by Michael Sedano

From: Labloga.com

Good things come in all sizes and shapes, and in the greater Los Angeles basin, distance. Variety spices life but confounds desire and planning when they–the Good things–all come at once. Given eastside westside all around the town, faced with choices last Sunday, I choose the road less traveled.

In Highland Park, a La Palabra reading convened at Avenue 50 Studio. My hometown Pasadena Arts Fest had a Huizache panel that meant cutting it too close on the other end. Concepción Valadez had secured tickets to hear Juan Felipe Herrera deliver the 2017 Frances Clarke Sayers Lecture at UCLA. No playing CPT at a major university fete, so the best bet was playing it safe. I opted for an early start on the drive to the West side.

Parking was free, an incredibly humane policy for the non-academic public. Parking Lot SV served Sunset Village, an astonishingly upscale residence complex served by coffee shops, book stores, and a spacious auditorium. The sponsor, UCLA Ed & IS and the UCLA Department of Information Studies, pulled out all the stops. The entry foyer glistened with champagne flutes and a sea of bottle necks protruding from cases of wine.

Afterwards, the foyer had been set up to dispense beverages and elegant sweets. Outside in the patio, crudités, exquisite cheeses, fruits, hummus, olives, and eggplant filled plates while attendants circulated with hot appetizers. Gluten-free guests loved the warm dried fig slathered with gorgonzola cheese and topped with walnut. Read Rest of Article Here