Hear ye, Hear ye…ye Lady Tomatoes! It is with great pleasure that Lady Deborah, aka moi, announces that the esteemed Lady Penelope, aka Penny Peyser, honors us by becoming our “LA Life Poetess.” TA DAH!!! “Spring Blooms” abound at Descanso. I have recommendations of two organizations helping Ukraine. Green and Pink shine brightly in “LA Style Stories.” Celebrate “St. Paddy’s Day” with a twinkle in your eye.  The Braid JWT has special stories for you. And what could be better to brighten your day than a “Bulldog Beauty Contest”, Tomatoes.

Welcome Lady Penelope

The supremely talented actress Penny Peyser will be gracing us, now and again, with her charming and delightfully funny portrayal of the eccentric Lady Penelope performing “Sonnets from Suburbia”. You will love her witty, insightful, and brilliantly written Shakespearean sonnets explaining modern day life for women. Lady Penelope with her unique take on life today and the rhyme and rhythm of her “Sonnets from Suburbia” will make your life much sweeter. Welcome Lady Penelope! And her sonnet, “The Girls”, is the perfect topic for us gals today. Check it out.

Spring Blooms at Descanso

Crab Apple Tree Blooms, Cherry Blossoms, Yellow Acacia’s, Lilacs, Tulips and more early glorious spring blooms are unfurling and popping up all around Descanso Gardens. Spring magic is here with wonderful spring garden events at the Des Garden, Gals.

Starting March 21 Descanso will extend its weekday hours to 7pm which is great for the public. What is equally great are the offerings of “Spring Bloom Tours” (guided walking tours) where you can see what’s blooming and the “Spring Celebration on March 26 with all day bursts of color and activities.

Help for Ukraine

What better way to honor Women’s History Month than by helping the women faced with surviving the horrors of the war that is now a part of their everyday lives. As they fight to protect their freedom and flee to protect their vulnerable loved ones, their courage, grit, and strong spirit deserves the utmost respect and help. I have two suggestions, Tomatoes.

“UN Women USA” stands in solidarity with the women of Ukraine and is committed to supporting Ukraine’s people, especially the women and girls, at this time of greatest need.  And “The Ukrainian Culture Center of Los Angeles” and “Stand with Ukraine LA” are uniting to create a centralized headquarters to help Ukraine.  They have an entire list of ways to help and educate yourself on the dire situation in Ukraine that is concise and easy to follow. Of course, any way you choose to offer a lending hand is wonderful, Tomatoes.

LA Style Stories

Felicia Arlin is a vision in green in the “Green Lighted” LA Style Story where upcycling a long gown into a midi can create more modern and wearable dress.  And I love “Memories of Grandma” because it would literally tickle Felicia’s Grandma pink. And me, too. Enjoy the style tips as well, Tomatoes. Check it out.

Saint Paddy’s Day

On the day when every Tomato and bloke is Irish, you won’t be able to turn a corner where there isn’t a celebration. But four celebrations that will be spreading green cheer where you can eat, drink, be entertained and be merry caught my eye, Tomatoes.

“Angel City Brewery” has got it going on in the arts district and will be serving food and drink specials all day with live music where pups are welcome and green attire is encouraged. “The Original Farmers Market” in the Fairfax District, has an all-day celebration where you can shop with your favorite vendors while enjoying green beer and authentic Irish food with traditional folk music. “The Hollywood Roosevelt” will treat you to classical folk music in one of LA’s historic buildings where the walls will be flickering by candlelight to create a magical atmosphere.  The film “The Departed” will be screening at the historic Million Dollar Theatre in DTLA . The Million Dollar Theatre was one of the earliest and largest movie palaces in the country created for Sid Grauman as his first LA venue. St Patrick’s Day in a gorgeous movie palace is a great way to celebrate, Tomatoes.

March 20.  Bulldog Beauty & Haute Dogs Contests

I’m sure you will not be surprised that I will be attending “The Bulldog Beauty Contest and Haute Dogs Contests” in Long Beach. It is considered the largest annual gathering of English Bulldogs in the world, and my beautiful Grand Dog Bruce will be strutting and drooling down the red carpet to compete. All types of doggie breeds and mixes are welcome to enter the other contests or spectate.  It’s a total blast, Tomatoes!

Other contests that day include the National Mutt Show, Best in Show, Best Large Dog, and Best Small Dog. The dogs will parade down the red carpet and get judged by real-life beauty queens, all to help raise money for Community Action Team (CAT) /Haute Dogs and local animal welfare causes. The man behind the CAT 501 c3 nonprofit is the amazing Justine Rudd who is a firm believer in the collective power of individuals joined in a spirit of goodwill and generous giving to bring about the success of an organization.  The goal of CAT is to bring fun events and meaningful projects to the animals, kids and the entire community of Long Beach.  Bravo!

March 13, 20 & 23. New Stories from The Braid

Jewish Women’s Theatre at The Braid has a brand-new salon show, “Star Spangled Sabra, ”highlighting Israeli experiences in the US with a powerful collection of stories. Directed by the brilliant Susan Morgenstern, the show is a winner.  And on March 13, during a special zoom event, Lorraine Newman, the SNL icon, will share how she overcame personal demons to reinvent her life. Jewish Women’s Theatre at The Braid never stops offering meaningful and enlightening stories.

The new Braid show, “Star Spangled Sabra”, is a collection stories of Israelis in America caught between the American Dream and the Promised Land. Producer Sharon Landau says, “While there have been several one-person shows about the Israeli experience in the United States, this is a fresh collage that weaves in a fuller tapestry of such a vibrant and growing community. It was really inspiring and heartening to have a window into the hopes [and] struggles and also humor of my fellow Israelis in America in a way that can be shared with the community at large.”

At 22, Lorraine Newman made comedy history as a founder and original cast member of The Groundlings and original cast member of Saturday Night Live. Lorraine Newsman’s phenomenal early success was met by personal demons that she would struggle with. But she beat them down, overcame addiction and became an in-demand voice artist. Tomatoes should definitely check out attending “Star Spangled Sabra” and spending time with Lorraine Newman on the “Sunday Morning with the Braid” series.