A weekend of the strange and unusual
This week, we’re getting buggy at the Natural History Museum, checking out the museums of the Arroyo, visiting with animators in Burbank, admiring art for a cause, going car-free in the San Gabriel Valley and buying oddities in DTLA.
Bug Fair
You can see, touch and even eat bugs at the Natural History Museum’s 33rd annual Bug Fair, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., May 18-19.
The event will include over 50 insect-focused exhibitors offering everything from exotic insect collections to pet tarantulas, from millipedes to centipedes, from bug-related products, like honey and silk, to bug-inspired artwork and jewelry.
There will be bug chefs whipping up “protein-filled snacks,” like chocolate chirp (cricket) cookies. There will also be bug hunts, bug-themed crafts and up-close bug encounters.
This is a wildly popular event, so go early.
The museum is located at 900 Exposition Blvd., in Exposition Park. Admission is $15 for adults and $7 for children 3 to 12. Check out nhm. org for more information.
Museums of the Arroyo
Museums of the Arroyo Day – a day of free admission to six museums is from noon to 4 p.m., May 19.
The museums are the Gamble House (4 Westmoreland Place), Heritage Square (3800 Homer St.), the LA Police Museum (6045 York Blvd.), the Lummis Home (200 East Ave. 43), the Pasadena Museum of History (470 W. Walnut St.), and the Autry’s Southwest Museum Mt. Washington Campus (234 Museum Drive).
Museums of the Arroyo Day will have two free shuttle loops. There will be service between the Gamble House/Pasadena Museum of History and Los Angeles Police Historical Museum (Pasadena route) and between the Los Angeles Police Historical Museum hooking up with Lummis Home and the Southwest (Highland Park route).
Event organizers encourage visitors to only plan to tour three, maybe four museums on MOTA Day. Spend time and enjoy.
For more information, check out www.facebook. com/MOTADay/ or www. mota.dreamhosters.com/
Downtown Burbank Arts Festival
The Downtown Burbank Arts Festival
2019 returns for its 16th year, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., May 18-19.
Held on four blocks of San Fernando Boulevard between Angeleno Avenue and Magnolia Boulevard, this two-day outdoor festival will feature 200 artists, famous Disney animators, 100 craft exhibitors and roaming musicians.
The event is a rare opportunity to interact with top artists from the world of animation. Over 100 visual effects, video-gaming, character designers, illustrators and storyboard artists will be on hand.
We Rise LA
On May 18, an art exhibition aimed at advancing the conversation about mental health will open at 1262 Palmetto St.
The exhibition, which runs through May 27, features an impressive lineup of contributors, including Shepard Fairey, Geoff McFetritdge, Andrea Bowers, Swoon, Michael Murphy, Faith 47, Dzine, Kate Deciccio, Ashley Lukashevky and Jessi Jumanji.
Organizers described it as “an immersive experience designed to push forward the conversation around how we care for one another and for those who are most vulnerable in our society.”
The exhibition is open from 5 to 10 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekends and Memorial Day. Admission is free, but organizers ask that you RSVP through Eventbrite.
The exhibition is part of a project of the LA County Department of Mental Health called We Rise, which features programming, performances and workshops in addition to the art exhibition.
For more information, check out https://werise.la/
626 Golden Streets
Walkers and cyclists can enjoy five miles of car-free streets in the San Gabriel Valley from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., May 19.
Dubbed “Mission-to-Mission,” the route connects the historic San Gabriel Mission in the City of San Gabriel to Mission Street and the historic Mission District in the City of South Pasadena. It’s not a race, so you can start anywhere you like.
There are three activity hubs for the event: South Pasadena (Mission Street between Meridian Avenue and Fremont Avenue), Downtown Alhambra Hub (Main Street between Garfield Avenue and 4th Street) and Historic San Gabriel Mission (S. Mission Drive between W. Broadway and Mission Road). Each hub will feature an array of activities including live music, performances, games and vendors and exhibitors. Some of the region’s finest restaurants are along the route.
Oddities Flea Market
The Oddities Flea Market returns from noon to 6 p.m., May 18-19 at the Globe Theatre, 740 S. Broadway.
The flea market will feature the odd, macabre, Gothic, dark and darkly sexy. Vendors will sell such items as medical history ephemera, anatomical curiosities, natural history items, osteological specimens, taxidermy, obscure home decor, jewelry and one-ofa-kind dark art and Gothic clothing.
Tickets are $10 in advance through Eventbrite or $15 at the door.