Thursday, September 18-Thursday, September 25

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18

Grand opening reception for the Marcela Ewertz Fine Arts Studio, 5 to 7 p.m. at 15200 Sunset Blvd., Suite 111 (facing the Washington Mutual parking lot).
Palisades High graduate Tanyo Ravicz discusses his latest collection of essays set in our 49th state, Alaskans, 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19

Calendar Girls screens at 1 p.m. in the Palisades Branch Library community room, 860 Alma Real. This 2003 film tells how a group of women in England become a media sensation after they pose nude for a fundraising calendar. Free admission.
The Pacific Palisades Art Association, as part of its “Art in the Community” program, hosts a reception for members Anne Schwartz and Esther Pearlman, 4 to 6 p.m. at the new Wachovia Bank, 15240 Sunset Blvd. Free admission.
Theatre Palisades offers Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar & Grille, a dark comedy written by Bruce Graham, playing Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., through October 12. Tickets: (310) 454-1970 or visit www.theatrepalisades.org.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

Slightly used book sale, hosted by the Friends of the Palisades Library, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the library’s parking lot, 861 Alma Real.
Las Doradas holds its annual fundraiser benefiting the Las Doradas Children’s Center, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Palisades Presbyterian Church, corner of Sunset and El Medio. The event will feature a gourmet lunch, silent auction, sale of “elegant junque,” and a homemade-items bakery sale. Hawaiian dress is optional. Tickets: Marti Gottfried at (310) 459-5594 or Sylvia Boyd at (310) 459-9556.
Palisadians for Peace hosts a screening and discussion of The Friendship Village: A Symbol of Peace, 2 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library, 861 Alma Real Dr. Free admission.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

The monthly Chamber of Commerce mixer, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., hosted by Spa d’Marie, 1515 Palisades Dr. in the Highlands.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting, 7 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. Public invited.
Myra Shapiro discusses and signs Four Sublets, 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. Her memoir bravely looks at a life in rebellion against her complex but expected role: being a wife, keeping a home and raising a family. The four sublets represent a life alone in creative pursuit as Shapiro strives to find her own voice.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

Martine Ehrenclou discusses and signs her new book, Critical Conditions: The Essential Hospital Guide to Get Your Loved One Out Alive, 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. Refreshments and appetizers will be served. Ehrenclou details how to be a proactive advocate for your hospitalized loved one in order to prevent medical error, medication mistakes, fatal falls and the spread of hospital-acquired infectious diseases. Her step-by-step guide is based on over 150 interviews with registered nurses, physicians and hospital staff, and the author’s own experiences with hospitalized family members and hundreds of hours of research.