Culture Day at LA Climate Week is on Saturday, April 11, 2026
Sky Portal X Gallery – Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is where culture becomes climate action. We’re gathering artists, storytellers, scientists, and cultural leaders for an afternoon exploring how creativity can shape the future of our planet.
This is a space for connection, expression, and real conversations where art meets climate, and ideas turn into action. Featuring visual artists:
@ekaterina.sky.art
@meena.amani
@ofthestardustandearth
@havilahabrego
@brendannorth
@eubankart
@climatediva
@dmogrobejo
@Amyburkmanart
In addition, there are performances by ODE, Brittany Neff, @lauradelhauer @inannaforearth @hysterical_theatre
Through the gloom of clouds and mist, muddy streets and threats of "rain," we made our way to big house in Shadow Hills in the Foothills of the Valley. It was warm and bright inside, pulsing with lights and DJs. In a room to the right were throw pillows, tapestries, chocolates of all kinds and the massage area. On the ceiling was a map of the night sky in colorful lights or a psychedelic representation of it anyway. We gathered in a giant circle that spanned three rooms and the dancefloor, spilling into a fourth, for introductions. Pick a word that represents the year we are leaving. Introduce yourself to the person on your left, mimic their every move, share deeply. Raw vegan foods and cheesecake by Rawsheed were cooling, and warm curries were bubbling. Hibiscus tea filled a punch bowl with stevia and lemon essence.
There was socializing all around in every room and a long primary dinner table set to serve two dozen people as others retreated to an adjoining room to eat, talk, and plan their karaoke, dancing, and singalong routines. The massage room became a healing chamber with too many signing up too late as hours rushed until the ecstatic moment of the countdown: 10, 9, 8...2026 was on its way. Is this happening simultaneously in New York, or did it happen three hours before? It's already tomorrow in Oceania and Australia. Dancing, screaming, hoots and howls to welcome in the new year, it's something Gatsby might have overseen from West Egg. Where's Daisy? She's dancing somewhere.
Others are developing mindfulness and meditating, healing and letting go, and the drizzle has stopped down below in the Basin and Valley that is Los Angeles. People settled into corners for deep talks about the environment, human potential, psychology, saving the world, lamenting the Levant, and strategizing for paths to health and greater prosperity.
This is a good crowd with Vanessa and Annie outdoing themselves. Not since this past summer's pool party in Beverly Hills and book release has a compassionate celebration been so celebratory. Everyone was full, and it was approaching 2:00 am as we cleaned up, hugged, and meandered back down to the City of Angels.
Enter the glittering world of Arcana and find your Tarot Dreams. Once you arrive, find a host of figures to illuminate your chosen path. Draw in ultraviolet colors on the walls of your inner landscape.
Purchase a vegan food ticket ($40) to receive Alchemical creations by Chef Rawsheed (Facebook) and special elixirs. Appetizer, a main course, and dessert are all included.
Or just come to party ($15).
Everyone in attendance will be provided an elixir of sparkling cider for the midnight toast.
A DJ will be playing for our dancing pleasure at this ball between open mic and karaoke sets. Bring instruments!
Tip jar massage will be available.
Come dressed like a celestial Devi in silver or gold outfit for the ball. Or dress however you feel inspired with comfort as the goal.
Strut down a glittering catwalk in vegan ball attire for everyone to admire. (Please consider ahimsa, "non-harming," and avoid wool, silk, fur, leather, and feathers stolen from tormented animals).
Payment for the food ticket due by Dec. 29th.
Address of location given upon RSVP by Dec. 30th.
Venmo: @Vanessa-Marsot
Zelle: 818-383-5998
PayPal: vmarsot@gmail.com. Questions? Contact Vanessa at (818) 383-5998 or Annie at (310) 892-9617.
This event is advertised on multiple sites, so the Meetup numbers do not reflect the total number attending?
DISCLAIMER: Event organizers assume no liability; all participants do so at their own risk. By attending, you agree that neither you nor any third party will hold any of the group's leaders liable for any injury, loss, or damage to your own person or any members of your family, friends, acquaintances, children, pets, or property, arising directly or as a consequence from a group activity.
Event: Tenth annual New Year Sacred Ceremony (yoga fundraiser for girls, veggie potluck, and gift-giving blanket Native American tradition). Social, potluck, gift-giving blanket
price: $25 in advance, $33 day of event.
Beneficiary: Fundraising proceeds will be donated to Yoga Gives Back (YGB), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that empowers women and children in India through education and micro-loans.
ABOUT: Join us for Kinship Yoga’s beloved annual year-end gathering to honor what we are releasing and welcome what we are inviting in. We do this through community, intention setting, and celebration with live music and activities, plus a vegan/vegetarian potluck to share with all -- and lots of gifts.
All fundraising proceeds are donated to Yoga Gives Back (YGB)!
Event Schedule and Flow
6:00 pm–7:45 pm: Sacred Ceremony - a contemplative space honoring the interconnectedness of all life, with culturally respectful observances and shared intentions for peace and renewal in the year ahead.
Smudging with Sage – cleanse and ground as we begin.
Guided Journaling – reflect on the past year and set clear, heart-aligned intentions.
Sacred Chanting – unite our voices and cultivate collective harmony for the New Year.
7:45–10:00 pm: Gift-Giving Blanket, Fundraiser, and Veggie (vegan/vegetarian) Potluck
Gift-Giving Blanket – inspired by Native American traditions. Bring one or more new or gently used (mindful) items to place on the blanket, then select a gift someone else has offered. (No purchase necessary—and re-gifting is highly encouraged!
ALL ARE WELCOME—whether or not you're bringing a gift, come to receive.
Fundraiser for Yoga Gives Back
– How? We’ll host a small silent auction and raffle gift certificates. Anyone can also donate monetarily by Venmo: @stella_han_yoga. (Please note “Yoga Gives Back” or “YGB” + your email and phone; this info is visible only to Stella Han). Cash/checks accepted on site. For checks, please write: “Yoga Gives Back.”
Veggie Potluck (optional)
I have to choose what I wear very carefully.
If you’d like to contribute a vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free dish, please email Stella (coordinator) at email stellaheartyoga@gmail.com or come with the dish's name and all ingredients on a small card.
All dishes must be vegetarian or preferably vegan (purely plant based). Please include a small ingredient card for transparency (noting any potential allergens. It's appreciated by the health conscious). Potluck contributors will receive 2 raffle tickets—so please let the host know when arriving with one.
What to Wear?
Yoga pants and gear are fine. Or dress warmly and comfortably. Festive or spiritual white attire is welcome (optional) as we gather to set intentions for the New Year.
Questions?
Please contact Stella Han by email (stellaheartyoga@gmail.com) or call the studio or send through the Wisdom Quarterly messaging system.
Second party option (FREE)
All are cordially invited to our festive holiday party to celebrate the winter solstice with good cheer and join a candlelight ritual to bring light to animals suffering in dark places around the globe. The ritual includes devotional chanting with Devi Daly as sacred witnessing and an expression of compassion. As the shortest day and longest night of the year, the solstice symbolizes rebirth, renewal, and the return of the light. May our lights usher in a new era of inner peace and peace for all beings! It's a vegan potluck, too. Calabasas, in the San Fernando Valley More
Join Moon Valley Nurseries on Oct. 18th and 19th, 2025, at nearest Moon Valley Nurseries (MVN) to celebrate its 30th anniversary. As a special anniversary gift, MVN wants to give customers the chance to win $5,000 in trees. Enter raffle at all stores this weekend only. As a bonus, MVN will be celebrating the fall season, giving away FREE pumpkins and partying all weekend long! More
For over three decades, MVN has set the standard for excellence in delivering superior trees, plants, and landscaping services... At MVN, the mission is to enhance lives and environments through premium trees, plants, and expert landscaping services. With over 30 years of experience, MVN is dedicated to providing exceptional... More
The big cultural celebration at the Mindfulness Meditation Center petered out, as most of the Sri Lankan community still had Vesak religious celebrations to attend at other Sinhalese-speaking venues. NoHo's Sarathchandra Buddhist Temple had a large turnout in the run up to its big Vesak lunar observance (Poya Day) on May 25, 2025.
Vesak Day Pali chanting of blessings
CLARIFICATION: Sarathchandra Temple in NoHo is celebrating a Bangladeshi Buddhist version of Vesak on Sunday, May 18, and will hold the traditional Sri Lankan version on Sunday May 25, 2025. The monks participated in Long Beach's Bodhi Mission Bangladeshi Vihara's Vesak on the May 17 in the morning and chanting in NoHo in the evening. Why? It is the joyous season of Vesak, which brings out the best in cultural celebrations for countries all over Asia and the diaspora.
Vesak continues on May 25, 2025
In Buddhist Sri Lanka (the tradition of the dominant group, the ethnic Sinhalese), the teardrop island off the tip of Southern India, which is also home to Hindus, Christians, Muslims, and animistic indigenous folk surviving in the jungles, VESAK is a weeklong celebration that is prepared for and remembered for the entire month. The great Los Angeles area has various Sri Lankan Buddhist viharas ("monasteries") in Los Angeles (Dharma Vijaya, which celebrated May 10, 2025), Covina (Mindfulness Meditation Center), the Valley (Sarathchandra Temple, North Hollywood), Sunland, and elsewhere.
Vesak Day in Theravada Buddhist Sri Lanka
Public Vesak celebrations, May 11 and 18th
Sunday, May 18, 2025, will see two giant Vesak (commemoration of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and passing into final nirvana on the full moon day of the same month called Vesakha on the ancient lunar calendar) celebrations in LA's two valleys. NoHo in the San Fernando Valley holds its annual celebration (beginning tonight, Saturday, May 17th, with chanting of blessings), observing the Eight Precepts, practicing meditation, Pali canon chanting, blessings, and lots and lots of island cuisine on May 18, 2025 and May 25, 2025. Far to the east in the San Gabriel Valley city of Covina, the Mindfulness Meditation Center (formerly the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara of Hollywood then Pasadena) will have its annual Sri Lankan cultural celebration of Vesak on May 18, 2025, following last Sunday's full moon religious observance (the Uposatha or Poya Day as it is known in Sri Lanka) and meditation retreat. Both events are free, and all are welcome. Wear white. Call to confirm details.
Usually, the young Mexican American monk Rev. SanathaVihari is present in NoHo, but he is currently visiting Vietnam
The lad Tim Conway Jr. (KFI 640 AM) is friends with Keith of the Young Dubliners, an Irish band from Los Angeles. They both lived in the Valley back in the day, along with 40,000,000 other Irish diaspora members and their descendants in the United States.
There are only 7,000,000 (2023) in Ireland, if a census can be believed, and who knows if that counts occupied British "Northern Ireland," a Bantustan cut out [the way Palestine is sliced up by illegal occupiers and genocidal overlords Israel] by neighboring England and forced to be part of the United Kingdom, with the advocacy and acquisition of many Royalist Protestants.
Emigration (outgoing) from Ireland in the 19th century contributed to the populations of England, the United States, Canada, and Australia, in all of which a large Irish diaspora lives. As of 2006, 4.3 million Canadians, or 14% of the population, were of Irish descent [152], while around one-third of the Australian population had an element of Irish descent [153].
As of 2013, there were 40 million Irish-Americans [154] and 33 million Americans who claimed Irish ancestry [155], making a good argument for changing the name of the USA to New Ireland (rather than New England).
With growing prosperity since the last decade of the 20th century, Ireland became a destination for (incoming) immigrants. Since the European Union (EU) expanded to include Poland in 2004, Polish people have comprised the largest number of immigrants (over 150,000) [156] from Central Europe.
There has also been significant immigration from Lithuania, Czech Republic, and Latvia [157]. The Republic of Ireland in particular has seen large-scale immigration, with 420,000 foreign nationals as of 2006, about 10% of the population [158].
Nearly a quarter of births (24 percent) in 2009 were to mothers born outside of Ireland [159]. Up to 50,000 Eastern and Central European migrant workers left Ireland in response to the Irish financial crisis [160]. More
Apocalypse has a very specific meaning, namely, the great "reveal" or "disclosure." What revelation is at hand?
Is it possible that we are about to find out how our own beautiful government commits democide with intention and planning rather than neglect or incompetence? We know compartmentalized groups within the government do very unsavory things no democracy would be proud of or readily admit to (like assassinating a popular figure for not kowtowing to the power structure). Why not burn a few primo acres in Hawaii, Paradise, or greater metropolitan LA?
the Greek word apokálypsis, from which "apocalypse" is derived, means a revelation. It has been defined by John J Collins as "a narrative framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal, in that it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world," which he later refined by adding that apocalypse "is intended to interpret present, earthly circumstances in light of the supernatural world and of the future, and to influence both the understanding and the behaviour of the audience by means of divine authority" [14].
Latest on the wildfires burning across Los Angeles County
(ABC7) Jan. 9, 2025: A red flag warning for much of Southern California has been extended through Friday evening as four fires continue to burn across Los Angeles County. Here's the latest on where those stand. abc7.com/live-updates/socal-b...
Palisades burning: Inside the worst wildfire in L.A. history | About That
(CBC News) Jan. 10, 2025: CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service. Devastating wildfires continue to burn throughout Los Angeles and southern California. Nearly 10,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed, with more than 180,000 people displaced. Andrew Chang explains how drought conditions and Santa Ana winds contributed to the biggest of the blazes, the Palisades Fire in L.A. County, and why firefighters are struggling to contain it.
Images gathered from Reuters, Getty Images, and The Canadian Press.
Tragedy has struck, and we have been impacted. From the Santa Monica Bay to the foothills, Los Angeles is burning. Even Hollywood has not been spared. January 2025 Southern California wildfires. Is it natural? It's at least partially manmade because of the unnatural drought that uses a ridiculously high ridge of air to keep moisture away. Weather wars are real and have been in use by the military since the U.S. War on Vietnam. Paradise got it, Hawaii got it, why not the most populous city in the most populous state? All around us are scenes of devastation and normality, intermingled in a way that we did not imagine the Apocalypse. We were expecting "The Big One," a massive quake to end all services, civility, and any semblance of law and order. Instead, it's quite nice. People are pleasant, if not the best drivers. Mountains are smoldering, but otherwise most people are just carrying on their day-to-day existence without a visible change, except maybe rushing home to watch the news. The revolution will not be televised but the disasters will. We have an incompetent mayor and an even worse egomaniacal governor. What was anyone to expect? It's the perfect formula for imagining something fishy is going on, something willed. This is not just incompetence. But try to prove it.
Live KTLA 5 coverage: Wind-driven Palisades Fire in LA destroys homes
(KTLA 5) BREAKING NEWS: Firefighters are battling a fast-moving wildfire that has destroyed an undetermined number of homes (seaside mansions between the Hollywood studios and Santa Monica Bay) in the very affluent Pacific Palisades area of west Los Angeles. Watch KTLA 5 News team coverage. Liveblog: trib.al/tBDjKJ0
(FOX 11 Los Angeles) Jan. 6, 2025: The NWS said winds will reach "dangerous levels" by Tuesday afternoon, hitting LA and Ventura counties. Meteorologists estimated widespread gusts of 50 to 80 mph, with isolated gusts of 80 to 100 mph across the mountains/foothills possible. Red flag warning in effect.
SoCal sees its 'most destructive windstorm' in over a decade
(ABC7) Jan 7, 2025: Potentially destructive Santa Ana winds will blow through Southern California, elevating fire risk to dangerous levels for the next few days. abc7.com/los-angeles-weather-...Gusts up to 85 MPH, with sustained winds over 40 MPH, continuing for a few days.
Bag of wind visits SoCal to sign bill
We must not let Trump ruin this country like I ruined it, tried not to ruin it, y'know what I mean!
.
Is it true you tried to hang me on Jan. 6th?
Meanwhile, the weather is being worsened by a bag of hot air (Genocide Joe Biden) on the loose out there, east of Los Angeles, looking for a photo op as he declares public lands around Joshua Tree National Park a new monument dubbed Chuckwalla. Having arrived yesterday to disrupt the traffic, lame duck Biden is trying to leave a positive environmental legacy on top of all the destruction he has wrought with the U.S. War Machine as an old-timer with decades in Washington, DC, doing nothing to commend him or establish a good reputation.
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