Clogtown: Urban Forage Winery & Cider House - This Cider House Rules!

While I'm in Minneapolis this summer, I want to find as many cool, unique things as I can for the people, just like I do in Venice. I love it when friends say, "Oh, you have to do a story on this!", and tell me about some new awesome thing happening in town. That happened when my friend, Michelle Larson, visited my Mom in the hospital and told me about Urban Forage Winery & Cider House on Lake Street in Minneapolis. She said that it was a wine bar that made all of their own wine and cider from the produce foraged from the city neighborhoods nearby. I had to know more, and made an appointment with Urban Forage owner, Jeff Zeitler, to go check it out.

I spent a lovely afternoon last week learning about Urban Forage, and how they make their magic. I met Zeitler at a house a block off of Minnehaha Avenue in the heart of the city that had called him to come and pick all of their sour cherries. The homeowner, Brian Nelson, told me that he was one of the original contributor's to the Urban Forage Kickstarter in its infancy, and donates all of his yard fruit to the cause.

The tree was bursting with bright red cherries, and Zeitler pulled his equipment out of his truck to go get them. A tall ladder, a hook on the end of a pole, and tarps to lay on the ground to catch the bounty are the main tool of the trade, and Zeitler had been making his rounds around the Twin Cities all day in order to harvest all of the fruit that people are now calling him to come and get. "Growers are finding ME now," Zeitler told me, happily, after years of basically knocking on doors to ask people if they were going to use their urban produce. Apples, pears, cherries, rhubarb, black currants, raspberries, blackberries, honey, dandelions, lilacs ... all of them are used to make lovely wines and ciders, or as Zeitler puts it, "I make country wines in the city." Imagine the wines and ciders that could happen in Venice! Pluot! Apricot! Passion fruit! Can someone please get on this?

Fruit's life expectancy is not long, however, and Zeitler was a day or two late to get these gorgeous cherries that had fallen victim to a little maggot that loves cherries and they were all rotten. Bummer. You have to act fast with fruit ripeness, and you could tell that both Zeitler and Nelson hated to see them all go to waste (thankfully there were gallons upon gallons already harvested in the truck).

Nelson is also growing black currants from a plant Zeitler gave several neighbors around town to propagate especially to keep up with the demand for the very popular black currant cider, so all was not lost. Nelson is now a member of the "Cider for Life" club, after donating cash to keep them going when they started in 2014, and that now looks like it will be a heck of a bargain. Everything is SO good. But let's back up ...

Zeitler is a Midwest guy, bouncing around between Wisconsin and Minnesota all of his life, and between St. Paul and Minneapolis the last 15 years (yes, you can like both!). He made wine for fun, and even nearly blew up his dorm room making cider while at college. Back then it was more like, "Hey Man, I made booze!" but now that he's been doing it for 27 years ... the man knows his brewing. He explained how he's using fruit from older trees, as the ones he has planted himself won't bear fruit for years. The city offers more shade, people water their yards, pets chase away pests, and "You don't have to worry about deer in the Longfellow neighborhood", so it's almost easier to grow fruit in the city. Which got him thinking ...

After being laid off from his job as a landscape architect, he had some time to do more thinking. The idea to get the neighborhood connected through agriculture - and wine - just came to him, and soon a business plan was drawn up, and a Kickstarter fund was up and running. He thought of it as a political campaign, only he was running to make a business happen - and it worked. People at the kickoff party loved the idea, and a video was made to raise awareness, and that's really what sold the idea to the local masses.

The Kickstarter goal was soon met, and Urban Forage found its home in a converted old jeweler's building on Lake Street (open Thurdays-Sundays). The Cidery is in the basement (where people come to the side door to pick up their bottles), and the Tap Room is upstairs in a cozy room with a polished wood bar, a recycled door ceiling, and local art on the walls. After bidding farewell to Nelson and his cherries, I met Zeitler back at the Urban Forage space.

We bellied up to the bar, where the bartender, Nick, set us up with a flight to taste the results of previous foraging. I tried the Dry Cider (super crisp and refreshing - my favorite), the Black Currant Cider (tasty, high in Vitamin C, grows like weeds in Minnesota), the Mead (basically honey wine, very sweet, "warms your core", but not my favorite), the Cherry Melomel (cherry and honey wine - summer itself!), and the Dandelion Wine (weird, but I had to try the "Rural legend" wine).

There are no additives, there is zero sugar, it's all gluten free (you can tell your friend that always asks), there is no waste, it's super local, it promotes community, and I couldn't love it more. This is a concept that could and should be copied in every city to promote gardening, zero waste, eating and drinking locally, and building your community in an extra positive way - which is why I'm doing this story about it. Positive, unique, cool things are what I'm interested in, and this certainly fits the bill. Plus, as Zeitler told me, "It's a blast ... you spend a beautiful day with your wife (Gita) and kids, picking fruit and dandelions, then make it into wine and cider ... there's nothing better."

After our tasting, Zeitler brought me downstairs to the Cidery to see how it's done. "Basically, you wash the fruit, it infuses the water, you add yeast, put it into tanks, and it turns into wine," said Zeitler, downplaying how labor intensive it really is. Someone had brought in 20 pounds of rhubarb the day before, so that was being made into rhubarb wine, and an odd-sounding pineapple/banana experiment was fermenting nearby. "I want to do weird, edgy stuff you can't find anywhere else," Zeitler explained, so be on the lookout for a blueberry melomel and an artisan, literal Rootbeer (beer made from roots) coming in the months ahead.

It's all taking off, with people ordering special wines for their weddings, and locals regularly dropping off their yard yield in exchange for bottles of wine and cider. "I'm in it for the long haul," Ziegler told me. "I want to be a 65 year old man serving my cider behind that bar upstairs." As Urban Forage is celebrating it's five year anniversary - and thriving - I'd say that's a goal that Ziegler will  easily meet.

As that bar upstairs got busier on that Friday evening, with customers coming in to buy their retail bottles for home picnics, but also staying put to kick it at the bar. I kept thinking about what a great gift any of the bottles would make for something truly super extra local - from yards mere blocks away! "We make stuff that's REAL, from the backyards of our neighbors. We are really, REALLY Minneapolis," said Zeitler with evident - and deserved - pride. And I left thinking that this was really, REALLY wonderful.

Drink REALLY local!

Urban Forage Winery & Cider House
3016 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
(612) 584-4398
www.urbanforagewinery.com

Now Serving At The French Market - Lily's Menu Is Back!

There's going to be a Blogtown double feature today, because there were two distinct Very Venice Valentine events last night that each deserve their own little story. First up, the absolutely fantastic news that The French Market Café is now open for dinner each Thursday - Saturday - and they're serving up our old favorites from Lily's (the neighborhood favorite French restaurant on Abbot Kinney that is now Neighbor, for those of you who may be new to the area)!

Agnes Martinez (owner of the French) and Francis Bey (former co-owner of Lily's) have teamed up to bring back the cuisine that has been SO missed by Lily's regulars like me, and last night when I finally got to order the onglet a l'echalote dish that was one of my all-time favorites. After a glass of Valentine champagne with Agnes, I tucked into my dinner, and it literally brought a mist to my eyes. A welling up of remembrance, and for people and places that are no longer here. It was as delicious as I recalled, and now I'm going to be at the French even more than I already am (next up: the moules frites!).

I had to go backstage when I finished, to hug and thank Francis for making my old culinary dreams come true again. He told me he was going to put a burger on the menu instead, but I had begged for the onglet for so long that he put it on the menu for me! I'm so grateful, and telling everyone to go there so I get to order this more often is the very least I can do. Please GO!

There are several other classic Lily's dishes, and desserts (creme brulée, tarte tatin) to go along with them. A bonus to the French being open at night is that we can finally drink all of their wine from their cellar with dinner! These are exciting times. I couldn't stay and hang out as long as I would have liked, as I had to skedaddle over to Beyond Baroque to catch the album release show for my dear pals, Suzy Williams and Michael Jost (the next story in the queue), but I was so very pleased to be able to attend the opening night of dinner service at my beloved French Market!

So ... the next time you're talking about where to go for dinner (on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, for now), hit the French (free parking!), sit outside, sip some wine, eat some Lily's food, and tell them "Carole" sent you!

The French Market
2321 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Venice
Dinner 6-9 pm, Thursday - Saturday

A Savor-y Event At Kustaa!

We had a lovely event last night at Kustaa Wine & Cheese to celebrate Savor, the new cookbook from our friend, Kimberly Stevens.

The entire evening felt charmed, as it was maybe the one day this week that won't be pouring rain, and it was planned weeks in advance, so we extra lucked out, as Kustaa's seating is almost entirely outside in the open air. Phew! Friends and neighbors came out to get their copies of Savor signed, and to indulge in the cheeseboards and wine that are Kustaa's specialty.

It was a very chilly evening that still somehow managed to feel cozy ... because of the heaters, blankets, and fur throws, yes, but also because there was so much good cheer in the house.

Our friend, Bruno showed up to offer tastings of Wish Wines, which turned us on to the concept of making a wish when you finish a bottle. The wine is delicious, so I'm pretty excited for all of the wishes I have coming to me!

Almost everyone present does something cool in Venice, and it was fun to see connections made and faces behind names be recognized. There was also a beautiful vibe of women-run businesses coming together to support each other in their efforts and dreams (this includes Fiore Designs, who provided the gorgeous flowers for the evening).

For several, it was their first time at Kustaa, and I have a feeling it's going to be their new spot. Many of the people were stopping in to have wine and cheese before heading to dinner elsewhere (the regular Kustaa menu was not being served for the event), and I kind of like that very civilized idea. Or even AFTER dinner. Yes.

Blogtown is very happy to bring people together, and it was a pure delight to host this event with Kim and Tina Bonfils, owner of  Kustaa. I look forward to doing many more of these kind of fun things, with the hopes that we all get to know each other a little better - and make the world a little smaller.

Many thanks to all who came out on a chilly Los Angeles night to celebrate good books, good food, good wine, and GREAT friends! (*Extra special shout-out to my friend Brenna Thomas who took two Ubers and the train from Arcadia to be with us. Now, THAT is friendship!) You're all just lovely.

*If you were not able to attend, Savor is available at Kustaa - and so is raclette! Mmmm.

Save The Date! Sip & Savor at Kustaa!

Oh, I love it when you meet people and hear about things and know the perfect person to introduce them to in order to create great connections, a smaller world, and more fun! That happened recently when my friend, Kimberly Stevens (remember Patio Culture on Abbot Kinney? That was Kimberly and her sister, Karla's store!), came out with her new cookbook, Savor. It is a GORGEOUS book, all about cheeseboards, charcuterie, and the things that go together to make the best savories for entertaining ever. Then I finally made it to Kustaa (the new venture by Yon from Lily's in Venice, and his lovely lady, Tina Bonfils) for their raclette night (molten cheese scraped over your cheeseboard things - Heaven!) and their wine and cheese night ($15 for a cheeseboard and three glasses of wine - a steal in this town!), and WHOA. I thought to myself that I had to have Kimberly meet them, and we HAD to have an event to introduce all my pals to both Kustaa and the wonderful Savor book. So it's on. Next Tuesday, February 12!

                                  

Please join us, won't you, for a lovely soirée to celebrate Savor, Kustaa, wine, cheese, and friends! It's going to be a blast, and you can get your copy of Savor signed by Kimberly, as well as great food and wine gifts for your Valentine, if you have one. If you don't, this is your party instead, a couple of days early, and you can get all the makings for an excellent spread to treat yourself. YUM.


I hope you can make it, and I know it's Los Angeles and people are the worst about the whole rsvp thing, but it really does help us to know how much food to have ready. Plus, the first 30 people to show up will get a Kustaa swag bag to take home! Good times! 

You may rsvp to Akoskas@mac.com. 

Thank you, and I can't wait for you all to know about both of these excellent women bosses!

See you next Tuesday! (ha) 

KUSTAA

12954 West Washington Boulevard

Culver City 

http://kustaa.la

Rodrigo Y Gabriela Live With The L.A. Phil At The Hollywood Bowl!

It was another perfectly balmy and wonderful night at the Hollywood Bowl, and this one was even more special because I was seeing the marvelous Rodrigo y Gabriela for the first time live. And WOW. I'm a fan for life.

The program opened with the ever-charming Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Philharmonic performing a series of Latin-themed numbers to set the stage for the dynamic duo from Mexico who would join the show later. After The Star Spangled Banner (which we again made it in time for, I'm happy and amazed to report), the orchestra immediately launched into the lively "Nereidas de Dimas" from Salon Mexico by Perez. This number set the tone for the all-out fiesta that everyone in the Bowl had been invited to - and was feeling it.

"Good evening, Buenas Noches!" shouted Dudamel, welcoming everyone to this absolutely beautiful night of music. "We are having fun up here! ... and now we will travel from Mexico to Cuba for a piece called El Caiman, or "Xylophone" - you will see why." The rare xylophone showcase piece by Paul Desenne was full of energy and African rhythms, and yes, a xylophone spotlight. And it was great. The whole place was in a great mood, and I think it was because Dudamel's happy energy is so infectious, you can't help but enjoy yourself. We were loving it, and then we took another musical flight, this time to Argentina for Piazzolla's Oblivion. "This tango is about contemplation of the past, and it is very romantic," explained Dudamel in his charming accent. He was right - what a romantic, beautiful tango of a piece that one was ... swoon! I like it that Dudamel thought so too, saying, "Ahh, it's wonderful, so beautiful!" Totally.

Then we flew back to Mexico (where I will also be flying for my birthday adventure this coming weekend, so this was a wonderful way to kick off the week!) for their "Second national anthem", the great Huapango by Moncayo. There were choppers flying overhead during this one, providing their own interesting percussion, but the crescendo of the music soon made you forget all about them, especially when the gorgeous harp was playing. Dudamel again must have felt the same as we did, as he was beaming all throughout his energetic conducting of the Mexican classic. Our L.A. Phil is SUCH a treasure, and when playing under the stars at the Bowl, it just can't be beat.

Unless you next bring out Rodrigo y Gabriela! The guitar virtuosos took the stage casually, both in dress and demeanor, but the huge cheers before they played a note hinted at the bigger deal that it was. Rodrigo had blue hair for the occasion, and you could tell that they were both fired up to play. The crowd was equally fired up to listen, clapping along from the start of their first piece, "Hanuman". This exciting duo is truly a musical force, and had the entire Bowl mesmerized and immersed in the tunes the whole time. This isn't always easy when it's brand new songs that no one has heard, but no matter. They could play anything and we'd be into it. After the first one, the joint erupted in applause, and Rodrigo said, "This is our fifth time playing the Hollywood Bowl ... it's like magic that we come here without rehearsing and these musicians read papers - and they PLAY. It's fucking amazing!" It really was.

They were playing all new tunes from the new album they're working on now ("The songs are so new I don't remember there names" - G.), and from the sounds of it, it will be a must-own. Gabriela is not only a complete bad ass guitar picker, she is also perhaps the cutest person alive, I'm pretty sure. Her sweet voice when saying, "Buenas Noches, what a treat, it's like Santa Claus at Christmas!" made everyone fall even more in love with her and her playing. As a man about halfway back yelled, "I love you, Gabriela!" echoing everyone else's thoughts.

"Mexico where we live is a beautiful place to get inspired (yay!)", said Gabriela, as she explained that on this new album they worked 9-4, "like in an office". The L.A. Phil had to race to keep up with their breakneck speed-playing, and arms got weary trying to clap along fast enough. My notes simply say "WOW!" in a lot of places. Dudamel's face looked like he was thinking that too. Gabriela said after that one, "I want to say I have a feeling of being very grateful ... we are so lucky to be living this life in this moment ... and now we play 11:11, the title track of their also-named album. She was right, too. We were ALL so lucky to be living this life in this moment ... and I think everyone knew it. It felt special. To where when that one ended, Dudamel said, "Isn't it amazing, this?!" Agreed, 100%.

"Let's have some fun!" said Dudamel before they lit into "Tamacun" ... which we continued to do until the last note. When that last note happened, Gabriela's "Hippie message of the night" was for everyone to please recycle more! Thank you so much, bye bye! There was a standing ovation - of course - and Rodrigo, Gabriela and Dudamel all took a bow together before the L.A. Phil left the stage. There was a brief intermission before Rodrigo y Gabriela came back out together, just the two of them, and sat down on the lip of the stage to fully enchant the entire Bowl with just two people and two guitars. They play off of each other so well, with Gabriela's rhythmic percussive playing and Rodrigo's intricate finger picking ... the two parts make up a majestic whole. It was just SO beautiful ... and the entire audience was on their feet clapping along for the remainder of the show - even a little baby in the box next to us was all about clapping along, in a show that was truly one for the ages - and all ages.

For the final set, they first teased Extreme's "More Than Words" to laughter, before we were really treated to "Cumbe", "Echoes" (a Pink Floyd cover), and their own classic, "Diablo Rojo". People couldn't get enough of it, but it had to end, and did with another thunderous ovation for the remarkable talent of Rodrigo y Gabriela. Again ... WOW. Everyone was still bouncing from it as we all danced out of the aisles and out into the Los Angeles night ... truly feeling grateful for having lived this life in this moment, as Gabriela had said. This was a show we won't soon forget, and I'm so happy to have finally seen this delightful duo play live.

What a wonderful start to Mexican birthday week! Gracias!!!


*Press photos courtesy of The Hollywood Bowl

The 2018 Venice Family Clinic Art Walk & Auctions - Art And Healthcare For Everyone!

The 2018 Venice Family Clinic Art Walk & Auctions  took place yesterday, and showed once again - for the 39th time! - why it is an annual event that Venice looks forward to all year. My dear friend, Deb, was coming west to spend the day at the Walk with me, and I couldn't have been more thrilled. The May Gray burned off as soon as we'd finished fueling up at The French Market, and we were off to Google headquarters to pick up our maps and wristbands for the studio tours.

The entire area was already packed by the noon starting time, and people were ready to check out some ART. And there was SO MUCH art. Phew. The Google headquarters is always a good place to start, and it's free, so it really is an event for the whole community. Outside, there was a kid zone, food trucks, an art car "museum", arts and crafts booths, workshops, and the merch area, where you could pick up this year's t-shirt designed by Alexis Smith with a print of her "Stairway To The Stars".  Own it. Love it.

The silent auction inside of Google features so many artists you don't really even know where to begin. I wanted nearly every piece, and with so many bids being placed, you can see why this is the Venice Family Clinic's biggest fundraiser of the year. Art for good! My first favorite was Till The Clouds Roll By, 2018 by Patrick Haemmerlein. I was clearly outbid, because I didn't get back in time and I didn't win it. Boo, but happy for whomever got this great piece of art.

I also loved Pacific, 2016 by Lynn Hanson. A sea painting on a pull-down map! Ooooh.

A piece by Sam Durant (also an honoree of the event, and a past client of Venice Family Clinic) was really the whole point of the fundraising day, called, Everyone Deserves Healthcare, 2018. The serigraph was created especially for this year's Art Walk. It spoke the absolute truth, and served to remind everyone what the day was all about.

Another honoree of the event was the late Ed Moses, who was represented by his son, Andy Moses, and by a gorgeous live painting that was done to remember this Venice legend.

Guillermo Bert told us You Don't Have The Right To Remain Silent, 2017 - and you don't. Not in these times. There were several works that touched on current events, but this one was one of the most pointed.

In that same vein was another favorite  ... God, Leave The Rockstars Take The Politicians, 2018 by Adam Mars. My sentiments exactly.

"It's on every Collector's Calendar" was one of the event's tag lines, and if you are a collector of photography, there was a TON for you to choose from. Alfred Stieglitz (!) to Danny Clinch, John Van Hamersveld's Muddy Waters to The Eazy E by Mike Miller. And if you were lucky, you could get it for a steal.

There was live painting going down outside, and Jim Morrison was being both painted and adorned with flowers as he watched over the live music and beer garden in the patio outside of Google. Love Street vibes, for sure.

The clock was running on the Art Walk, so we set out to see how many artist studios we could get to while they were all still open. The complex next to Gjusta was up first, and I revisited my new friends from Wallspace, who were showing several of the works we saw at the Venice Art Crawl three days earlier.

They were popping up in MB Boissonnault's space, so I got to see her excellent, wave-like works again too.

Up the hall, I checked in with Marty Katon, who was chatting with visitors while a pigeon in a cage cheeped along. His wildlife and Native American pieces are so great, and he's even now doing original oil paintings on bracelets - as seen on such trendsetters as Rihanna!

I was delighted to find that my friend, William Attaway, was back in his own space just a few doors down from his longtime studio next to Gjusta. There are new works, including a giant giraffe sculpture that he did at the "Bombay Beach Biennale". Attaway is a Venice classic, and Art Walk would never be the same without his outstanding work on display. Welcome back, Attaway!!! (not that it ever felt like you were gone).

Jim Budman's studio is always a fun place to visit. He's always rearranging and adding things, and it's a treasure chest of interesting curios and art. Plus Mr. Budman is always a treasure chest of stories and bon mots himself. The only drag is that you don't want to really linger any one spot, because there is just so much to see all over town ... so off we went.

It was tempting to stick around Patrick Johnston's ceramic studio to enjoy a cold Tecate, but man, the art. We admired his collaboration pieces depicting Venice scenes, and I vowed to return for one of my own one day soon (when I have my own shelves again). Hugs and well wishes were exchanged and back to it we went.

We headed over to the studio of Alejandro Gehry, the son of architect, Frank, and an impressive artist in his own right. His series of the women of punk rock (Belinda Carlisle, Siouxie, etc...) were on display, as were his new works of women in military helmets. He was there explaining these works to some visitors when we arrived, and said that he got the idea for the concept works when women were allowed to be in combat. I would have loved to stay and hear more ... but more art was calling!

My former next door neighbors on Westminster were showing in their home studios, and Brad Miller and Mollie Favour both showed their fantastic works off. To get to Favour's studio, you took a wooden staircase covered with wisteria to get there. Inside, Favour was working on paintings featuring those same wisteria, and they were lovely. We thanked them for sharing, and took off over to Broadway to see still more art.

The massive studio of Greg Falk and his wife, Tanja Skala, was our next stop, and was a highlight of the Walk, as it always is.

Falk was showing his super interesting work upstairs, like the piece that displays world currencies according to their longitudes, where he found that the melanin in the faces gets lighter the more north you go.

There was a piece showing the ten most read books in the world, which we were admiring when all of a sudden we heard LOUD shouting from downstairs...

Skala was leading about a dozen women in a performance art piece that voiced female affirmations as they quoted Maya Angelou's Still I Rise. We were their only audience at the time, and it gave me chills as it gave their legs bruises. Powerful stuff, and I'm so happy to call this creative force of a couple my friends. Wow.

As we were still pretty close to Google, and my friend, Lacey Cowden, was about to play in the courtyard, we kicked it back over there to enjoy Lacey's tunes, and also take a quick breather in the shade (as it was now a bright, sunny day after the marine layer burned off).

We couldn't get too comfortable, though, as most of the other studios were further away, and we needed to hop on one of the shuttles circling around town. We got on a blue line shuttle, and headed for the home studio of Matthew Heller. Heller's great works with song lyrics and asterisks are some of my current favorite local artworks, and it was fun to get to see where they were created.

The wonderful Amy Kaps' pad was our next stop, and she was there in full black and white striped regalia. I was overjoyed to hear that she has been booked to do one of her performance pieces for RedCat Theater in its upcoming season. Richly deserved, and not to be missed!

Rohitash Rao's studio was our next visit, and I was real happy to hear the news that he gets to stay in his space that he was about to be booted from - thanks to Wabi Sabi, who offered to share the space with him. That's how a community that wants to keep its artists living and working nearby works together to make it happen. NOT by jacking up rents so that no one cool remains. Ahem. Rao's art is some of the very best around - and wittiest - around. I love every single thing, but especially the little plane in the big sky with a bubble saying, "Excuse me, Stewardess? I speak jive." Love.

I quickly stopped by Gary Palmer's studio, where we drank the last of his wine, and saw more of the work that we'd been teased by over at the silent auction.

Now it was four, and as many of the studios were closing down, and Deb had to get back East to let her dogs out, it was back to Google for me, where several friends had been texting, "Where are you?!" from. Now was the time to enjoy a little wine and the musical stylings of Foxtrails playing for a now extra-packed lawn. So many friends and local acquaintances were there, you couldn't even finish an entire conversation ... and I loved it.

By the time we did our fair share of gabbing and wine drinking, the food trucks and all that outside were closing up shop, and we decided to hit Hal's for happy hour and a resting of the feet. More friends congregated there, and it was a whole posse that then headed over to Flavio Bisciotti's studio to help him celebrate his birthday, that also happened to fall on this day. Friends reveled and congratulated him on a new year, and admired his work while we were at it. Oh, and there was more wine. Cheers, Flavio!!

It had been a super long day (after a super long night staying up to watch the royal wedding the night before and I was BEAT). As I headed straight for the bed waiting for me, I was walking down Abbot Kinney and got escorted part of the way by the passing Venice Electric Bike Parade! What a wonderful and fitting conclusion to a day that is always about Venice and the arts. Spectacular!

Once again, EVERYONE DESERVES HEALTHCARE!!! And the Venice Art Walk happens each year to bring us closer to that truth, and that reality. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, to all involved in the creation and execution of this wonderful annual art extravaganza. We love the ART, and we love you, Venice Family Clinic!

Until next year ... Keep art in Venice alive every day!