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It’s finally here: Memorial Day, and the unofficial start of summer. Luckily we have a three-day weekend—and a practically perfect weather forecast—to kick off the season in style.
We’ve rounded up 20 summery ways to spend your days off that go beyond a basic beach trip. Read on for the best Memorial Day events in L.A.
1. Catch the first Cinespia screenings of the season
Sat, Sun
It isn’t summer in L.A. until the first cemetery screening brings hoards of movie-lovers to Hollywood Forever Cemetery toting folding chairs, picnic blankets, snack spreads and lots of booze. First up on the film lineup this year is a Saturday screening of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, followed by Moulin Rouge! on Sunday. Other outdoor film series are showing flicks including Barbie, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Pride & Prejudice across the city this weekend as well—check our full outdoor movies calendar for more.
2. Sip pickle lemonade on a Ferris wheel
Sat–Mon
The L.A. County Fair is nearing the end of its 2026 run in Pomona, but you still have two weekends to indulge in carnival rides, games and all the wild foodie fare you’d expect at a fair—including a new Dubai chocolate funnel cake.
3. Shop and stroll at a South Bay street party
Sat–Mon
A long-standing Memorial Day weekend tradition, the free Fiesta Hermosa is back with an arts festival, shopping, a carnival, a wine garden and live music on the beach.
4. Dig the groovy vibes at Topanga Days
Sat–Mon
Bohemian, picturesque Topanga Canyon hosts its own country fair each Memorial Day weekend that feels like a West Coast offshoot of Woodstock. Cyril Neville and Long Beach Dub Allstars headline a weekend full of live music and wholesome, old-fashioned games that culminates in a DIY Memorial Day parade on Monday morning.
5. Unleash your inner cowboy or cowgirl at a Wild West bash
Sun
Rooftop bar Desert 5 Spot is throwing a country-inspired celebration this weekend, complete with local vendors, a cowboy cookout, cocktails, music from a country DJ and a live Fleetwood Mac tribute. Swimsuits & Cowboy Boots will continue as a weekly event throughout the summer.
6. Expand your mind at a new exhibition
Sat, Sun
An indoor exhibition might not scream “summer,” but there are so many cool new museum and gallery shows that you’d be remiss not to check at least one out over the long weekend. The Broad’s Yoko Ono exhibition, straight from the Tate Modern in London, opens on Saturday, offering a look at the seven-decade career of the performance artist and musician—plus some interesting interactive elements. And the Skirball just unveiled a trio of new exhibitions on a range of topics: the origins of punk music in L.A. and beyond, the history of comic books over the past century, and paintings of Jewish life. And former Skirball subject Gary Baseman has taken over Johnie’s Coffee Shop on Miracle Mile, filling the erstwhile diner with his drawings that use L.A. restaurant menus as a canvas in “Off the Menu.”
7. Visit a museum offering free admission to military
Sat–Mon
Some of the city’s best museums and institutions—like LACMA, the Autry Museum, the Museum of Latin American Art, Museum of Neon Art, Descanso Gardens and Gamble House—are offering military personnel and their families complimentary entry from now through Labor Day, thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts’ Blue Star Museums program. And active or retired military with ID can always get into the Natural History Museum and La Brea Tar Pits & Museum for free.
8. Make a splash at the best public pools in L.A.
Sat–Mon
If you’re not blessed with a private pool, luckily L.A. is home to some actually-appealing public options. In fact, the outdoor Hansen Dam Aquatic Center in the Valley is the largest public swimming pool in the country, and it reopens for the season this weekend. Another of our favorites is at the Annenberg Community Beach House, a former old-Hollywood beachfront estate that’s been transformed into a public club. Its historic pool will be open for recreational swimming from 10am to 6pm over Memorial Day weekend. After your dip, stick around for a game of ping-pong or beach volleyball.
9. Or party poolside at the hottest bars
Sun, Mon
Summer also means that bars that boast a pool—the amazing views are a bonus—are kicking off their pool parties, including a scene-y gathering at White Rabbit Sky Lounge (formerly Skybar) in West Hollywood (note the mandatory all-white poolside dress code) and two daytime parties at Level 8 DTLA’s Golden Hour, where DJs will take the stage during Golden Daze.
10. Have a BBQ feast
Sat–Mon
Weekly Arts District market Smorgasburg heads to Arcadia for this Memorial Day Weekend collab. You’ll find a Smorg-curated lineup of six of the best pop-up BBQ vendors in the city at Santa Anita Park—think Texas, Filipino, Japanese, Cambodian and Cuban styles—alongside 10 carnival rides, games, bounce houses for the kids and, of course, horse racing all weekend long. And don’t worry: If you don’t feel like driving into the SGV, Smorgasburg is still hosting its weekly market at ROW DTLA Sunday.
11. Buy food with Monopoly money in Santa Monica
Sun
The beachside city’s punny MAINopoly event adds a fun board-game spin to your typical tasting event. Sample offerings from 23 Main Street bars and eateries including Ashland Hill, Jameson’s Pub, Triple Beam Pizza, Junior Cookies and the classic Circle Bar, which just reopened with new owners. There’s even a themed “Go to Jail” VIP Beer Garden—and, for the first time this year, you can sip drinks while you stroll from stop to stop.
12. Rock out at Arroyo Secodelic
Sat–Mon
One of the coolest ways to spend the weekend? Inside seven concert halls and bars at this eclectic new music festival taking over Highland Park. Find a lineup of a “frenetic and fuzzy array of rock & roll artists,” including Fear, Adolescents, Flamin’ Groovies and Reggie Watts, plus L.A. rockers Strawberry Fuzz, Levitation Room, the Warlocks and Death Valley Girls and many more. All the shows are all ages—and some are even free. With a day pass, you can venue-hop between the Lodge Room, Oblivion, Highland Park Ebell, Cheerio Collective, De La Playa Records, Blind Barber and North Figueroa Books.
13. Or indulge your indie nostalgia at the Hollywood Bowl
Sat
Though Bright Eyes is still making new music together, the Conor Oberst-led band will probably always be most closely associated with the folksy songs of their seminal 2005 album, I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. That work is now of drinking age, and the band is celebrating with a special 21st birthday-party show at the Hollywood Bowl, where it’ll play the LP, as well as the concurrent release Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, in full, with a set by the Moldy Peaches in the middle.
14. Do some soul-searching at Lightning in a Bottle
Sat, Sun
After years on the Central Coast, this annual fest has more recently made a move closer to L.A., at Bakersfield’s Buena Vista Aquatic Recreational Area. Sure, it’s still a bit of a trek, but where else can you find a sustainable, vegetarian festival dedicated to equal parts music, food, art, yoga and wellness? Empire of the Sun, Mau P, Sara Landry, Zeds Dead, Chase & Status, Mochakk, Barry Can’t Swim and Tinashe top the lineup for the 2026 edition—which is sold out, but you can probably still get your hands on some tickets if you try.
15. Or listen to classical music on top of a mountain
Sun
Hear live piano and strings music a mile above the city at the Mount Wilson Observatory—specifically inside the dome of its 100-inch Hooker telescope—when it resumes its monthly concert series this Sunday, which is always a classy way to spend an afternoon.
16. See boundary-pushing art for free in West Hollywood
Sat, Sun
The annual WeHo Pride Arts Festival spotlights the creativity of the LGBTQ+ community and fills a weekend with free arts programming, from comedy shows to dramatic readings to interactive workshops at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Village at Ed Gould Plaza. Highlights include bespoke poetry, a live model drawing class and a literary “death match.”
17. Banish hunger with a burger
Memorial Day is synonymous with cookouts—in particular, burgers. If you don’t feel like messing with the grill yourself, any one of these 32 best burgers in the city should satisfy that craving, whether you prefer your patties thick and juicy or thin and smashed.
18. But leave room for ice cream
The weather isn’t too hot yet, but it’s never a bad time to cool off and indulge in the city’s best frozen treats, from artisanal scoops in Burbank and gelato on the Westside to soft-serve in Koreatown and shaved ice in Thai Town.
19. Enjoy a taste of Seoul in SoCal
Sat, Sun
Head to the L.A. Live event deck over Memorial Day weekend for a two-day showcase of K-lifestyle, from Korean beauty to K-pop. Catch cooking demos, cover dance performances and DJ sets, and fill up on hangang ramen. Access to the event is free—though a concert at Peacock Theater Sunday night (6–8pm), featuring LNGSHOT, P1Harmony and Jay Park, is ticketed.
20. Do your civic duty—but make it fun
Mon
The California primary elections are less than two weeks away, so LA Forward Institute has concocted a fun way to encourage civic engagement: the Amazing Vote Center Race. The day starts and ends at Gloria Molina Grand Park, with a DJ, free refreshments, inspiring speakers and election info. Then teams will set off for vote centers across the city, where they’ll complete different get-out-the-vote missions and compete for prizes (the grand prize is $500 for the Hollywood Bowl). If you want to participate, you can register a team of three to five people for $30. Or you can just hang out at the park for the free finish-line celebration at 6pm.