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    Nisei Week

    4.8 (10 reviews)

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    Ladies in summer Kimono taking a break after the end of Nisei Week Parade at the Far Bar
    Gary I.

    "Nisei Week (二世週祭 Nisei-shū Matsuri) is an annual festival celebrating Japanese American (JA) culture and history in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles created in 1934 to mitigate the effects of the Great Depression as well as to impress upon the Issei, the older immigrant Japanese who ran the businesses in Little Tokyo, that attracting Nisei would be good business. Nisei (nee seh ee) means 2nd generation in Japanese, describing the first American born Japanese. Nisei Week also serves as a cultural bridge between the Japanese American community & the non Japanese at large. Though named for the Nisei generation, Nisei Week is no longer targeted at Niseis, nor is the festival still contained within a week. There was an interruption of about 6 years since Japanese Americans were unconstitutionally incarcerated into U.S. concentration camps during World War II even though they were not accused of any crimes. Nisei Week Foundation president for 2006, Michelle Suzuki, described the festival as 'the opportunity for people of all backgrounds to celebrate Japanese heritage and culture'." Nisei Week lasts about one month, but the Grand Parade is on the 2nd Sunday in August while the 3rd weekend in August features the Nisei Week Festival. "2018 Nisei Week Japanese Festival Calendar of  Festival Events as of 1/22/18 Dates and times subject to change. July 15 (Sun) Nisei Week Japanese Festival Opening Ceremony (Invitation only)* July 28 (Sat) Baby Show - Centenary United Methodist Church, 9am - 3pm* August 11 (Sat) Nisei Week Rubik's Cube Open - JACCC Plaza, 8amGolden Circle Dinner - Double Tree by Hilton, 4:30 pm (Dinner)*Coronation - Aratani Theatre, 7:00 pm* August 12 (Sun) Grand Parade - Little Tokyo, 4:00 pm. August 13 (Mon) Awards Dinner - Double Tree by Hilton, 6:00 pm* August 15 (Wed) Pioneer Luncheon - Double Tree by Hilton, 11:30 am* August 18 (Sat) Nisei Week Japanese Festival/JACCC Plaza Festival - 11:00 am - 7:00 pmNisei Week Car Show -  More information at showoffcafe.com. Aiso Parking Garage, 101 Judge John Aiso St, Los Angeles; 11am-7pm*Day-Lee Foods World Gyoza Eating Championship - JACCC Plaza, 2:00 pm August 19 (Sun) Nisei Week Japanese Festival/JACCC Plaza Festival - 11:00 am - 7:00 pmOndo - 1st Street, 4 pmClosing Ceremony - 1st Street, following Ondo *Fees and/or registration required. Events are mostly held at the following locations, unless otherwise noted: - Japanese American National Museum (JANM) 100 N. Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012 - Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) 244 S. San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 - Centenary United Methodist Church 300 S. Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90013 - DoubleTree by Hilton 120 S. Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012"

    Matcha green tea and dago dessert!
    Mike L.

    Came here with family! The festival itself was cool! I was hoping for more food vendors there! They have tents on merchandise of different Japanese stuff! We did get a matcha tea and a mochi dessert! In the heart of little Tokyo!

    Representing the OC, Yelper Damon Wells
    Lynette T.

    Event: Nisei Week 5th Annual Gyoza Eating Championship sponsored by Day/Lee We saw an historic event today. A new world record broken by Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti. 260+ gyoza in 10 minutes! Yikes! Watching an event like this up close was......was...... Awesome Horrific Jaw-dropping FUN! http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/Gc8AXBLObSBLdq_uvoQmFw?select=rtJWewLSLbrejEB5pCIUjA My husband's got a crush on Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas. This pretty lady is a tiny gal, but she puts most men to shame when it comes to competitive eating. She's ranked #4 in the world. Hubby's always impressed with women who can chow down. I'm a slow eater and a nibbler. I tagged along to cheer on Yelp's own Damon W. who's ranked #1 in LA and #22 on the competitive eating circuit. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/Gc8AXBLObSBLdq_uvoQmFw?select=IGAFnIr2ZSYbZfkV3plMHA Gotta say, Damon was the most entertaining one on the stage. He was jumping & jiving up there! The hard-core contestants were stuffing the gyozas into their mouth by the handfuls. At least 5 at a time. I got kind of grossed out towards the end. Sonya Thomas' eyes started rolling back in her head and the winner of this event, Pat Bertoletti.....well, just look at this pic! http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/Gc8AXBLObSBLdq_uvoQmFw?select=AGwrGmy4JcZvXUjh7_uEEg And this was before his entire mouth area was covered in that bright red stuff he was washing down the gyozas with. Ugh. I was peeking through my fingers by then. Fun times!

    Richard L.

    Nisei Week is basically a celebration for second generation Japanese (ABJ). The festival is 3 weeks long, but mostly is just during weekend. It got parade, performance, and dancing. This event is great for people of all ages, I see as young as 5 to old as 80 participate the dance. They now added ramen festival into the mix as well, so the festival is getting bigger and more attention to non-Japanese as well. Parking is not too bad, there's free parking within 10 minutes' walk. Just stay away from the ghetto area in the south. I wanted to see more food vendor or stalls, there's not only few dozen but is in the ramen festival which does charge your admission. If you want the best time to visit little Tokyo, I highly recommend come during Nisei week. Japanese restaurant getting packed around those time, so sign up for a table prior watching the performance and parade.

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    Review Highlights - Nisei Week

    . Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012 - Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) 244 S

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    Santa Monica Festival

    Santa Monica Festival

    4.2(10 reviews)
    12.5 mi

    Twenty-two years and going strong, that's the Santa Monica Festival not me, if only. Although 90+…read moredegree heat was predicted, a light marine layer, cool ocean breezes created a pleasant backdrop to showcase this year's sustainability themed event, as well as, events within like, the Juneteenth Celebration, A Taste of Summer with the Annenberg Beach House and the Santa Monica Farmers Market Challenge which pitted Nyesha Arrington http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-9/bio/nyesha-arrington and Josie Le Balch http://www.josierestaurant.com/ to create a $15 meal for four. I fear this foodie was a festival wimp because I was too wiped to hang out for their food fight. A myriad of activities for folks of all ages with kids really digging the Big Blue Bus and trash recycling truck to hop on and explore. The free bike valet http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/santa-monica-festival-santa-monica-2?select=vH2e66N3SWb9kldxGYxzyg#uVsNV593GV0zcfWGsam18g encouraged leaving the car at home as my friends and I did. Plenty of food trucks http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/santa-monica-festival-santa-monica-2?select=vH2e66N3SWb9kldxGYxzyg#8h3JhmFhSm4yY2dSUK3G3g and even a fashionmobile http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/santa-monica-festival-santa-monica-2?select=vH2e66N3SWb9kldxGYxzyg#_UknuOz5Hw8CSlqpB0GlAw ! Santa Monica is indeed a city of cultural activities and well-honed services to be taken advantage of by all. More here: http://www.smgov.net/Portals/Culture/content.aspx?id=15035 Highlight for me was artist Cassandra Tondro's http://tondro.com/ "From Cans to Canvas" interactive painting experience http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/santa-monica-festival-santa-monica-2?select=vH2e66N3SWb9kldxGYxzyg#wUrJjuqoQeDWgII5lKypig http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/santa-monica-festival-santa-monica-2?select=vH2e66N3SWb9kldxGYxzyg#1rjspkly2CXSvNRTZ6H9sg If you missed today's festival, do bookmark it for 2014, trust me, it's worth it!

    We came, we saw, we thronged! From a distance, the Santa Monica Festival at Clover Park looked like…read moreany other free outdoor community event, a weekend sea of pedestrians and rows of white tents and bold lettered banners. But Saturday was cool, Clover's grass was green, and the atmosphere was indeed festive. There were several options for free or metered parking in supervised lots within walking distance, making at least our vehicular arrival and departure quick and painless. After leaving the car, we made a beeline for the park's restrooms, where, as it typically happens whenever we step out to a fairground, we spent a considerable chunk of our visit waiting our turns in slow-moving lines. Plenty of music filled our ears while we waited, especially the notes coming from center stage, where a featured group, The Lions, sounded particularly captivating. We quietly joined standing watchers later on, just in time to see The Lions wrap up their soulful and energetic gig. Festival treats were also close at hand, so we couldn't miss tasting Linde's old-fashioned sugar roasted almonds. We followed our noses to her popular table where I impulsively grabbed us a couple of warm paper cones in a sweet twofer deal. Linde jokingly asked if we were unable to share, to which I honestly replied, "yes." It was a fair-tastic time. The usual apparel gifts and arts-and-craftsy things were available for passers-by to browse and purchase, and interactive activities engaged families, kids, and kids-at-heart. It seemed apparent to us after one walk-through that the city government was out to connect with and educate visitors in exchange for cheap swag and fun, with a number of public service kiosks that let you spin wheels and answer questions for prizes. We didn't get around to checking everything out (see Tess M.'s yelp here: http://bit.ly/11hmlqO for some neat things we missed), but all in all, the Festival was pleasant and low-key, which is pretty much Santa Monica in a nutshell.

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    Santa Monica Festival
    Santa Monica Festival
    Santa Monica Festival - There were bike valets

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    There were bike valets

    Haunted Night in Little Tokyo

    Haunted Night in Little Tokyo

    4.0(2 reviews)
    0.1 miLittle Tokyo, Downtown

    I never knew that Little Tokyo does a Haunted Night event, they have been doing this for three…read moreyears already!! It was actually my first time this year in 2019. I am for sure going to try to come to this event every year because it was soo fun. It is a night event where it reminds me of something similar to 626 night market but held in Little Tokyo and is a lot small size. But overall this is pretty fun because you can see so many different people dressing up nd enjoying themselves. There is food to buy from vendors and also things to buy. So shopping around was pretty nice. Food also was super good!! The event is free and pretty safe, I saw plenty of families here that brought their young kids and it wasn't too scary that they were freaking out. But overall everyone was having fun. The DJ and host did an awesome job in music and information. It was super fun and felt really safe in too!

    I didn't know there was a Haunted Little Tokyo 2017, but I attended the 2nd edition, full of…read moreHalloween extravaganza of events in this cool part of town. There were cool screenings of horror movies, starting with "Prince of Darkness" on Oct. 5th., showed at one of the locations where it was shot, a fun Block Party on Saturday, Oct. 27th, a haunted tour of the area and there will be a Trick or Treat on 31st. It's a great idea, the area comes to life during this time, there are many activities for the season. People who come here like to dress up anyways, so the Block Party was a fun event to people watch, many cool costumes around, a beer garden, food trucks, DJ, various vendors. It started at 6 pm and went to midnight. The city that never sleeps.... A very cool way to have a Halloween party, I wish they had more acts on the stage, but the Haunted Little Tokyo is a great idea. And it can get spooky...

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    Haunted Night in Little Tokyo - Vendors

    Vendors

    Haunted Night in Little Tokyo - Creepy

    Creepy

    Haunted Night in Little Tokyo - Festive decor

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    Festive decor

    Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival

    Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival

    4.4(66 reviews)
    1.4 miDowntown

    I'm pretty disappointed with the event we attended last night. Purchased VIP tickets and was only…read moreabout 10 people from the front. When we entered at 6:30 (an hour early for VIP), the place was somehow already crowded?? Minutes later, it was hard to even walk inside the hangar. We were shoulder to shoulder with people. Luckily we got to sample most foods. The food selection was great. Plenty of wine tastings and other drink options. The issue was not the food. The problem was how incredibly crowded it was. Around 7:30 when it was time for the general admission entry, I thought there's no way they could fit anymore people in here. Then it became SO CROWDED that you literally could NOT WALK or get to anything! People were bumping into each other trying to get anywhere. It just became an extremely stressful experience trying to get to anything, so we just left. I just want to say shame on LA Food and Wine for overselling and cramming as many people in like a SARDINE CAN! This used to be a wonderful event and I was so excited to finally be able to attend again, only to be disappointed. THIS WAS A FIRE HAZARD! There's no way that many people in that hangar was safe in any way.

    A bit underwhelming. Many vendors ran out of food maybe around 9pm. An entire wing turned into a…read moreghost town of empty counters. Bummed I didn't get to sample everything. Tried great scallop, crab, pasta dishes and a tomato soup I really liked. Chocolate chip cookie was outstanding. Blood orange mule was pretty good by Lobos. Other dishes were so so. Definitely not worth the high price tag even after 30% discount.

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    Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival - Good drinks

    Good drinks

    Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival - Cool entryway

    Cool entryway

    Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival - It was ok. I expected more from a headliner chef

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    It was ok. I expected more from a headliner chef

    Electric Mile - 7 unique Insomniac worlds!

    Electric Mile

    4.3(47 reviews)
    13.0 mi

    I really do miss live shows and getting a chance to get that feeling of happiness when you go to…read moreshows with friends, listen to great live music, and make memories. With the pandemic still very much so at large, we are very limited to these types of experiences, but Insomniac was able to pull this off, while still keeping everyone safe. The only downfall (and quite big IMO), was the wait time to enter the first weekend. We waited over an hour to enter GA, and eventually was asked if we wanted to upgrade to VIP for $50. I wish we were asked this in the beginning, but I wonder if they've been able to fix this problem since then. Also, if anyone has attended this and knows the link to the official playlist on Spotify, please send it my way! I'd love to bookmark this entire playlist to listen in my car.

    Tickets are $69.99 during the week, $89.99 Fridays and Saturdays, $79.99 on Sundays. An additional…read more$59.95 to upgrade to VIP (up to 8 people per car) and another $20.00 for the service fee. Yeah, it adds up and it doesn't seem worth it, but if there's 8 of you in the car and split the tab, it isn't too bad. We came through on a Friday night. We opted for the VIP package and bypassed pretty much everyone (that line looked like a thousand miles long, so that alone threw all regrets, doubts and second thoughts out the window!) Bypassing the long line was one thing, but then my passengers' bladders decided to go in sync and in unison all needed a bathroom break BEFORE the drive. The VIP package came in handy once again - they have a separate set of porta-potties for VIP peeps, too! Needless to say, there were no lines there either. So, yeah, off to a good start. I didn't really know what to expect, so I decided not to expect too much. There were a lot of mixed reviews on Yelp (complaints were mostly about the cost) so I kept an open mind. THE VERDICT: Totally WORTH IT. This whole production was well put-together. It was beautifully created with a lot of imagination. The engineering and construction alone were astonishing, how long did it take them to put it all up! And I really liked that they coordinated all the lights' movements with the music coming off the assigned radio station (107.9.) And those souls braving the cold as they entertained us with their dance moves... KUDOS! (I didn't get to see what's in the VIP box but going by how each of my passengers went through it like the Tasmanian Devil, I'm gonna assume whatever was in there was fun!) If this is your thing, here are a few tips: 1) Entry is at Holly and Huntington NOT at the main entrance. If you do end up at the main entrance, they'll reroute you. No worries. 2) You can come through as early as 30 minutes before your scheduled time, but try to be there within that window just for the sake of being considerate. The whole thing is about 45 minutes to an hour, all depending on how slow or fast you go. 3) CLEAN YOUR WINDSHIELDS! I meant to, but I completely forgot. But even with the semi-dirty glass, it was still pretty good. 4) Sunroofs are great! I didn't have one (wouldn't have mattered if I did since I was the one behind the wheel) but I was sorta jealous of the peeps who made full use of it. I imagine that's the best way to experience it. 5) You are allowed to open your windows. Just watch out for fog machines... 6) Take your time and let it all sink in. If you can afford it, I highly recommend it, something cool to do social distancing style. It's an event for all ages and a great excuse to get out of the house more especially during these challenging times.

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    Electric Mile - Last ticket is for January 24, 2021!

    Last ticket is for January 24, 2021!

    Electric Mile - Super dope!

    Super dope!

    Electric Mile - We had to upgrade our tickets to get the full experience!

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    We had to upgrade our tickets to get the full experience!

    Unique Markets

    Unique Markets

    4.5(224 reviews)
    0.9 miDowntown

    This twice yearly event takes over the top floor of a downtown arts district high rise and is a…read moreblast! Some sticker shock at the entry ($15), but includes a tote bag I keep in the trunk for Erewon runs for a single bottled water (also $15, so a good deal in comparison). About 100 booths of "shop small" businesses, largely handmade stuff including jewelry, soaps, clothing, cards and gifts, tarot, and food. The booths are run by the artists/sellers themselves which is a great way to connect with these super talented entrepreneurs. Hard to make the rounds without picking up a few items and supporting local artists at the same time, most of whom work out of their apartments. There are some foodie freebie samples and a freebie photo booth too. Meters all around downtown but as of this writing (5/23), self-parking in the building was a flat $8. I ended up with a giant chicken named Bella along with cards, stickers and iron-on patches. Yelpers, you will run into people you know, so the 'no sweatpants' rule applies. See you there.

    Never knew about it, first time I've been, and I enjoyed it! It's a bunch of small businesses in…read moreone place. I spent a couple hours here, purchasing a pair of fun handmade embroidered cat earrings; getting a complimentary can of Liquid Death, spritzer at the bar, and having a photo taken at the Photo Booth. Even though I didn't need it, timing is perfect with the free gift wrapping station. And if I hadn't already completed my Christmas shopping, I would have found something here for everyone on my list. You can purchase tickets online or at the event ($15). This year, parking was conveniently located the underground parking lot as the event for a flat $8/day, which is unheard of in DTLA. Stood in line to check in and get my free tote. Took an elevator to the floor where the event was being held. Somewhat of a super spreader event tho cuz it got really crowded, with rarely anyone wearing a mask.

    Photos
    Unique Markets - Unique and proud

    Unique and proud

    Unique Markets
    Unique Markets

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    Nisei Week - festivals - Updated May 2026

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