We pick out the best things to do in L.A. this weekend, including our favorite concerts, culture and cuisine
Edited by Michael Juliano
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We don’t know about you, but our mind is always focused on the weekend. It can never come soon enough—which is why we’re already thinking about whatnew restaurantswe want to try or where we can drive for the day. Whether you’re looking to scope out the latestmuseumexhibitions or watch a movie outdoors,you’ll find plenty of things to do in L.A. this weekend.
We curate an L.A. weekend itinerary of the city’s best concerts, culture and cuisine, every week, just for you.
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The best things to do in L.A. this weekend
- Movies
- Musical
Hollywood
Be prepared:The Lion King is turning 30, and to celebrate its anniversary a mix of Broadway and film stars (from both versions of the movie) will perform alongside a screening of the animated classic at the Hollywood Bowl.
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- Movies
Pasadena
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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- Art
East Hollywood
David Zwirner has onlyhad an L.A. gallery for about a year—plus a new flagship that opens with this show—but the gallerist’s history stretches back three decades elsewhere around the globe. To celebrate, you’ll find works by all of the gallery’s artists across its three L.A. buildings, includingNjideka Akunyili Crosby, Josef Alberts, Diane Arbus, Ruth Asawa, R. Crumb, Dan Flavin, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Donald Judd, Toba Khedoori, Paul Klee, Barbara Kruger, Yayoi Kusama, Gerhard Richter, Richard Serra and more.
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- Things to do
- Festivals
Hermosa Beach
Roam the stalls at this Memorial Day arts festival, sample the food and listen to the music—and then take a dip in the nearby Pacific. A few logistical changes for the last few fests have streamlined the layout: You’ll still find on-the-street stalls and sidewalk vendors along Hermosa and Pier Avenues, but the live music has been moved to the beach while there’s a proper carnival (with a wine garden) and arts festival inland behind the Hermosa Beach Community Center.
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- Music
- Dance and electronic
Downtown
The krautrock and electronic pioneers sent museumgoers into a frenzy over their intimate shows in New York and London institutions about a decade back.Now, the proto-techno quartet is reviving that marathon format to stagenine shows at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Each one will focus on a different album, starting withAutobahn, while the final concert will pull from their entire catalog.
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- Music
- Latin and world
Inglewood
Chilean singer and multi-instrumentalist Norma Monserrat Bustamante Laferte, better known as Mon Laferte, serves up her warm blend of rock, blues, pop and cumbia.
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- Things to do
- Walks and tours
Rancho Palos Verdes/Rolling Hills Estates
Feeling like you and your four-legged friend are attached at the hip? Spend even more quality time together during this dog-friendly series at Palos Verdes’ South Coast Botanic Garden. Every third Sunday, you can roam the gardens’87 acres with your fur baby. You—the human—will need a reservation, while your best friend—the pup—will need to remain on their leash at all times, including in the parking lot.
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- Art
Downtown
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) will be on display at the Downtown museum.
- Things to do
- Festivals
Topanga
Tucked away in picturesque Topanga Canyon, this Memorial Day weekend festival has become a favorite local tradition. Bohemianresidents of all ages as well as curious onlookers converge to celebrate music, food, arts and Mother Earth. Some complain that the masses have commercialized this neighborhood event, but there are still plenty of true hippies, vegan food vendors and healing arts to make you think you’re in a West Coast offshoot of Woodstock. Let the kids enjoy their own arts and crafts section, dance to local bands and don’t miss the quirky DIY Memorial Day parade on Monday morning.
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- Movies
- Science fiction
Hollywood
The night before Cinespia returns to the cemetery, Hollywood Forever is holding its own screening event. The details are all pretty similar to Cinespia: Bring a blanket, a picnic and some beer and wine onto the Fairbanks Lawn and watch a screening ofE.T., with a DJ set before and after the film. And though youwon’t have Cinespia’s famed photo booth, you will have one notable upgrade: a colorful drone show during the credits.
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- Things to do
- Festivals
Arcadia
Weekly Arts District market Smorgasburgheads to Arcadia for this Memorial Day Weekend collab. You’ll find a Smorg-curated lineup of seven BBQ vendors in the infield at Santa Anita Park, alongside corgi races (on May 26), carnival rides and horse racing.
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- Theater
- Musicals
Hollywood
Irish playwright-director Conor McPherson spins a tale of strife in the Great Depression—set to songs by Bob Dylan—in Girl From the North Country, which we gave four stars during its New York run.
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- Music
- Jazz
Miracle Mile
One of L.A.’s best free live music offerings, Jazz at LACMA has featured legit legends over its three-decade run at the museum. Seating for the program is available in the museum’s plaza on a first-come, first-served basis, though you’re welcome to picnic on the grass, too (you won’t really be able to see the show, but you’ll still hear it). You’ll find the series on Friday evenings in LACMA’s welcome plaza (just behind Urban Light)throughout the summer.
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- Things to do
- Festivals
Pomona
L.A. has changed immeasurably since 1921, when this event was first staged as an agricultural fair. However, the perennially popular event still has farm-friendly appeal (livestock beauty contests, local produce) alongside the more modern acrobats, wine tastings, exhibitions and concerts.
RECOMMENDED: A guide to the L.A. County Fair
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- Movies
Miracle Mile
No, the Academy Museum isn’t staying open past midnight—but itis celebrating films that have typically screened then. To complement the museum’s John Waters exhibition andPink Flamingos’ place as a late-night mainstay, it’ll be screening some cult favorites this April and May,includingEraserhead,Up in Smoke,Donnie Darko andThe Rocky Horror Picture Show.
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- Things to do
USC/Exposition Park
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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- Things to do
Rancho Palos Verdes/Rolling Hills Estates
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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- Movies
Downtown
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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- Movies
Hollywood
Watch a slate of classics from the past couple of decades on one of the prettiest rooftops—now called Anita’s Oasis—in Hollywood at this outdoor screenings series.All movies are piped in over sets of provided wireless headphones. Before showtime, make sure to hit up the bar or the on-site kitchen.
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- Movies
Sherman Oaks
Take a seat atop Westfield Fashion Square’s parking garage for this afresco film series. Each Friday and Saturday in the summer, you can catch a different popcorn flick, includingTop Gun,La La Land,The Sandlot,Clueless and more.
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- Things to do
- Markets and fairs
Downtown Arts District
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 this year’s new vendors, includingBasket Taco Co, Battambong Barbecue and Taste of the Pacific.
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- Things to do
- Exhibitions
Westside
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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- Art
- Painting
Miracle Mile
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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- Art
- Painting
Beverly Hills
Did this past year’s Basquiat exhibition in DTLAleave you wanting more? Head to Beverly Hills where Gagosian will be displaying 50 rarely loaned Jean-Michel Basquiat pieces that were created in L.A. during the iconic artist’s time spent at his Venice studio between 1982 and 1984.
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- Things to do
- Exhibitions
Miracle Mile
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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- Art
Miracle Mile
Judy Baca’shalf-mile–long TheGreat Wall of Los Angeles, a collaborative mural painted in the ’70s along the Tujunga Wash, has received all sorts of museum love in the past few years. But LACMAhas a particularly unique show to boast about: The local Chicana muralist and SPARC artists will paint two new sections ofThe Great Wall during museum hours. The exhibit also debuts a new section of the wall, in honor of activists known as the Freedom Riders, dubbedGeneration on Fire.
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- Art
- Film and video
Miracle Mile
See how theHairspray andPink Flamingos writer and director’s delightfully filthy style has redefined the possibilities of independent cinema—as well as what exactly goes into making an indie movie—during this career-spanning exhibition at the Academy Museum.
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- Art
- Drawing
Downtown Historic Core
Former HiFi space Gabba Gallery ushers in its new DTLA home with this retrospective of counterculture illustrator EMEK, famous for his posters for the likes ofFoo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, Nine Inch Nails and Neil Young,as well as the annual Coachella poster.
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- Art
- Contemporary art
Glendale
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.
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- Art
Hollywood
What does living in L.A. look like? It’s a wildly different picture depending on each Angeleno’s point of view, and so to celebrate that diversity of perspectives, Hollywood gallery Jeffrey Deitch will display pieces from a dozen local artists that delve into underground economies, landscapes, surveillance, backyard hangouts and public transit, among other topics.
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- Art
- Installation
Hollywood
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.
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- Things to do
- Exhibitions
Miracle Mile
See 1930s-to-50s concept carsplus artworkfrom Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol and David Hockney at this Petersen exhibition.
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- Things to do
- Exhibitions
South Park
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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4 out of 5 stars
- Movies
- Action and adventure
George Miller delivers the full-throttle, no-prisoners-taken prequel we’ve all been waiting for.
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3 out of 5 stars
- Movies
- Action and adventure
No Andy Serkis, no problems for Wes Ball’s thoughtful ape adventure.
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4 out of 5 stars
- Movies
- Action and adventure
Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt share a ton of goofy chemistry in this nitrous pull of an action-comedy.
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3 out of 5 stars
- Movies
- Action and adventure
Alex Garland’s brutal, dystopian vision of America at war with itself is visceral but vague.
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4 out of 5 stars
- Movies
- Horror
Eschewing gimmicky callbacks, this horror prequel is thoughtful and engaging—but still unsettling.
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