PREVIOUS PROGRAMS AT 228 MAIN STREET
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Venice Vibrations Fundraiser
Saturday, May 11, 2025 6:00–9:00 pm VHM, 228 Main Street, Venice 90291 Featuring live music, art, community, and more in support of Keeping Heritage Alive! This high-energy event will be co-hosted by renowned jazz journalist and KCRW personality LeRoy Downs and feature powerhouse performances by two iconic bands with deep Venice roots: Venice and Cosmic Vibrations. Also expect to enjoy a set from DJ Goxxa, drinks, prizes, and an interactive art installation presented by acclaimed Venice artist Francisco Letelier. Food available from La Chingona Tacos, Ozi’s Kitchen, and All Chill Ice Cream. Prizes will include a top hat signed by Slash from Guns N' Roses, limited-edition print by Venice artist Muck Rock, a painting by Venice artist MB Boissonnault, a photograph by Rod Bradley, a necklace from LFrank Jewelry, and more! Sponsored by LOST iN, Hotel Erwin, and Davy Jones Liquor Locker |
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Fourth Fridays
Friday, April 25, 2025 5:00–7:00 pm VHM, 228 Main Street, Venice 90291 Free Event The museum becomes a happy hour hub every fourth Friday of the month. Mingle among other locals and learn more about Venice's past with a guided tour through the museum collection. This month's Fourth Fridays features three short documentary films produced by We Are Venice, playing throughout the evening. Films will highlight Venice locals Allen Sarlo, Kassia Meador, and Josh “Bagel” Klassman. |
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Book Launch: Accidental Friends
Thursday, April 3, 2025 7:00 pm VHM, 228 Main Street, Venice 90291 Free Event Join us for the launch of a new novel by local author Susan Josephs. Partly inspired by the legacy of Venice's historic Jewish community and the Israel Levin Center, Accidental Friends (Bedazzled Ink Publishing, 2025) tells the story of two women in Venice from two different walks of life who connect after a tragedy. Susan Josephs is a writer with a background in theater, dance, and journalism. She spent eight years writing about dance for the Los Angeles Times and her articles, essays, and short fiction have appeared in over a dozen publications including Salon, LA Weekly, Lilith, The Forward, and ARTnews. She has written five plays that have either received full productions or staged readings in New York and Los Angeles and has collaborated with choreographers and performance artists as a dramaturge. The author will be in conversation with journalist and podcaster Esther Kustanowitz and limited copies of the book will be available for purchase. |
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Fourth Fridays
Friday, March 28, 2025 5:00–7:00 pm VHM, 228 Main Street, Venice 90291 Free Event The museum becomes a happy hour hub every fourth Friday of the month. Mingle among other locals and learn more about Venice's past with a guided tour through the museum collection. |
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1st Anniversary
Sunday, March 9, 2025 1:00 pm VHM, 228 Main Street, Venice 90291 Free Event Join VHM as we celebrate one year since the first-ever museum dedicated to Venice opened to the public. One of the ways in which the museum works to preserve, showcase, and nurture the diverse stories of Venice is through our Oral History Project. Visitors on March 9th will have the opportunity to record their own five-minute oral history, telling their story of Venice on video for inclusion in the museum's archive. Additionally, there will be exhibition tours and a turn-of-the-20th-century-style Venice Pier game for visitors to try. |
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Local Photographers Speaker Series:
Peewee Califas, Natasha Hurrell, and Kei Rowan-Young Sunday, March 2, 2025 1:00 pm VHM, 228 Main Street, Venice 90291 Free Event Join us for the continuation of our Local Photographers Speaker Series, highlighting those who help us see Venice. This third event occurs during Women's History Month and features practicing documentarians who photograph Venice in both overlapping and divergent ways. Peewee Califas, Natasha Hurrell, and Kei Rowan-Young are active photographers around town who will be featured at VHM here for the first time. The group will be in conversation with Marilyn Ramirez from VHM. |
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Fourth Fridays at VHM
Friday, February 28, 2025 5:00 pm VHM, 228 Main Street, Venice 90291 Free Event The museum becomes a happy hour hub every fourth Friday of the month. Mingle among other locals and learn more about Venice's past with a guided tour through the museum collection. |
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Oral History Speaker Series #3:
Naomi Nightingale, PhD, Jataun Valentine, and Rusty Smith Sunday, February 16, 2025 3:00 pm VHM, 228 Main Street, Venice 90291 Free Event Join us as we continue our series of live conversations with participants in the VHM Oral History Program. This third event occurs during Black History Month and highlights Venetians whose lives and stories have been intertwined with the local African American experience and greater seaside community across generations. The discussion will be moderated by Alison Rose Jefferson, MHC | PhD, from the Venice Heritage Museum. |
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Local Photographers Speaker Series:
Paulo Freire Lopez Sunday, November 24, 2024 1:00 pm Venice Heritage Museum 228 Main Street, Venice 90291 Free Event Join us for the continuation of our Local Photographers Speaker Series, highlighting those who help us see Venice. This second event features the work of Paulo Freire Lopez, a documentarian focused on the Westside's deep-rooted communities. A committed street photographer, Lopez's images present the people and events that define Los Angeles, with a strong emphasis on the fight against cultural erasure in the face of gentrification. Lopez will be in discussion with Marilyn Ramirez and Anthony Carfello from VHM. |
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3rd Annual VHM Film Festival
Sunday, October 20, 2024 7:00 pm Venice Heritage Museum 228 Main Street, #5, Venice 90291 The VHM Film Festival returns for our third annual night of films and fun in support of the museum! Enjoy an outdoor screening under the stars & food from All Chill Ice Cream, Davy Jones Liquor Locker, and Zavalas Pies. Featuring a curated selection of shorts that highlight the people and places of Venice across eras, including: The Sound of Paint (2024; excerpt) directed by Joshua Enoch Williams; Venice America (2024) directed by Stanley Mitchell; Where Has All The (affordable) Housing Gone (2023–24) directed by Judy Branfman; Wade in the Water: A Journey into Black Surfing and Aquatic Culture (2023; shortened) directed by David Mesfin; and the IN VENICE Trilogy (2022) directed by Sarah Niemann and Svenja Albers. |
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Oral History Speaker Series #2:
David Hertz, Steven Ehrlich, Thom Mayne Sunday, September 22, 2024 4:00 pm Venice Heritage Museum 228 Main Street, #5, Venice 90291 Free Event Join us as we continue our series of live conversations with participants in the VHM Oral History Program. This second event highlights the work of three world-renowned architects whose practices have defined the spaces and places of Venice throughout recent decades. The discussion will be moderated by Andrew Perchuk of the Getty Research Institute. |
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The Story of the 1915 Venice Grand Prix
Sunday, August 18, 2024 6:30 pm Venice Heritage Museum 228 Main Street, #5, Venice 90291 Free Event Harold Osmer has studied the history of Southern California auto racing and found that, in terms of sheer venue numbers, more auto racing has taken place in the region than any other place in the world. Join us on August 18th when he shares the history of Venice's famous Grand Prix. Osmer is the author of Where They Raced, Santa Monica Road Races (1909–1919), and the Saugus Speedway Scrapbook. His books have garnered awards from automotive enthusiast groups including the Motor Press Guild, American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association, and Society of Automotive Historians. He is on the Board of Directors for the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame. |
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Venice Premiere: Of All the Gin Joints
Thursday, July 25, 2024 Doors: 8:00 pm | Screening: 8:30 pm Venice Heritage Museum | Outdoors in the Parking Lot 228 Main Street, Venice 90291 Tickets $10 Join us for a Venice film premiere: Of All the Gin Joints, a new documentary by David Kornfield that shares the story of Venice's famed Mexican seafood restaurant, Casablanca. Both a much-loved, family-run restaurant and a DIY museum dedicated to the classic Humphrey Bogart film of the same name, Casablanca was founded in 1980 by Carlos Haro, Sr., who had opened several local dining establishments by then after coming to Venice from Guadalajara. This feature-length work celebrates the dedication of the Haro family in keeping this Venice institution open to the community while the surrounding neighborhood has seen great change. Proceeds from ticket sales support VHM's programming. |
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Local Photographers Speaker Series:
Josh "Bagel" Klassman & Marilyn Ramirez Sunday, July 21, 2024 4:00 pm Venice Heritage Museum 228 Main Street, Venice 90291 Free Event Join us for the start of our Local Photographers Speaker Series, highlighting those who help us see Venice. This first event features two photographers whose work figures prominently in our current exhibition, This is some place. Josh “Bagel” Klassman’s images are widely known for documenting Venice’s skate culture in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Marilyn Ramirez shoots the scenes and landscapes of Venice today that are charged with both stillness and action. The discussion will be moderated by Anthony Carfello from VHM. |
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Menudo Madness on a Sunday Afternoon
Sunday, July 21, 2024 8:30 am–3:00 pm Venice Heritage Museum | Parking Lot 228 Main Street, Venice 90291 Suggested donation of $10 per car Join us at the Venice Heritage Museum for the first Menudo Madness on a Sunday Afternoon. This car show in the museum's parking lot also features homemade menudo by Chef Paul Baca, as well as music by Jimmy Jams and shirts sold by Venice Native. Details: Classic Cars roll in at 7:30am. Only thirty-five spaces available inside parking lot. Classic cars only, no exceptions. |
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Oral History Speaker Series #1:
Dolores Deluce, Karen Rosenhoover & Daniel Samakow Saturday, June 15, 2024 4:00 pm Venice Heritage Museum 228 Main Street, #5, Venice 90291 Free Event Join us for the start of an ongoing series of live conversations with participants in the VHM Oral History Program. This first event occurs during Pride Month and highlights Venetians whose lives and stories have been intertwined with the local LGBTQ+ community. The discussion will be moderated by Andy Sacher from The Lavender Effect. |
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Venice Culture Salons with Gerry Fialka
Venice Heritage Museum 228 Main Street, #5, Venice 90291 Free Event Beginning in April 2024 and continuing monthly since, Venice-based curator, filmmaker, and interviewer Gerry Fialka hosts a series of Venice Culture Salons at VHM. These free, public events are billed as “live oral history,” where guests discuss varied topics on Venice’s past and present. In parallel with these interactive discussions, participants in the Salons have amassed a list of all known performers on Venice's Ocean Front Walk from the mid-20th century forward. Special guest speakers are invited to the Salons as well, including local historian "Sweet" William McNally, Linda Lucks from Venice Community Housing, founder of the Venice Oceanarium Tim Rudnick, local activist Lydia Ponce, Venice historian and artist Mary Jane, photographers Dave Healey, Margaret Molloy, Ned Sloane, and more. #1: Sunday, April 26, 2024, 4:00 pm. #2: Sunday, May 26, 2024, 4:00 pm. #3: Sunday, June 30, 2024, 4:00 pm. #4: Sunday, July 28, 2024, 4:00 pm. #5: Sunday, September 29, 2024, 4:00 pm. #6: Sunday, October 27, 2024, 4:00 pm. #7: Thursday, November 21, 2024, 3:00 pm. #8: Thursday, December 19, 2024, 3:00 pm. #9: Thursday, January 16, 2025, 3:00 pm. #10: Thursday, February 20, 2025, 3:00 pm. #11: Thursday, March 20, 2025, 3:00 pm. #12: Thursday, April 17, 2025, 3:00 pm. |
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VHM Holiday Party Fundraiser
Saturday, December 9, 2023 6:00-9:00 pm @ Main Street Design Center 228 Main St. Venice, CA 90291 Attendance is Free with RSVP | Music by DJ Krye RSVP HERE To gear up for the public opening of the museum’s first physical location this coming Spring 2024, the VHM wants to celebrate this major milestone with you—the community who made it possible! What better housewarming than a sneak peek at what we have planned for the year ahead + a night of music and fun with the Venetians who share our belief that this incredible city deserves a museum to match. This event will feature an exhibition of rarely seen photographs by Rod Bradley, revealing moments from life in Venice in the 1970s. Bradley’s work will be presented in the VHM’s central gallery alongside material from our growing archival collection and our Oral History Project. With your support, the next year ahead will see the VHM open a robust permanent exhibition in our new space with regular activities and programming for all. |
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2nd Annual VHM Film Festival
Saturday, October 7, 2023 7:00-10:00 pm @ Main Street Design Center 228 Main St. Venice, CA 90291 Following last year's debut sold-out event, join the VHM team for a night of fascinating films, fabulous food, and funky family fun! Featuring content from : The Academy Film Archive, Christopher Merritt, David Kornfield, Laughtears Productions, Venice Heritage Museum, and more. To find out more & buy tickets: tinyurl.com/vhmfilm (Youth ages 17 & under attend for free!) This year's event is generously sponsored by the following local businesses: Millán Architect Studio, Belles Beach House, Davy Jones Liquor Locker, Hotel Erwin, The Penmar, The Brig, Hinano Cafe, RSFLA, JOJX, and The Venice West. Food & beverages by: The Empanada Factory, Pinche Guero Tacos, Firestone Walker, Skyduster & Sapere Wines, plus candy and popcorn concessions. |
SELECTED COMMUNITY PROGRAMS PRIOR TO FALL 2023
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2nd Annual Art & Music Street Expo
Saturday, July 29, 2023 12-6 pm Oakwood Park ☆ FREE EVENT ☆ Reggae, Hip Hop & the always popular PUNK ROCK! Come out for the get down!! Help celebrate RuSTy's Birthday & show that appreciation for bringing us all together & keeping it real. The VHM team will be onsite with our booth sharing updates about the Museum project and selling our t-shirt inventory for discounted prices. Great deals on all previous styles in various sizes! Join us in the park for a fun day of local music, art, and a celebration for our friend Rusty of No Reaction! — the seminal Venice punk band that featured at our 'History of Punk' show last year. Venice Cinco de Mayo Parade & Festival
Saturday, May 6, 2023 Parade: 10 am-11 am starting @ Lincoln Blvd & California Ave. Festival: 11 am-6 pm @ Oakwood Park We're honored to feature Casablanca, Garcia's Market, Hoagies, La Cabaña, La Fiesta Brava, La Playita, and other legacy Mexican-American restaurants in Venice for our exhibit at this year's Venice Cinco de Mayo Parade & Festival! Join us this Saturday, May 6 🇲🇽💙 to check out our float in the parade celebrating Mexican-American heritage in Venice & join us at our exhibition booth at the festival following the parade throughout the afternoon! |
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Join VHM for the Venice premiere of "UNZIPPED" + benefit on Saturday, March 25th!
Saturday, March 25, 2023 Mishkon Tephilo - 206 Main Street, Venice, CA 90291 Doors open at 7:30 pm | Film starts at 8:00 pm Purchase tickets at: tinyurl.com/unzippedvenice We’re thrilled to invite you to the Venice premiere of "UNZIPPED: An Autopsy of American Inequality", an award-winning feature documentary about the growing affordable housing crisis in America told through the lens of Venice, California's struggle with the housing divide. This special Venice private screening is a joint fundraiser for our organization, Venice Family Clinic, and Unzipped’s affordable housing impact campaign, #RaiseTheRoof. The Venice Heritage Museum is also honored to serve a small role in the production — our Board President, Kristina von Hoffmann, is interviewed about Venice history in the film. All ticket purchases are tax-deductible and proceeds will be donated directly to these three organizations! Beverages, popcorn, and parking are available to purchase in advance with your tickets. Don’t miss this unforgettable evening, community gathering & benefit! Venice Mardi Gras Parade + Exhibition
Saturday, February 11, 2023 Rose Ave & Ocean Front Walk | Parade @ 12:00 pm The Sidewalk Cafe | Afterparty & Exhibition @ 2:00 pm 12:00-4:00 pm This year's parade kicks off at Rose & Ocean Front Walk outside The Waterfront. The Beaucoup Brass Band will lead the festivities down the Boardwalk to The Sidewalk Café for an afterparty featuring The Gumbo Brothers. Our pop-up exhibit will celebrate the history of Venice Mardi Gras 💜💚💛 Free and all ages event — costumes highly encouraged! History of Punk Show + Exhibition Sunday, November 20, 2022 Pre-party @ Hoagies — 12:00 pm-5:00 pm | Free! Concert @ The Venice West — Doors: 6:00 pm | Show: 8:00 pm VHM is stoked to present LUICIDAL at The Venice West, joined by Neighborhood Watch, Entropy, and No Reaction! We're celebrating the history of punk in Venice with these original hardcore bands. All ticket sales benefit the Venice Heritage Museum thanks to The Venice West with support from Highway Cannabis Company. The pre-party & concert will feature a community photo exhibition with fliers, photos, and more from the decades of the underground scene that shaped a piece of Venice's heritage and culture. Think teenage bedroom wall style... Buy your tickets now before they sell out 🎟⚡️ tinyurl.com/vhmluicidal |
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1st Annual Venice Classic ft. VHM Community Photo Exhibition
Saturday, August 27, 2022 10:00 am-5:00 pm 1800 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291 Free for all attendees! Join the VHM team at this first annual classic car show and festival at the beach. Stop by our booth to check out a pop-up exhibition about car culture in Venice, our new swag drop, and more! Presented by Dogtown Devils, City of LA Dept. of Rec & Parks, and Council District 11. VHM Film Festival + Exhibition
Saturday, August 13, 2022 7:00-10:00 pm Vice Media OUTDOORS, 589 Venice Blvd. Venice, CA 90291 VHM is proud to launch our first-ever film festival celebrating Venice heritage and history + interviews from our VHM Oral History Project! Featuring content from: UCLA Film & Television Archive, Venice Arts, Venice Heritage Museum, Venice Institute of Contemporary Art, and Sherman Paramount Pathe News. Join us for a multigenerational program on this epic night under the stars, with an accompanying exhibition celebrating the history of film in Venice. Concessions available onsite include empanadas from local favorite, The Empanada Factory, beverages from Bev, Cann, Firestone Walker, and more! See the press release here: https://flypr.bmeurl.co/E1AA52F Venice Pride Festival + Exhibition Sunday, June 6, 2022 12:00-10:00 PM Venice Beach Recreation Center The Venice Heritage Museum team is honored to have been asked to take part in the annual Venice Pride Festival! Join us on the parade route on Sunday morning to catch our rolling exhibition celebrating LGBTQIA+ history in Venice. Plus, the mobile exhibit will be on display alongside a collection of community photo submissions at our exhibit table in the festival plaza following the parade. Stop by to view the exhibition, and enjoy the festivities throughout the weekend! Venice Cinco de Mayo Parade + Altar Exhibition Sunday, April 30, 2022 10:00 AM-6:00 PM Lincoln Blvd + Oakwood Park The Venice Heritage Museum team is honored to join the Venice Cinco de Mayo Parade and Festival celebrating our city's Mexican American cultural heritage. We have gathered together an incredible exhibition of 90+ community photo submissions to build an altar (pictured right) which will be featured in the parade. Join us for the parade featuring Aztec and Folklorico dancers, classic cars, Venice High School's marching band and dance team, and more beginning at 10 am on Lincoln Blvd & California Ave. The parade will conclude at Oakwood Park, where our altar and additional exhibit images will be on display at our booth. Benefit Dinner + Windward Circle exhibition at Hama Sushi Wednesday, April 13, 2022 4:00-9:30 PM Hama Sushi, 213 Windward Ave, Venice, CA 90291 Thanks to our friends at longtime local haunt, Hama Sushi, the Venice Heritage Museum team invites you to join us for our next benefit event on Wednesday, April 13 from 4:00-9:30 pm. We're throwing a party in the Secret Garden at Hama that evening and 20% of your bill will be donated to support the Museum! Join us for food and sake specials, and check out our latest exhibition on the history of the original Venice Lagoon in Windward Circle — right where Hama is located today. Plus, we'll have local favorite DJ Krye spinning old school soul & funk records and new VHM swag for sale. Don't miss this one! It's going to be an epic night. |
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"VENICE of AMERICA" screening @ The Penmar + Mardi Gras exhibition
Tuesday, March 1, 2022 6:00-9:00 PM The Penmar, 1233 Rose Ave, Venice, CA 90291 Venice Heritage Museum & The Penmar present "VENICE of AMERICA" — a film by Mark Steven Shepherd, international documentarian and still photographer, and longtime Venice resident. Four decades in the making, the 2022 feature documentary film is an epic insider’s glimpse of Venice, California’s iconic, colorful, and diverse community, filmed between 1980 and 2021. Shepherd captures the artists, street performers, the struggles and the changes pressuring the most fascinating cultural beach community in the United States. Watch the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/467168001 Join us at The Penmar where you can grab food and a drink, and enjoy the outdoor screening on Tuesday, March 1st. It's Mardi Gras so attendees are encouraged to come dressed in your best festival attire! Be sure to stop by our table to view our exhibition celebrating the history of Mardi Gras in Venice, brought here by Louisiana native and Venice's first African-American resident, Arthur Reese. Doors: 6:00 pm | Showtime: 6:30 pm. Free admission. RSVP on Facebook here. |
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Boardwalk Through the Ages: a group photo exhibition & silent auction
Saturday, September 25, 2021 3:00-9:00 PM VICE Media, 589 Venice Blvd, Venice, CA 90291 On Saturday, September 25 from 3-9 pm, the Venice Heritage Museum is hosting a group photo exhibition and silent auction outdoors at VICE Media in Venice, highlighting the history of our city's famed Boardwalk through the ages from its founding era through the present day. We are thrilled to have the generous support of an incredible group of photographers who have contributed to the silent auction and show including: Gerry Beckley, Henry Diltz, Estevan Oriol, Josh "Bagel" Klassman, Paulo Freire Lopez, Dotan Saguy, David Scott, and Pep Williams, and among many others. Starting now, you can view the Silent Auction images and bid online at www.32auctions.com/veniceheritage through Saturday, Sept. 25. This means for those of you who aren't in LA or can't make it, you'll still have the chance to participate! Prints and swag will also be for sale with all proceeds from the event directly funding our mission to build Venice's first-ever museum at this crucial phase in the project's launch. Featuring an acoustic performance by Chris Abbott (aka Kid Caviar), tunes by DJ Buck, taco carts, and more, this is going to be an epic event—don't miss it! VIP tickets for a meet-and-greet with Henry Diltz. |
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Venice Heritage Museum @ Venice Art Crawl
Thursday, August 19, 2021 6:00-10:00 PM Winston House, 23 Windward Ave Come visit Venice Heritage Museum's Venice-of-America Booth at the Venice Art Crawl! Step right up & take a walk back in time at the Venice Heritage Museum's Venice-of-America Booth. Celebrate Venice history — from its amusement town roots through its influence on surf, skate, music, art, architecture, design, and more to the present day. Snag some Venice swag and find out more about the project to build out city's first-ever museum! |