Whether you are a true fashionista, an art lover, a design aficionado, or simply don’t want to miss out on the latest trends in design, fashion, art and beauty, visit the Avenues of Art & Design in West Hollywood. On Saturday, May 31, 2008, thousands of people will meet on the 11^th annual Art & Design Walk, a mile-long open house with more than 300 high-end art galleries, fashion boutiques, interior design stores, specialty shops and restaurants. Staged along Melrose Avenue, and Beverly and Robertson Boulevards, the event highlights exclusive receptions, personal appearances, shopping discounts, and entertainment hosted by individual showrooms.

Admirers of minimalist and colour abstract art will want to stop by Hamilton-Selway Fine Art’s newest display “Contemporary Contemporaries”, featuring work by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, David Hockney and other twentieth century artists.

Other gallery exhibitions include George Stern Fine Art’s ‘Robert Frame’ showcase and Glass Garage Fine Arts Gallery’s ‘Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque’.

The fashion conscious in search of the latest fad can enjoy haute designers like Stella McCartney and James Perse. The fashion boutiques along the Avenues have something for everyone. And home aficionados will like Ligne Roset by Linea, the fine collection of Peking glass by Robert Kuo, White Orchid Living at north Robertson Blvd and the special surprises from Phyllias Morris/Circa.

Once again, the downtown Los Angeles non-profit arts education center Inner-City Arts will benefit by the Avenues of Art & Design thanks to a silent auction taking place on the day of the event. Inner-City Arts “…uses arts education to positively affect the lives of at-risk children by unlocking their creative potential for a more hopeful and productive future.”

Admission to the Saturday’s Avenues Art & Design Walk 4p.m. to 8p.m. is absolutely free. Fiji Water will provide free bottled water to guests at their stations all through the Avenues and Urth Caffé offers free coffee drinks and tea. For more information visit, http://avenuesartdesign.com

About The Avenues of Art & Design

“Established through a West Hollywood City Ordinance as a Business Improvement District (BID) in 1996, the streets of Melrose Avenue, Robertson and Beverly Boulevards are where fine, decorative and culinary arts are conceived, created, and consigned to aesthetically-minded, design-savvy connoisseurs worldwide.”

A dear friend of mine says you either hate or love the opera. After perusing High Culture on a Low Budget by Olivia Giovetti, it’s clearly that she loves it. The closest I’ve ever come to an opera experience is through movies, the latest Woody Allen’s Match Point. I’m pretty sure I would love it though and Olivia’s Paris: Opera National de Paris, Prague: Prague Opera, and Moscow: The Bolshoi Opera definitely pique my curiosity.

I first heard about High Culture on a Low Budget through Europe A La Carte Blog’s Guest interview with Olivia and couldn’t resist checking it out. This savvy, informative blog is a must for anyone into the world of art, music and dance. Olivia has written about, among other things, ballet in Amsterdam, Portuguese art, Liverpool’s Tate Museum, St John’s Smith Square (apparently one of the best concert venues in the British capital), poetry readings in Barcelona, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Royal College of Music, the oldest and biggest music school in Scandinavia.

Previous posts include Vienna: Haus der Musik, my all time favourite Zurich: Tonhalle Orchester, Paris: Vive la Revolution des Musees!, Paris: Opera Garnier (and Beyond), Budapest: Budapest State Opera, and the most recent Zagreb: Strossmayer’s Old Masters Gallery, Aberdeen: The Scottish Ballet and Genova: Musei di Strada Nuova.

Before booking that weekend trip to Vienna, Prague, Paris, St Petersburg or any other European city, make sure to head over to High Culture on a Low Budget for up-to-date tips from an insider’s point of view. Who doesn’t want to know where to go for the best deals on exhibitions, museums, opera, theatre and classical concerts?