West Hollywood Things to Do

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I love this place. Even if there isn't a show going on, the atmosphere is awesome and the people make it a pleasant experience. And of course, they pour HEAVY.

Live Music and Great Food is an AWESOME combination. The service is always very friendly and mindful of you getting out and downstairs on time for the event. Parking is a problem though my suggestion if you are coming for a show is to park at the lot on the corner of La Cienega and walk down. There is always a restroom attendant that expects to be tipped (this is LA).

When you're done with your mean (and show) and DRINKS, head up and down the street for the best bar hopping LA has to offer!

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For our October Meetup, the SoCal Locos participated in the West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval! A yearly tradition for a few of our members, the parade & carnaval is truly an unparalleled event in the city - this year, they estimated over 500,000 (that's half a million!) people, both visitors and locales, in attendance!

In addition to the truly outrageous costumes, the event takes place on Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood, which is actually part of historic Route 66! Not only does it take place on such an important roadway, but the road itself (a major artery through Los Angeles) is actually shut down for over 30 hours to prepare, host, and clean up after the event!

It's also FREE - a rarity in terms of amazing parties - and often features special surprises: this year, MTV got ROBYN (the Swedish singer and amazing dancer) to perform!

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The West Hollywood Halloween festitivities are incredible and perhaps my favorite night of the year. Santa Monica Blvd. is closed off from Robertson to Fairfax...more than a mile and it's fills up with over 400,000 crazy people who are bent on having a great time, checking out each others costumes, and generally having a wonderful, peaceful freak fest that is a non stop awesome adventure. There are stages everywhere and it's just a great time to wander up and down the streets making friends and taking pics with people. Everybody is a pal that night!

Do not even think of coming here by car unless you come very early and park relatively far away. I highly suggest that people either get a hotel nearby, stay with friends, or have a car that will drop you off and pick you up. You WILL have a very hard time getting a cab at the end of the night.

I'll add more, but man is this a GREAT TIME! Check out my new best friends!

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This is the must for a visitor in WeHo. See up close major sites of the "Hollywood" mystique here: nightclubs like the House of Blues, Roxy and the Viper Room, as well as the famous (well, infamous) Chateau Marmount, and The Comedy Store among other sites. Despite less hype made here over the years, Sunset Blvd gets quite crowded on the weekends, at night especially.

Since 1979, the LA Pride festival has occured in the heart of WeHo. Originally seen as a celebration solely of and for the gay community, the Pride festival has attracted a diverse crowd in the hundreds of thousands. City officials including the mayor cite and praise the annual event. Many groups and organizations with and without gay affiliation have supported festival features.

The Pride festival is one of several events in the L.A. area for celeb sighting. Celebrities who have made appearances as parade marshals, honorees or official guests. Some include Nancy Pelosi (first female Speaker of the House in the US), Paris Hilton, Sharon Stone, Joan Jett, Dana Delany and Kathy Najimy.

Check website for current info.

Though I recommend visiting any Whole Foods Market in southern CA, the one in WeHo, at the intersection of Fairfax Ave and Santa Monica Blvd, is probably the best store for hanging out, dining and doing eccletic shopping. Warning: this is one of the most busy stores, so have patience with the lines and parking. Just finding your way into the plaza where the store is located is challenging and frustrating, with the traffic congestion.

Grab a fresh eccletic breakfast, lunch or dinner. What's nice is that one can get West L.A. restaurant quality and chic flair in a jiffy at the cafeteria-style food bar. Celebrities frequent here for daily organic bread and more. Two times I have seen Laurence Fishbourne, from Matrix and Othello fame, without even trying! What's exceptional at this Whole Foods is its very eco-friendly, organic lovin' mini-mchandise shop that is steps away and under the main grocery store. The boutique mainly sells clothing, candle, books and little knick-knacks that are deemed eco-friendly (and very pricey as many WeHo boutiques are).

Not in West Hollywood, but not too far away, either: All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills, just down Santa Monica Boulevard, has to be one of the best worship experiences available in the Los Angeles area. We're talking world-class preaching and music, a congregation full of people who are actually living like Christians (ask them what the mission of All Saints is, and they can tell you!), and an outstanding prayer ministry -- do spend a few minutes with one of the Prayer Teams if there is something on your heart. In addition to the Sunday services (at 8:00 AM, 9:00 AM, and 11:15 AM), consider "Good Evening", an alternative worship service on Saturdays at 6:00 PM, using multimedia and featuring an agape meal, or (if you're lucky) one of the Taize services on occasional Thursday nights at 7:00 PM. This is a church which does liturgy exceptionally well -- that is, it doesn't stand in the way of transcendent worship. There are excellent courses for both adults and children, if you happen to be in the area for an extended period of time. The choir regularly releases superb collections on CD. There is a well-stocked bookshop. Don't miss the chance to visit!

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We were there for a small, initimate award ceremony at the Hollywood Improv- which was a smaller room than what I've seen on tv. It left us plenty of time to sight-see and take in an Angels game.