Rat Girl Summer is technically over (as of September 22), so I asked ChatGPT to tell me what happens next. Unfortunately, it seems to think that we’re now entering “Cozy Squirrel Fall”, which feels like the animal equivalent of “Christian Girl Autumn”. Listen to me very carefully….we’re going to ignore this…. AI is dead. Rat Girl Summer is a mindset, and it lives on.
Grab your sunscreen, load up the cooler, and hop in—we’re going where the rats are crawling, from 10/1-10/15.
Rat Traps 🪤
(Events/Experiences)
LA Homefarm x Sasha Piligian Pop-up
Sunday, 10/1, 10AM-12PM (save to cal)
3389 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Canyon Coffee’s resident baker Sasha Piligian is popping up at neighborhood grocer LA Homefarm in Eagle Rock this Sunday, and to be honest, this feels like a more appropriate location for a baker of her caliber to be slinging goods, given that we all know why anyone goes to Canyon Coffee*. For Sunday, we’re told to expect passionfruit vanilla white chocolate sheet cake (!!), peach & coconut blondies (!!), and shortbread w/ berry jam (!!). If I was that kid in Matilda, this is what they’d put in front of me in an attempt to forcefeed me out of my gluttony. What they don’t know is that these types of scare tactics don’t frighten the rats… we merely grow more powerful…
*If you are “reading” at Canyon in racer sunglasses, a cropped tank that says ‘baby’, and camo pants thrifted from wherever the Duck Dynasty cast lives, you are LYINGGGGGGGG. Put down your copy of “A Little Life” and commit fully to making salacious eye contact with every person that passes.
Listening by Moonrise– Floating x Clockshop
Sunday, 10/1, 3PM-5PM (save to cal)
LA State Historic Park
FREE
Los Angeles art and public programming organizers Clockshop are collaborating with sound & setting curators @feelslikefloating to bring you a live outdoor show by musicians Sharada Shashidhar and Dustin Wong. Bring a picnic blanket and some snacks, or take advantage of sweet and savory Chinese Taiwanese treats by Gu Grocery . If you’re brave enough to date in this economy, this would be a sweet one 😌
Saturday, 10/7, 3-10PM (save to cal)
Platform Park
$35. Tickets here.
“Cool” events in LA are tough, because you run the risk of attending something that’s 30x more scene-y than fun. Good Boy Wine’s events, though, somehow get high scores on both, so we’re excited about this one, even though it’s in Culver City. We’ll commit to the drive, though, because the space is compelling: a transformed highway underpass in reminiscent of Miami’s Underline project (I’m only allowing myself 2 home references a year, it’s all that city deserves 🤧). They’ve curated a top tier line-up of DJs, even summoning vinyl lords In Sheep’s Closing from the shadows after the close of their listening bar due to pandemic pressures. It’s also a day party, which…can be rogue, but ultimately a fun switch-up, especially when there’s good wine/ Madre Mezcal involved. No, this is not sponsored. Can someone send me free booze?
Group Hike Cleanup + Gratitude Group
Saturday, 10/14, 2-7PM (save to cal)
Elysian Park
Free. RSVP here.
Collab event between one of my favorite communities (and this edition’s Rat Colony feature, see below!) Gratitude Group, alongside We Explore Earth, a non-profit focused on environmental education, conservation, and personal well-being through outdoor experiences. The meetup begins with a 3 mile hike in Elysian Park, where participants will work together to clean up the trail while learning about the native flora and fauna from @JasonJourneyman, and ends with a gratitude journaling session facilitated by community organizer and founder of Gratitude Group, @adamgoesham. Rats, let’s prove to these city dwellers that our presence is a sign of CLEANLINESS, our odor is one of FEBREZE, our tracks—a harbinger of service 🌸 ✊🏽.
Herb Walk + Plant Dye Workshop
Sunday, 10/15, 11-1:30PM (save to cal)
Pasadena, CA
Sliding scale, tickets here.
@herbclubla and @bluehourgoods are coming together for a day of learning and foraging in Pasadena. You’ll start by getting to know your local flora with an Herb Walk led by Andrea from Herb Club LA, and follow it up with a Native Plant Dying Workshop led by Maria from Blue Hour Goods. You even get to take home a dyed scarf of your own made from plants you forage along the way! And do you know what’s better than a scarf made with dye from plants foraged with your own bare hands? Telling everyone you know that you made said scarf with dye from plants foraged with your own bare hands 😍.
Rat Colonies 🏘️
(Communities to Join)
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Gratitude Group
Where to go if you want to connect with likeminded people practicing mindfulness, presence, and gratitude.
The Founder: Adam Weiss
The Community: Gratitude Group is a mindfulness community practicing through meditation and journaling started during the pandemic by Adam Weiss. The group meets bi-weekly under the trees at Elysian Park, with 100+ people in a sprawling circle across the lawn on any given Sunday, making it hard to miss for newcomers.
If you’re working on being more vulnerable, this community is for you. If you’re not…go to therapy and reconsider 😍. Typically, the meet-up starts with a soundbath led by a volunteer facilitator, followed by a journaling session focused on gratitude-focused prompts. Attendees are then invited to share their responses. Hands are shy at first, but after a few minutes, people begin relaxing into the activity and crave the catharsis of sharing and being seen. People share fears, deaths, births, changes, wishes, observations, joys, and the group responds with claps and snaps of encouragement and validation.
These days, Gratitude Group has expanded to include a roster of activities that include alcohol-free beach parties, breathwork, capture the flag meetups, book clubs, and nature walk/hikes. Some of these additional activities have limited capacities and require an RSVP and/or a donation to help cover costs.
The Culture: Wholesome. If you’re new to LA, trying to leave your toxic friend group, or craving a moment of anonymity in togetherness—I’d estimate more than half of attendees come alone, and everyone’s super friendly. As Adam says, “When we feel our comfort zones being tested, that's a sign to lean in.” And in that spirit, yes, it’s the ideal place to strike up a convo with the hottie you peeped across the field. I’ve seen it happen, and that’s because I was the person doing it! Sue me!
People bring their dogs, their friends, their kids—it’s very much an “everyone is welcome” energy. Adam brings coffee and donuts, and others often bring homemade snacks to share with the group in the spirit of community.
The People: Perhaps one of the most striking elements of Gratitude Group is the diversity—of race and ethnicity, but also of age. Mothers come with their babies in cribs, teens shyly mingle with people their parent’s age. Money isn’t a factor beyond occasional donation requests, so class feels irrelevant here.
What’s the glue that keeps Gratitude Group together? “I think it’s definitely gratitude or mindfulness. At the dance events we still start with meditating and yoga or somatic movement, and the hikes end with a gratitude circle. We’ll even do a gratitude circle after capture-the-flag. I think it makes the events and community more grounded, and invites in a degree of vulnerability - which is the pathway to connection. And really the reason anyone goes to any events is because of a want to connect :)” – Founder, Adam Weiss
When/Where: Sundays at Elysian Park, pin here.
Next Meet-up: Sunday, 10/1, 10-11:30
How to Join: Sign up for the email listserv by emailing SlowMorningsForFastTimes@gmail.com. For Sunday gratitude groups, you can just show up. For other events, there’s typically an RSVP link in the emails.
We’ll sign off here like Gratitude Group does:
The opposite of depression is connection.
Rat Retailers 🛍️
mad.j3w3ls
(Small Businesses)
mad.j3w3ls is a queer-owned, LA-based jewelry line by Madeleine Forbes, aka @chin_chillerrr. Madeleine describes her style as “grandma chic”, playing with the texture, color, pearls and charms you might find on your grandma’s bedside table, but with a modern edge. She actually draws inspiration from the jewelry her own grandmother used to bring for her when she returned from her trips to Mexico, the pieces strung with bold stones and silver. She’s a landscaper by day, which likely relates to her tendency to create using earthy, nature-based tones and motifs. Like a good queer (and fellow rat), Madeleine works to make her jewelry as accessible as possible, with prices ranging from $15-$75 and a sliding scale for custom requests.
Where to Buy: Depop or Instagram DM.
🚨 Ratplayers (that’s you!) can get $10 off their first necklace purchase or $5 off an earring purchase by mentioning Ratplay when you purchase. 🚨
Rat Sightings 🕵️
An island full of rats….if we pool together our money we can build our own nirvana. Rise, community!
That’s it for now! This rat is planning a trip to nyc for the Rodent Rights Summit in a couple weeks–hit me up with new spots to crawl on that side of town.
Go play,
CK
If you want to submit to Ratplay for October, dm @ratplayla or email ratplayla@gmail.com.
Edited by Jocelyn Florence