Christmas Eve - Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (48th Annual LA County Holiday Celebration)

Since 1959, the city of Los Angeles has put on a "Holiday Celebration" production on Christmas Eve which is free to the public.

U. and I used to go each year and it became something of a Christmas Eve tradition, but this is the first time we've been back since Astrid was born. Last year we felt she was still too young to sit for long (and too much work for us) to appreciate it, but this year now that she's 2 and a 1/2, we thought she'd enjoy the children's choir and hearing Christmas songs like Jingle Bells (a song she knows and loves to sing along to).Location: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center
Date: December 24th
Time: 3:00 to 9:00 PM
Admission: Free
Parking: Free
http://www.holidaycelebration.org/

Sponsored by the LA County Board of Supervisors.
Produced by the LA County Arts Commission.
Broadcast live on TV by KCET.Burbank Chorale

This was our view from the 4th floor. It seemed more packed than usual, but it might have been the time. In the past we always went in the afternoon, but this time we came in the evening. Tonight there was a line outside the theater doors all the way to the fountain, but the line moved pretty quickly and we were soon inside. They instructed us to go up to the 4th floor (which was also different from the past when we were able to seat ourselves in the orchestra section). But with a kid it turned out to be just fine since there was room to get in and out easily and the restrooms were right outside.Astrid clapping.
Tribaljazz

This band was formed by John Densmore, the former drummer of The Doors.
A better shot of John Densmore in white, on the drums.
Astrid enjoying the show.
More clapping. She clapped after every song, and every performance.
OLL Children's Choir

These kids recently sung for the Pope.Holding onto Papa.

For some reason Astrid asked me if they were all girls. I shook my head and said no, the choir had boys and girls. But Astrid kept saying, "No, just girls." Maybe because all of their voices were so high.

LA Contemporary Dance Company

I enjoyed this performance. It was beautiful to watch and the music they used was the modern music by Sigur Ros (song: Saeglopur).

Snow"I love it Mommy!"

For the most part she was good, but a couple times she wanted something and when she didn't get her way she made it known. For example, she did not want to share the arm rest with U. Instead she wanted it all to herself and for Papa to take his arm away. When this didn't happen she threw a fit. We were ready to get up and leave, but seeing this, she quickly calmed down saying "Okay okay okay" and went back to quietly watching the show again. So we decided to stay for one last performance (for a total of 5) before heading home and calling it a night.Valleyaires Barbershop Chorus

The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion was all decked out for Christmas and we couldn't resist taking one last photo.

Christmas Eve - The Bob Baker Marionette Theater in LA

This Christmas Eve we had tickets to the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Downtown, Los Angeles, for their special Nutcracker show for children. It was whimsical, magical, and I felt like a kid again. I highly recommend it for families. While we were waiting for the theater to darken and the show to start, Astrid liked to run up to the velvet curtain.

More Info
Bob Baker Marionette Theater

1345 W. 1st Street

Los Angeles, CA 90026

http://www.bobbakermarionettes.com/

The theater is the oldest, longest running puppet theatre in America. Bob Baker, the proprietor, has been doing puppetry for 72 years, starting when he was 8 in 1932. Offering puppet shows & commercial puppets including the Disney line of collectible marionettes. The theater seats approximately 250/300. Adults sit in chairs, children sit on the floor around a "magic circle" where the marionettes are brought out to them. Ice cream is served after the show.

Watch their cute 30 second promo video here.

I bought this Santa dress for Astrid's photo with Santa, but since she's terrified of Santa Claus (and we decided to not force it this year because fear, tears, and screaming do not make good Christmas cheer photos), I was happy she got to wear the dress at least once. She looked like an angel and was the best dressed child in the theater.

Funny thing to note - we couldn't find the other matching Christmas hair scrunchie this morning. Astrid had played with them the day before and one was MIA. So in the rush and to make sure we got to the theater on time, I resorted to just doing a single ponytail in front. The hairstyle turned out really cute I thought and you can see how long her blond hair has gotten (and seems to be getting blonder).

Some more last minute running. Get all that energy out before the show starts.

This was the first time Astrid's worn tights. U. put them on her while I was getting ready and I could hear peels of laughter coming from her room. I peek in and saw Astrid standing there like a doll while U. was stretching the tights way up high. U. stopped and asked, "How the heck are these supposed to go? I've never done this before." I wish I would have gotten that on tape. It was pretty hilarious. (Us ladies know the torture of pantyhose.)

Astrid was scared of the marionettes at first but midway through she was clapping and asking me about the puppets.

There was limited chair seating so we all sat on the floor. Plus, I don't think Astrid would have sat there by herself anyway. She went back and forth between us sitting on each of our laps.U. has been to many marionette shows in Germany, but this was a first for Astrid and I. It's tailored for children, but I think the adults enjoyed it as much if not more than the children. The orchestra.The little girl and boy in the story.They bring the puppets right up to you. It made the show much more interactive for the children and us adults could appreciate the artistry that goes into making the marionettes (all handmade and vintage), as well as making them perform.The Nutcracker story starts to unfold.The Nutcracker.The Rat King and the Nutcracker before going into battle.

A robot.

A wooden toy soldier mounted to his horse.An elephant.

Once they started bringing out the animals, Astrid felt more at ease. She loves animals and they seem less scary to her than the dolls that look like people.Could be Pinocchio.The Sugar Plum Fairy.

Couples waltzing above wedding cakes.The Solid Gold Dancers.

As you can see it was a bit all over the place, but still a lot of fun.I think they were trying to show diversity. Here are the Chinese.Chinese dancers.

It's very much in the classic 1940-50's Disney style, (it's no surprise that Bob Baker used to work for Walt Disney) so their Chinese marionettes aren't very PC. The ones shown above are pretty tame, but some other ones had the caricature slanty eyes and buck teeth. From a historical point of view you can see the blatant racism in how we portrayed foreigners and non-white persons. But I was happy to hear the two little boys next to me having a discussion about whether this was from the Chinese or Japanese culture. The one boy pointed out that it had to be Chinese because of the use of the dragons. Education makes a big difference. Aladdin riding his magic carpet.Wooden dancers.Flower Nymphs.Astrid clapping and enjoying the show."More puppets Mommy!"The show ended with this gold Christmas tree rising up to the ceiling.Again, Astrid looked so adorable in this dress.

I only wish I would have dressed her in it more times before Christmas. So if anyone needs a size 3T Christmas dress, let me know. I have a brand new one that was worn just one day in perfect condition!U., Astrid, and I.

Thank you Bob Baker Marionette Theater! It was the perfect Christmas Eve event to attend with a child.

Afterwards we skipped the ice cream social and went to Philippe's for lunch.

Atop Angel's Flight

It seems like it's been ages since Angel's Flight was closed after the horrible accident that killed an elderly man and injured several others. The ride was scheduled to open up again this year, but when we went there it was still closed and the cars were not on the tracks.

I remembered there was a nice fountain atop Angel's Flight so we trekked up all those stairs and lo and behold we stumbled upon a Christmas fairy tale.

Grand Central Market

I've been to Grand Central Market a few times and although I've never had a pleasant experience there, for some reason I keep getting lured back.

The downside

• It really smells (really bad) there


• It's not the cleanest of places


• Lots of down and out people


• It's tough to find any food that looks good and is healthy there.

The upside

• It feels like an old school downtown marketplace (feels historical)


• It's in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles


• You always see lots of colorful people there
  

Why I went

• I thought it would be something fun for Astrid to experience


• I always hope there will be something new to see and experience


• I always hope it will be cleaner, smell better, and have better food (which it never does)

Yep, the tree is crooked.Being playful.
Waiting patiently for our food.
I love this expression of hers.
We decided on a rotisserie chicken from the Greek restaurant.