Venice Holiday Kick Off!

And just like that, the holidays are upon us! It's hard to tell here in Venice ... bright sunshine and warm breezes make you wonder what time of the year it is every day. Then you take your morning walk and are greeted by a gigantic reindeer in the Windward Circle, and you know that it's time to deck the halls!

This whole weekend is going to be full of the festive fun that Christmas time brings to all the girls and boys. Tonight is First Friday (blah) if you can handle it, but then tomorrow is one of my favorite Venice events of the year, the Venice Sign lighting! Festivities begin at 6:00 pm, with the sign going red and green for the holidays at 8:00 pm, and partying everywhere all after that. It's one of the cutest, most small town community vibe, Bedford Falls-y thing we do, and I just love it. I hope to see all of O.G. Venice there, with jingle bells on!

The Yuletide frolicking continues on Sunday, when snow falls on Abbot Kinney for the Holiday Stroll. The kids get to sled in The Brig parking lot, another highlight of the year, complete with Santa visits, crafts, carolers, and more of bumping into friends from the neighborhood. It too is adorable.

The holidays can be crazy and stressful and emotional and way too busy, but it really is the most wonderful time of the year (Ok, after Summer, says your 2017 Venice Neptune Queen or I'd be forced to abdicate!). Hearts are warmed and so much fun is to be had. I got a great piece of advice this morning from the French Market's Agnes Martinez, that works for this, or any time of the year ... "Peace your mind." Yes. Whenever it all gets to be too much, take a deep breath and peace that mind of yours. Reminding that once again, the most important part of the holidays is to truly wish for Peace On Earth.

PEACE!!! See you out there, Holiday Revelers! xoxo

Venice Pride - Rainbow Bright!

When The Roosterfish very sadly closed last month, it left a very large void. Not only for cool dive bars in Venice, but really for any other gay venue on the West side. That all changes tonight, when Venice Pride kicks off with a rainbow lighting of the Venice sign and a dance party in the street on Windward Avenue!

Danny's Deli owner, Daniel Samakow, long an social justice activist and champion of Venice, realized that something had to happen, or all of the gay West side would essentially be "forced on to the internet and back in the closet," without a venue designated as for the LGBTQ community. Grant Turck, another major champion of Venice, did a bunch of research about declaring The Roosterfish as a historical monument, but that didn't get very far, and he agreed with Samakow that something new had to be created.

With help from Councilman Mike Bonin and George Francisco, they began with the idea to close off Windward for a Venice Pride dance party (TONIGHT! 7-9:30!) in the street with D.J. Victor Rodriguez (a popular spinner at Akbar in Silver Lake), and a changing of the Venice sign lightbulbs to rainbow colors in honor of our diversity. "Venice has been a center for diversity - ALWAYS," Samakow explained. "Venice has always had the spirit of bringing people together, and that's what we're going to do." That's right. Oh, AND there's going to be RAINBOW GRILLED CHEESES served up in the street tonight, courtesy of Chomp Eatery. Cool. The entire night will also serve as a fundraiser for the Trevor Project, and will honor both transgender youth organizer, Shear Avory, and the late Venice Councilman (and openly gay), Bill Rosendahl.

But the fun doesn't stop there, or tonight. The new venue for the LGBTQ community (and friends! All are welcome!) will be Danny's Deli, who will be happily accepting the torch on behalf of The Roosterfish. Danny's will host tonight's official after-party (with D.J. Jason Strommer), but also will host former Roosterfish customers on Margarita Wednesdays (featuring the famous Roosterfish $4.00 Margarita!) and Surf's Up Fridays with both live music (Miss Jessica! Suzy Williams!), hot D.J.'s,  With live music, it might actually wind up being, dare I say, BETTER than the Roosterfish - and right at the beach!

Speaking of the beach, there's a gay beach in the works too, just like the old days when the gay (and nude) beach was open for fun in the 1970's. The new LGBTQ beach will kick off this Saturday and Sunday, between the Breakwater and Tower 21. Look for the rainbows out on the sand from 11 am - 8 pm/sunset. The hope is that it will catch on and once again be a destination for this community at the beach, and that the entire event "will inspire other people to come and help fill the void," said Turck, who has really spearheaded the whole thing. His enthusiasm is infectious, as he went on to say that, "Venice has always been known for acceptance, and this is a celebration of equality and inclusiveness for everyone." Amen! Awomen! Aeveryone!

So, tonight the Venice Sign will be rainbow bright (and will be all month long!) and the whole world will see what the Venice community is all about. Turck told me that he's been quoting Kinky Boots as a way of explaining what both Venice Pride, and Venice itself, are all about, and I think it's a great summation:

One: Pursue the truth
Two: Learn something new
Three: Accept yourself and you'll accept others too!
Four: Let love shine
Five: Let pride be your guide
Six: Change the world when you change your mind!
Just be. Who you wanna be.
Never let them tell you who you ought to be.
Just be. With dignity.
Celebrate your life triumphantly.
You'll see.
Its beautiful.
You'll see

Its beautiful.

Cheers to Venice Pride! It's beautiful.

The Third Annual Venice Sign Holiday Lighting - The Best.

Venice may as well have been Bedford Falls last Friday evening, when what seemed like the entire community came out to watch the Venice sign get its holiday outfit on. Windward Avenue was closed to traffic, a stage was set up and the whole area's halls were decked.

Though First Friday was going on over on Abbot Kinney with a "Holiday Stroll", it seemed like residents left that to the visitors, as seemingly everyone I knew was over on Windward - and in a great mood. The holiday spirit was contagious, and as friends and neighbors greeted each other under the almost-full moon, there was something special in the air.

Booths sold hot chocolate and cookies, and/or gave out information about various community organizations.

One smart entrepreneur had a brisk business going, selling Santa hats from his bike. There were a lot of takers, even though the night was unusually balmy.

Snowflakes were projected on to the surrounding buildings, making it all the more festive - even if it's the only kind we're going to see around these parts.

The Venice Symphony Orchestra played a nice sampling of seasonal songs (and some '80's metal!), from "Hava Nagila" to "Silent Night" and even had a choir to accompany them this year. My favorite was when the entire crowd sang along to John Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)" on the War is over, if you want it ... part. It was pretty moving. Actually all of it was, seeing everyone together for the sake of fun, not protests, in these super-charged times. Conductor Wesley Flowers voiced his vision of seeing a similar gathering for Fourth Of July, with maybe the VSO playing at the end of the Venice Pier. Everyone yelled their approval, so let's make that happen!

Councilman Mike Bonin did the usual political m.c. speech, and gave a certificate to Danny Samakow, honoring him for his creation of the holiday sign lighting and wonderful stewardship of our town, or as Bonin put it (in an unusual for a politician turn of phrase), "He likes to make shit happen." Gotta love Venice. Samakow chose not to dress as Santa this year, and said, "Go see the LAPD Santa, he's around somewhere." Comedy - and yes, the LAPD Santa was cruising around town on his "Sleigh" earlier in the evening.

Bonin next introduced this year's celebrity guest light switcher, Pink, holding her daughter, Willow. I've seen Pink around for years, and think she was a great choice. Even greater when she said that she moved here when she was 20, but wanted to run away here when she was 9. (Me too!). She chose to live and raise her daughter here because "There's room for all of us, to live and love as we want ... I love the feistiness of it, the creativity of it ... I'm just madly in love with Venice. Merry Everything!"

With that, Pink and Willow pushed the button and the Venice sign blinked on with it's Christmas red and green lights, and the crowd went wild. They really did. It's kind of great to see a whole community get jazzed just by six letters turning on, but it's more than that, isn't it? It's the feeling of loving where you live, and celebrating that with the people around you that feel the same, and want to keep our part of the world special.

Special it was, as you couldn't move two feet without bumping into yet another old friend to hug. Or new friends, as I became a true tree-hugger with my new friend, The Tree Man.

The crowd slowly dispersed (after the obligatory photos in the intersection under the sign!) for the various neighboring watering holes.

We hightailed it back over to The Townhouse, where the Repeal Day party, pig roast and lecture was already in high gear. Owners Louis and Netty Ryan hosted their biggest party of the year, celebrating the end of Prohibition in 1933.

This meant a giant pig roast (and delicious sides) courtesy of  Oscar's Cerveteca, all free of charge as a thank you to patrons. It was great.

Downstairs, the cocktail historian again gave his interesting and humorous lecture, accompanied by the drinks of the era.

Speaking of drinks, upstairs when the bell rang (and another roar from the crowd), the drinks were at 1933 prices for an hour. Bedlam ensued, trying to get to the bar, but all was good-natured and a blast as you just chatted up the people next to you as you waited.

After a night of carousing, the streets emptied, but the sign kept the holiday spirit going all night ... kind of like the Christmas tree in the living room of the whole town. Venice as Bedford Falls? There really are Christmas miracles. Thank you to all who made this wonderful event happen so beautifully again ... even if you were just there singing along. All lives matter.

Let us all remember that as we enjoy our holidays together, and try to go for that one really big miracle ... Peace on Earth.

The 2nd Annual Venice Sign Holiday Lighting!

You could have almost mistaken Venice for Bedford Falls last Friday night. As the community gathered on Windward Avenue to celebrate and behold the second annual lighting of the Venice sign for the holidays, there was such a small town, cozy vibe permeating the festivities, it did almost feel like George Bailey would come rushing through at any moment.

But then you looked around and saw Tree Man, Juan in a Santa sombrero, dreaded hippies and dogs in outfits, and you knew exactly where in the world you were.

There were booths set up above the Windward Circle for different organizations around the neighborhood, friends and families mingling, and lots of "Coffee" cups being carried around to combat the sudden chill that settled over Venice, brisk but adding to the holiday feeling. I don't think I've ever seen so many Santa hats being sported, so the people were feeling it for sure. Holograms of snowflakes were projected on the buildings, so we even kind of had snow. Faux flakes.

First Fridays was going on over on Abbot Kinney, but it looked like all the locals knew what was up and headed over to Windward instead, as I felt like I knew just about everyone I saw. That NEVER happens at First Fridays anymore, so the night felt extra special, and for US.

We enjoyed cups of egg nog courtesy of Menotti's and The Townhouse, and then it was time for the Venice Symphony Orchestra to entertain the crowd (and by now, it was a CROWD!) with holiday songs and contemporary jams alike. I love it SO much that we now have the V.S.O., and it was the first time even knowing about it for many in attendance (that must not be regular readers of this blog). Judging from the warm reception, they're here not just to stay, but to grow.

I mean, how great is a holiday concert that goes from "A Few Of My Favorite Things" to "Black Hole Sun" to a medley of "Here Comes Santa Claus/Silent Night/Light My Fire/Hava Nagila"?! Something for everyone, and they were a huge hit. Conductor/Founder, Wesley Flowers exclaimed, "I LOVE this!" to the crowd as they roared for more, and I think everyone there was in total agreement.

New Councilman, Mike Bonin, took the stage to shout out thanks to everyone involved in creating such an adorable community event - especially Danny/Santa Samakow, who is tireless when it comes to making sure Venice has fun. A female police officer (I didn't catch her name) was given a certificate of Venice thanks or something, and there were some LAPD jeers from the crowd, prompting Bonin to say, "With Venice, we have our peanut gallery right down front". Yep. She was a good sport, coming over to hug a heckler, which was pretty cool, and how we should ALL react to animosity, really. She said, "Venice is where everything happens." Good and bad, but tonight was all about good.

Bonin then introduced the celebrity light switcher for this year, Angelica Huston. She (also in a Santa hat) remarked that moving to Venice 20 years ago was the best decision she ever made. She had been "behind her walls in Beverly Hills" and now is surrounded by friends, community and diversity, and "that's what it's all about." True story (though she's still behind big walls in the giant house on Windward that took out historic arches and columns, but that's a topic for another day). She added that her late husband (sculptor Robert Graham) always said that Venice was the one place that is unpredictable in Los Angeles, "Outside the limits, where you're allowed to be who you are." Amen, Sister.

With that, it was time for the countdown and the flipping of the switch to turn our Venice sign to its holiday red and green brilliance. The lights came on and the people of Venice cheered the arrival of another beautiful holiday season. Suddenly, way up on top of the Bank Of Venice rooftop, there was an illuminated sighting of Santa Claus (Samakow) himself! Kids went nuts pointing and yelling for him - and then he was gone. He reappeared at street level soon thereafter, and all the folks in Santa hats (or Norwegian sweaters) lined up to be photographed with him.

After some tunes from The Dustbowl Revival, the crowd dispersed to take advantage of all the different options going on that night.

As everyone spread out and shouted their greetings/plans to friends and neighbors, you got that almost giddy feeling that comes with evenings like this (and egg nog). That everyone was having a good time, and all was well in Venice, on a not even close to silent night.

Gratitude to everyone who put it on, and to everyone who went. What a beautiful time. May these holidays be merry and bright for us all!