Shots & More From LA Weekly’s Artopia

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Even in practically 100 degree heat, after sundown, we had a blast hanging out at Grand Central Market for this years Artopia event thrown by LA Weekly. If you’ve ever attended Art Walk you know DTLA is the perfect place to explore the spot where art, food, and culture collide and Artopia was another one of those perfectly produced hip events. Grand Central Market was the perfect venue for the party; a few of the vendors, the ones I was REALLY hoping would still be open, stayed open all night to participate in the festivities. The minute we arrived I hauled ass over to Horse Thief BBQ to make sure I could have some sort of meat filled, BBQ-ed, dainty girl kinda meal, and thankfully they we’re open and already serving. I had every intention of sticking to my diet (nat) and getting their incredible brisket as I always do, but little did I know they were offering two Artopia special treats that sounded too good to pass up – those being a brisket Philly cheesesteak and their own version of the mcRib. We got one of each, naturally, and enjoyed our food and complimentary adult beverages outside on the beautifully lit, family style seating patio.

I’d noticed Valerie was serving up something delicious due to my excellent stalking skills on Instagram, and after a big BBQ meal I was in need of something sweet to round out the perfect meal. To my delight, Valerie’s had covered their entire counter with rows upon rows of slices of pie. You try to walk by 100 pieces of fresh strawberry pie and try to say no! <- Impossible. After practically scarfing that pie we went on our ‘fat n happy’ merry way to check out the live art installations and pieces on display. I stood there, zoned out, watching Hueman, Jim Mahfood, and Jason Shaw Alexander paint live for what seemed like 5 minutes but what was in actuality a good 30-45 minutes. It made me miss my painting days… making my own work and being completely happy with having various Golden colors dried and died in my hair and on my clothes – painting is a truly rewarding creative expression. Someone hand me a tissue, I’m getting all reminiscent. Watching people create, artwork in this case, is an inspiring experience to take part in and it was most certainly the cherry on top of the entire evening at Artopia. Congrats to all of the people who were featured this year in their “People” issue, here’s to hoping someday one of you, or me (muahaha, I mean, right?), make it in an issue in the coming years!

Next LA Weekly Event To Attend: Tacolandia – take a wild guess what it’s focused on – June 28th – MORE INFO

Horse Thief Sign

Horse Thief BBQ

Horse Thief BBQ

Horse Thief Artopia

Horse Thief BBQ "mcRib"

Horse Thief BBQ Philly Brisket Sandwich

Valerie Strawberry Pie at Artopia

Valerie Strawberry Pie at Artopia

Jason Shawn Alexander at Artopia

Jason Shawn Alexander at Artopia

Jim Mahfood at Artopia

Jim Mahfood at Artopia

Hueman at Artopia

Hueman at Artopia

Artopia 2014

Artopia 2014

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