On the last Sunday of each month during the hours of noon-2pm, LAVA welcomes interested individuals to gather in downtown Los Angeles for a loosely structured conversational Salon featuring short presentations and opportunities to meet and connect with one another. If you’re interested in joining LAVA as a creative contributor or an attendee, we recommend Salon attendance as an introduction to this growing community.

For the June 2016 Sunday Salon, LAVA presents The Secret Diaries of Vilma, the sassy El Monte socialite turned Clifton’s Cafeteria Camera Girl.

Miriam Caldwell, author of the blog Diary of Vilma, The Unconquerable will take us on a delightful and raucous ride back to the fabulous 1950s. Vilma’s flamboyant true life story, diaries and hundreds of rare historic photographs were brought out of the dark recesses of storage shortly after her death in 2012.

Miriam, along with her sister Victoria, will unveil a veritable treasure trove of history, which up until now has been hidden inside their mother’s charismatic diary passages. With the ravishing beauty of a Hollywood starlet, you’ll be captivated by her charm, wit and especially her brashness, a remnant from her childhood years growing up in a tough New York neighborhood.

Highlights of the presentation:

The history of Clifton’s camera girls: We’ll meet the entrepreneurial family who employed the team of camera girls at the Brookdale and Pacific Seas locations. Their souvenir photo business, Keepsake Photography, operated out of the basement of Clifton’s from 1945-1969. You’ll also discover how Vilma became the star of YOUR souvenir photo.

Vintage Los Angeles: Hot rods, drive-in movies and ritzy supper clubs where you could enjoy a Las Vegas style themed dinner show… all for under $10 bucks. Experience Vilma’s saucy date nights at the height of Hollywood’s Golden Age and the great American car culture.

The LAVA Sunday Salon is free, but reservations are required to provide an attendance count for the venue. There are no “plus ones,” so tell your friends to sign up individually. If attending both the Sunday Salon and walking tour, please sign up for each event. Please don’t reserve unless you plan to attend.