When ‘Sing-A-Long Sound of Music’ is over, the hills are still alive

Melissa Peterman of the WB sitcom “Reba” is a self-proclaimed “Silver Lake, Eastside kind of girl.” So she won’t have too far to go to host the “Sing-A-Long Sound of Music” at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday. Though she’s lived in Los Angeles only four years, the Minnesota native has quickly fallen in love with her new home. These are a few of her favorite things:

Staying local

Friday nights are kind of low-key, but if we don’t stay at home or have a few people over, we walk down to the Edendale Grill. I love the bar there; it’s a converted firehouse and just beautiful. It’s a really cool place to just have a drink and maybe an appetizer. I feel very swanky there.

I’m from Minnesota, and a lot of people who live in Silver Lake also seem to be Midwestern transplants. It’s like we all settled in this neighborhood because it feels a little more like home.

I still don’t think we’ve hit every restaurant we want to hit. We’ve found this comforting place in our neighborhood called the Red Lion on Glendale Boulevard. It’s German, it’s bratwurst, and it’s beer in a boot. It all feels very much like a Minnesota thing.

Walking, watching

Saturday morning is hiking day. Griffith Park is a big favorite of mine. I’ve really gotten into hiking, especially with my dog, Janet. She’s a shepherd-mix pound puppy. It’s always so beautiful here, it’s like the sun can shame you into a lot of outdoor exercise.

Sometimes I’ll meet my girlfriends and -- if they can get me to leave the Eastside on weekends -- we’ll go over to Franklin Canyon or Fryman Canyon in Studio City. It’s a cool, dog-friendly hike that’s pretty easy but still a workout.

After a hike I’ll either curl up with a book or go see a movie. I love the Vista and the Los Feliz 3; they always have a good choice of movies. I just got back from vacation, so I have a huge list of things I want to see. Plus, after you see a movie at the Los Feliz 3, Skylight Books is right next door.

On the town

One of my favorite nights is to see Marty and Elayne at the Dresden Lounge. They’re just something you must see. My husband has their album framed. You’ve not lived until you’ve heard their version of “Livin’ la Vida Loca.”

Coming from Minneapolis, which is one of the biggest theater towns in the country, I just need to see live theater whenever I can. We have a lot of friends who are actors, so you have to give them your support. Everyone thinks you can’t find good theater in L.A., but that’s simply not true. My friends back in Minneapolis can’t imagine what we see, but there are so many great 99-seat venues like the Lillian or the Hudson Theater. That whole stretch on Santa Monica Boulevard is great. It’s like a little-theater row.

Let’s go Bowling

The Hollywood Bowl is one of those places that is so unique to L.A. I love it. It really reminds you how many great things are at your fingertips in this city. You can sometimes get so caught up in the business of this town that you can lose track of all the legendary places. I take my dad when he comes out and I love to say, “See? It’s not just ‘L.A.,’ there’s beauty everywhere.” I think my parents constantly picture me in the car and in traffic, but there’s definitely such an amazing outdoor element here.