Venice Beach: unique artwork, a man in a mu-mu and the Kush doctor

Last week I found out two exciting pieces of information:

1) I get out of work at 3 p.m. every Friday
2) My friend Pat, from Williamsburg, is out here interning for an entertainment group that represents bands like Slightly Stoopid and Rebelution….Hello, summer concerts :)

I am so excited I have a Williamsburg friend out here that I can experience Cali with. Last Saturday, Pat and I decided to check out Venice Beach.

*I should note that we were too distracted by the boardwalk sites and never actually made it onto the beach…maybe next time*

First, we looked for somewhere to eat on the boardwalk and found a place with a GREAT people watching view. We ordered an over-priced pitcher of Bud Light and over-priced burgers…welcome to California, right?

After lunch, we continued down the boardwalk. I will start with the odd first. We saw a gentleman (with a full beard mind you) walking around in a white and blue floral mu-mu and lovely straw hat. We also saw a dread-locked man telling anyone whom would listen “you did not follow the gospel!”…thanks for filling me in guy.

On to the cooler stuff, there were men playing music in drum circles. There was a man on stilts wearing a costume that was covered in leaves and branches. He hid in some bushes, and then tapped passers-by on their shoulders and resumed hiding leaving the passer-by clueless… it was pretty funny to watch. A few yards down from the twigs and leaves guy was a belly dancer who balanced a sword on her head while her hips continued to move faster than my eyes could follow. A man balanced on a cylinder lying horizontally on top of a table WHILE juggling samurai swords. Pat got a custom henna tattoo by an artist and musician named Jason. We passed by the “Kush Doctor” where employees told passers-by “WEED love to help you” lol.

One art vendor was selling wind chimes that were by far the coolest wind chimes I have ever seen. Some of them were made of cheese graters, some pots and pans, metal plates as well as other various kitchen items. The parts of the wind chime that clink together to make noise were forks, knives and spoons. It was cool to see old household items be recycled into one-of-a-kind artwork. Lastly, we visited a woman who painted original artwork with her poetry included on some of the pieces. The paintings mainly consisted of hearts, ohm symbols and trees of life. The foreground colors and background colors contrasted beautifully. You can check her out [here or here].