It was our first summer in LA and a Friday night summer tradition began – Barnsdall. Barnsdall Park hosts a wine tasting night on the west lawn of the Hollyhock House, every Friday night from Labor Day weekend through the end of August. Wine tasting is provided by Silverlake Wines, a DJ (often from KCRW) spins great tunes and everyone is mesmerized by gorgeous sunsets and views over LA.
Being parents of a small children, we don’t get to socialize with other adults as often as we like, so this provides a great outlet for the kids to run around and get excess energy out, while also allowing us to chat with friends. We actually haven’t gone into the fenced off area reserved for the wine tastings (yet). Rather we pitch a tent (or friends do!) and throw down blankets for a summer evening picnic on the lawn. Our picnic is not the traditional home-made, brought in the cooler variety, instead it comes from one of LA’s hottest food truck vendors that circulate through every week. Being new to LA, this has been a great way to sample some of the amazing food on offer in this massive city.
Our son started his LA summers here running wild playing with all of the kids he could keep up with, sharing toys with kids all over the park, including riding and pulling a red wagon with his preschool buddies.
Missing the close knit community that we had in Mumbai was one of our biggest complaints about our new life in LA, but Barnsdall’s Friday nights took care of that – for the summer at least! Come join us, we are there every Friday from 5-7ish.