Holidays are meant to be spent with family and friends, and there are great events, dining & shopping for all tastes right here in Hollywood!

For an awesome family event, this one is sure to please, and is only a five minute walk from the hotel! Walt Disney Pictures presents Enchanted and Disney’s Enchanted Experience at El Capitan Theatre. This event includes the movie, then following an Enchanted Experience will take place with several fun activities. Save your ticket stub, as you can receive discounts for many of the stores at Hollywood & Highland!

Have fun and Happy Holidays!

Coming to Hollywood does not mean you only have to go see the standard Blockbusters. To experience another side of the great art of cinema, plan on visiting the LACMA museum, just down LaBrea, for their Film Series and Special Screenings.

This weekend, LACMA presents: Latin America Cinema: A Weekend Celebration ~ August 24-August 26, with 9 showings and 2 guest appearances.

August 24 7:00 PM The Violin
August 24 9:30 PM Memories of Underdevelopment
August 25 2:00 PM Susana
August 25 3:40 PM Rosaura at Ten O’Clock
August 25 5:30 PM Oriana
August 25 7:30 PM The Place Without Limits
August 25 10:15 PM Si sos brujo: A Story of Tango
August 26 1:30 PM The Woman of the Port
August 26 3:00 PM Victims of Sin

There still are two other mediums to embrace this culture completely–art & music–through the exhibition The Arts in Latin America, 1492-1820 & the Los Angeles Choro Ensemble (which features authentic Brazilian acoustic instruments).

The film series continues with “Hardcore Existentialism: The Early Films of Michael Haneke,” showing September 7 - September 8.

September 7 7:30 PM The Seventh Continent
September 7 9:20 PM Benny’s Video
September 8 7:30 PM Funny Games
September 8 9:20 PM 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance

These are very interesting, and I personally like heavy themes, but for others there is also the following series, which is much lighter.

Six Enchanted Evenings: Rodgers and Hammerstein on Film ~ September 14 - September 29 These musicals have been a favorite and nothing like revisiting them in the big screen at such a beautiful location.

September 14 7:30 PM Carousel
September 15 7:30 PM South Pacific
September 21 7:30 PM The King and I
September 22 7:30 PM Oklahoma!
September 28 7:30 PM Flower Drum Song
September 29 7:30 PM The Sound of Music

Just having the pleasure of visiting this gorgeous museum already is a great evening, then to experience so many forms of art, beauty, deepness, and lightness all in one place truly is a gift! =)

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association is partnering with KCRW for the 9th consecutive year to present KCRW’s World Music Festival at the Hollywood Bowl. It really is a privilege to live in Los Angeles and be able to experience such diversity in music! As a Brazilian, I definitely was delighted to see that Carlinhos Brown, a famous singer from Brazil, came to perform at the Bowl for this season’s festival. Some of the other upcoming shows are Reggae Night with Burning Spear on August 12, Macy Gray, Zap Mama & The Brazilian Girls on August 26, and Underworld on September 9 to name a few. VERY DIVERSE! There still are many Sundays to go, and it is worth it~~It’s really a great time with the best quality music and an enrichment of culture in your life. I just love summer festivals!! =)

I am Juliana Ribeiro, the Sales Coordinator at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel. For me, summer really is the best time of the year! Nice weather, blue skies, trendy new stores to check out, awesome concerts at the Bowl and great new plays pretty much EVERY weekend. Leaving work last Tuesday, I was reminded of the Summer Jazz Festival at the Hollywood & Highland Central Courtyard - I decided it was a perfect occasion to enjoy the surprise with one of my new favorites, the “Ray of Sunshine” smoothie from D’Lush. There is a lot of bustle and movement, and the Renaissance Hotel is right in the middle of it all. There are some great hotel rate packages set up with shuttle tickets included for the Hollywood Bowl and the Pantages Theater nearby. Now that SpaLuce is being added to the hotel, it will be refreshing to “hide”, unwind, and relax in the middle of all that is happening in Hollywood. Who knew that could be possible—this is probably how a celebrity feels living in the Hollywood Hills!