La Cita

The MAN had been flirting with the woman by the bar for a few minutes before blurting out, "Is that a gorilla mask between your legs?" She stared at him, silent for a moment, then grinned broadly and said: "You know, it really is." Normally a question like that would meet with a swift slap to the jowl, but not on Saturday afternoons and evenings at La Cita Bar. Since late June, the Latino dance hall-cum-scruffy artist hideaway in downtown L.A. has joined with the Silver Lake outsider art gallery Ghettogloss to host a figure-drawing class of primitive proportions: The models -- mostly women in bikinis -- wear gorilla masks while they pose.

Two Ventura County men, both shot in the head in unrelated incidents in Santa Paula and Oxnard, were in critical condition at area hospitals Saturday. In the Santa Paula shooting, a group of people standing in front of La Cita Cafe flagged down a police car shortly before 11 p.m. Friday to report that a shooting had just occurred and that the assailant was walking west from the cafe, Santa Paula police said.

HIPSTERS used to frown on dancing. Your typical East Side-living, American Apparel-shopping, art-school- educated type wouldn't be caught dead busting a move at a club or concert. The hipster pose was arms folded and feet grounded, staring straight ahead, maybe nodding your head to the beat now and again. But dancing is now hipster-approved, the new normal. It has taken over clubs such as La Cita, Safari Sam's, the Echo and the Short Stop.

With the completion of downtown's new Grand Park just around the corner, plans for a grand opening celebration and full menu of events for fall have been announced in an attempt to further establish the new green space as a destination for those living in and around the city's historic core. The festivities are scheduled to begin with a grand opening celebration on Oct. 6, which is to mark the completion of the park's full, four-block plan and include morning dance lessons presented by the Music Center and an aerial dance performance by the group Bandaloop high on the exterior of City Hall.

The day winds down; you're meeting friends for drinks. So why not sip that cool concoction of gin, cucumber and mint outside? With so many alluring outdoor bars around town, you could choose a different one every week until September. Here are our top picks. Best Drinks The backyard at the W hotel: Beside a trickling pebbled fountain and a pool ringed by posh cabanas, Westwood's Backyard bar mixes a mean cocktail. Steph's Berry Saintsation hits the not-too-sweet spot with St.