Howdy, Partner! GGB LA
It takes a lot to coax out geek brunchettes who are reluctant to leave the safety of their zones and experience something new. It would have to be something worth doing for one to deal with the parking and traffic. So to open 2019 season, we held a casual open-house brunch event at the The Autry Museum (formerly the Gene Autry Heritage Museum).
We definitely acknowledge that it is not easier to meet a group of strangers for the first time. So we felt that if we invited GGBLA brunchettes to invite a friend during this open house, then this would decrease those obstacles and show the city geeks that we are welcoming and open to all!
What could be more West than the Wild West? It made sense to host a GGBLA event here. Just like the prairie roads of the Westerns, the social landscape can be a vast and unforgiving nature. Which made meeting up at the The Autry Museum an absolute must for our Howdy, Partner! event. We are the safe town of geeks. Of course, there was also the enticing Weird West film to experience: Curse of the Undead, a vampire western movie!
The Autry Museum is one of the most plainest hidden gems in Los Angeles. Everyone who has driven on the 5S by Griffith Park has driven by the beige Native American designed building. It is always a pleasure to introduce this beautiful museum of a curated history of the West to newcomers. There is so much rich history to learn about the West!
The museum founder, Gene Autr, y was considered “America’s Favorite Singing Cowboy.” His career spanned so many mediums that he is the only entertainer to have FIVE stars on the walk of fame.
Our brunch begins at the Crosswinds Cafe located right in courtyard by the entrance of the museum. We arrived early enough that we had the pick of any table. The cafe did not have any particular brunch items so it was really a brunch in name only as did meet up around eleven.
As delicious as the fare was, it was hard to focus on the food as the conversation was just too much fun! Our little group had rapid fire conversations as we traded opinions while trying not to spit out the food! The hottest topic: cats and Kingdom Hearts!
One particular sweet moment showcased how wonderfully geek social circles overlap. As our fellow GGBLA officer, Veronica, recounted a tale of winning a TV during a Star Wars fan event, our newest member had a flash of deja vu. Turns out these two had already met during San Diego Comic Con at the Demolition Man Taco Bell event!
After stuffing ourselves and squeezing through the now crowded cafe, we explored the exhibits at the Autry as we waited for the vampire cowboy movie to begin. The main exhibit, Masters of the American West was a jaw dropping experience of vivid colors and diverse styles all around. The picture preview online are so dull compared to seeing the artwork up front. There were so powerful that some of art just stops you right in your tracks:
Then it was time to gleefully watch Curse of the Undead, a movie delight which is part of Autry Museum Weird West Film series. We all expected just B-movie chaotic goodness but we were all surprised. This was a great movie for it’s time! This movie featured a vampire cowboy named Drago who has returned to his hometown to repeat the past of love and loss. The movie was a Universal studios creation and was part of the Universal movie monster family. It was shame to hear that the original was lost in the Universal backlot fire.
Overall it was a successful day of bonding and laughter. We all discovered art and experience a weird but great movie. We hope to bring more of this in the future and make it worth driving through traffic for!
Our next event will be our more formal brunch together and chance to flash the hero flair!
