The Next Your Friday night plans are set for August 2. The Catalina Island Museum invites you to enjoy dinner and a movie during its next First Fridays at the Museum.
The next First Fridays at the Museum will be held Aug. 2. The evening will celebrate the food and culture of Spain with a Spanish Paella dinner by Diego Velasco, chef and co-owner of the acclaimed Memphis Café in Orange County, followed by a screening of “The Devil is a Woman” (1935) in the Museum’s outdoor Ackerman Family Amphitheater.
Dinner
Dinner will be served between 6 and 8 p.m. The menu includes: Spanish paella (chicken, pork belly, chorizo bilbao, bomba rice, red peppers and peas) served with a mesquite grilled vegetable salad tossed with a Romesco viniagrette (contains nuts) and grilled bread. Sangria and other refreshments will be available for purchase. Musician Sasha Kolpakov will play the Spanish guitar as the background music for the dinner. Kolpakov is a world-class guitar virtuoso, hailing from a famous guitar dynasty Kolpakov. He has performed for the Kennedy family, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s family and corporations such as Mercedes, BMW, Ritz- Carlton, Marriott, Barcelona Football Club, Aeroflot and many others. Kolpakov can be found playing regularly in and around Los Angeles at big music festivals, concert halls and clubs.
The movie
“The Devil is a Woman” stars Marlene Dietrich, Cesar Romero and Lionel Atwill. The film’s story unfolds amidst the festivities at Seville’s Carnival set in the fin de siècle Spain. Dietrich plays a Spanish seductress with a spider-like tendency to destroy the lives of those who love her. Taking place during the 19th century, the film follows a young soldier who falls for a beautiful vixen. He later tells his friend about it and they figure out it was the same woman that destroyed his life. The film flashes back to that tumultuous time in his life. After learning about this, the young soldier promises to stay away from her, but he is weak and gets pulled back under her spell.
A bit of controversy also surrounds the film. Spain’s government did not appreciate the film’s depiction of the behavior of their Guardia Civil and the imitations of government brutality. They banned the film there and requested that the United States State Department do the same. They complied and as a result, the film has not been widely screened.
First Fridays at the Museum provide an opportunity to explore the museum’s galleries, digital theater, open-air plazas and shop in the Museum Store after dark. Its current special exhibitions include “Wrigley’s Catalina: A Centennial Celebration,” “Bird Park: An Aviary for Avalon’s Celebrity Birds” and “Elizabeth Turk: Tipping Point.”
First Fridays at the Museum takes place from 6 to p.m. on Friday, Aug. 2. The paella dinner will be served from 6 to 8 p.m. and the film will begin at dusk (around 8:15 p.m.). Tickets for dinner and the movie are $25 for members, $30 for non-members and $15 for children (3-15). Sangria, wine, beer, soda and water will be available for purchase. No outside food or beverages allowed.
The Catalina Island Museum offers the best in art and history exhibitions, music and dance performances, lectures by guest speakers from all over the world, and the finest in silent, documentary and international film. Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The new Ada Blanche Wrigley Schreiner Building is located in the heart of Avalon at 217 Metropole Ave. For more information, the museum may be reached by phone at 310-510-2414 or at its website: CatalinaMuseum.org.
