One of the most important religious celebrations in Latin America is Holy Week, known as Semana Santa. The celebrations begin on Palm Sunday (Domingo de Ramos) and continues through Good Thursday (Jueves Santo), Good Friday (Viernes Santo), and finally Easter Sunday (Pascua or Domingo de Resurrección).

Ahhhh! Sunshine and great weather....the perfect time for wine aficionados to check out the local Wine Tasting Scene here in L.A. I recently had the opportunity to visit the first "Wine Riot Tour", March 25-26th., held at Santa Monica Place on the third level. This might have been their first Riot Tour in the U.S., but there were enough wines to please even the fussiest pallet. Wines were featured from all over the world including South Africa, Portugal, France, and Germany just to name a few, with California amply represented.

The principal here is simple, you don't need a ton of cash to drink awesome wines, and that a small amount of knowledge can go a long way, which is just one of the many ideas behind Second Glass President, Founder Tyler Baillet & CEO, Co-Founder Morgan First, the company that brings you and sponsors Wine Riot. Wine Riot has consecutively sold out for the last two years in Boston. Both Baillet and First have deemed their U.S. tour their Launch Event for Los Angeles. The company not only helps people discover their favorite wines, but remember the ones they like forever.

Not only will there be the sounds of good music but you get to feast your eyes live on cooking talents of MCCN's Carla Crudup.  She will be doing a cooking demonstration at the Earthfest Concert in the Park in Los Angeles. 

Get ready to rock, jazz and rhythm and blues at the 6th Annual EarthFestLA April 23, 2011. Apart from the concert activities, there will be plenty of festival activities for the entire family. Concert performances by Grammy winner smooth jazz guitarist Paul Brown and the Latin jazz sensation Jessy J. Our Expo pavilions offer exciting activities for adult and kids alike. (Click to Purchase Tickets)

Downtown L.A. was buzzing with the sights and sounds of talented designers, artists and vendors from across the greater Los Angeles area at the UNIQUE LA design and gift show.  In its second year running, founder Sonja Rasula has been able to gather over 300 hand-picked and curated independent vendors to showcase goods Made in the USA and available locally for purchase.  The show attracted over 3000 people each day and featured vendors that sell original items such as stationery, jewelry, handbags and t-shirts. 

Fifty years is a very long time, in fact, it's considered golden! So this Saturday, April 10th, from 11am to 6pm, the Japan America Society of Washington DC goes golden with their 50th Annual Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival! 12th Street and Pennyslvania Avenue, NW Washington DC. is the site for the free festival which celebrates the food, drink, music, arts and crafts of a proud nation.

Saturday April 17 2010, the Earth Day Food & Wine Festival takes place at theSanta Margarita Ranch in California. The Earth Day Food & Wine Festival is a weekend celebration of award-winning food and wine grown on California’s scenic Central Coast. Enjoy the feature event on Saturday afternoon and join us for barrel tastings, cooking demonstrations, live music, and vineyard tours throughout the weekend.

April 26th to May 6th 2010 Dine Out Vancouver 2010 is a continuation of annual event that allows thousands of local food enthusiasts and tourists to dine at some of Vancouver's top restaurants at equally attractive prices. Last years edition involved each participating restaurant featuring a special three-course menu at a fixed price of $18, $28, or $38. The menus highlighted BC VQA wine pairing suggestions that delighted the discerning palate and complimented each restaurant's outstanding culinary expertise.

 

April 19-25, 2010 unprecedented participation of 196 wineries pouring more than 1700 wines and spanning 14countries, attendance is expected to surpass more than 25,000 thirsty wine enthusiasts.Advance Tasting Room tickets will be available for purchase online at http://www.playhousewinefest.com. All advance tickets and packages are also available through the Playhouse Box office at 604.873.3311.