Friday
Bring along a blanket and a picnic basket to the Hollyhock House for Friday Night Wine Tastings. After tonight, you only have two more chances before the summer series ends to taste pours from Silver Lake Wine over 360-degree sunset views.
If the wine tasting is sold out, consider a trip into Griffith Park instead. The LA Zoo hosts its final Roaring Nights for the season, an evening with live music, pop-up zookeeper talks and a full bar. Across the street, the Autry hosts this month's installment of Odd Nights, a night market packed with everything imaginable—beer gardens, live music, bounce castles, over 200 artisan vendors—and then some (i.e. horse parking; yes, horse parking).
Keep the night going at NerdMelt for another installment of Andy Kindler's Particular Show. The frustrated, self-defeated comedian is worth seeing in his own right, but Friday night's show has a can't-miss lineup with sets from Jimmy Pardo, Jonah Ray, Brett Gelman and more.
Saturday
If you're headed to FYF Fest today—and have already brushed up on what to eat and what bands to see—then have fun and wear comfortable shoes, because you already have the rest of your weekend planned out.
For everyone else, make the most of a sunny Saturday with an afternoon in Grand Park. The Downtown park hosts two events today; first up, the Proud Picnic. Play badminton and attend a pickling workshop at this LGBTQ-friendly celebration of love. If you're hungry, head across the park to the LA Taco Festival. Admission is free, but you'll have to pay per taco; it's all for a good cause as the event is a fundraiser for youth homelessness.
Speaking of hunger, you can head into Little Tokyo for the Day-Lee Foods World Gyoza Eating Championship. Exactly what it sounds like, this Nisei Week event pits competitive eaters against each other to down as many dumplings as possible in 10 minutes—last year the winner gobbled up 384.
For the rest of the night, we've picked out three options depending on your mood. Feel like sinking into a movie theater seat? Head to the Egyptian for a series of silent shorts featuring cross-dressing that date back to 1900. If you're in for something a little more thrilling and trippy, HM157 is hosting A Cosmic Psychedelic Rock and Roll Ceremony—in other words, a concert of local psych rock bands. Or if you're overflowing with energy, headbang your way to the Shrine Expo Hall for a set from legendary metal band Motörhead.
Sunday
Explore the A+D Museum's new Arts District home on Sunday during the opening weekend of Shelter: Rethinking How We Live In Los Angeles. This inaugural exhibition tasked six local design firms to meet modern challenges—population, economy, congestion and environment—with creative new housing models along the Wilshire Corridor and the LA River.
Afterwards, brush up on a bit of movie history with a Charlie Chaplin double feature at the New Beverly. Catch Modern Times and The Circus, two monumental comedic works directed, written by and starring Mr. Chaplin himself.
Make your way down Beverly to Largo—not "the Largo"—for a conversation with Jeff Garlin and Ben Folds. The Curb Your Enthusiasm comedian is sitting down with every college kid's favorite keyboard player for an evening of conversation—and hopefully a bit of music on the stage's permanent old-timey piano.
Find more things to do this weekend by clicking each day or by heading over to our weekend calendar.