Free

LéaLA, the premier Spanish Book Fair & Literary Festival, returns from September 19-22, 2024, at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes located at 501 N. Main Street in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Organized by the University of Guadalajara Foundation USA, this year’s event, themed Building Peace Together, celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month by honoring the rich traditions, language, and culture of the Latino community through literature, art, and intellectual dialogue.

As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, LéaLA will highlight the profound influence of Latino heritage on global literature and culture. The event will feature a wide range of activities for all ages, including author discussions, poetry readings, film screenings, and children’s workshops. Highlights include the opening event, El Mariachi, where Juan Villoro will read his story of the same name, and a special screening celebrating the 20th anniversary of A Day Without a Mexican, with filmmakers Yareli Arizmendi and Sergio Arau in attendance. Guests will also enjoy comedy, gastronomy, and thought-provoking discussions on literature and contemporary issues.

“We invite you to join LéaLA in celebrating our Latin roots, which form a bond stronger than nationalities and unite us under a shared identity: the Spanish language,” said Marisol Schulz Manaut, Executive Director of LéaLA. “This year, as we observe Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re proud to showcase the cultural wealth and literary talent of the Spanish-speaking world.” Notable participants include Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Cristina Rivera Garza, cartoonists Jis & Trino, and writers Rosa Beltrán, Évolet Aceves, Benito Taibo, and Élmer Mendoza. This year, LéaLA will host over 40
publishers offering a wide selection of Spanish-language titles, further enriching the festival’s offerings.

Join us in this vibrant celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month through Spanish literature and culture! All activities are FREE and open to the public.

La Feria del Libro en Español y Festival Literario de Los Ángeles

La Feria del Libro en Español y Festival Literario LéaLA 2024 regresa este verano en uno de los lugares más emblemáticos de Los Ángeles, LA Plaza de la Cultura y las Artes. Durante cuatro días tendremos a las voces más importantes de nuestro idioma en diálogos abiertos a todo público.

Con el objetivo de continuar y fortalecer sus programas de difusión de la cultura y las artes para la comunidad de origen latino en la ciudad de Los Ángeles, California, la Fundación Universidad de Guadalajara USA realizará durante cuatro días en septiembre un festival literario a manera de foro abierto a las ideas y la reflexión.

LéaLA 2024 tiene como propósito la promoción de la lectura y el libro en español, así como el reconocimiento a la cultura y costumbres de la comunidad latina en Estados Unidos de Norteamérica, una población que cada vez adquiere más importancia a nivel cultural, político y económico.

Asimismo, habrá sesiones de lectura de poesía, sesiones de discusión académica y talleres infantiles a cargo del programa Letras para volar de la Universidad de Guadalajara.

LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, en el corazón histórico de Los Ángeles, será la sede de todas las actividades que se realizarán del 19 al 22 de septiembre, con acceso gratuito.

Los libros de los autores participantes y una selección de títulos de interés en español para todas las edades estarán a disposición del público gracias a la participación de la Librería Carlos Fuentes de la Universidad de Guadalajara.

LéaLA 2024 es organizado por la Fundación Universidad de Guadalajara USA, con el apoyo del Legado Grodman y la colaboración del Consulado General de México en Los Ángeles, la Asociación de Egresados de la Universidad de Guadalajara en Los Ángeles, así como varias instituciones públicas y privadas de ambos lados de la frontera.

The Atwater Village Farmers Market features over two dozen of Southern California’s best local farms, showcasing their diverse range of organic herbs and lettuces. Additionally, there are various local food vendors offering a wide selection of specialty food items like salsa, hummus, tamales, and more. The market is a family-friendly event, with live entertainment provided by local musicians.

Approximately 25 certified California farms, live entertainment, activities, and Main Street based retail vendors present a vibrant atmosphere where locals and visitors alike shop and spend the morning with friends and family.  

This market was established in 1995 and is a collaboration with the Main Street Business Improvement Association, Ocean Park resident group, the Victorian and the Heritage Museum.  Approximately 40 certified California farms, live entertainment, activities, and Main Street based retail vendors present a vibrant atmosphere where locals and visitors shop and spent the morning with friends and family.

The Main Street market is open Sundays from 8:30am to 1:30pm, rain or shine, and may be closed for selected holidays.

All four markets accept Cal Fresh EBT and WIC-Farmers Market Nutrition Program checks.

The Sunday Main Street and Saturday Pico markets also provide a Market Match program for Cal Fresh EBT customers.  Market Match is California’s healthy food incentive program that matches customers’ CalFresh nutrition assistance benefits at farmers markets.  The Main Street Market (in partnership with ARP) matches up to $20 and the Pico Market Match Program (in partnership with Hunger Action Los Angeles) matches up to $15 for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Pack your picnic basket, shake out your blanket and grab your friends & family by the hand. LA’s Shakespeare in the Park returns for an entire summer of FREE theater under the stars!

Fall in love with this summer’s  As You Like It, a screwball romantic comedy with songs inspired by 1930’s crooner, Al Bowlly.

Performance Schedule: 

Wednesdays through Sundays at 7:00 p.m. at Griffith Park’s Old Zoo

Immersive Prologue at 6:00 p.m.

Performance season: Wednesdays through Sundays from July 10 – September 1, 2024!

Are you a small business owner or a street vendor? Do you want to know more about business permits in California? View an online workshop with representatives from the US Small Business Administration (SBA)and the Koreatown Youth Community Center (KYCC). The video is in Spanish.

The Crazy Superhero Vacation is a production by Ms. Neate’s class at Vena Avenue Elementary. Animation and editing are by Pieter Hardeman of Toy Story Lab. Southland Sings is a creative organization using the arts to unlock creative potential through live opera, musical theatre production, education assemblies, and music composition for all ages.

Start the Halloween celebration with the LankerSCREAM Festival of Fright: a weekend of theatrical performances, cinema, dance on film, and classic animation honoring creative artists working in the horror genre.

The LankerSCREAM Festival of Fright spotlights filmmakers such as horror movie producer William Castle, and Max Fleischer, animator and creator of Betty Boop.

The festival will also showcase some of Los Angeles’s most creative emerging artists and film scholars who will offer insight and differing perspectives on the films. The LankerSCREAM Festival of Fright screamings begins Wednesday, October 9 through Saturday, October 12, 2024 at DCA’s Lankershim Arts Center (LNK) in North Hollywood.

All festival events are free and open to the public, but due to limited space, reservations are highly recommended.

Produced by DCA’s Performing Arts Division and NoHo Micro Cinema.

LankerScream Festival of Fright Schedule:

SAINTS OF POE

Wednesday, October 9, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.

Presented by DCA and the Interact Theatre Company

This play reading delves into the dark, inner world of Edgar Allan Poe, where horror is a distinctly human experience—a relentless force within ordinary people that compels them toward hubris, revenge, rage, and despair. Interact Theatre Company brings Poe’s chilling tales to life through three masterful pieces that blur the line between victim and villain, leaving us haunted and introspective, as we catch a glimpse of ourselves in the shadows. Click here to reserve your tickets!

CASTLEMANIA! THE WILLIAM CASTLE RETRPSPECTIVE: THE TIGER

Thursday, October 10, 2024, at 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 8:30 p.m.)

Presented by DCA and NoHo Micro Cinema Directed by William Castle, written by Robb White, performances by Vincent Price and Judith Evelyn, Columbia Pictures,1959, 83 min.

Followed by a conversation with horror critic, filmmaker, and co-host of the Midnight Mass podcast, Michael Varrati, in a post-film discussion, moderated by festival co-producer Jorge Aparicio from NoHo Micro Cinema.

Horror icon Vincent Price stars as an obsessed pathologist who discovers a parasitic creature called a “tingler”, which grows on the spinal cords of people and feeds on fear, and who must find a way to prevent it from causing deadly havoc when it escapes… and it will escape! It’s meta-horror meets melodrama with deliciously droll performances by Price and Evelyn. Considered by film scholars to be Castle’s magnum opus, the film was presented in “Percepto,” a promotion that Castle sold as the “newest and most startling gimmick on the screen!” This in-theater immersive experience featured random seats that buzzed the behinds of select audience members in specially rigged theater seats, and we will be presenting as such. In the words of the film’s poster: When the screen screams you’ll scream too… if you value your life! Click here to reserve your tickets!

CASTLEMANIA! THE WILLIAM CASTLE RETROSPECTIVE: HOMICIDAL

Friday, October 11, 2024, at 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 8:30 p.m.)

Presented by DCA and NoHo Micro Cinema Directed by William Castle, written by Robb White, performances by Glenn Corbett and Joan Marshall (as “Jean Arless”), Columbia Pictures, 1961, 83 min.

Followed by a conversation with Sean Abley, author of Queer Horror, moderated by festival co-producer Jorge Aparicio from NoHo Micro Cinema.

A sleepy town is rocked by the brutal murder of a justice of the peace, which uncovers a lurid fight over a family inheritance. Castle marketed the movie with a “fright break” stunt so anyone too scared to see the shocking ending would exit the theater and follow a yellow streak on the theater floor to the Coward’s Corner photo opportunity in the lobby. We encourage patrons to take pictures at our own Coward’s Corner, but not before enjoying the entirety of this killer mix of camp, queerness, and macabre comedy — with a twist you have to see to believe. Click here to reserve your tickets!

BETTY BOOP’S HALLOWEEN PARTY

Saturday, October 12, 2024, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.

Presented by DCA and NoHo Micro Cinema

Boop-oop-a-doop your way into The Lankershim Arts Center in the morning with a Halloween themed Saturday Morning Cartoon Café celebrating some of the Fleischer Studio’s best spooky toons featuring the iconic Betty Boop and Friends. We will have two showings in our screening room upstairs and Betty Boop’s Halloween Party downstairs: Free milk and cereal for the kiddies with complimentary freshly made coffee and cappuccinos whipped by our guest barista for the grown-ups; arts and crafts; selfie spots; and music. Customs are encouraged. Click here to reserve your tickets!

DANCE IN THE CITY

Saturday, October 12, 2024, at 6:00 p.m.

Inspired by William Castle

Dance on Film Event

Presented by DCA and LADWC The Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) Performing Arts Division (PERF), in collaboration with Los Angeles Dance Worker Coalition (LADWC), presents the 2024 dance on-film commission awardees. Seven artists–Brandon Maxwell, Diamondback Annie, Ibuki Kuramochi, Jennifer Rose, Kate Coleman, Kevin Zambrano, and Precious Ellis–were commissioned to create new works as part of the 2024 Dance in the City, formerly named Dance in the Districts. Emerging artists were commissioned to create video works influenced or inspired by the 1950s and 1960s gimmick thriller films of William Castle. Click here to reserve your tickets!

CASTLEMANIA! THE WILLIAM CASTLE RETROSPECTIVE: STRAIGHT-JACKET

Saturday, October 12, 2024, at 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 8:30 p.m.)

Presented by DCA and NoHo Micro Cinema Directed by William Castle, written by Robert Bloch, performances by Joan Crawford and Diane Baker, Columbia Pictures, 1964, 93 min.

Followed by a conversation with comedy writers and co-hosts of the Mama needs a Movie podcast, Anne Rieman and Ryan Perez, moderated by festival co-producer Jorge Aparicio from NoHo Micro Cinema.

Screen legend Joan Crawford stars as Lucy Harbin, a newly released murderess who served 20 years for a grisly crime of passion. Now reunited with her daughter and her brother’s family, her life is back to normal… or is it? When a spate of ax murders mysteriously start occurring, all eyes are on Lucy. Written by the screenwriter of Psycho, this is Castle’s foray into the psycho-biddy genre, with Castle capitalizing on Joan Crawford’s newfound popularity as a horror icon. Click here to reserve your tickets!

Questions? Please refer to the LNK’s Instagram account: @dca_lnk or call: (818) 301-6120.