By: Samira Murphy

Are you ready for it? The most ghoulish time of the year is around the corner. You have your seasonal decor on cue and your already contemplating how soon is too soon to buy all things Pumpkin Spice. No fret, we’ve got you covered. Swing into the fall spirit with these events happening in and around L.A. Some spook worthy, some just plain fun.

With all the hustle and bustle of our weekday routine we bring you a curated list of the weekends top activities happening throughout the city of stars.

Discover your inner Angeleno!

Limited engagements taking place this Sept. 28th-30th features the return of the Dino Fest at The National History Museum to the spooktacular Haunted Hayride in Griffith Park . Read below for a breakdown of the weekend events.

Friday sept. 28th

It’s Friday night and if your like most of us, your looking to ease into the weekend not bungee jump.

Weekend Event: Beck @ The Hollywood Bowl

It’s not too late to grab tickets to Beck and the Hollywood Bowl. Pick-up a Picnic to go from Joan’s on 3rd and sit out under the stars as you listen to the Grammy Award winner’s best works. With hits as diverse as the Dadaist anthems of Odelay through the classic Californian songcraft of Grammy® Album of the Year Morning Phase to his current gem, Colors, the Beck catalogue is sure to receive a thorough airing during a magical night at the Bowl. Show starts at 7:30 pm and tickets are available here.

Wanting a little closer to the other side of the hill? No need to make the drive because Theatricum Botanicum is hosting their “Under the Oaks” concert series featuring the Composer’s Collective. An annual concert presenting new works and beloved classics by some of LA’s most popular and innovative musicians of television, movies, the concert hall, and more. Find yourself surround by sounds and nature in Topanga’s favorite outdoor theatre venue. Tickets and additional information are available here.

Saturday Sept. 29th

Weekend Event: Dino Fest @ The National History Museum of Los Angles

Spend your weekend with the original terror titans–it’s the return of Dinofest at the National History Museum! Fun for the whole family, explore the prehistoric world of our Dino friends. Taking place for two days only, visitors will meet Museum scientists and see rarely exhibited objects, take part in hands-on activities for the entire family, enjoy a Dino Encounters Show, and meet and greet with Buddy the Dinosaur from the PBS hit show Dinosaur Train from 10am-2pm each day. Buy your tickets online and receive a limited-edition dinosaur pin at the door, while supplies last. For more info click here.

Weekend Event: Haunted Hayride @ Griffith Park

Looking for something a bit more haunting? In it’s 10th year, the Haunted Hayride at Griffith Park is sure to give a spook. Filled with all sorts of ghastly ghouls and monsters alike-patrons will find themselves on a frightful journey through the old L.A. Zoo. Too chilling? The “scary-go-round” for wee ones (and ‘fraidy cats)is also on site, as well as a number of scare zones and a even a pitch black maze filled with “demons and maniacs” of the night. For more details be warned and click here.

Sunday Sept. 30th

CELEBRATE LA!

In what is likely the best way to discover our L.A. neighborhoods with all day fun for the entire family is the LA Phil’s 100th Anniversary celebration-Celebrate LA!. Stretching from the Walt Disney Concert Hall to the Hollywood Bowl, this FREE music filled fest features over 1,800 musicians, artists and dancers that will perform at six pedestrian hubs across the eight-mile route, including Dâm-Funk, Dengue Fever, Dustbowl Revival, Jeff Goldblum, Ozomatli and Rivers Cuomo. So bike, walk, or skate your way down and don’t miss out on this history making event. For more info click here.

Prefer to stay on the Westside? It’s a weekend of festivals citywide, because Abbot Kinney is hosting their annual street fair this Sunday too!

“The Abbot Kinney Festival in Venice, California, spans world-famous Abbot Kinney Boulevard, dubbed the coolest block in America by GQ Magazine. The mile-long street’s eclectic boutiques and artisan eateries infuse the festival with local Venice flavor. Occurring each year on the last Sunday in September, this highly anticipated summertime tradition is 34 years strong”.

This year pursue through dozens of food trucks and vendors, as well as four live music stages. See what makes Abbot Kinney so “Quintessentially L.A.” , Click here for more info.

Offering a spot where games and drinks mix isn’t a particularly new idea. Chains like Dave & Buster’s have been doing it for a long time, and there are even a fair amount of local bars such as the The One Up in Sherman Oaks or EightyOne in the Arts District that offer cabinet games to pair with their libations. However, Two Bit Circus, which saw its doors open to the public in Downtown earlier this month, takes things to an entirely new level.

Billing itself as a “Micro Amusement Park,” the renovated 50,000-square-foot warehouse in the Arts District has a wide range of gaming activities to check out, including VR experiences, classic arcade games, and Story Rooms, which take guests into a themed-location where they must interact with their surroundings and their team in order to solve puzzles or unfold a narrative.

Virtual reality stations are abundant, offering the chance to immerse yourself in a world where you can fight dragons, drive tanks, explore crafted sci-fi terrain, and much more. One experience, called ‘The Raft’, has you defend a swamp against an infestation of supernatural creeps. Other offerings range from pinball to four-player air hockey to arcade staples like Street Fighter II, to more immersive experiences like Two Bit’s ‘Story Rooms’, which create what are essentially mini escape rooms that require a group to play through. There are even ‘VR Cabanas’, karaoke-style rooms that can be rented on an hourly basis and allow you and up to five friends to play a variety of Virtual Reality games together.

Food and drink wise, a circular bar dominates the center of the space while a concession window off to one side offers a moderate range of bar food (fries, corn dogs, sliders, tots, etc…) at somewhat immoderate prices ($15-ish per dish). But let’s be real, you’re coming here for the gaming.

In order to play the arcade games you can pre-load a card you swipe at the various consoles (no quarters, yay!) and the Story Rooms and VR experiences require reservations, with costs typically ranging from $15 to $35. Experiences generally run from 15 to 30 minutes, though at least one will push an hour (The Lost City).

Two Bit Circus is located at 634 Mateo St. Los Angeles, CA 90021. Operating hours are Monday to Thursday: from 4 to 11 p.m., Friday from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m., Saturday from 11 to 1 a.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Admission is free, and games are purchase on a per-play basis. Occasionally the park will be closed for a private event, so calling ahead is always recommended. Parking is limited, so street parking is likely.

For reservations and more information, you can visit their website.

Article courtesy of We Like LA.

Tag: amusement

Weekend Events: Sept 28th-30th