Sunset Concerts at the Skirball Cultural Center

Skirball Cultural Center
2701 North Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, 90049
Thursdays (until August 13)
All concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Ages: All
Cost: FREE; no reservations necessary, but limited seating available on a first-come, first-served basis (ALSO, all Skirball exhibits are open during the concerts)
Website

Enjoy the 2009 season of the Skirball’s free Sunset Concerts, celebrating musical traditions from around the globe. Kick back and groove or get up and dance to the tunes of an eclectic line-up of leading world musicians.

Plentiful on-site parking: only $5 per car
No street parking permitted

Issa Bagayogo
Thursday, July 16, 8:00 p.m.
Catch the kick-off concert in the 2009 Sunset Concerts music series, featuring Malian musical great Issa Bagayogo.

Mike Marshall, Darol Anger, and Väsen
Thursday, July 23, 8:00 p.m.
Discover all that American and Swedish folk music have in common when this ensemble of virtuousos takes the stage.

Gadji-Gadjo
Thursday, July 30, 8:00 p.m.
Don’t miss an exuberant performance by this young Quebec-based band that infuses klezmer with diverse world influences.

The Wild Magnolias
Thursday, August 6, 8:00 p.m.
See New Orleans’s acclaimed Wild Magnolias in action, showcasing irresistible, upbeat music and stunningly ornate costumes.

Omar Faruk Tekbilek Ensemble
Thursday, August 13, 8:00 p.m.
Close the 2009 Sunset Concerts season with a performance by celebrated Middle Eastern artist Omar Faruk Tekbilek.

Movie Studio Tours

Nothing beats the Universal Studios tour for its sheer Hollywood/thrill ride power. The tour now includes the actual Kong Island miniature used in the movie and a knife-wielding, dead-body carrying Psycho. But if the $60, six-month Southern California resident Escape Pass ticket price is a little too steep, try the Sony Studios Walking Tour across town in Culver City. For a mere $28 you can walk the lot where the Yellow Brick Road once wound through Munchkin Land, the place where the agents from “Men In Black” battled aliens from outer space and Spider-Man catapulted from skyscraper to skyscraper. Time your tour right and get in to see a taping of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.

Sony Pictures Studios
10202 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(323) 520-8687
Website

Universal Studios Hollywood
100 Universal City Plz
Universal City, CA 91608
(818) 622-3801
Website

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Children’s Horseback Riding Camp

Traditional Equitation School
480 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles
Weekly Camps
Ages: 6-12
Cost: $395/week
Website

It’s always fun to ride a pony, but to learn to care for one? That develops a pride of ownership that is beyond simple fun. In addition to learning how to ride a horse, this Horseback Riding Camp will teach standard safety rules for working around horses, which includes how to approach and halter a horse in the stall as well as how to lead, groom, saddle and bridle a horse. During the past decade this school has become one of the largest riding schools in the country. All ages and levels of ability are welcome. For more information, call (818) 569-3666.

Sports Broadcasting Camp

UCLA
One week in Los Angeles only, August 17-21
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Ages: 10-18
Cost: $485 for the week; Overnight camp also available at $1060 for the week
Website

Here’s another camp to put in the “cool” basket. This camp travels around the country and will be in Los Angeles for one week only in August. Both boys and girls are encouraged to attend, and they will learn how to be sportscasters from local and national sportscasters, top athletes and coaches. They’ll make sports anchor tapes, reporting tapes from the field at professional sports arenas and make play-by-play tapes from a Major or Minor league baseball game! Lunch is provided everyday, with even more fun activities for the overnight campers. Call (800) 319-0884 for more information.

Manners Camp

Beverly Hills Manners
McCormick & Schmick’s
Monday, July 27 – Thursday, July 30
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Ages: 6-12
Cost: $375
Website

If the benchmark of maturity and adulthood is good manners, then your kids will feel so grown up when they learn and master manners at the Beverly Hills Manners school. Each camp session explores a particular etiquette theme and accompanying cultural activity introducing children to new skills and techniques which assist them in becoming independent, well-rounded and confident human beings. Check back in the fall for “A Smart Girls Guide to Manners” Sponsored by American Girl Place. The day-long class teaches girls what to do when they find themselves in sticky situations. They will practice the proper way to make introductions and greetings, get tips on table manners, which fork to use for which course, and learn some pointers for writing letters and heartfelt thank-you notes. Call (310) 276-9087 for more information.

Katie’s Cooking Camp

Katie’s Cooking School
16733 Ventura Blvd., Encino (818) 377-6200
Weekly Camps, Three days/week, Tuesday – Thursday
9 a.m. – noon or 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Ages: 5-14
Cost: From $255/week for 1-3 weeks, discount with more weeks of enrollment; daily fees are pro-rated $85. Members get discounts.
Website

For many children, the kitchen is one of the first places where they’ll have the opportunity to assert independence, whether it’s stirring the cake batter or cracking the egg on the pan. Katie’s Cooking School will show kids how to cook a variety of dishes successfully, responsibly and all in a fun way. Each week of camp covers 12-14 recipes from a region of the United States . This week, New England camp kids will cook and devour such things as blueberry vanilla muffin, ham puffs, maple syrup, stuffed French toast, graham crackers, New England clam chowder, potato bread and Boston cream pie. There’s even time for an art craft activity for the week. Future weeks will visit the culinary tastes of the White House, the Heartland, the South, the Blue Pacific, the Rockies and more. Katie, the school’s namesake, is in her 20s now and has graduated from being the independent kid in the kitchen to the one guiding and teaching the new crop of little wannabe chefs.

Flying Trapeze Kids Camp

Trapeze School New York
200 Santa Monica Pier, Suite A, Santa Monica , 90401; (310) 394-5800 Weekly Camps, Monday-Friday (July 20-24-only 3 spaces left; August 3-7 and 17-21)
Ages: 4-18
Cost: $223
Website

What’s more liberating than soaring through the air like a circus performer? Whether you have a child or a teenager, this Flying Trapeze Kids camp will up the adrenalin rush and your cool-parent quotient more than a few notches. Regardless of experience (because let’s face it, some kids are already expert at hurling themselves off of high places with abandon), each student will have an opportunity to swing on the trapeze 9-10 times each hour. In addition to swinging, kids will learn knee hangs and how to be caught, among other things. The best part is that at the end of camp week, your kids will put on a performance and proudly show off their newly acquired skills in full costume. And there’s an ice cream social afterwards too. What’s not to love?