The Rats are...loving?
January 15 - January 31
Y’all, I don’t know what it is but this rat is feeling OPEN-HEARTED this year…all 8 days of it. If you’ve been looking for a moment to catch me off guard and/or deeply hurt me, this is it! Get the bitch, she’s vulnerable! It may have something to do with reading The Untethered Soul which is RRR (Required Rat Reading™), or that I’m deep in my Saturn Return. Who’s to say. Point is, if you notice my writing is reading sweet and earnest vs. wry and sharp-edged, there’s your answer. This is your call to leave your dark, miserable burrows and come out into the light, fellow rats!*
One more note: I abhore social media and have purposefully not centered Ratplay’s presence there. That being said, there are tons of wonderful events happening all the time and I can’t cover them all here, so I use Instagram to share RatPlay monthly highlights and cover any spillover events (which are a LOT). Go check ‘em out, save ‘em to your calendar, and then, *for the love of god*, log ooooffffffff. I promise everything good is happening off your phone.
*editor’s note: I am not responsible for any human-inflicted violence credited to increased rat presence during daylight hours xx
To business! Let’s get into what you’ll find out in the real world over the next couple weeks. We’re talking ambient listening sessions, night markets, gallery shows, an outdoor experiences community, and moooooore 🐀
On display until 2/2
6361 Waring Avenue (Hollywood)
Free 🐀
I’ve always felt very confident asserting the type of music I like, the writing I admire, the scents I enjoy, but when it comes to “fine art”, I’ve never really felt like I was allowed much of an opinion. What are the opinions, after all, of street rats in spaces of such grandeur? Recently, I’ve begun to feel like they’re everything. And so I’ll be sharing a lot more art events here so we can begin taking up more space in those rooms and conversations, just like what I’d hope for underrepresented artists trying to make their presence known. We’ll start with this beautiful solo exhibition by Yuri Yuan exploring the physical and metaphorical distances between where we are and what we long for.
Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays @ 5-11PM
1711 N Cahuenga Blvd. LA CA 90028 (Hollywood)
Free 🐀
The pop-up city strikes again! This Thai street food market appeared in Hollywood recently with 20+ different stalls serving staples like thai omelette, seafood tom yum soup, spicy basil pork, and mango sticky rice, along with LA specials like thai tacos and creme brulee sweet potatoes. If you haven’t seen “My Octopus Teacher”, the spicy friend giant octopi look pretty delectable too! Rat intel: 1) I’ve heard the lines can get long so arrive on the earlier side. 2)They offer free 1 hour parking.
Riso 101: Beginners Risograph Printing Workshop
Monday, 1/15 and 1/22 @ 6-9PM, and Saturday 1/27 @ 1-4PM
Heavy Manners Library (Echo Park)
Tickets here (1/15) and here (1/22) and here (1/27)
Events always grab my attention when I have no idea about the subject matter. I have a friend who’s hobby hunting right now, and he’s dedicating the year to trying as many different one-off creative intro classes as possible. I love the sentiment behind this: an insatiable curiosity, a desire to learn, a commitment to non-commitment for the sake of eventual commitment. If you’ve read the New York Times bestselling book “Attached” and have something to say to me after that last sentence, save it for your (my) therapist and use that energy to get a hobby. Riso printing seems like a great place to start :)
Long Gradus: Performance and Listening session
Thursday, 1/18 @5pm
Estuario (Highland Park)
Free 🐀
Really excited about this one. Not sure about y’all but I’ve been listening to a ton of ambient music recently. André 3000’s recent album reminded me of how much I love it, and it’s become a big part of my wake-up/work/wind-down routine recently. Scientists are saying that, in this specific case, it is indeed “causation” rather than boring “correlation” that is in fact the connection between the world falling apart and me constantly needing to regulate my emotions with meditative music 🙌🏽 This is a treat as it’ll be played live by a brass ensemble and the composer Sarah Davachi will be there playing music before and after. If you can’t join, you can still find the work here.
Candelight Vigil for Gaza
Thursday, 1/18 at 6:30 PM
Echo Park Lake
Free 🐀
Join members of the community at Echo Park Lake for a candlelight vigil organized by the Writers Against the War on Gaza, LA. My heart is so, so heavy–for the beautiful Palestinian lives being relentlessly taken, and for the state of the world we’re experiencing. No one is free until we’re all free, and history will continue to repeat itself until we all come out from behind our fear and realize our interconnectedness. If you need a space to grieve and mourn in community, I encourage you to show up. I’ll be there. Bring candles and flowers.
Monday, 1/22 at 6-8 PM
Chevalier’s Books (Larchmont)
$20, tickets here
LA’s oldest indie bookstore is hosting the Nova Community Arts Collective for a Zine workshop. ZINES!!! 🥹 To me, zines are about subculture–about protesting the world of media conglomerates, and spreading information through guerilla-like means. They scream rebellion, creativity, independence, and grit, and they stand out for their physical essence, not despite it (wild to consider in a world where digital content reigns supreme). Perhaps most importantly, they’re accessible forms or art and communication. There’s a lot to say, a lot to grieve, and a lot to protest in today’s society, so it feels good to share an outlet you might find cathartic, and just…fun?
Bad Bitch Anthem Skate Night
Thursday, 1/27 @ 8-11PM
Moonlight Rollerway (Glendale)
Tickets here ($20)
There’s something I’m so obsessed with about receiving an email with the phrasing “Bad Bitch Anthem Skate Night” from this family-friendly roller rink. I’m dedicating this newsletter to the Head of Programming at said establishment who decided to take change into their own hands in 2024. “Goodbye….Cha-cha slide. Hello…bad bitches….” they scrawled, as they completed Moonlight Rollerway’s very own In/Out list. Attendees are being promised music from “Beyonce, Rhianna*, Cardi B. Carol G, Nicki, Taylor, Miley, and Ariana.” Jokes aside, this does sound incredibly fun to me. Realistically I’d put a few of these names on the chopping block but Ratplay supports all women 🫡
[editor’s note: their spelling not mine 😭]
Where to go if you want to get outdoors
For a group that started in 2022, Usal Project seems to have charged to the forefront of the LA cool-kid scene seemingly out of nowhere. If you’ve been reading RatPlay for a while, you may recognize their events from past Rat Traps, but it’s more likely you’ve caught wind of the major press they’ve received this year, or peeped “eastsiders” repping their merch around town (guilty 🐀). USAL’s meteoric rise isn’t by coincidence–people want connection– with nature and with other people–and they’re willing to pay for it.
The Community:
Usal Project is an outdoor experiences company founded by Michael Washington and led by him and his business partner, Zoe Gitter. They curate different monthly activities that allow people to get a taste of the outdoor and nature-centric activities LA has to offer. The team handpicks guides, who then lead groups through experiences like fly-fishing, camping, hiking, foraging, and even falconry. The events led by guides are paid, while the monthly “meet-ups” are free.
I asked Michael to explain the USAL community, as it differs from others we’ve featured so far. For one, the majority of USAL events are paid. The events are also mostly “intro” type events that don’t build on each other, which might make forming the strong bonds necessary to build what I see as necessary to community* more difficult (I’ve been to four Usal events, and I’ve never seen anyone I recognized from previous ones). Michael explained that he sees Usal as something of a purveyor of different communities–their events allow people to try outdoor hobbies they’re interested in with the hopes that it inspires them to delve further into specific communities dedicated to that activity. At the end of the day, Michael’s goal is for people interested in getting outdoors to find broader community under USAL’s greater umbrella, but also, to change the culture around compensating guides to one that highly values the generative and connective work they do in their own communities.
*community (to me, atm): a group of >2 people united by a feeling of belonging and a sense of connection to one another via shared experiences.
The Culture:
There’s a culture of encouragement, curiosity, and delight at Usal. It’s incredibly welcoming, which was both surprising and refreshing because I was…kind of not expecting it? To be honest, it’s why I waited to feature it until now: I wanted to experience enough events to feel like I could recommend it to y’all in good faith. Anyone bullied in grade school know that groups led by a bunch of hot kids can be tough, but USAL might just be the exception. In fact, helping people to feel a sense of belonging in the outdoors is one of the reasons Michael started USAL in the first place.
“Coming to an event and trying something new, especially alone, is such a big step towards breaking past that loneliness barrier–it’s such a cool thing for someone to do!”, Michael says earnestly. “Even if you don’t meet anyone, you made a conscious effort to try, and that’s special enough. You gain a certain confidence when you do something like that that, and it makes it more likely you’ll put yourself out there again”.
I felt this energy deeply at the first Usal event I attended: a 7 mile guided trail run collab with Nike. Said run was a. at 7 am b. the morning after the Beyonce concert and c. I hadn’t run more than 3 miles in months (let alone never having done a trail run previously); needless to say, I wasn’t in the best of spirits :) It was the energy of the USAL crew and guides that got us through– they kept tabs on everyone, running back to motivate us when the going got tough, likely sensing that we were mentally plotting escape routes (it’s the rat way). They were able to make a tough new experience feel fun in a way that felt rare.
The People
A mixed bag, in a good way. The activities attract a diverse group of people, and in terms of racial diversity specifically, I’d say it’s representative of how LA looks east of central. Michael himself is a person of color, as are many of the guides he chooses, which is intentional. “Being around teachers that come from the same city as you, from the same generation as you, maybe are a similar skin color as you, helps.”
What’s the glue that keeps Usal Project together?
“Consistency. It’s knowing you can depend on finding something cool and interesting to do every month. But it’s also just creating a community that’s fun to be a part of. Sometimes it’s about having some good parties– not everything has to be so serious and buttoned up.”
When/Where
Check out the site for monthly programming and visit their shop in Silverlake for merch and goods.
How to Join
Just attend an event!
Last but not least, feast your eyes on the latest hot & fresh rat content, courtesy of your local Mischief. You can always dm ‘em to me on IG @ratplayla.
That’s it for now! This rat is contemplating the fact that the rat friend below is eating cheese which is typically a mouse thing… (I’m not not high).
CK
p.s. I’ve gotten feedback that y’all want to receive this earlier to be able to plan your weeks. I typically wait until the 31st or 14th to make sure no great events are slipping through because the newsletter is bi-weekly. I’ll try to do 2-3 days in advance in future xx
