November 2019 events calendar for Los Angeles
There are plenty of things to do in our November events calendar before you need to start thawing that turkey. Balance the upcoming holidays with equal parts generosity—try one of these volunteer opportunities—and gluttony—gorge on the best pies in Los Angeles for Thanksgiving. So bundle up (or strip down; it’s still L.A., after all) with affordable, essential fall fashion and take advantage of all there is to do in our November 2019 events calendar.
RECOMMENDED: Full events calendar for 2019
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‘Laura Owens’
L.A. artist Laura Owens mixes touches of personal craft with styles that engage the history of painterly techniques. The Geffen has assembled 60 of her paintings, from the mid-1990s through today, in this mid-career survey.
‘Zoe Leonard: Survey’
This large-scale overview provides a career-spanning look at the New York artist’s photographs and sculptures.
Thanksgiving in Los Angeles
Thanksgiving in Los Angeles can be tough like an overcooked turkey—especially if you're without plans. Make sure that doesn't happen with our Thanksgiving guide.
Popular
Rose Bowl Flea Market
Perhaps the Los Angeles area’s most iconic flea market, this event around the exterior of the Rose Bowl is staggeringly colossal—but what else would you expect from a 90,000-seat stadium? The sheer size and scale of this flea market means that it encompasses multitudes: new and old, hand-crafted and salvaged, the cheap and the costly. On the second Sunday of each month, an odd mix of vendors populates the loop around the stadium: for every eye-catching artwork, there's a ratty $5 T-shirt, and for each elegant craft there's a competing "as seen on TV" demo. But you may have more luck in the rows and rows of old furniture, albums and vintage clothes and accessories that fill the adjacent parking lot. There are plenty of duds, to be sure, but come out early enough and you may go home with that perfect purchase. This destination flea market attracts bargain hunters, collectors, and antique aficionados from all over the county, so the organizers have instituted an extensive tiered entry/admission system, allowing professional and dedicated shoppers early access at a premium.
Artists & Fleas Venice
The newest flea market on the block, the Venice outpost of this artisan/craft-focused flea market mini-empire is bringing records, vintage and vintage-inspired clothing, cosmetics, jewelry and more to the Westminster Avenue Elementary School. A handful of small batch confectioners provide sweet treats to snack on or take home, while food trucks and nearby restaurants provide heartier bites. Though relatively small in size, owing perhaps to its prime location bookending the neighborhood’s famed Abbot Kinney stretch, vendors hawk a diverse range of hand-made and expertly curated wares that seems to simultaneously fit in and stand out in one of the nation’s most unusual neighborhoods.
Mar Vista Art Walk
This fun neighborhood stroll highlights the numerous artists, musicians, shops and galleries of Mar Vista, where huge vivid murals brighten exterior walls everywhere you look. Since launching in 2015, the quarterly event has dramatically expanded, now featuring several clusters of activity along Venice Boulevard. Catch local musicians and performers throughout the evening, artists selling their works as well as creating new ones on the spot, grab food from trucks, and browse galleries and shops that stay open late. The walk takes place the first Thursday of March, June, September and November, each time featuring a different theme and the artists are curated by Monique Boileau and Mitchelito Orquiola.
Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen
Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler host their variety show, Hot Tub, every Monday night at the Virgil. Expect a fresh, oddball lineup each week of stand-up comics, sketch performances and new music.
Melrose Trading Post
If Melrose Ave is LA’s sceney-est street, then the Melrose Trading Post is the epicenter of that scene. Every Sunday, hundreds of stylish Angelenos head over to Fairfax High School for the beloved Melrose Trading Post ($3 entry, free parking). Smack dab in the middle of Los Angeles, it's much more than a mere flea market: live music, a food court, and expansive grounds bring people out to wile away the day, chat with old friends, and yes, be seen. Fortunately, the Trading Post is also a world-class flea market. With the right balance of new and old, expensive and affordable , the many vendors hustling artwork, succulents, and vintage jackets fill a startlingly expansive space in an urban epicenter.
Wild Adventures: Behind the Scenes Tours
The L.A. Zoo houses 1,400 animals across 270 species, and those critters rely on all facets of the zoo’s support system. Through these behind-the-scenes tours (each one tackles two locations in 90 minutes), the Griffith Park institution shines a light on those programs, including its medical facilities, food storage systems, habitat design and conservation efforts. Offered on Saturdays and Sundays, this revolving selection of tours is a good fit for any visitor seeking to experience to view the zoo from the other side of the fences. While you won’t find hands-on animal encounters aboard these, you will get pretty close to some critters.
Cub Scout
Given that Silver Lake is where the bears like to play, is it any wonder that the cubs have taken such a shine to the neighborhood as well? Cub Scout, presented by popular nightlife personalities DJ Chris Bowen and DJ Victor Rodriguez, is a monthly den of sexy fun with cheap drinks and a furry crowd on the first Friday of every month. But don’t be misled: This cruisy, no-frills party attracts boys from all parts of town and every stripe of the rainbow. Bears, cubs, otters, wolves and pups are all welcome and sure to find something—or someone—to cozy up to at this all out man-fest.
“Julie Mehretu”
This co-presentation with New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art takes a mid-career look at the Ethiopian-American’s striking large-scale abstractions, with 30 paintings and 32 works on paper. The first-ever retrospective of the artist spans two decades of pieces that examine geopolitics and displacement through abstraction, architecture, landscape, movement and figuration.
Selling Fast
Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen
Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler host their variety show, Hot Tub, every Monday night at the Virgil. Expect a fresh, oddball lineup each week of stand-up comics, sketch performances and new music.
Wild Adventures: Behind the Scenes Tours
The L.A. Zoo houses 1,400 animals across 270 species, and those critters rely on all facets of the zoo’s support system. Through these behind-the-scenes tours (each one tackles two locations in 90 minutes), the Griffith Park institution shines a light on those programs, including its medical facilities, food storage systems, habitat design and conservation efforts. Offered on Saturdays and Sundays, this revolving selection of tours is a good fit for any visitor seeking to experience to view the zoo from the other side of the fences. While you won’t find hands-on animal encounters aboard these, you will get pretty close to some critters.
Free
Artists & Fleas Venice
The newest flea market on the block, the Venice outpost of this artisan/craft-focused flea market mini-empire is bringing records, vintage and vintage-inspired clothing, cosmetics, jewelry and more to the Westminster Avenue Elementary School. A handful of small batch confectioners provide sweet treats to snack on or take home, while food trucks and nearby restaurants provide heartier bites. Though relatively small in size, owing perhaps to its prime location bookending the neighborhood’s famed Abbot Kinney stretch, vendors hawk a diverse range of hand-made and expertly curated wares that seems to simultaneously fit in and stand out in one of the nation’s most unusual neighborhoods.
Mar Vista Art Walk
This fun neighborhood stroll highlights the numerous artists, musicians, shops and galleries of Mar Vista, where huge vivid murals brighten exterior walls everywhere you look. Since launching in 2015, the quarterly event has dramatically expanded, now featuring several clusters of activity along Venice Boulevard. Catch local musicians and performers throughout the evening, artists selling their works as well as creating new ones on the spot, grab food from trucks, and browse galleries and shops that stay open late. The walk takes place the first Thursday of March, June, September and November, each time featuring a different theme and the artists are curated by Monique Boileau and Mitchelito Orquiola.
