LAVA's Sunday Salon December 26, 2010

WHAT: On Sunday, December 26, LAVA (The Los Angeles Visionaries Association) presents an afternoon of free cultural exploration in Downtown L.A. with the monthly Sunday Salon gathering at Clifton's Cafeteria at 648 South Broadway (noon-2pm)
SALON INFO: http://lavatransforms.org/salon1210

LOS ANGELES- Launched in February by Richard Schave and Kim Cooper--the proprietors of Esotouric bus adventures and founding Director and Curator of the Downtown Art Walk non-profit--the creative consortium LAVA (The Los Angeles Visionaries Association) is fast establishing itself as one of the city's most intriguing arts collectives, with a calendar packed with compelling, offbeat urban events and a growing list of notable Visionary contributors.

LAVA's Sunday Salon has become one of the hottest (free) tickets for urban explorers seeking intelligent conversation, connection and inspiration—not to mention Clifton's famous home cooking. The Sunday Salon returns to Clifton's Cafeteria on Sunday, December 26 from noon-2pm, and all are welcome to dine together and socialize, or attend several different presentations by LAVA Visionaries.

12/26 SALON PROGRAM(all appearing between 12-2pm, with exact times/schedules to be announced at the event)

1) Quirky songstress THE UKULADY returns to Clifton's with a Salon program of interactive craft-making AND new songs, including the live world premier of "Cutie's Theme Song," the solo anthem for 90-something blogging sensation Barbara "Cutie" Cooper of The OGs, newly single after 73 years of marriage following the death of her husband Harry "Pop Pop" Cooper. More about The Ukulady is at http://www.theukulady.com/ and her original OGs blog theme and "Cutie's Theme" can both be heard at http://www.the-ogs.com

2) Cult singer-songwriter HARVEY SID FISHER, famous for his "Astrology Songs" and duets of couples fighting, will bring his body, his voice, his songs, his mind, his humor, and his guitar and expects some parts to be ruthlessly entertaining.

3) LAVA co-founder KIM COOPER will be show and share offbeat board games from her collection (and encourages others to bring in their favorite obscure games) for a casual post-lunch play-a-thon. Come try your luck at Chutzpah (aka "Jewish Monopoly"), Manhunt, Art Linkletter's House Party and other oddities.

ABOUT PREVIOUS LAVA SALONS: In March 2010, the new LAVA community came together in the first monthly Sunday Salon for the debut exhibition of Visionary GENE SCULATTI's outsider art scroll drawings of imaginary cities, a smash hit for the nearly 100 cultural explorers in attendance, and now under development as a documentary film. And in May, vintage cosmetics packaging collector JOAN RENNER captivated the crowd with a discussion of the social and cultural context of 20th century cosmetics, illustrated with a display of exquisite Art Deco and Art Nouveau powder boxes from her collection. For Halloween, the GHOST HUNTERS OF URBAN LA. debuted their supernatural internet time capsule project, "Weird Hollywood" author JOE OESTERLE shared weird tales and Skid Row misfortune teller Mesmerelda (aka avant garde sonstress NORA KEYES) sang of downtown misery.

Photos and video from some recent Salons are here: http://lavatransforms.org/hauntsandhorrors
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardschave/sets/72157623729484726/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardschave/sets/72157624174080520/

ABOUT LAVA: Through participation in LAVA, a select group of creative professionals come together to promote cultural programming that speaks to the urban experience while promoting positive public space. LAVA's creative partners share a love for L.A. and unique ideas for exploring it in their work. Formed by social historians RICHARD SCHAVE and KIM COOPER -- proprietors of Esotouric bus adventures and the founding Director and Curator of the Downtown Art Walk non-profit -- LAVA brings together L.A.'s most visionary promoters, artists, writers and thinkers. Visionaries in the growing curated community include cultural chronicler ADRIENNE CREW, artist and Eastside historian AL GUERRERO, Cacophony Society co-founder AL RIDENOUR, avant garde fashion maven A. LAURA BRODY, poet and publisher ALEIDA RODRIGUEZ, back-to-nature pioneer ALICIA BAY LAUREL, filmmaker and festival promoter ALLISON ANDERS, former Metropolitan Museum curator ALLON SCHOENER, designer/mom of Chicken Boy AMY INOUYE, custom tours maven ANNE BLOCK, documentarian and radio producer ANTHEA RAYMOND, pop culture historian BECKY EBENKAMP, ethnomusicologist BETO GONZALEZ, master puppeteer BOB BAKER, producer and promoter CHRISTIAN VOLTAIRE MEOLI, 826LA events manager CHRISTINA GALANTE, performance artist CRIMEBO THE CLOWN, the NEA's outgoing Director of Literature DAVID KIPEN, green sculptor DONALD GIALANELLA, forensic scientist and educator DONALD JOHNSON, author and educator DOROTHY RANDALL GRAY, visual artist ELENA MARY SIFF, documentarian and exploitation film historian ELIJAH DRENNER, conversation curator ERIC VOLLMER, musician and performance artist FEATHERBEARD, photographer GARY LEONARD, pop critic and outsider artist GENE SCULATTI, musician and artist GEORGE EARTH, songsmith HARVEY SID FISHER, theater director HOLLY WITHAM, no-longer-Teenage Glutster food blogger JAVIER CABRAL, horror film director JEREMY KASTEN, musician and composer of silent film scores JIMI CABEZA DE VACA, social historian JOAN RENNER, writer and artist JOE OESTERLE, journalist and author JOHN BUNTIN,Musso & Frank co-owner JORDAN JONES, performance artist JULES ROCHIELLE, curator and activist JULIE RICO, "Kristin's List" cultural chronicler KRISTIN BEDFORD, songstress and prognosticator MADAME PAMITA, esoteric scholar and lecturer MAJA D'AOUST, author and broadcaster MANNY PACHECO, spoken word performer McCRISTOL HARRIS, photographic archivist MICHAEL RISNER, President of the new LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes MIGUEL ANGEL CORZO, poet and dancer MONA JEAN CEDAR, , theater director NICHOLAS HOSKING, L.A. Historic Theater Foundation rep NICK MATONAK, music producer and impresario NO'A WINTER LAZERUS, musician OCTAVIUS, peace activist PAUL NUGENT of the Aetherius Society, 3-D photography expert RAY 3D ZONE, historic ghost seeker RICHARD CARRADINE, filmmaker and preservationist ROSS LIPMAN, Boyle Heights ghost hunter SARAH TROOP, social networking mistress SHAWNA DAWSON, painter/gallerist SUSAN DOBAY, Warhol star and writer TERE TEREBA, metal artist TOM WALKER, musical entertainer THE UKULADY, and hat designer and multi-media artist YASMIN DIXON.

Applications from prospective LAVA members are being taken at http://lavatransforms.org/apply

To learn more about LAVA, please visit http://www.lavatransforms.org

Official Website: http://www.lavatransforms.org/salon1210