Top 10 ways to celebrate Mother’s Day in downtown L.A.

Are you all set to treat your mom to a well-deserved great day on Sunday, May 10? For those of you still racking your brain for ideas, the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID) has stepped up to help.

On its website, you can find a number of to-dos and deals for Mom’s enjoyment in downtown Los Angeles. For full details on the specials, see the DCBID’s dedicated page, but here’s a handful of the highlights:

1) Dining: Deals include a $20 gift card for Mom thrown in with the three-course brunch at Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion. At Ciudad, dine early (at 10 a.m.) with a party of five or more and Mom gets her meal for free.

2) Afternoon tea: Chado Tea Room at the Japanese American National Museum has more than 200 varieties of tea, and you get a potful of your choice, plus sandwiches, with an Afternoon Tea Tier. The Millennium Biltmore is hosting a special afternoon tea event in its flower garden.

3) Wine: At San Antonio Winery, partake in free wine tastings and a winery tour. A special Mother’s Day menu will be available at its restaurant.

4) Shopping: A 10% discount will be offered for moms at the LA Phil Store. Mothers visiting the MOCA store get a free Louise Bourgeois poster.

5) Spa: Both Hilton Checkers Spa and Neihule Salon are offering pampering deals.

6) Arts performances: Onward to a show. Yefim Bronfman plays Prokofiev at Walt Disney Concert Hall; the musical revue Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical Show (pictured at top) will be on at Ahmanson Theater; and the play Lydia will be performed twice that day at Mark Taper Forum.

7) Museums: Mama gets free entry at the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live when accompanied by her child (of any age).

8) Other downtown sites: Tour the historic Biltmore Hotel. Or to end the day in real style, hop aboard the Mother’s Day Neon Cruise, a “nighttime bus tour of neon signs, movie marquees, and permanent installations of contemporary neon art through Downtown and Hollywood.”

9) Picnic: Assemble a basket of goodies, or have someone else do it for you. Then hit a patch of green outdoors, like Elysian Park.

10) Stay awhile? If Mom’s coming from out of town, or is looking for a special staycation, several downtown hotels are offering reasonably priced Mother’s Day weekend deals spiced up with treats and discounts.

- Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Top photo: Doug Eskew, Armelia McQueen, Debra Walton, Roz Ryan and Eugene Barry-Hill in "Ain't Misbehavin.' " Credit: Ringo H.W. Chiu / Los Angeles Times]

[Bottom photo credit: Los Angeles Philharmonic Assoc.]

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This entry was posted on Friday, May 1, 2009 at 3:30 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under California, Deals, Family & Kids, Gourmet, Hotels, Last Minute, Los Angeles, Restaurants, Spa. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.