Make plans for LA Art Walk shuttle bus Sept. 11

9/11: THE HIPPODROME, Esotouric's Curated Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle's Last Ride Before New Paint Job

WHAT: The Hippodrome, a rolling curated salon on a custom vintage school bus

WHEN: Every Second Thursday (Sept 11, Oct 9 etc.) during downtown LA Art Walk, 6-10pm nightly

WHERE: The shuttle route circles Gallery Row (Main and Spring Streets between 9th and 2nd Streets)

COST: Free shuttle and entertainment

TRANSORMATION: 9/26 is the deadline for proposals from artists to paint the Hippodrome with raunchy historic scenes of old Main Street. For contest info visit http://www.esotouric.com/transform

FEATURING ON SEPTEMBER 11:

1) Hosts Kim Cooper & Richard Schave of Esotouric bus adventures sharing tales of historic downtown vice and answering visitor questions;

2) Senor Stretchy Skin doing weird things with clothespins;

3)The Magic of Raul;

4) Patrick Ian Moore's historic vaudeville-inspired miming;

5) Singer-songwriter Ruthann Friedman, whose "Windy" was a #1 hit for the Association;

6) Folk-blues picker Fort King plays songs of infamy, tragedy and ill repute;

7) Mike the Poet rockin' poems about L.A. authors and the city's underground;

8) Live henna body art creation by Paula Broussard of Lotus Henna

GENERAL INFO: http://www.esotouric.com/hippodrome, 323-223-2767

The Downtown L.A. Art Walk, held every second Thursday year round, is one of the great success stories of the neighborhood's revival. Launched in 2004 by a small group of independent gallery owners in what was then the western edge of Skid Row, the event now draws upwards of 4000 people, and includes live music, a thriving bar and restaurant scene, book signings, and of course art exhibits.

September 11 sees the fourth month when Kim Cooper and Richard Schave of Esotouric -- the eclectic bus adventure company whose tours reveal L.A.'s secret history -- transform what's been a sleepy free city DASH bus shuttle into something more appropriate to the Art Walk: The Hippodrome, a curated rolling salon. Art Walk visitors can still use the Hippodrome to get from Bert Green Fine Arts to The Hive -- but with so many interesting things happening on the bus, they may find they don't want to disembark when they arrive.

September's is also the last Art Walk before the Hippodrome is Transformed in an open contest to find two artists whose visions of the raunchy historic world of Main Street will be painted on each side of the bus before it rolls again on October 9. For contest info visit http://www.esotouric.com/transform

The Hippodrome shuttle is named in honor of promoter Adolph Ramish's legendary Hippodrome Theater, formerly located at 4th and Main. With 3000 seats, it was the biggest theater west of the Mississippi when built in 1913, and featured Toddles the Elephant on opening night. In 1952, the theater was demolished for a parking lot, and the site is now under development as the mixed-use Medallion project.

The new Hippodrome is a customized former school bus brightly painted on the outside with lively graffiti-style scenes of beautiful women. Inside, passengers and performers sit face-to-face in a comfortable nightclub-style setting, with checkerboard flooring, cocktail tables and softly blinking lights. The Hippodrome Art Walk shuttle bus is sponsored by DLANC and the tour guides by the Historic Downtown BID.

Every month the Hippodrome features interesting performers channeling the spirit of the neighborhood's storied past. Appearing during the September 11 Art Walk:

SENOR STRETCHY SKIN (5:45pm-6:15pm) inaugurates this month's Hippodrome witha bit of off-the-bus ballyhoo, a traditional Main Street practice. So be at 4th & Main around 5:45 to see the outrageous pre-show, then get on the bus as it rolls at 6pm to marvel at this remarkable contemporary freak show performer as, with musical accompaniment, he covers every exposed bit of his face with clothes pins!

PAULA BROUSSARD OF LOTUS HENNA (6pm-8pm) presents henna body art available for purchase on the Hippodrome

THE MAGIC OF RAUL (7pm-7:20pm) will baffle and amaze.

PATRICK IAN MOORE (7:30pm-7:50pm) back by popular demand presents a mimed performance in the spirit of Downtown's vaudeville and silent film legacy.

RUTHANN FRIEDMAN (8pm-8:40pm), an extraordinary singer-songwriter whose "Windy" was a #1 hit for the Association and whose 1970 Reprise LP "ConstantCompanion" is a jazz-folk classic finding new fans since its recent reissue. Ruthann will be playing her wry and seductive original songs solo and is accompanied on a few tragic traditional ballads by Ryan Fuller of Fort King.

FORT KING (8:40pm-9:30pm) is Florida-born Ryan Fuller. Steeped in old folk traditions and country blues like Mississippi John Hurt, his outsider view of LA life made him something of a citified crooner of New Weird Americana. Ryan's fingerpicking and soft delivery have invited comparison to Elliott Smith. In a solo acoustic performance, Fort King sings about love loss in the cosmos and ghosts from the past, songs of infamy, tragedy, and ill repute.

Hippodrome regular MIKE THE POET (9:30pm-10pm) rockin' poems about LA authors & the city's underground and an open mic for the roaming poets of downtown Los Angeles

Link for Senor Stretchy Skin: http://www.myspace.com/senorstretchyskin

Link for Lotus Henna: http://www.lotushennaonline.com

Link for Patrick Ian Moore: http://www.myspace.com/patrickianmoore

Link for Ruthann Friedman: http://www.myspace.com/ruthannfriedmanmusic

Link for Fort King: http://www.myspace.com/fortking

Link for Mike the Poet: http://www.myspace.com/mikethepoet

Hear The Hippodrome Song (by Zona Lilly): http://esotouric.com/hippodromesong

Link for general Hippodrome info: http://www.esotouric.com/hippodrome