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Natural History Museum Los Angeles
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FIRST FRIDAYS Connected: May

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May 7, 2021 • 6:00 pm PDT

Hosted on Zoom & YouTube

The virtual series First Fridays Connected returns with a new format bringing you lively discussions, DJ sets, and live music performances wherever you may be. Hosted and Moderated by neuroscientist and science communicator Dr. Yewande Pearse (February, March) and biomedical scientist and international advocate for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) inclusion Dr. Knatokie Ford (April, May, June). This season we’ll explore Los Angeles at the Intersections.

2021 Season: Los Angeles at the Intersections

Los Angeles at the Intersections is a celebration of science and culture. Neighborhood murals reflecting this city’s state of mind, climate activism across all communities, the transforming habitats of humans and animals, and cuisines of the city as L.A.’s cultural signifiers, we’ll find that the ties that connect the city together are strongest at the intersections.

MAY 7: CULTURE X CUISINE

Exploring L.A. Culture through its food.  Featuring celebrated chef, Los Angeles street food advocate, and co-founder of Kogi BBQ, Roy Choi and author of Food, Health, and Culture in Latino Los Angeles, Sarah Portnoy.

FEATURING MUSIC PERFORMANCE BY

Automatic

SCHEDULE

5:30 pm | Zoom Webinar (Members-only)
Secrets From the Vault

6:00–8:00pm | NHM YouTube Channel Live
Intro (6:00pm) > 10 Minute Cocktail (6:05pm) > DJ Lounge (6:15pm) > Discussion (6:45pm) > Music Performance (7:30pm)

HOST/MODERATOR (APR/MAY/JUN): DR. KNATOKIE FORD

Dr. Knatokie Ford

Dr. Knatokie Ford is Founder and CEO of Fly Sci® Enterprise, an education and media consulting organization focused on leveraging the power of storytelling to promote social change. As a biomedical scientist and social entrepreneur, she is an international advocate for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) inclusion. Dr. Ford previously served as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Obama White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

 

SECRETS FROM THE VAULT  |  5:30 PM  |  ZOOM WEBINAR (MEMBERS ONLY)

KT Hajeian

Join NHM’s KT Hajeian, Collections Manager of Anthropology, to learn about the collection she oversees and discover details hidden in plain sight. Each month features a different expert to uncover the big mysteries, strange oddities, and untold stories from NHM.

 

 

INTRODUCTION  |  6:00PM  |  NHM YOUTUBE CHANNEL LIVE

 

10 MINUTE COCKTAIL  |  ELLE NUCCI  |  6:05PM

Elle Nucci

Elle Nucci, owner of EN Events, will be giving you a 10-minute tutorial on how to make the First Fridays Connected monthly cocktail. Elle will be sharing recipes from Los Angeles-based mixologists.

Don’t forget to gather your ingredients in advance!  

 

May Cocktail: SUNSET BLVD
Ingredients: Tequila, Simple Syrup, Watermelon, Sparkling Rose, Mint

Recipe from L.A.-based Mixologist Kimberly Snow

DJ LOUNGE  |  SAMMI G  |  6:15PM

Sammi G

Sammi G has worked within the music and promoting industry for the past several years as an event coordinator and producer. She soon found herself learning the art of DJing at the Beat Junkie Institute of Sound, eventually becoming Co-Founder of Ladies of Sound, the Official Women’s Division of BJIOS.

 

DISCUSSION  |  CULTURE X CUISINE |  6:45PM

Exploring L.A. Culture through its food. What defines L.A. Cuisine? How does Los Angeles culture influence L.A. Cuisine? How have small businesses been affected by the pandemic, especially in communities of color, in Los Angeles and elsewhere? How are essential workers in the food industry surviving? How does Los Angeles food help Los Angeles recover?

PANELISTS
Roy Choi

Photo: Emari Traffie

Roy Choi was born in Seoul, Korea and raised in Los Angeles, California. Roy is known as one of the architects of the modern food truck movement through Kogi BBQ by merging food and social media with community and honoring the street food culture that laid the path before him. He is the host of the civic-minded Emmy Award winning series ‘Broken Bread’ on KCET/Tastemade, which in 2020 won him a James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Host in a television series. On a global scale, Roy is co-host in the full blown Netflix cooking series ‘The Chef Show’ with Jon Favreau. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. Roy resides in Los Angeles where he is a voice and advocate for street food culture past, present, and future, and the co-owner, co-founder, and chef of Kogi BBQ, Chego!, Best Friend at Park MGM Las Vegas, and LocoL.

Sarah Portnoy

Sarah Portnoy is an associate professor in the Departments of Latin American and Iberian Studies at the University of Southern California where she specializes in Latinx food culture and food justice. Dr. Portnoy has contributed articles to the LA Times and numerous academic publications. Her most recent book is Food, Health, and Culture in Latino Los Angeles.

MUSIC PERFORMANCE  |  AUTOMATIC  |  7:30PM

Automatic

Automatic is Izzy Glaudini (synths, vocals), Lola Dompé (drums, vocals) and Halle Saxon (bass, vocals). The band first met while immersed in L.A.’s DIY music scene and started jamming together in 2017. Over the past year they have become a mainstay on the L.A. club circuit. In June 2019 Automatic announced their signing to Stones Throw.

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