The best things to do in Los Angeles this week

This weekend-long concert will once again return to West Hollywood Park as part of WeHo Pride. Kylie Minogue, Janelle Monáe and Diplo headline this year’s fest with additional sets from Doechii, Ashnikko, Noah Cyrus, Trixie Mattel, Keke Palmer, Channel Tres, Yaeji, Big Freedia, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, VINCINT and more. If the ticket prices have you down, don’t worry: Friday night’s programming is free with an RSVP and includes sets from Kesha, Adam Lambert, Monét X Change and LaGanja Estranga. 

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 the Broad.

Now one of L.A.’s most treasured summer traditions, Barnsdall Park’s wine tastings regularly attract sell-out crowds. 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. Bring along a blanket and a picnic basket, or just nosh on the variety of food trucks parked up there.

The L.A. Conservancy offers a delightful summer time machine in the form of classic films, screened inside Downtown’s grand old movie palaces throughout the month of June.

This year’s lineup includes The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and The Seven Year Itch at the Orpheum on June 1, Bullitt  and Gaslight at the Los Angeles Theatre on June 8, and From Russia with Love and Mi Vida Loca at the Palace Theatre on June 15.

LA Pride may have moved out of West Hollywood, but that hasn’t stopped the city from holding its own colorful Pride celebration. WeHo Pride will take place May 31 through June 2 in and around West Hollywood Park. WeHo Pride features an all-weekend music fest dubbed OUTLOUD, as well as the free WeHo Pride Street Fair (Sat, Sun noon–8pm). In addition, you’ll find the Women’s Freedom Festival (noon–6pm) and Dyke March (6–6:30pm) on Saturday. Then, on Sunday, WeHo Pride will hold a parade that starts at Santa Monica Boulevard and North Crescent Heights Boulevard at noon.

Hilltop sunset views and rising bands combine to make this Getty tradition a worthy destination for Angelenos on both sides of the 405. This year’s lineup of free Saturday night shows includes Hailu Mergia (June 1), Slauson Malone 1 (June 15), Helado Negro (July 20), Julia Holter (July 27) and Woods (Aug 24). Tip: Avoid the traffic and the crowds and arrive early, preferably after 3pm when the parking price drops to $15 (though it’s $10 if you wait until the show starts). You’ll get to visit the exhibits, which stay open until 8pm on Saturdays, and beat the dinner rush.

See large ceramic and bronze sculptures at LACMA plus a few more sculptural pieces and collaborative video works at CAAM during this crosstown exhibition of Black feminist artist Simone Leigh.

This epic (and free) outdoor concert series features live performances by artists from around the world at the totally overhauled California Plaza stage in DTLA, where the shallow water separating the stage from the audience has been replaced by a proper event lawn. Don’t miss a diverse and highly intriguing mix of bands, DJ sets and dance parties.

This women-run wine festival is back at Long Beach’s Harry Bridges Memorial Park with hundreds of wines, brews and spirits from all over the world. Food trucks, live music and artisan pop-up boutiques will also be on-site, and all proceeds will benefit the Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club. Each $100 GA ticket includes entry to the fest, unlimited drink tastings and a souvenir wine glass. Ride-sharing and public transport highly recommended.

Want to peer through the eyepiece of Mt. Wilson’s historic telescopes? Your best and most economical bet just might be one of the Talks & Telescopes events. These monthly Saturday night astronomy lectures are followed up with a few hours of stargazing on portable telescopes on the grounds as well as the 60 and 100-inch telescopes for only $50 (a fraction of the price of the observatory’s late-night stargazing sessions).

See performances from the LA Opera, Long Beach Opera, Pacific Opera Project, Synchromy, Overtone Industries, Mission Opera and Beth Morrison Projects during this weeklong opera celebration across L.A.

Take a seat in the Skirball Cultural Center’s courtyard for this series of outdoor screenings. The Sepulveda Pass museum is showing The NeverEnding Story, Where the Wild Things Are and Pan’s Labyrinth to tie in to its Wild Things Are Happening: The Art of Maurice Sendak exhibition.

David Zwirner has only had 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, including Njideka 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.

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.

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) starting in April.

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 and Club Mambi—all featuring Super DJ Robby.

Nature lovers rejoice! Spend a day at the Natural History Museum’s Butterfly Pavilion, which will open from March 17 through August 25 with up 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.

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

L.A.’s star-studded lecture series returns—both virtually and in person—with a lineup of writers, artists, performers, scientists and business leaders who will graciously blow your mind. For both online and IRL events, you’ll often have the option of purchasing a signed copy of the speaker’s book, as well.

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.