Gentle reader,

Richard and I hope to see you downtown tomorrow night, when the old heart of the city comes back from the dead during Art Walk, and our free Hippodrome thrums with fabulous folks. Read on for all the details on this and other bus adventures...
 
1a) THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 6-10pm: The HIPPODROME our free Art Walk shuttle rolls around downtown's gallery row in its final lap in its present incarnation. On September 26 the competition closes in the Hippodrome Transformed art contest, and by the October 9 edition it will be an all new historically accurate Hippodrome that debuts. Join us this Thursday night to see the old Hippodrome off with these great performers: sly singer-songwriter Ruthann Friedman (her "Windy" was a #1 hit for the Association), folk-blues outsider Fort King, the deeply odd and pain-exempt Senor Stretchy Skin, baffling magician Raul, silent film-inspired mime Patrick Ian Moore, plus live local verse from Mike the Poet and a chance to secure some henna body art by Paula Brossard of Lotus Henna during the first half of the evening. The excitement starts at 5:45pm at 4th & Main Streets for some truly odd pre-tour ballyhoo, then we roll up Main and down Spring, every 15 minutes until 10pm. Click below for more info on the Hippodrome and on the art competition -- and get your entry in!
http://esotouric.com/hippodrome
http://esotouric.com/transform

2a) THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 7-9pm: And if you get on the Hippodrome, we suggest you hop off to enjoy an HISTORIC ANGELS FLIGHT EXHIBITION at photographer Gary Leonard's Studio at 740 S. Olive Street in honor of Jim Dawson’s new book "Los Angeles’s Angels Flight." This free event includes  wine and spirits, snacks, a display of 100-year-old postcards of Angels Flight, and Jim signing and discussing his new book on the beloved miniature funicular, with sections on its film noir pedigree and on its lost sibling, Court Flight. For more on this and other downtown books, please visit the On Bunker Hill shop

3) SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 (nearly sold out!): Forget Hollywood, babe, 'cause the quintessential LA town in definitely El Monte, its history packed with noirish murders, brilliant thespians, loony Nazis, James Ellroy's naked lunch and the lion farm that MGM's celebrated kitty called home. See all this and so much more, including the Man from Mars Bandit's Waterloo, when you climb aboard the BLOOD & DUMPLINGS crime bus tour. We only have a few seats left, so reserve today.
http://esotouric.com/bnd  

4) SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20: Special offer for On Bunker Hill readers, we're offering 2-for-1 tickets on the all star edition of THE MANY DOWNTOWNS, Richard's provocative exploration of how downtown grew, was deliberately depopulated and is returning to prominence. Special guests include curator and bon vivant Terry Ellsworth, downtown shopping maven Christine Silvestri and artist Emmeric Konrad, hosting a private reception/exhibit in his Arts District loft and selling art from $5-$5000 (so pack your checkbook). If you'd like to bring a friend for $58 for two, first call 323-223-2767 or email for instructions. Tour info is at the link below
http://esotouric.com/manydowntowns-9-20-08

5) Artists! FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 is the deadline to enter your proposed artwork to TRANSFORM THE HIPPODROME Art Walk shuttle into a moving portrait of the wild and wonderful glory years of Main Street. There are some fabulous prizes for the winning artists not to mention the fact that they will instantly be among the most visible artists on Gallery Row, so click below for info, and do pass it on. http://esotouric.com/transform

6) SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4: Author Erik Davis is back for another VISIONARY HOLLYWOOD tour exploring some of the city's most beautiful and fascinating spiritual sites, including a tour of Sister Aimee Semple McPherson's restored parsonage/museum and the home of the astonishing outer space peace movement the Aetherius Society. Visit this link below for reservation tips.

7) SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11: Seats on the RAYMOND CHANDLER'S LOS ANGELES tour departing from Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena are now available direct from the store. Last time they hosted the tour, it sold out, so call (626) 449-5320 to reserve your spot soon. This is the Hollywood/Downtown Chandler tour. On SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, we offer the CHANDLER'S BAY CITY tour, exploring his life and work on the west side. More info http://esotouric.com/chandlerpage

8) SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25: Once a year, we let good taste go by the wayside when CRIMEBO THE CLOWN PRESENTS HALLOWEEN HORRORS, our only BYOBB (bring your own barf bag) tour where no kids are allowed. Get on the bus for a Hallowe'en-themed excursion into the darkest, weirdest and most unexpected crimes from our freaky files, and some truly special surprises.

9) ANNOUNCING NOIR NOVEMBER: A month's tours celebrating the shadows beneath the blazing SoCal sun with a special offer. Buy a Noir November sampler ticket and ride three of the five bus adventures for the discount price of just $135 (choose from The Real Black Dahlia, The Birth of Noir,  Wild Wild West Side,  Hotel Horrors/ Main Street Vice and on Thanksgiving weekend, Blood & Dumplings). We can also make pretty customized gift certificates for this series, or for any event, on request.

yrs,
Kim
Editrix

Upcoming Esotouric bus tour schedule
Thurs Sept 11 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Sept 13 - Blood & Dumplings  
Sat Sept 20 – Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: The Many Downtowns
Sat Oct 4 – Bodhi Tree – Visionary Hollywood
Thurs Oct 9 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Oct 11- Vroman's Bookstore - Raymond Chandler's LA
Sat Oct 18- Raymond Chandler's Bay City
Sat Oct 25 – Halloween Horrors with Crimebo the Clown
Sat Nov 1- Noir November: The Real Black Dahlia
Sat Nov 8- Noir November: The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's SoCal Nightmare
Thurs Nov 13 –The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Nov 15- Noir November: Wild Wild West Side
Sat Nov 22- Noir November: Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice
Sat Nov 29- Noir November: Blood & Dumplings
Sat Dec 6- Haunts of a Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowski's LA
Thurs Dec 11- The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Dec 13- Pasadena Confidential