Lazy Fridays #1

Lazy Fridays #1: 3rd Street Promenade

What? 3rd Street is a shopping center? What does this have to do with free places to visit?

Well, I'm not talking about 3rd Street Shopping in this post, but if you are ever so inclined, go ahead and shop. I'm talking about the performers who come out everyday and put on shows for shoppers.

Street Performance is a huge thing in L.A. Go to any of the major entertainment centers and you will find a performer there. You have the options of Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Hollywood, etc. to experience the untapped talent of L.A.'s performance circuit.

On and around 3rd Street, there are at least fifty performers a day showing off what they can do. It ranges from stunning Slavic acrobats to Regina Spektor-esque singers on tiny pianos to crowd-pleasing hip-hop dancers asking for crowd participation.

If you don't have the money to shop, its always great to just sit on the sidewalk in front of your favorite act and listen to them. If you love them, then there is no shame in dropping a couple dollar bills into their guitar cases and hats.

Some of the more eccentric acts on 3rd Street include: the Slavic acrobats that I mentioned earlier (a father and son pair, although now they bring in students from the acrobat school they run); another acrobat who is a war veteran with amputated legs, his skills are brilliants as he only balances on his hands not only on the floor but on poles as well; belly dancers and traditional Eastern European dance who generally space out on each block of the promenade; and a silver/gold man who makes himself a statue to the music of the Black Eyed Peas.

Some of my favorite performers are John West (a guitarist who performs nearly every weekend), the hip hop dancers who usually are performing in front of the Forever 21, the salsa dancers (who you can join in with) on Sundays and the aforementioned amputated acrobat.

This is only a small list of performers on the promenade, but new ones come in every day, so it's impossible to name them all.

Go out and see for yourself. Enjoy a free concert, dance performance, or acrobatics show if you have a day to spend lazily. Enjoy!