Things to do Thursday, Friday and Saturday!

You might bump into the Eastsider Writer if you are at the follwing events this weekend. I’m starting my weekend on Thursday at the opening night of Culture Clash’s new play “Palestine New Mexico” at the Taper. On Friday I will be at the Olmeca CD Release Party for his new album “La Contra Cultura/Counter Culture” at Self Help Graphics. Then, on Saturday, I will be celebrating art at the Arts District Open Studio Tour. Check all the details below. Ready, set, go! Aytewatcho!

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PALESTINE, NEW MEXICO
Written by Richard Montoya for Culture Clash
Directed by Lisa Peterson

STARTS: Thursday, December 3rd
ENDS: Sunday, January 24th
TIME: varies depending date
LOCATION: Mark Taper Forum
LINK: www.centertheatergroup.org

RUMORS, SECRETS, SAND AND BLOOD.  U.S. Army Captain Catherine Siler journeys to the  New Mexico reservation home of Private First Class Raymond Birdsong on a search  for answers.  The questionable circumstances surrounding Ray’s death in  Afghanistan create a crisis of conscience for the captain giving her no choice  but to re-examine her own life along the way.

Culture Clash, L.A.’s premiere Chicano performance  group, returns  with a World Premiere play about America’s constantly shifting  political  landscape exploring loss, identity and the notion of occupied  homelands.

Palestine, New Mexico promises to be an inherently theatrical work  that mixes humor and cold fact to  unforgettable and galvanizing effect.

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OLMECA CD RELEASE PARTY
Celebrating Olmeca’s new album
“La Contra Cultura/Counter Culture”

DATE: Friday, December 4, 2009
TIME: 8:00pm
Location: Self Help Graphics
3802 East Cesar E Chavez Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90063
LINK: www.myspace.com/olmeca

All Ages / $10

With Special Guests: Monte Carlo 76, Pachamama, Las Ramonas, Nuai and DJ Dubtonez

LIVE ART BY: Joel “RAGE” Garcia, Nico, Alfonso (Kalli Arte), Hazie, Man One and Vyal

BUY PRESALE TICKETS AT:

Crewest
110 Winston St.
L.A. CA 90013 (Downtown)
(213) 627-8272

Xocolatl
4987 Huntington Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90032 (El Sereno)
(323) 441-8400

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ARTS DISTRICT
OPEN STUDIO TOURS

DATE: Saturday, December 5th
TIME: Noon- 7:00 pm
LOCATION: Downtown Los Angeles Arts District
(Alameda St. to Santa Fe Ave.
& 1st St. to 7th St.)
Map as: 716 Traction Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90058

On December 5th, the TRUE Downtown Arts District will open the doors of cafés, galleries, performance venues, and 40 studios (and counting) in the first of a new Open Studio Tour series. Orchestrated by artist/ curator Lilli Muller and the help of Qathryn Brehm, Jericho Woggon, Edgar Varela of EVFA Gallery, Martha Mitchell and Sia Aryai the events are somewhat of a revival. The December event is part holiday season Art Walk, part cultural reminder that the post-industrial downtown never stopped producing. Bordered by Alameda on the west, the Los Angeles River on the east, Temple on the North and 7th Street on the South, the parameters are contiguous enough that a shuttle will make rounds on the quarter-hour.