Derek Thomas

Count down the final hours of 2011 in the Egyptian Theater's outdoor courtyard, alongside Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame, and in three rooms with two dance floors, complete with open bar, DJs, and sexy go-go dancers. Sat., Dec. 31, 9 p.m., 2011......

A holiday spin on traditional improv games, presented by Improvatorium and Combined Artform. Patrick Bristow (The Groundlings, Ellen) directs a rotating cast that includes Grant Baciocco, Kevin Berntson, Gareth Berrow, Potsch Boyd, Brian Clark, Jayne Entwistle, Peggy Etra, Alison Mork, Carrie Seim, Chris Sheets, Henry Watkins and Vanessa Whitney. Ho!......

Johnny Carson used to call it "beautiful downtown Burbank," and the moniker stuck so well that the Burbank Chamber of Commerce trademarked the phrase in 2007. So what's so beautiful about it? Let's start with the food: Ciao Cristina!, Chadaka Thai, Granville Cafe, North End Pizzeria, Octopus Japanese Fusion Restaurant,......

Holy bat shark repellent! That pretty much sums up the heights of Bat-cheese that the Adam West-Burt Ward TV series Batman reached in 1966 with its movie version's crescendo of kitsch. Now you can ask the Caped Crusaders themselves what exactly was everyone thinking when the Dynamic Duo appears in......

I can't even begin to explain how awesome dineLA Restaurant Week is. When else can you get appetizer, entree and dessert at some of L.A.'s top restaurants at rock-bottom prices? Lunch for $22 at downtown's Water Grill: Are you kidding me? Lunch at Santa Monica's Border Grill for $16: Shut......

We love boobs! So do the organizers of Beats for Boobs, a multicity breast cancer awareness event on its eighth year in San Francisco, second year in Seattle and now in L.A., coinciding with this month's ubiquitous "Think Pink" campaigns. DJs, artists and fashionistas alike share the spotlight in an......

More than 100 Halloween-themed puppets, in a show that first played here in 1963. Saturdays, Sundays, 2:30 p.m.; Tuesdays-Fridays, 10:30 a.m. Starts: Oct. 1. Continues through Nov. 6, 2011......

Whether your favorite is pecan, apple, lemon meringue or rhubarb, LACMA's A Slice of Pie is sure to satisfy. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art's affaire de la tarte centers around KCRW's third annual Good Food pie contest, a judging of sweet and savory alike by a panel of......

Celebrity chefs pair wines with their gourmet creations at the Children's Bureau Celebrity Chefs & Wine Tasting, the second annual edition of this event benefiting the nonprofit's child-abuse prevention and treatment services. The culinary stars on scene include Mary Sue Milliken (Border Grill), Suzanne Tracht (Jar), Traci Des Jardins (Jardiniere),......

Twenty amateur cooks will go taco-a-taco at the NoHo Taco Cook-off Festival, an afternoon fund-raiser out to proclaim the best taco in L.A. The judges are food truck chefs (Dosa Truck's Leena, No Tomatoes!'s Kim, OG Tempura's Jae and Baby's Badass Burgers' Lori and Erica), and a portion of the......