This weekend is the annual Pet Photos with Santa, benefiting the Echo Park Animal Alliance.

Bring your dog, or even your cat (we did!), or any other mellow pet of yours (fish? turtle? chicken?) and take a photo with Santa himself.

Prints are $10 each or three for $25, and home baked dog biscuits area also available for just $10.

In addition to the Pet Photos with Santa, the Peter Shire Gallery is open for you to browse while your pups enjoy doggy Christmas treats!

This all takes place on Saturday and Sunday, December 1-2, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The Peter Shire Gallery is located at 1850 Echo Park Avenue.

Email info@echoparkanimalalliance.org for more info.

Original mural alongside The Hedgehog at Mohawk Street & Sunset Boulevard

What the wall looks like now

Colorful murals are not only a common sight in Echo Park, it’s something the neighborhood takes a lot of pride in (depending on the artwork). While we’re not sure the erasure of a mural along Mohawk Street at Sunset Boulevard will capture the protests from the community like the Quinceañera mural did earlier this year, the whitewashing of the wall is a dramatic difference.

Erin West, who own The Hedgehog cafe on which the mural was located, planned on putting up a new, Echo Park themed mural when the wall was painted over, but business got a little busy. Prior to the election, Erin added the Yes on Prop 37 paintings, but some recent graffiti markings by, the tagging claims, the artist themselves protests the “hipster politics” on the wall. “I actually tried to track the crew down to give them a heads up,” Erin wrote in an email, referring to painting over the original mural, “but they didn’t exactly leave a forwarding address when I took over the lease.”

Erin is currently working on hiring a sandblaster to remove all paint from the brick wall. In the meantime, they are asking for any artists who may be interested in the new project to touch base via email at TheHedgehogLA@gmail.com

We have to ask all our readers: Did you like the original mural? Would you like to see a new mural, or is a brick wall cool with you?

Gobble Gobble Give, Echo Park

The 14th annual Gobble Gobble Give event is looking for volunteers as well as donations of food and/or money. Held on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 22, 2012), volunteers cook for and collect donated items for the needy – they’ve actually served over 4,000 meals to homeless at The Echo.

They currently need a few helpers for: Email correspondence, Camera and video operators (in locations like Vegas and San Fran), and travelers to go to one of their new locations. They also need small, medium and large donations (tax deductible!), like money, food, and clothing.

Click here to donate and for more info.

Union Station Homeless Services

While the annual Thanksgiving Dinner-in-the-Park volunteer positions are all currently filled, your monetary donations are needed! For more information and to donate, click here.

One Incredible Family in Playa del Rey

The organization, located in Playa del Rey, will be holding a Homeless Feeding and Banner Creation event on Saturday, November 24. They not only need volunteers, they also need cook turkeys, pies, rolls, juice boxes and waters.

More opportunities

Remember, Thanksgiving shouldn’t be the only day you volunteer. The Los Angeles Mission is in nearby downtown LA, as is The Midnight Mission and many more. You can search for more volunteer opportunities on the LA Works website.

Did we miss anything? Please let us know in the comments below and we’ll be sure to add the information!

If you’re a fan of the ’90s David Lynch TV series Twin Peaks like I am, Echo Country Outpost is the place to be on Thursday night. Here are the deets via LA Record:

There’s a bucolic little town called Twin Peaks, where nothing is as it seems and even the cherry pie carries secrets. Laura Palmer was found by the river wrapped in plastic. WHO DID IT?

Brooklyn based electronic duo Silent Drape Runners will resoundtrack the first episode of “Twin Peaks” live. Join us in a world of mystery and deception. Strip away the veneer of respectable gentility to expose seething undercurrents of illicit passion, greed, jealousy and intrigue in a population of unusual characters. Try and resist the enchantment of Kyle MacLachlan’s chin.

Freshen up your Twin Peaks expertiseSee some excerpts from previous performances of “Twin Peaks: The Beginning.” Listen to more Silent Drape Runners music.

Silent Drape Runners will also DJ an eerie dance party after the show.

$5 at the door.
Thursday, November 15 at 9:00 pm.
Click here to RSVP
Echo Country Outpost is located at 1770 Glendale Blvd.