Month: March 2012

San Francisco’s Mystical Experience – Mystic Hotel Transformed

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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.–The Burritt Room, Mystic Hotel’s intimate film noir-inspired bar is named for Burritt Alley, where detective Sam Spade’s partner Miles Archer was gunned down in The Maltese Falcon. The adjoining restaurant, Burritt Tavern, led by Executive Chef Ashley Weaver, will draw its design from that speak-easy vibe. Six curtained booths create dark corners for private conversations with a menu of classics like steaks and chops done right. Foods are primarily locally sourced for maximum freshness.

Recently renovated hotel rooms featuring monochromatic white palette textiles are being “bumped up” a level in luxury featuring day beds for casual reading times and others with pull-out couches for extra accommodations. The new Charlie Palmer restaurant concept will open early April and hotel renovations are scheduled to debut late spring 2012. The hotel will remain open throughout construction with little to no effect on guests.

  • Mystic Hotel: 417 Stockton Street, San Francisco, CA 94108
  • Room Reservations:415.400.0500
  • Proprietor: Charlie Palmer
  • General Manager: Kevin Dimond
  • Capacities: 79 Guest Rooms, Including 16 Junior Suites
  • Dining: Burritt Tavern | Capacity 125 | Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
  • Executive Chef: Ashley Weaver (formerly of Aureole NY and Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s)
  • Dining Room Manager: Matt Reina (formerly of Aureole NY)
  • Cocktail Bar & Lounge: Burritt Room | Capacity 80 | Mon-Thu, 5pm-12am; Fri-Sat, 5pm-2am

 

White Witch Maja Tour Explores Hollywood’s Spiritual History

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For more than a century, the west coast of America has been a hotbed of esoteric spiritual belief and cultural transformation. Obscura Day 2012 (obscuraday.com) is the time to learn about Maja D’Aoust, The White Witch of L.A. Esotouric bus adventure, “Maja’s Mysteries: Rapture & Release,” is one of hundreds of Obscura Day events happening worldwide on April 28, 2012.

WHEN: Saturday, April 28, 10:30am-3:30pm
COST: $63/person, includes snacks
esotouric.com  Call: 323-223-2767
WHERE: Millennium Biltmore Hotel, 506 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Maja’s guests will gather in the lobby of the Biltmore Hotel (on the exact site of the guru Yogananda’s remarkable 1952 death during a banquet) to take a metaphysical journey into history, faith and salvation, with in-depth visits to some of L.A.’s most compelling and mysterious spiritual sites. At each stop, Maja and her co-host, Esotouric’s Richard Schave, will introduce passengers to members of the faith, lead a tour of worship space, and put the group’s history and beliefs into context
in the histories of religion and L.A.

Stops include:

  • THE AETHERIUS SOCIETY, a center for cosmic consciousness and healing founded in 1955 by UFOcontactee Dr. George King, dedicated to promoting peace on earth and beyond.
  • KROTONA APARTMENTS, a former Theosophical retreat founded in 1914, where guests will have a rare opportunity to visit the beautiful central courtyard pond and view the Rosicrucian window of this now-private residence.
  • SISTER AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON’S PARSONAGE, the beautifully restored private home and museum to the life of the influential and charismatic founder of the Foursquare Church on the edge of Echo Park.
  • THE VEDANTA SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, founded in 1930 to bring sacred Hindu philosophy to the West, where guests will be given a presentation on the Society’s history and programming, and browse in its fine gift shop.

LA Esotouric Oddball, Macabre, and Absolutely Compelling Tours

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Esotouric tour in Los Angeles are literary tours with in depth studies of the streets, stops and haunts occupied by some of L.A.’s most written about characters. You don’t just walk the path that a famous or infamous individual may have traveled, but thanks to creative researchers who add doses of facts with hypotheses, you get inside the minds of these famous people. It’s a must-see tour for literary fans, crime buffs and anyone with curiosity and lack of convention.

Upcoming Esotouric bus tour and LAVA special event schedule
Fri March 9 – FREE! San Gabriel Mission Archaeological Excavation Tour
Sat March 10 – Weird West Adams crime bus tour
Sat March 17 – Pasadena Confidential crime bus tour (weekend pass available)
Sun March 18 – East Side Babylon crime bus tour (weekend pass available)
Sat April 7 – Charles Bukowski’s Los Angeles (weekend pass available)
Sun April 8 ­ John Fante’s Dreams from Bunker Hill (weekend pass available)
Sat April 14 – The Real Black Dahlia crime bus tour
Sat April 21 – Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits’ L.A.
Sun April 22 – FREE! Open House at the historic Stendahl Galleries
Sat April 28 – Maja’s Mysteries: Rapture & Release
Mon April 30- The LAVA Salon at Musso & Frank featuring John Buntin
Sat May 19 – Raymond Chandler’s Los Angeles
Sun May 20 ­ Blood & Dumplings crime bus tour
Sun June 3 – Crime lab seminar: The Killer Behind the Camera

Esotouric’s Kim Cooper and Richard Schave are proud members of LAVA – The
Los Angeles Visionaries Association. See lavatransforms.org or booking information at esotouric.com

United States Tennis Association Costa Mesa Pro Classic

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COSTA MESA, CAL–With approximately 90 tournaments hosted annually throughout the country and prize money ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway for the U.S. Open and tour-level competition for aspiring players and a frequent battleground for established professionals.

Newport Beach native and rising tennis star Carsten Ball is the Number 2 seed at the Costa Mesa Pro Classic. The March 17 tournament at Costa Mesa Tennis Center also features 9th seed Daniel Kosakowski, a Downey resident and former stand-out player at UCLA.  No. 1 seed is Germany’s Andre Begemann, 27, currently ranked 263rd in the world.

Eight players will enter the main draw from singles qualifying–the rest of the main draw will come from USTA exemptions and wild card events. The main draw for singles and doubles begins March 20.

Ball, 24, who played tennis at Corona del Mar High School, peaked at a career-high in the ATP World Tour rankings at No. 108 in July 2010. A prolific doubles player, he and Chris Guccione (who is the No. 4 seed at the Costa Mesa event) reached the doubles quarterfinals of the 2009 U.S. Open and the round of 16 at the 2011 Australian Open. He holds dual American and Australian citizenship, and has competed on Australia’s David Cup team. Ball’s father, and coach, Syd, won eight ATP doubles titles and advanced to the final round of the 1974 Australian doubles finals.

Singles qualifying begins Saturday, March 17 at 9 a.m. The singles main draw begins Tuesday, March 20 at 10 a.m. The event is free and families are encouraged to attend. The Costa Mesa Tennis Center is located at 880 Juniper Dr., Costa Mesa, (714) 557-2011.

 

March 7, 2012 See & Listen To Events in California

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Never to be seen again, March 7th is a day to remember in California. It will welcome hundreds of newborns to the world, see some pass away with tears shed for the loss of a love, and celebrate the gift of living.

Some of the highlights to the day include things you don’t actually have to see, but can use your ears to listen to, such concerts on campuses and performing arts halls throughout the state. Here are few you might enjoy if you happen to be in Berkeley on March 7.

BERKELEY – Garrison Keillor, an Evening with Prairie Home Companion storyteller. Time: 8 p.m. Cost: $20 up. Location: UC Berkeley, 101 Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, CA. Ticket Office: (510) 642-9988. calperformances.org
BERKELEY – Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, contemporary bluegrass. Location: Freight & Salvage Coffee House 2020 Addison Street Berkeley, CA. Time: 8 p.m. Cost: $30.50/door. Call: (510) 644-2020.

See more events in California