Eyeing the success of First Fridays in Venice and downtown L.A.’s Art Walk, business leaders in Westwood Village are launching their own free monthly arts and culture celebration.
Westwood Live, which will be on the third Thursday of each month starting April 21, will feature free admission and music performances at the Hammer Museum and free jazz performances in the courtyard of the Geffen Playhouse. Several bars, restaurants and shops will offer free music performances and other entertainment as well as discounts.
It’s all aimed at drawing more people into Westwood Village, which has fallen on hard times in recent years. Organizers with the Westwood Community Council especially want to pull in some of the tens of thousands of office workers in the Wilshire Boulevard high-rises who go into Westwood Village for lunch but get in their cars and head home at day’s end.
“We want to give these folks a reason to stay in Westwood after work and to give others who now just pass by in their cars a reason to come in,” said J. Wolf, who co-owns Glendon Bar & Kitchen with Nick Jacobs. They will offer free live blues and jazz/funk music as part of Westwood Live.
Another well-known area restaurant, the Palomino, will offer free wine tastings, while the W Hotel will offer happy hour at its pool, followed by a party in the hotel bar. At least for the first event April 21, there will also be roving theatrical performances.
Ren Hirose, general manager at the W Hotel, is leading the event. He was inspired by the Abbot Kinney First Fridays program in Venice and the downtown Art Walk.
“This is a great chance to have businesses here in Westwood work together and lure people back to Westwood,” Hirose said.
