The 54 best things to do in L.A. this weekend (2024)

While sunset still falls relatively late inthe evening, the Huntington is taking advantage ofthe extra daylight with this coveted after-hours series.Formerly openjust for members,Twilight Garden Strollsis now open to the public, too, and will extend the San Marino garden’s hours until 8pmonselect evenings in the summer. Just a heads up that you’ll need a timed ticket that’s separate from regular morning or afternoon admission.

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This two-weekend event celebrates Japanese culture with displays of martial arts, tea ceremonies, flower arranging and more. Crowds of nisei—the word refers to the first generation of Japanese to be born in America—gather for festivities and a parade that culminates with the coronation of the Nisei Week Queen.

Before the corner of Fifth Street and Arizona Avenue gets frosty for Ice, you’ll now find a roller rink set up. From August 10 to October 14,Roll @ Santa Monica will let you lace up a pair of rental skates for a two-hour session.

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Like a family-friendlyversion of its Roaring Nights series, spend an evening at the L.A. Zoo on select Friday nights for a mix of musical performances, dance parties,educational talks and twilight animal viewing opportunities. The carousel will be open during the series, and so too—for those 21 and over only—will be a cash bar.

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It’s not just for big-budget action scenes: The L.A. River inspires and supports artistic creations of all sizes and scopes, and you can check a bunch of them out during this annual event from Friends of the L.A. River. Swing by L.A. State Historic Park for music, dance, a visual art gallery and eco-minded activities, as well as food trucks and a 50-booth marketplace. This year’s event introducesa poetry showcase dubbed the Lewis Lounge, a tribute to FoLAR founder and poet Lewis MacAdams.Admission is free, but tickets are required.

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Every two years, Disnerds come together at the Anaheim Convention Center to celebrate all things Disney and see what sort of magic the company has been working on. Show floor highlights include a peek inside the Disney Archives and the latest ride designs and inventions from Walt Disney Imagineering. If youcan secure a seat, the weekend’s keynotes include the celebrity-filled Legends induction ceremony and a look at upcoming releases from Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and both animated and live action Disney movies, as well as the latest from the Disney theme parks.

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Dave Grohl and co. play a pair of dates at the Banc of California Stadium.The show follows last year’s L.A. tribute to the band’s late drummer, Taylor Hawkins, and includes anot-quite-as-but-still-impressive slate of support acts: the Hives, Amyl and The Sniffers,Pretenders and Alex G.

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Perhaps the Los Angeles area’s most iconic flea market, this event around the exterior of the Rose Bowl is staggeringly colossal—but what else would you expect from a 90,000-seat stadium? The sheer size and scale of this flea market means that it encompasses multitudes: new and old, hand-crafted and salvaged, the cheap and the costly.

Listen to classicaland jazz in a domemore than a mile above L.A. during this mountaintop concert series. The Mount Wilson Observatory is hostingmonthly concerts this summer inside the dome ofits 100-inch Hooker telescope, which was the largest telescope in the world for much of the first half of the 20th century.

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Say goodbye to dusty thoroughfares and violent porta-potties: Splash House takes the music festival concept off of sweltering desert land and places it poolside. Movers and shakers at this multi-location getdown are shuttled between theSaguaro, theMargaritaville and the Renaissance (with after-hours programming at the Palm Springs Air Museum) to lap up big-name dance acts and DJ sets. With the added comforts of AC rooms and critically acclaimed restaurant fare just steps away from the party scenes, the experience will make you question whether to bother with more punishing locales come next year’s festival season.

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Guitarist and vocalist Dave Mustaine has been the only real constant for these thrash-metal titans’ lineups, but, well, that’s really what you’re coming out for, right? Catch them at the YouTube Theater with support fromMudvayne and All That Remains.

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Beverly Hills’ most famous street celebrates its swankystorefronts with a week (Aug 5–11) of collection showcases and bubbly-filled shopping events.

Texas trio Khruangbin draws inspiration from ‘60s Thai funk (the band’s name translates to “engine fly” in Thai) and a myriad of other genres, channeling taut grooves and psychedelic riffs. They share the stage with Unknown Mortal Orchestra for this pair of shows at the Hollywood Bowl.

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The Hollyshorts Film Festival is a week and a half of networking events, Q&As with filmmakers and screenings of short films produced around the world. Most of the annual fest’s screenings will be held at the TCL Chinese 6 (that’s the multiplex behind the famous one), and promises numerous 40-minute films (or less) from early afternoon to midnight. The all-access badge sets you back $160,but you can just opt for a single day for$60

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America’s largest pro surfing competition attracts the world’s elite, who compete for big money while wowing thousands of beach boys and girls with their skill, grace and innovative board designs. Heating up the festivities are live bands, a sports expo and after-parties with the friendly locals.

A superb new production of a Stephen Sondheim classic (we gave its New York run five stars),Company follows bachelorette Bobbie andherconflicted feelings about commitment on the occasion of her 35th birthday.

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Listen to kid-friendly performances during this summertime concert series in the Getty’s beautiful Central Garden. Picnic blankets are welcome, but note that lawn chairs are not.

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Catch a mix of tribute bands and nostalgic throwbacks during this summertime concert series at DTLA’s Pershing Square.

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Mix fried food, carnival attractions and the occasional rodeo or demolition derby, and you’ve got the OC Fair. What started as a quaint fair in 1889 has since grown into a nearly monthlong fest.

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Each summer, Bard fanatics watch their favorite works come to life at the historic Old Zoo in Griffith Park. Independent Shakespeare Co. puts on a series of lively productions each week, inviting audiences to take a seat on the grass (read: bring a picnic blanket) and enjoy performances like this season’s headliner:As You Like It.With construction resuming on the main lawn, this summer’s show will move back to the dell at the top of the Old Zoo—meaning available space is smaller and reservations are required.

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Everyone’s favorite NPR member station has a hand in aslew of summer concert slates atpublic plazas and beloved museums, and this summer’s schedule is particularly packed. Familiar KCRW DJs and local buzz bands will be providing free, open-air tunes on select nights through September at Union Station,CAAM,Descanso Gardens, Bowers Museum, Century Park, the AutryandKCRW’s Santa Monica headquarters.

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The Music Center offers a free, joyous mash-up of music and dancing all summer long, with different themes (samba, Bollywood and reggaetón, among them) and free dance lessons plus live DJ sets. Head to the Music Center plaza and join in the fun—no dance experience required.

Every Sunday you can find dozens of food vendors at this market at ROW DTLA, with a mix of much-loved pop-ups and future foodie stars. Look out for the market’s Ice Cream Alley through September 1, which includes sweets vendorsMoom Maam, Kinrose Creamery, Nobuko Shave Ice and Happy Ice, plus pop-upsfrom 626 Ice Cream, Sad Girl Creamery and El Churro Panzon.

Initially adreadful 1930s propaganda film about the absolutehorrors of the devil’s lettuce,Reefer Madness has since morphed into an ironically pro-marijuana piece of pop culture—most notably with the 1998 L.A. premiere of this acclaimed musical satire by Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney, as well as its 2005 film adaptation. Now some fuzzy number of years later, the production has been reignited in L.A. at the former King King space on Hollywood Boulevard.

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Now one of L.A.’s most treasured summer traditions, Barnsdall Park’s wine tastings are back after a five-year hiatus. Perched atop Olive Hill on the west lawn of the historic Hollyhock House (which you can tour during the evening for an additional $25), the Barnsdall Friday fund raisers include fine selections of boutique wines provided by Silverlake Wine with a spectacular sunset and 360-degree views of the city.

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See a free salsa concert every second Friday of the summer during this series at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. This year’s lineup includes Rumbankete,Gabrielito y La Verdad, Son Mayor,Son Miron andClub Mambi—all featuring Super DJ Robby.

Nature lovers rejoice! Spend a day at the Natural History Museum’s Butterfly Pavilion, which will openfrom March 17 throughAugust 25 withup to 30 butterfly and moth species and an assortment of California plants. The seasonal outdoor exhibit allows for adults and children alike to witness nature up close—we’re talking having bufferlies take flight and land on your arms or shoulders. Prime time for these unique butterfly flight experiences are between 10 and 11am each morning.

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Walk through a pavilion of fluttering butterflies and peep a chamber with pupae and caterpillars at South Coast Botanic Garden’sseasonal exhibition.For an extra $6, you can pick up a flower vial or ring filled with nectar to attract and feed butterflies.

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It isn’t summer in L.A. until the first cemetery screening brings hoards of movie-lovers to Hollywood Forever, toting folding chairs, picnic blankets, snack spreads and lots of booze. Each year, Cinespia brings classic cult favorites to the hallowed resting place of such Hollywood greats as Rudolph Valentino and Bugsy Siegel.

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The masters of alfresco rooftop movie viewing have returned for another season of screenings in Downtown L.A., with nearly-nightly showings this spring.

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Every Sunday during the summer at sunset, both hotel guests and vistors at the Fairmont Miramar can slip into something waterproof and enjoy a flick around the Santa Monica hotel’s luxurious pool. You’ll find a mix of nostalgic favorites and more recent releases on the Hulu-curated schedule. Eats and libations will be available for purchase from the FIG Restaurant menu, and though seating is free for hotel guests, visitors will have to secure a reservation; tickets total to about $60 with tax, tip and fees, but that includes a $45 food and drink credit plus complimentary popcorn.

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Let the wild rumpus start at this celebration of beloved children’s author and illustrator Maurice Sendak. The Skirball Cultural Center will be displaying more than 150 sketches, storyboards and paintings from theWhere the Wild Things Are creator.

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Best known for her rhinestone-studded paintings of Black women, collages of old Jet Magazine spreads and revisions of historic paintings, Thomas’s large-scale works (80 of them from the past two decades)are on display at theBroadin this transportive exhibition.

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This major Ed Ruscha retrospective includes his meticulous photos of L.A. streets and a reconstruction of his Chocolate Room (which, yes, is a room made out sheets upon sheets of chocolate).

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It’s more than just the low clearance: This exhibition at the Petersen explores the custom paint, engraving, upholstery and, of course, thegravity-defying suspension of the lowrider scene. In addition to iconic cars, the exhibit spotlights influentialartists inthe Chicano lowrider art scene.

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See large ceramic and bronzesculptures atLACMAplus a few more sculptural pieces and collaborative video works atCAAMduring thiscrosstown exhibition of Black feminist artist Simone Leigh.

Move through a suite of sci-fi installations that depict a world overcome by rising seas and unchecked capitalism in this exhibition from Josh Kline. The MOCA Grand Avenue show includes a mix of sculpture, photography, moving images and ephemeral materials.

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Two documentarians of Chicano culture—iconic black-and-white photographer Estevan Oriol and the formerTeen Angels magazine—put the spotlight on L.A.’s art, lowrider and tattoo culturein this Beyond the Streetsexhibition.

See exploratory pencil-drawn line illustrations from the famous French fashion designer’s archive at this OCMA exhibition.

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See works from seven contemporary artists (Eliseo Art Silva, Allison Hueman, Anthony Francisco, Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza, Christine Morla, Maria Villote and Junn Roca) who address issues related to Filipino culture and the Filipino-American experience during this exhibition at the Forest Lawn Museum.

This interactive Grammy Museumexhibition is put on in collaboration withHYBE (the South Korean entertainment company behind some of the biggest K-pop bands in the world) and will explore the power and history of the genre, with outfits and items from the likes ofBTS, SEVENTEEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ENHYPEN and LE SSERAFIM. Just note that tickets to the exhibition—which require a timed reservation—cost an additional $20 on top of regular museum admission.

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Hollywood’s Japan House has tapped artistSebastian Masuda to dive into the roots of all things cute and colorful with this exhibition on Japanese kawaii culture. The free show includes multiple pieces and installations from Masuda.

See 1930s-to-50s concept carsplus artworkfrom Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol and David Hockney at this Petersen exhibition.

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The GRAMMY Museum celebrates hip-hop’s 50th anniversary with interactive DJing, rapping and sampling stations and instantly recognizable artifacts like LL Cool J’s red Kangol bucket hat and the Notorious B.I.G.’s red leather pea coat.

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The #BookTok smash becomes a cathartic and nuanced abuse drama starring a bang-on-form Blake Lively.

Minari’s Lee Isaac Chung goes from indie to windy with this helter-skelter tornado movie.

Nicolas Cage is a living nightmare in the most chilling supernatural horror since Hereditary.

A summer babysitter that will entertain kids, and suffice for chaperones.

Ti West wraps his blood-splashed Mia Goth trilogy with a sexy and fun ’80s-set horror.

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