The Coast of Pacific Beach Restaurant Walk
A peak inside The Girl Can't Help It Digable shopping
Wearing vintage clothing isn't just a fashion statement; for many it's a full-blown lifestyle. You really have to dig to find something you love that's unique and also fits (or doesn't require major altering). On Saturday, Aug. 18, vintage hounds will have a new shop to add to their list of go-to spots with the opening of The Girl Can’t Help It (3806 Grim Ave. in North Park). The new shop started out in London in 1988 (that's it to the left), where it received props from the likes of British Vogue and Time Out, among others, before the owners closed shop to move to the U.S. They specialize in clothing and collectibles from the roaring '20s through to the age of the bell bottom. Stop in between noon and 8 p.m. to check out the merch and buy some cool new duds; at 6:33 p.m., catch a performance by the "Mexican Elvis," aka, El Vez.
Digable event
Each year, fans of mai-tais, tropical decor and ukulele tunes head to San Diego for the annual Tiki Oasis, four days of Polynesian paradise. Even if you're not enough of a tiki-aficionado to pony up $95 for a full-weekend pass, there are a few open-to-the-public events for the more casual admirer of all things hip and tropical. Take, for instance, the third annual Tiki Oasis Art Show, happening from Friday, Aug. 17, through Sunday, Aug. 19, in the Lahaina Room of the Crowne Plaza Hotel (with an artists reception from at 1 p.m. on Saturday). There's a marketplace where vendors will sell vintage-clothing, art, jewelry and other goods, classic-car show from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., also on Saturday, in the Crowne Plaza's parking lot and and a ukulele jam in the Crowne Plaza atrium from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Digable food
Matt Gordon, chef and owner of Urban Solace in North Park, is celebrating his restaurant’s fifth anniversary by cooking for a charity organization from 6 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 19. Not the typical party you'd throw for yourself, right? Gordon is inviting guests to nosh on sustainable, southern-inspired fare and hang out drinking the bar's all-natural cocktails, with proceeds benefitting Mama's Kitchen, the local non-profit that delivers three meals a day to AIDS patients, and has recently expanded to include those fighting cancer. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis at Urban Solace the night of the party. A $15 donation to Mama's Kitchen gets you in to celebrate the neighborhood restaurant's honest food and its involvement with the community.
Digable film
In the history of cult movies, only one surrealist film has successfully combined naked Jesus, dwarf Santa Clauses, an ass-print-art assembly line, live toads in period costumes, a hippo, Buddha and Menorah-shaped pistols, a topless military squadron, piles of burning money and homoerotic dancers in gas masks. That movie is the simultaneously spiritual and outrageously sacrilegious art-house blockbuster, The Holy Mountain, which was bankrolled by none other than John Lennon. It's also the second feature of the Experiments in Radical Leisure summer film series at the eccentric art space A Ship in the Woods (1660 Lugano Lane in Del Mar). The film will be screened on the gallery’s back deck (so bring a blanket, sweater, etc.) at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 16. The show is free, but with a $4 suggestion donation, plus $1 if you want popcorn.
