www.epr.la
Echo Park is once again celebrating being a neighborhood full of creativity, diversity, and community-supported small businesses, with Echo Park Rising. Now in its 6th year, the event features multiple stages and activities located on Sunset Blvd., Glendale Blvd., Alvarado Ave., Echo Park Ave., and beyond, throughout the weekend. Tonight kicks off the four-day festival with shows around the area that include The Frights, Egyptian Lover, The Regrettes, MIND MELD, and more. Echo Park Rising is free, but you can upgrade your experience with a VIP ticket, allowing you access into VIP viewing areas, easy bar access, skip the line privileges, and goodie grab bags. An Echo Park Rising app is also available for download to keep you on track, and a Vendor Village will be set up with food trucks and more to help you refuel during the fun.
FIGat7th Festival
FIGat7th
735 S Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90017
www.figat7th.com
Make today a Friday funday with an evening out at the FIGat7th Festival. Throughout the summer, the Friday night festival has been transforming the shopping center's outdoor plaza into an intimate concert venue. Tonight's entertainment will be provided by New York City's Mariachi Flor de Toloache, Gotham's first all-female Mariachi band. Blending various styles into their own unique sound, the band provides a fresh, edgy take on traditional Mariachi. Along with opener DJ MICK, the band will close out the festival with a show that is equal parts talent and swagger. The Loteria Grill bar and DJ set open the evening at 7:30pm, with the concert starting at 9pm. Proceeds benefit the DTLA Art Walk.
Electric Dusk Drive-In
LACCD Van de Kamp College Campus
2930 Fletcher Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90065
www.electricduskdrivein.com
You may think drive-in movies are a thing of the past, but Electric Dusk Drive-In is stirring up some nostalgia with their weekly outdoor screenings. With the downtown L.A. skyline as your backdrop, you'll get to watch this week's movie, (500) Days of Summer, from the comfort of your own car. Or, buy an Astroturf ticket for a seat on the Astroturf lawn right in front of the screen. No need to sneak candy into this movie, as you can pack your car full of snacks, or head to the Snack Shack and grab a burger, hot dog, popcorn, soda, and other movie eats. Kids under five get in free, and the location is pet friendly as well. Purchase your tickets online in advance to save some cash, as the prices go up at the door.
Related: For more of Los Angeles' best drive-in theaters, check out our list of the Best Drive-In Movie Theaters In L.A.
Art Deco Festival
Queen Mary
1126 Queens Hwy.
Long Beach, CA 90802
(877) 342-0738
www.queenmary.com
Climb aboard the Queen Mary today and enter a world embracing all things Art Deco, as the ship welcomes the return of its annual Art Deco Festival. Today is the final day of the three-day festival celebrating the artistic movement that influenced not only the design of the ship, but an entire lifestyle. Produced in collaboration with the Los Angeles Art Deco Society, the festival explores Art Deco's effect on culture, fashion, food, art, interior design, music, and more by reliving the movement. Vintage cars will be on display, along with vintage goods for sale, expert lectures, art walks, soda fountain tastings, and a prohibition mixology class. Sunday's festival goers will have the chance to enjoy a Tea Dance with traditional tea service and vintage inspired libations, as well as a special screening of the new Queen Mary documentary, "Mighty Ship at War."
