Exploring the people, places & culture of greater LA
For many people, cemeteries are places to visit occasionally, and then only to pay respects to dead friends or family members. The owners of Hollywood Forever Cemetery make a concerted effort to give people more reasons to spend time on their grounds and expand their visitor base by hosting a variety of events not typically associated with cemeteries. This Saturday is one such happening.
Spring begins this Sunday and what better way to celebrate the change in seasons than to get outside and participate in the Descanso Gardens’ new, Japanese-themed Cherry Blossom Festival. With all the tragic news coming out of Japan on a daily basis related to the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant disaster, this event is a lovely way to focus on Japanese culture and learn about traditions that have given strength to the Japanese people for hundreds of years. Visiting a beautiful garden may also allow participants to sooth anxieties that many of us are feeling as all our thoughts are with the victims of this ongoing disaster.
Looking for a weekend activity that will get you outdoors and teach you things you never knew about a local landmark? Then this tour of the LA River is for you.
During this past Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I spent time surrounded by family and friends. We shared a delicious meal, gave thanks for all that we have in our lives, took in a couple of movies and even disconnected from our plugged in, online existence for a while.
Tragically, many in our community were not able to enjoy the holiday in that manner. Perhaps they are out of work, in poor health, suffering from malnutrition and/or homeless. Whatever the case may be, there is tremendous suffering in our midst.
While there are many ways to help those in our community who are in need, one activity that you can participate in with your entire family takes place this coming weekend. It’s called the L.A. Scavenger Hunt and the goal of this event is to raise $100,000 in material goods for the Union Rescue Mission, the L.A. Food Bank and the L.A. Burrito Project.
Seth Kugel, The New York Times’ Frugal Traveler, recently set out to spend one week in Los Angeles on $100 per day. To meet this objective, he had to forgo renting a car and instead got around by bike and public transportation. He also saved money by staying in an inexpensive Santa Monica hostel.
If you love gardens as I do, then the Mildred Mathias Botanical Garden (“the garden”) is a special one to visit. Tucked away in the southeast corner of the UCLA campus, it is seven acres of frost-free terrain that supports approximately 5000 species of plants from all over the world.
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