Various locations in L.A.

Nonprofit arts organization the Billboard Creative mounts this annual show around town which, as you probably guessed, covers about 30 billboards around L.A. with works from artists. The 10-year-anniversary edition will run from April to 30.

This must-visit for classic film buffs showcases four days of beloved movies—from the iconic to forgotten gems—courtesy of Turner Classic Movies. See these time-honored favorites on the big screen at a handful of Hollywood theaters, the way they were meant to be seen. This year’s lineup includes An American in Paris, Chinatown, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Double Indemnity, Footloose, Jailhouse Rock, Lawrence of Arabia, Pulp Fiction, Se7en, Spaceballs and more.

Nicknamed “Southern California’s Official Spring Brake,” this high-speed extravaganza takes place over a two-mile street circuit that includes plenty of straights and curves. Spectators should expect to spend the afternoon biting their nails. Concerts and a family fun zone where kids 3 to 6 years old can race in their own cars round the weekend out nicely.

The term CicLAvia stems from a similar Spanish word for “bike way,” and in L.A. it’s become a shorthand for the temporary, festival-like closing of L.A.’s streets. The event (inspired by the first Ciclovías in Bogotá, Colombia) welcomes bikes, tricycles, skateboards, strollers and basically anything else without an engine to ride a rotating cast of car-free routes. You’ll inevitably always find a route each year around Downtown, but past events have taken it anywhere from the harbor to the San Gabriel Valley. Expect music, street performances and food trucks, as well as general whimsy and shenanigans along the way. Shop owners and restaurants along the CicLAvia route also tend to host specials. It goes without saying that you should bike or take the Metro to your desired spot along the route.

Walk, run, skate, bike and explore car-free stretches of South Pasadena, Alhambra and San Gabriel during the latest edition of this open streets event series. The Metro-presented 626 Golden Streets clears cars off the road in different parts of the San Gabriel Valley for one day only. On Sunday, April 28 you’ll be able to set foot on five miles of streets sans cars, from Mission Street in South Pasadena, down Marengo Avenue and along Alhambra Road, Main Street and Las Tunas Drive toward Mission Drive in San Gabriel (hence the “Mission-to-Mission” name of this particular event).

Netflix’s stand-up specials keep us cackling at home, but the streaming service’s ambitious comedy festival is nothing to laugh at. Initially announced for 2020, Netflix is a Joke: The Festival made its delayed debut in 2022 with a staggering 295 shows over the span of a week in L.A. Now, it’s headed back here May 2 to 12, 2024 and upping the ante: More than 300 shows at 35 venues with sets from Ali Wong, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan, Chris Rock, Taylor Tomlinson and literally hundreds of others.

Explore the history of early Los Angeles life with free admission to five museums in Northeast L.A. and Pasadena. The annual Museums of the Arroyo Day is the perfect opportunity to brush up on historical architecture—the Gamble House, Heritage Square and the Lummis Home—and relics from L.A.’s past—L.A. Police Museum and Pasadena Museum of History. In addition to free entry, you’ll find shuttle service between all five museums. Some of the sites are bike and A Line-friendly as well. MOTA Day runs from noon to 5pm, with last admission at 4pm.

Say goodbye to dusty thoroughfares and violent porta-potties: Splash House takes the music festival concept off of sweltering desert land and places it poolside. Movers and shakers at this multi-location getdown are shuttled between the Saguaro, the Margaritaville and the Renaissance (with after-hours programming at the Palm Springs Air Museum) to lap up big-name dance acts and DJ sets. With the added comforts of AC rooms and critically acclaimed restaurant fare just steps away from the party scenes, the experience will make you question whether to bother with more punishing locales come next year’s festival season.

The first Rose Parade in 1890 was staged to show off California’s sun-kissed climate. The tradition is still going strong, complete with elaborate floral floats, musical performances and marching troupes (not to mention the crowning of the fresh-faced Rose Queen and her court), but the celebration now draws more than a million spectators who line the streets of Pasadena. The big Rose Bowl football game follows the parade. Later in the year, the event is spoofed with a day of costumed mayhem at the Doo Dah Parade. The parade—held on New Year’s Day—kicks off at 8am at the corner of Green Street and Orange Grove Boulevard before making its way east onto Colorado Boulevard. Near the end of the route, the parade turns north onto Sierra Madre Boulevard and concludes at Villa Street, where you can see the floats showcased.  Bleacher seats are available—about $120 in the TV zone and closer to $75 farther east—but you can grab a spot on the sidewalk for free. People traditionally camp out overnight, but if you’d rather show up the morning of, head east of Lake Avenue and you’ll have an easier time.

The desert-spanning biennial is back, with premieres of site-specific works from about a dozen artists. For its fifth iteration, Desert X will once again stage outdoor installations across about 40 miles of the Coachella Valley from March 8 to May 11, 2025.