Bob Baker Day. Photo by Mike Guerena.
Black Friday has a reputation for being one big, grabby, greedfest. Nowadays with early Black Friday prices and Cyber Monday, you don’t have to fight the crowds unless you get off on the madness. For those of you looking for another way to spend the bonus holiday, we have compiled a list of fun and offbeat activities for both the innocent and the naughty.
Both Golden Roads locations–in Anaheim and Los Angeles–will be hosting fun runs starting at 9 AM. It’s too late to register, but you can cheer on the runners while enjoying Get up Offa That Brown or the brewery’s new fruit cart-inspired wheat ales. It is a benefit for dog charities and the day is also dog-friendly.
Celebrate the 56th birthday of the Bob Baker Marionette Theater and grand opening of their new location in Highland Park. Its cult following has made the Bob Baker Marionette Theater and LA staple, and I’m not sure you’re a true Angeleno until you seen one of these fun, campy shows. After the ribbon cutting at 10 AM, there will a day full of free puppet shows, tours of historical exhibits and their new ice cream parlour backstage until 5 pm.
At 7 PM there will be a special performance of “Rise of the Harlequins!” Their first formal show will see the Harlequin Clowns rise for the very first time in the new location! Tickets are being sold at the “commemorative price” of $56.
You have probably never had brunch in Hawthore, much less the Hawthorne Airport. Eureka! is celebrating the holiday weekend with craft beers, small batch whiskeys, and craft cocktails selections, as well as brunch offerings from 11 AM until 2 PM that include $5 Bloody Marys and Mimosas. Try a typical LA breakfast like their breakfast burrito, Chilaquiles or Bread Pudding French Toast, or order a hearty lunch of Fried Chicken and Sweet Cornbread. Afterwards, check out the Dairy Queen on Hawthorne Boulevard, early hangout of the Beach Boys. there is also a Eureka! at The Village, Topanga, but Shopping Center + Black Friday = NOPE.
Hakata Ikkousha in Downtown Los Angeles will be offering their Yatai-style ramen for only six dollars at both lunch and dinner. Yatai is a classic style of ramen often sold on the streets at night in Hakata. Made with their award-wining tonkotsu (Pork bone) broth.
Or have some wholesome family fun. Your choice. The Roadium Open Air Market in Torrance will be showing Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory from 5:45 PM – 9:45 P.M. (Movie screens at 7 PM). And it’s the cool Gene Wilder Willy Wonka. Priced per carload at $20. No hiding in the trunk like we used to have to do! There will be food trucks and other vendors for snackables.
Check out Some Cool Punk with a Dead Clown!
Friday night our own Tequila Mockingbird and Carl, proprietor of CIA (California Institute for Abnormalarts) will be presenting a cool lineup with punk rock luminaries Fur Dixon from the Cramps, Tommy Chiffon Three, Atomik Kangaroo and Rocket To Uranus, plus films from Rad TV, Tequila TV, and Video Louis! The trippy NoHo club alone is worth a visit. It’s like an Asian bar, a circus sideshow and movie set all in one, reputed to be decorated with three real dead bodies, including a dead clown.
Get Dark at the Hi Hat’s Black Metal Friday!
DJ sets by Lives Torn Apart will turn the Hi Hat on York into a Black Metal bash. The bar only sells beer and wine, and there is a kitchen. The free party starts at 8 PM. Warning: street parking can be a bitch.
Starting at 8 PM with a preliminary sexy dance class ($10) and doors at 9 PM, the Sanctuary will be hosting “ChamPAIN Room,” a public BDSM play party and performance where you can purchase fake money to “make it rain” and performers donate the proceeds to charity. The fun part? Anyone can perform! Including you! The theme is 1950s, so think traditional 1950s gender roleplay, gangsters and swing dancing! There will be a cash bar and light refreshments. The entrance fee is $25 per person. Check out the link above for info on memberships and signing up to perform.
