The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) will offer 24-hour service on its entire rail lines on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31. Metro Red, Purple, Blue, Green and Gold Line trains will run every 20 minutes from 9 p.m. on Dec. 31 to 5 a.m. the next morning. To facilitate transit to the 2010 Pasadena Tournament of Roses 121st Rose Parade, Metro also will provide additional train service with greater frequencies on the East Los Angeles to Pasadena Metro Gold Line, which has four stations (Del Mar, Memorial Park, Lake and Allen) within walking distance of the parade. Also, Metro has announced that all its bus and rail lines will be free of charge between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Parking is available at Union Station.
For special Kwanzaa events in the L.A. area, check out our Kwanzaa Calendar (click on more info link below).
Skate the Day Away: You're welcome to do just that at Pershing Square at 5th and Hill Streets, home of Downtown on Ice. It's an annual celebration built around the outdoor skating rink, and visitors are welcome to twirl around to their heart's content. They'll also be able to hear concerts from various bands and performers on many weekday nights and weekend afternoons. There will be "Mommie and Me Stroller Skate" sessions — mothers skate and push babies across the ice in their strollers — from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the first three Tuesdays in December and again on January 12. A free Winter Holiday Festival will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on December 12 and 13, complete with snow for sledding, children's crafts, community youth performances, a miniature train village, a puppet show, and much more. Most of the entertainment is provided free of charge, and visitors can skate for $6 (with skates for rent at $2). It's all brought to you by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks and a host of sponsors. Call (213) 847-4970 or visit laparks.org on the Internet for more information on Pershing Square's holiday lineup.
Ice Skating at Pershing Square & Various Other Activities
Monday - Thursday: 12 noon to 10 p.m.
Friday - Sunday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Open at 10 a.m. on all days from December 18-January 10, including holidays.
$6 for skating/$2 for skate rental. Discounted parking with validation.
Afro-Caribbean Dance Classes with dance ethnologist Kimberly Miguel Mullen are held on Wednesdays, 7 to 8:30 p.m., at Crenshaw Yoga and Dance, 5426 S. Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles. There is live drumming, and the class is for all levels.
KRST Unity Center of Spirituality will sponsor African-centered activities and programs including empowerment sessions, black gnostic studies, and more, Sundays at 10:30 a.m. The center is at 7825 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles.
Beginning Nov. 27, the "Light and Hope" stained glass window display at the Forest Lawn Museum in Glendale will mark the start of the holiday season. The "Light and Hope" display will depict the seven most significant events in the birth and the early life of Jesus Christ, including the Betrothal of Mary and Joseph, the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth, No Room at the Inn and more. These windows were created by the Franz Mayer & Co. of Munich, Germany, and date back to 1913. Forest Lawn-Glendale is at 1712 S. Glendale Ave. Admission is free.
The 16th annual African American Film Marketplace and S.E. Manly Short Film Showcase will take place Dec. 18 to 20 at Nate Holden Performing Art Center, 4718 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles. There will be short films and documentaries — 50 total — from a variety of places around the United States. The admission fee for each day is a $5 donation.
Memorial service in Honor of Avery Clayton will be held Dec. 19 at 10am. The service will be held at Agape International Spiritual Center, 5700 Buckingham Parkway, Culver City, CA 90230.
Instead of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Mayme Clayton Library & Museum, 4130 Overland Ave., Culver City, CA 90230.
Avery Clayton, artist, educator, historian, and entrepreneur, who carried on continued development of his mother's vision of finding a permanent home for her collection by opening the Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum in Culver City, has died. He was 62 years old. He leaves behind two brothers, Renai and Lloyd Clayton; two nephews, Renai Vonzelle Clayton Jr., and Andy Leevan Clayton; four grand nephews and nieces- William, Leyland, Brandon, and Lauran Isabella. Artist and former guidance counselor with Pasadena school district, Clayton died suddenly on November 26 at a Thanksgiving celebration at his home in Culver City. The Library founded in Los Angeles by Mayme A. Clayton (1923-2006), the Mayme A. Clayton collection contains the largest independently held collection of rare and out-of-print books, documents, films, music, photographs, and memorabilia on the history and culture of Americans of African decent. It includes more than 30,00 volumes, with the earliest book published in 1773 and is rich in children's literature and materials relating to the pre-Civil War period, sports, blacks in the American West and black Hollywood. The film archive traces African American contributions to the motion picture industry from 1916 to the present and includes films and more posters. The sheet music and record library as well as the photograph and memorabilia collections span the mid 19th century to the present. Efforts are currently underway to catalog the collection and make them publicly accessible with a new library and museum to house them.
Bus Riders Union (BRU) monthly meeting. Complimentary breakfast served at 9:30 a.m. Free.
Screening of "It's a Wonderful Life." Refreshments provided. Free.
One Warm Coat, a project of NewSong LA's Children's Ministry, is collecting clean, reusable coats and jackets for distribution to needy individuals. Coats can be dropped off Dec. 20, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Animo Leadership Charter High School, 1155 W. Arbor Vitae St., Inglewood. Coats of all styles and sizes are welcomed and children's sizes are most needed. The coats will be distributed free of charge directly to local children and adults.
Earlez Grille, which specializes in vegetarian cuisine, will have a gift drive Dec. 20, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 3630 S. Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles. People who bring a toy or gift worth $10 or more will get a free hot dog and drink while they last. There will also be musical performances for those in attendance.
St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church, 12923 S. Avalon Blvd., Los Angles, will celebrate the season with jazz, gospel and R&B. The event will feature The Temptation's Revue, Mark Allen Woods of the R&B group Lakeside, co-hosts Edna Tatum and actor Art Evans and more. It will take place Dec. 20 at 2:30 p.m. Admission is $20.
Spoken Funk, which features comedy and poetry, will take place Dec. 20, 8:30 p.m., at M'Bar in Hollywood, 1253 N. Vine St., Hollywood. It will be broadcast live at spokenfunk.tv. Tickets information: spokenfunk.com, myspace.com/spokenfunk.
A Center of Holiday Spirit: An estimated 3,000 families will get something special during the Annual Christmas Toy and Gift Distribution presented by El Centro Del Pueblo, a non-profit social service provider. The event is especially geared toward families with children between the ages of 2 and 16 who wouldn't see much in the way of Christmas presents without any assistance. Staff members of El Centro Del Pueblo have worked with various sponsors and donors to gather the gifts and arrange the event. The distribution is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on December 22 at El Centro Del Pueblo's facility at 1157 S. Lemoyne Street, just south of Sunset Boulevard in the Echo Park district northwest of Downtown.
Weekly meeting by non-profit organization dedicated to helping people improve their public-speaking skills.
Los Angeles Community Action Network (LACAN) Legal Clinic for Residents. Free.
Learn public speaking skills (English). Free parking at 3rd Street entrance. Free.
The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, the Mount Rubidoux Seventh Day Adventist Church Choir, and others will perform as part of Los Angeles County's 50th Annual Holiday Celebration Dec. 24, 3 to 9 p.m., at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. TaikoProject, Antics Performance and others will perform, and swing dancing and caroling will also take place. Admission to this event and parking are free. However, there will be a live broadcast on television on KCET and online at www.kcet.org, and on the radio on KPFK at 90.7 FM.
Merry Christmas!
The Claude Pepper Senior Citizen Center will hold its seventh annual New Year's Eve Day Monte Carlo Celebration Dec. 31, noon to 5 p.m. This event costs $15 and there will be food, beverages, live entertainment, prizes, a chance to try a variety of casino-type games using $150 in play chips, and party favors. There will also be a Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament for which the buy-in is $45 per player. The center is at 1762 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles.
Happy New Year!
Community Police Advisory Board (CPAB). Free.
Free classes on writing business plans and entrepreneurial training will be available Jan. 9 to Mar. 27, 2010, through the Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corp. Classes start the first Saturday of each month and are scheduled to run from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Classes will be held at the Business Enterprise Center, 6109 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles.
"Access to Capital and Creating Jobs"
Keynote speakers: Alberto G Alvarado, District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration and Jennifer Grutzius, Chief of Staff of the Governor's California Recovery Task Force.
Moderator: Larry Zarian, California Transportation Commissioner, TV Forum Host, former Mayor of the City of Glendale and former member of the MTA Board.
Panelists: Paul Audley, President, FilmLA; Chris Burner, Chief Project Officer, Metro Gold Line Foothill Construction Authority; Josephine Marquez, Executive Director, Los Angeles County Workforce Investment Board; and Cathy Martin, Workforce Project Director, California Hospistal Association.
Admission: $25 — Advance purchase for guaranteed seating (space is limited). Registration and continental breakfast: 7:15 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Forum: 8:00 - 10.00 a.m. Please make checks payable to: Business Life, Tax ID #95-4285354.
Sponsored by Business Life and Woodbury University.
