Get ready, we're preparing to launch Season 5 of the LA Made cultural programming series on February 15, 2020 with a return of the ever-popular Strong Words storytelling event!

What’s new this time around is that LA Made’s Season 5 will officially launch on July 1, 2020, and run through May 31, 2021. To keep you entertained and educated until then, we are pleased to offer the following bonus LA Made programs in the Taper Auditorium:

February 15 — Strong Words

This story salon—born out of the legendary Body Builders Gym in Silver Lake—also features music + art and an incredible sense of community. Give us 90 minutes, and we'll feed you stories, music, and art that make you laugh, cry, think, and maybe even feed your soul.

March 21 — "Golondrina": An Olvera Street Opera

"Golondrina" takes you back to historic downtown L.A. of the 1920s when Olvera Street Plaza was threatened with demolition to make way for Union Station. The story, based on actual events, follows a determined single mother who convinces politicians to adopt her plan, preventing the planned demolition and instead creating a beloved tourist destination.

May 31 — Tears, Joy, and Hope: Yiddish Songs Written in the Jewish Ghetto

During a time when millions of Jews were facing death, music found a way into their lives. They wrote poetry and composed music as they lived, fought, and died in the ghettos across Europe. Harriet Bennish invites you to experience the haunting music of these rarely performed Yiddish songs, which tell the story of everyday life in the ghetto.

June 7 — West Coast Singers–The LGBTQ+ Chorus of Los Angeles Presents “Pride”

Founded in 1983 with a handful of members, West Coast Singers is the third oldest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered, mixed-voice chorus in the nation. Now one of the premier gay and/or lesbian choruses in the world, they present their annual Spring concert "Pride."

As always, free tickets for Central Library programs are available on Eventbrite six weeks prior to the show date.

And starting July 1, 2020, there will be another curated crop of 164 programs presented by 66 different performers at branches across the system as well as in the Taper Auditorium at Central Library.

Highlights of our unique offerings to come this Spring

• Celebrate the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote with SHE Is History, an all-female full-cast version of Amy Simon’s solo play that brings to life the women who made (and make) history in a provocative and humorous portrayal.
• Alison Rose Jefferson examines how African Americans pioneered America’s “frontier of leisure” by creating communities and business projects in conjunction with their growing population in Southern California during the nation’s Jim Crow era. She discusses her new book with Marne L. Campbell. A Q&A and book signing will follow.
• Join the Compton Cowboys, an eclectic group of horseback riders who aim to improve their community by spreading the ranching and farming lifestyle and highlighting the history of African-Americans in the Old West, in conversation about how the streets raised them and horses saved them.
• Enjoy a roller-skating demonstration showcasing the artistic and roller dance skills of the LA Roller Girls, an entertainment group based in Los Angeles composed of decorated athletes from the sport of roller figure skating.

Other programs you will discover when the printed event calendar becomes available in spring include Music From Peru, India, Brazil, and the Silk Road; Drag Queen Bingo, Yoga, Philippine Music, and Dance, Scottish Fiddlers of Los Angeles, the LGBTQ+ Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles, Introduction to Animal Communication, Chinese Calligraphy, Noir Writing in L.A., Southern California Architectural History, Zine-Making, Chinese Traditional Music, Argentine Tango, Swing Dancing, Persian, Ethiopian, and Vegan Cooking; along with a variety of classical music programs and numerous craft and gardening programs.

Video highlights from our 2019 Season

LA Made is a cultural series featuring free music, dance, theater, and conversations with local entertainers at libraries throughout the city.

This program series has been made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.