Los Angeles provides no limit of things to do, some awesome and some not so awesome. Since time is precious in this fast paced city we curate a list of things to do in Los Angeles for every weekend that’ll help you decide how you want to spend your limited supply of attention (not to mention dollars!).
This weekend, from Friday, July 27 to Sunday, July 29, features KCRW’s Summer Nights, Sleepless: The Music Center After Hours, Ain’t I a Womxn? A Genders Promenade, The California Pizza Festival, Summer Happenings at The Broad, The Summer Playwrights Festival and MUCH more.
Enjoy!
Friday July 27th, 2018
1. KCRW’s Summer Nights offers free all-ages outdoor music shows over the course of the summer throughout Los Angeles and this Friday they’ll takes over Union Station with KCRW DJs Travis Holcombe and Jason Bentley. FREE
2. Uncorked: LA 90+ Wine Festival comes to Barker Hangar in Santa Monica featuring a curated selection of over 100 wines rated 90 points and higher from all over the world. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
3. Movie Night at The Wiltern will screen Up in Smoke and celebrate the 40th anniversary with a Summer Smokeout of 420-friendly vendors and photo ops. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
4. Head to the Long Beach Crawfish Festival July 27-29 to enjoy world class crawfish, New Orleans-style food, music, dance lessons, and more by the shore. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
5. Sleepless: The Music Center After Hours is back with a special edition highlighting the connection between science and art with a program that includes pop-up dance performances, sci-fi performance art, a gastronomy lab, and much more.
6. WP24 by Wolfgang Puck’s Summer Supper + Show returns every Friday and Saturday, July through August, with a Asian-inspired dinner at WP24 by Wolfgang Puck followed by a movie screening on the private 26th floor hotel rooftop. This weekend they’ll screen 50 First Dates .
7. The La Brea Tar Pits and Museum will host Late Night Fridays where guests can enjoy free general admission from 5 to 8 p.m. and gain access to special activities, 3D movies, behind-the-scenes tours, live excavations, and more. FREE
8. See an all-star cast in a special production of Annie at the Hollywood Bowl July 27-29. On the bill is Ana Gasteyer, David Alan Grier, Megan Hilty, Lea Salonga, Steven Weber and more. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
9. Rooftop Cinema Club returns to the rooftops of LEVEL in DTLA and NeueHouse in Hollywood with multiple screenings this week that include Isle of Dogs, La La Land, Purple Rain and more.
10. Shakespeare By The Sea will once again offer a ten-week program of admission-free performances. The series continues with performances of The Winter’s Tale on Friday and The Merry Wives of Windsor on Saturday and Sunday all at three different locations. FREE
11. East LA Meets Napa celebrates Latin cuisine and California’s Latino-owned vineyards while raising funds for community health center AltaMed. This years event features 80 participating restaurants and wineries serving guests outdoors at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
12. Artist Ben Allanoff’s Perch art installation made up of woven reeds is taking up residence at Peter Strauss Ranch in Agoura Hills from July 27 until September 8. To celebrate there will be a special moonlit evening of reading and writing renku a form of Japanese poetry dating back to the 1300s. FREE
13. Old Pasadena Summer Cinema concludes this week with screenings of How Much Further at Distant Lands and 500 Days of Summer at One Colorado on Friday, then Princess Bride at One Colorado on Saturday. The series brings free movie screenings to the Old Pasadena area at select venues from July 5 to 28. FREE
14. Beyond the Streets is a fully immersive exhibition of street and graffiti art comprised of over 30 artist in a massive 40,000+ square feet exhibits. Artist are an eclectic mix of street and beyond including Retna, Shepard Fairey, Kenny Scharf Dennis Hopper and Jenny Holzer. Open Tuesday through Sunday this week. Open Tuesday through Sunday this week. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
15. Non profit fair trade focused shop Ten Thousand Villages is hosting their annual tent sale July 26 -29 at their Riviera Village, Redondo Beach location with fair trade handcrafted products at 25 to 75 percent off retail price.
16. Shakespeare on the Bluff brings Shakespeare’s greatest plays to Loyola Marymount University for free shows in June and July. The series concludes with Othello performances Friday through Sunday. FREE
17. dineL.A. will have food-lovers and connoisseurs taste, explore and enjoy various prix-fixe menus from restaurants across various L.A. neighborhoods from July 13 through 27 .
18. Are you a Chase bank customer? Got a freebie you might want to know about. Coolhaus is teaming with the Forum and Chase to hand out free ice cream sandwiches to Chase customers on Fridays all summer long. Locations will change every Friday, and the offer is ice cream sandwich per cardholder. Get more info here.
19. Barnsdall Fridays returns to Barnsdall Art Park for the tenth year in a row, with evening tastings of boutique wines and music from KCRW DJs perched atop a hill with incredible city views.
20. For over 30 years, Grand Performances has offered a variety of performance events at California Plaza, for free. Their 2018 summer series runs June 1 through August 18. Performing this Friday is Roger Guenveur Smith’s “Frederick Douglass Now,” featuring percussionist Marcus Miller. Via a release, “Douglass’ classic 19th-century texts inspire a radically remixed vision of the present American moment.” FREE
21. The Department of Beaches and Harbors presents Beach Movie Nights at Dockweiler Youth Center this week screening Cars 3. FREE
22. Jazz at LACMA welcomes The Billy Mitchell Group with vocalist Billy Redd at the BP grand entrance at 6 p.m. FREE
23. Free museum days: Long Beach Museum of Art (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.), Museum of Latin American Art (5 to 9 p.m.)and Free late-nights at La Brea Tar Pits Museum (5 to 8 p.m.)
Saturday July 28th, 2018
24. See gender expression challenged and reexamined during Ain’t I a Womxn? A Genders Promenade at Los Angeles State Historic Park. An evening event taking place under a full moon, Ain’t I a Womxn? unites 35 artists, art collectives, and activist groups to share spoken word, performance art, sonic art, media projections and zines.
25. The California Pizza Festival is sure to please all types of pizza-lovers. Hosted at L.A. Center Studios in Downtown Los Angeles on July 28-29, the festival will feature unlimited pizza samples from some of the world’s best pizzaiolos.
26. Back for the 15th year in a row, The Independent Shakespeare Co. presents Shakespeare in the Parkat the Old Zoo in Griffith Park with a free performance of Titus Andronicus on Saturday and Sunday. FREE
27. The 56th Annual California Watermelon Festival July 28-29 at the Hansen Dam Soccer Fields in Lake View Terrace will host delicious watermelon-themed activities, all-you-can-eat watermelon, carnival rides, games, contests, and live entertainment.
28. Eat|See|Hear returns for 2018 with a screening of Blazing Saddles at The Autry Museum. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
29. Summer Happenings at The Broad is a series of late-night events featuring music, performance and art. Now in its third year, the evening series is inspired by The Broad’s new exhibition, A Journey That Wasn’t which explores artists’ representations of time, memory and repetition. This months focus will be on German artist Joseph Beuys with performances by faUSt and Baltimore duo Matmos.
30. Heritage Square Movie Night will screen Who Framed Roger Rabbit? a comedic film, set in 1940’s Hollywood, that merges animation with live action.
31. L.A. Rare and Wild Beer Fest in Santa Monica is billed as a beer connoisseur’s one-stop celebration. Coming to Barker Hangar, the evening will inclide unlimited beer tastings and more. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
32. The Midsummer Scream Convention from July 28-29 is a horror convention featuring dozens of presentations from creative professionals, Halloween industry vets, entertainment, onsite haunt experiences and more. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
33. LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes will host a free Latino-themed film screening series starting June 30th and occurring once a month till October. Continuing the series is a screening of 2006 film Walkout.FREE
34. KCRW’s Summer Nights offers free all-ages outdoor music shows over the course of the summer throughout Los Angeles and this Saturday they’ll takes over Chinatown with KCRW DJs Mathieu Schreyer and Anthony Valadez. FREE
35. Street Food Cinema returns this weekend with a screening of Grease at Eagle Rock Rec Park in Eagle Rock and Space Jam at Park Center in Griffith Park. Select screenings are discounted via Goldstar. DISCOUNTED
36. Off the 405, free concerts at the Getty will host a performance by Lola Kirke and a DJ set by King Tuff in the museum courtyard. FREE
37. Cinespia is back for its 17th summer season, at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery for screenings of films modern, cult, and classic. This Saturday they’ll screen The Graduate.
38. Tom Gun Live brings back their Top Gun spoof party to Union Night Club in Hollywood this Saturday Night. The performance includes karaoke sing-a-longs
dance-offs, paper airplane battles, missiles ziplining through the crowd, and more. Check fordiscounted ticketed before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
39. Marina Movie Nights returns to Burton Chace Park in Marina del Rey for free Saturday-night screenings of beloved musicals. This weekend it’s Dirty Dancing, with tango lessons. FREE
40. Esotouric Bus presents Raymond Chandler’s Los Angeles Bus Tour. Spend a Saturday afternoon exploring the tough streets of L.A. through the famous crime writers eyes. There’s also a stop for Chandler-themed gelato. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
41. Join Craft in America and Heal The Bay for Craft in Action a special one hour discussion on marine pollution and view Arline Fisch’s Aquatic Bloom solo exhibition of surreal knitted jellyfish creatures. FREE
42. Enjoy a summer movie night at Warner Ranch Park in Woodland Hills when Movies on the Greenwith a screening of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. FREE
43. The Hello Kitty Cafe Truck makes its way to Westfield Culver City for a day of Hello Kitty Cafe goodies, edibles and collectibles.
44. See Hershey Felder as Beethoven at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. The one-man shows will depict the iconic composer’s story through music and monologue. Hershey Felder: Beethoven will run from July 26 to August 19. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
45. Celebrate summer in the SGV during Movies in the Park, a free outdoor film series screening at Alhambra Park. This weekend they’ll screen Willy Wonka. FREE
Sunday July 29th, 2018
46. The Hammer’s Family Flicks Film Series will screen Kirikou and the Sorceress at 11 a.m. Tickets are free on a first come first serve basis. FREE
47. ICA LA presents “I Drank the Kool-Aid But I Didn’t Inhale” a staging of Jafri’s Product Recall: An Index of Innovation, which combines framed texts and “still life” photography of failed food products. Opening day will offer tours in English and Spanish, a conversation with Jafri and ICA LA curator Jamillah James and Kool-Aid cocktails. FREE
48. Outdoor theater Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, located in Topanga Canyon summer 2018 season begins on June 2 with a performance of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
49. Check out LACMA’s latest exhibition, 3D: Double Vision an interactive exhibit that explores the art and illusion of 3D.
50. The Setup presents Stand Up Trivia Night at Bar Lubitsch. The trivia portion will be movie and comedy related and in between breaks there will be stand up. FREE
51. The Summer Playwrights Festival will show 30 plays in eight days from July 29 through Sunday August 5 at the Road on Lankershim in the Historic Lankershim Arts Center in North Hollywood.
52. Free museum days: Museum of Latin American Art (5 to 9 p.m.) and pay what you can at Craft and Folk Art Museum.
Schedule courtesy of We Like LA.