Various locations in L.A.

An evolution of the long-running Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk, the newly dubbed DTLA Artnight finds dozens of Downtown businesses opening their doors to art lovers on the first Thursday of every month, when over 25 galleries will debut new exhibitions. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure kind of experience, but if you start at Emerging Gallery (125 E 4th St), you can pick up a map of all the participating spots. MOCA even joins the fun as the cultural event expands from the Historic Core to Grand Avenue.

Make like Ariel and take a ferry over to Catalina Island for its second annual mermaid- and ocean-themed arts festival on the island’s South Beach. The programming sounds like every little girl’s dream: There are DIY mermaid arts and crafts, games and face painting, a Mermaid Grotto, plus a mermaid transformation station. And in addition to a parade and trivia competition, there’ll also be a beachside screening Saturday night of—what else—The Little Mermaid on the beach (6pm). 

While some may scoff at the idea of Grand Avenue becoming L.A.’s Champs-Élysées, we’re too busy making the most of the Downtown street’s cultural treasures to even engage in that argument. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, Grand Ave Arts: All Access finds more than a dozen institutions celebrating their Bunker Hill home with free performances, exhibitions and tours. Most of the action takes place on Grand Avenue between Temple and Sixth Streets. Highlights of this year’s event on October 24 include graffiti artmaking workshops and a pop-up market at the Broad; a chance to try instruments at the Colburn School; a sugar skull workshop and the world’s biggest pop-up book at the Los Angeles Central Library; a monster-making puppetry workshop at MOCA; and the annual Day of the Dead celebration at Gloria Molina Grand Park. Officially joining the roster this time around is the world’s first museum of AI arts, DATALAND, the brainchild of media artist Refik Anadol, which opened in June. You can get a preview of the museum’s upcoming cultural salon, Latent Space. Other participating institutions include REDCAT, the Music Center, Center Theatre Group, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Grand Performances and Metro, which has a station just off of Grand Avenue atop Bunker Hill.

Have a drink at seven of the Sunset Strip’s best haunts over the span of a single night during this Halloween bar crawl. Register and pick up your wristband and map at Saddle Ranch Chop House, and you’ll be granted no-cover bar access and themed drink specials at some of the liveliest hot spots in West Hollywood: the historic Andaz hotel, Hotel Ziggy, Katana, the Naughty Pig, White Rabbit Sky Lounge (formerly Skybar) and Wokcano.

Stroll the streets of Downtown San Pedro to the sounds of both traditional and contemporary Mexican folklore music during this 15th annual Day of the Dead celebration. Snack on regional Mexican fare, sip on suds in the beer garden, shop for artisan crafts and let the kiddos run around, make crafts and get their faces painted. Make sure to stop by the ceremonial altars—you can enter your own in a free competition—in addition to a community-wide altar of remembrance. The event, which regularly attracts thousands of guests, will take place at the intersection of 6th and Mesa Streets.

This Halloween mini-fest makes the jump from Union Station to the Arts District with a block-sized celebration centered around 613 Imperial Street. You’ll find two stages set across an indoor-outdoor space, including a live performance from electronic duo the Blaze, plus Claude VonStroke and an Arcade Fire DJ set. Organizers SBCLTR and Minimal Effort have added the latter to the lineup in the wake of the passing of Kavinsky, the French DJ and producer originally slated to play the event; THE MAZE will now honor him with a special installation and themed areas. Outside of the music, you can expect hidden pathways, roaming live performers and immersive environments.

This is one of the largest Halloween street parties in the world, and there’s really no better place to be on October 31. Sure, the crowd is huge (like, half a million people huge) and a bit belligerent, but the amazing display of costumes and general merry-making spirit deem it at least a worthy stop, if not your main destination for the evening. There will be dancing, drinking and many impromptu costume contests. Even if you don’t plan on entering one, it’s best to still come dressed to the nines—no one likes a party pooper in jeans and a T-shirt. Find it along Santa Monica Boulevard, between Doheny Drive and La Cienega Boulevard. A DJ will be spinning from a stage at the intersection of Santa Monica and San Vicente Boulevard, and food trucks will be on hand. See our guide to the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval.

Get ready: In 2028, Los Angeles will host the Summer Olympic Games. After initially vying for a bid in 2024, L.A. was awarded the ’28 Games back in 2017.