Gentle reader,

1) JOHN FANTE TURNS 100 next month, and we're celebrating the centennial of our favorite downtown writer with two very special free events. On Tuesday, April 7 at 7pm, Zocolo at the Hammer Museum presents a panel discussion moderated by the NEA's Director of Literature David Kipen. The panel is still unannounced, but will include our own Richard Schave, biographer Stephen Cooper, KCRW's Frances Anderton and John and Joyce Fante's children. Tickets are free but reservations required, so get yours at the link below. Also on April 8 (his actual birthday) we'll be gathering at 8pm to raise a glass at the King Eddy Saloon at 5th & Los Angeles Streets in downtown's old Skid Row.
http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/lectureseries.php?event_id=244#
   
2) If you were born in March we think you're special. That's why we're offering a MARCH HARES PROMOTION on any of the month's tours: when they come with a fully paid passenger, the March baby pays just $3.33 for their seat, AND receives a pop culture goodie bag to take home. Pre-reservations are essential, so contact us to reserve your place on HOTEL HORRORS & MAIN STREET VICE (3/21) or PASADENA CONFIDENTIAL (3/28). And yes, crime buddies, we WILL be checking IDs!

3) SATURDAY, MARCH 21 - We've taken our favorite downtown double feature crime and oddities tour, HOTEL HORRORS & MAIN STREET VICE, and made it even
wilder, with more hotel visits and stunning vintage film clips that bring the lost world of downtown to life. Don't miss this celebration of the ribald old neighborhood that's not there anymore, and stories to make you laugh and shiver. (Tour eligible for March Hares promotion, see #2.) For more info, visit http://esotouric.com/mainhotel

4) SATURDAY, MARCH 28 - Crimebo's back on our popular PASADENA
CONFIDENTIAL crime bus tour, a very proper excursion into all the horrid
tales the white-gloved ladies of the town would rather we not tell. They say
each community gets the crimes it deserves, and Pasadena's have always been
extraordinary. Climb aboard for rough trade, rocket science, monkeys run amok, suicide leaps, devil worship, madmen and assorted evils that will forever change the way you look at Pasadena. (Tour eligible for March Hares promotion, see #2.) More info is at http://esotouric.com/pasadena

5) SATURDAY, APRIL 4 - Four is a terrible number to superstitious Asian folk, denoting death and to be avoided at all costs. The double four of this date demanded we unleash an especially grisly tour, and so it's time again for WILD WILD WEST SIDE, packed with more child abusing mamas, mummified cult priestesses and murderous snake handlers than any other Esotouric bus adventure. But you're not scared of a little number 4, are you? If not, then join us, do!
http://esotouric.com/wildWestSide-4-4-09  

6) Don't forget, there are DISCOUNTS to be had on the Esotouric bus. March babies save big and get a gift (see #2 for details). Take 15% off if you are a KCRW or KPCC subscriber (use these discounts too when you purchase gift certificates). Spring for a SEASON PASS (which can be used any time) and get four tickets while saving $25. Call us if you have a group of 8 or more people wanting to ride a tour for a special quote. Or rent the whole bus and make a private party of it... you can even bring Crimebo the Clown along, if you must. There really are no limits except your imagination, our driver's patience and gravity.

7) And finally, let's drop in on my grandparents, 90-something Eastside bloggers The OGs, who remind us that "mind reading is for lovers." After 73 years together, they ought to know!
http://the-ogs.com/purimparty

yrs,
Kim
Esotouric
http://www.esotouric.com

Upcoming Esotouric bus tour schedule
Sat March 21 – Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice
Sat March 28 – Pasadena Confidential
Sat April 4 - Wild Wild Westside
Thurs April 9 - The Hippodrome (Downtown Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat April 11 - Raymond Chandler's Bay City
Sat April 18 - The Real Black Dahlia
Sat April 25 - Raymond Chandler's LA
Sat May 2 - Blood & Dumplings
Thurs May 14 - The Hippodrome (Downtown Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat May 16 - Weird West Adams
Sat May 23 - Pasadena Confidential
Sat May 30 - The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's SoCal Nightmare
Sun June 7 - South LA architecture tour
Thurs June 11 - The Hippodrome (Downtown Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat June 13 -  Vroman's edition: Blood & Dumplings
Sat June 20 - Route 66 architecture tour