Obscure LA December- Free Christmas Party, Pumpkin Bread, and Angels Flight Turns 125

One of my favorite things of all time is Public Access television, the non-commercial, community driven, and always bizarre TV programming that has been airing on local cable stations since the 1960s. Every few years I revisit this interest by compiling my own Christmas special made from all my favorite holiday themed Public Access TV clips. I've been collecting clips for years and use mostly stuff that can't be found online anymore. Think of this like Found Footage Fest meets Wayne’s World. The people who appear in these clips are usually not professionals and they have a naivety and earnestness about them that I think goes well with Christmas. Trust me on this, these folks are hilarious. This year's free screening will be hosted at Zebulon the day before Christmas Eve, December 23rd at 6:30 p.m. KXLU’s Bennett Kogon will also be on hand to DJ some rare and wacky Christmas music. I'll put the ticket link below but you can just show up. The only way to tune in is in person. Did I mention it’s FREE?

Tickets

Zebulon 2478 Fletcher Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90039

Way back in 1924 a group of Dominican nuns from New Jersey settled in the Hollywood Hills and founded the Monastery of the Angels. The cloistered community practiced perpetual adoration, which means at least one sister was always present in the chapel praying, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To help support their devotion the nuns began selling homemade baked goods. Originally they made fruitcake, but 1972 the price of cherries went up and they switched over to pumpkin bread. In the ensuing 50 years the monastery went through many more changes, the nuns aged, and by 2022 most had relocated. However, contrary to some reports you may read online, the pumpkin bread is still available if you pick it up directly from the monastery, which is located off Gower just north of Franklin. It makes a great gift and falls well within the budget usually allotted to Secret Santa or White Elephant gift exchanges. It's a real chance to taste LA history, and comes with a fun origin story to tell the person you're giving it to.

The Monastery of the Angels is located at 1977 Carmen Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90068/

Everyone knows Spahn Ranch as the hangout for the Manson family, but much of the land where the ranch once stood is now part of Santa Susanna State Park. Many are lured by the morbid connection to Manson, but the park also provides insight into the entire history of our state. Before it was a movie ranch the area was a stagecoach route, and before that a vital trade route and meeting point for three distinct Native American groups: the Chumash (to the west), the Tongva (to the east), and the Tataviam (to the north). Venture far enough beyond “the caves” and you'll come to a pre-Columbian bedrock mortar used to grind acorns, juxtaposed against a rusted out Corvair, rumored to have been put there by The Family. The lack of interpretive signage is what makes this place special to me. There are many layers of California history existing right on top of each other and it's up to the visitor what to make of it.

The easiest way to get to this spot is by accessing the trailhead near the 7700 block of Lilac Lane, Simi Valley, CA 93063

January 1st marks 125 years since Angels Flight Railway first opened to the public on Bunker Hill. There was about a 30-year break between the time Bunker Hill was redeveloped and when Angels Flight was reopened in the 90s, but in general that is an incredible amount of time to be serving our city. Full disclosure, I work at Angels Flight on Saturday afternoons and it's given me a renewed appreciation for the world’s shortest railway. When it opened in 1901, the population of LA was 102,000. Today it’s 3.8 million. Nowadays most of the passengers are tourists, people on dates, and the occasional office worker from Cal Plaza, but the train represents an example of how people used to get around in the city. Los Angeles is a city defined by its transportation, and before cars, Ubers, Waymos, and Bird scooters this is what they came up with to get people up and down the hill. 

Cal Plaza is currently the site of the free Grand Illuminations light display, which runs until January 4th.

That'll do it for 2025. It's been an interesting year, just like the last few, but I feel like we're getting into the swing of things. I really hope you can make it to the holiday party Zebulon. we're working on lots more events, meetups, and ways to connect in 2026.

Happy Holidays!

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