Michele StuevenOn Sunday, Feb. 23, from noon til 4 p.m., the Los Angeles LGBT Center in Pasadena will host Highly Loved, an evolution of its annual Highly Favored event celebrating Black History Month.
Highly Loved is a gathering centered on healing, restoration, and collective care, especially after the recent wildfire devastation. Designed for and by Black Queer people, it’s a sanctuary of joy and connection for attendees that brings together artists, healers, and changemakers who believe in the power of community.
A love letter to LA’s Black Queer community, there will be sonic and meditative sounds by Terrell Brooke, a curated library by Reparations Club, Caribbean food by Bridgetown Roti, Community meditation and soundbath by Black Being LA, acupuncture by Portia and massages by Erikka Valdez of Touched by Design Massage Therapy.
“As the founder of TheyHouse, a collective dedicated to Black Queer placemaking through music, I’m honored to partner with the Los Angeles LGBT Center to present Highly Loved, a deeply intentional gathering rooted in healing, restoration, and collective care in the wake of LA’s wildfire devastation,” Brooke tells LA Weekly. “Cultivated for and by Black Queer folx, Highly Loved serves as a Sunday sanctuary of joy and connection. It brings together the dedicated artists and healers of our city, who believe in the transformative power of community, especially when a dangerous anti-LGBTQ+ political landscape confronts us.”
Courtesy Westfield Culver City
The Westfield Culver City mall is celebrating Black History Month with a lineup of free art, culture, and community experiences, honoring the past through a display of artistic expressions paying tribute to Black history and shaping the future by uplifting emerging voices.
The Art Pop-Up Experience will feature local creators through powerful visual storytelling. The Artists include Christen Austin, Marie Jose, Mike Norice, Noah Humes, and Tyris Winter from Saturday, Feb. 8 through Sunday, Feb.23, RSVP at ART POP-UP RSVP.
Celebrate with prawns and polenta or fried chicken with beet-pickled onions over smoked turkey collard green puree at one of the few Black-owned and operated fine dining establishments in Los Angeles, Linden. As a third-generation chef who grew up on Long Island, Chef Jonathan Harris designed the menu to reflect a melting pot of flavors found along Linden Boulevard in New York, blending the diverse cultures and cuisines of New York, the Caribbean, and Jewish traditions.
Other highlights include Wagyu Pie, a puffed pastry stuffed with pulled wagyu oxtail and plantain chutney that tells the story of Jamaica’s independence from Britain in 1962, a cornmeal dusted snapper, and The Parkway, jerk duck leg and breast, coconut pea risotto “rice-n-peas” and escovitch peppers.
Grilled cheese dipper (Courtesy Linden)