Things to do in L.A. this weekend
We pick out the best things to do in L.A. this weekend, including our favorite concerts, culture and cuisine
We don’t know about you, but our mind is always focused on the weekend. It can never come soon enough—which is why we’re already thinking about where to go for brunch. Whether you’re looking to spend the night at a concert or getting away completely, you’ll find plenty of things to do in L.A. this weekend.
We curate an L.A. weekend itinerary of the city’s best concerts, culture and cuisine, every week, just for you.
The 29 best things to do in L.A. this weekend
Madonna
How does the Queen of Pop outdo her already larger-than-life performances? By scaling down, with a small-ish theater tour, including 10 nights in L.A. at the Wiltern .
AFI FEST
AFI Fest presented by Audi features red carpet galas, acclaimed international films and the best of independent cinema. It also presents conversations and panels with notable filmmakers, as well as a tech showcase featuring immersive virtual reality experiences.
Holiday Ice Rink Pershing Square
Come glide and pretend there’s snow on the ground at Pershing Square’s outdoor holiday skating rink—one of the biggest in the city.
LA Zoo Lights
The L.A. Zoo is staying open after dark every night through January during this light-up holiday tradition, which for 2019 is adding more animal-inspired lights, an even longer tunnel of lights, Chinese lanterns, a voice-activated lighting display and an oversized, illuminated pop-up book.
Enchanted: Forest of Light
The botanical garden’s nighttime experience masterfully mixes hands-on art installations with atmospheric, luminescent forests, all against a background of uplit trees and shimmery sound effects.
Gabba Gallery’s Wishlist
Each year, HiFi’s Gabba Gallery presents a gallery show with works that are all actually affordable. Prices start at just $50—a steal for a quality piece of art—and never exceed $1,000. But you’ll have to move quickly: Once a piece is bought, it’s immediately removed from the wall and replaced with another. This year’s show, the seventh annual one, kicks off with an opening celebration on November 16 (7–11pm) and then runs through December 21.
Moonlight Forest
This nighttime event, held across the grounds of the Arcadia botanical garden, returns for its second year with two additional themes: “polar dreams” and “ocean visions.”
“Facing the Giant: 3 Decades of Dissent”
See new mixed media works from Shepard Fairey that respond to the street artist and graphic designer’s 30-year career.
“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.
‘Mike Birbiglia: The New One’
Storyteller Mike Birbiglia takes the singular occurrence of becoming a father for the first time and turns it into an 80-minute solo show.
“Shirin Neshat: I Will Greet the Sun Again”
The Broad surveys 25 years of Neshat, an L.A.-by-way-of-Iran photographer and videographer whose passionate work mines the ancient and recent history of Iran and its people.
“W|ALLS: Defend, Divide, and the Divine”
The latest challenging exhibition from the Annenberg Space for Photography examines the real and imagined barriers that have separated societies and ideas for centuries, from the Roman Empire to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Rooftop Cinema Club
The masters of alfresco rooftop movie viewing are continuing outdoor movie season with another slate of screenings in Hollywood and Downtown L.A.
Melrose Rooftop Theatre
West Hollywood’s ultra-chic restaurant and rooftop bar, E.P. & L.P., is serving much more than just sumptuous handcrafted cocktails and modern Asian bites. The L.A. hot spot is now host to the Melrose Rooftop Theatre, an outdoor screening series on the rooftop space adjacent to its open-air bar, L.P.
Second Home Serpentine Pavilion by SelgasCano
A criss-cross of airy rainbow tunnels have made their home at the La Brea Tar Pits—perfect for selfies and pop-up programming.
Designer Con
Attention toy geeks, illustrators, underground-art lovers and anyone with a sense of humor and a love for plushy things: Find your inner child at the annual DesignerCon, where more than 500 vendors and artists will showcase toys, art, design and collectibles at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Los Angeles Auto Show
Drift into the Convention Center for the 10-day L.A. Auto Show with cars that would even make Bond drool. If you’re a car nerd, get behind the wheel to test drive one of the cherry rides, while celebrities meet and greet at the manufacturer exhibits.
“Disembodiment”
See works from six young, emerging black artists in this UTA Artist Space show curated by Mariane Ibrahim Lenhardt. Figurative works from Jarvis Boyland, Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Jerrell Gibbs, Marcus Jahmal, Clotilde Jiménez and Vaughn Spann dive into and upend narratives about race and living in a “post-racial” America.
Dreamstate
This fledgling fest from industry titans Insomniac tapped Paul van Dyk and Paul Oakenfold for its inaugural celebration of trance. For this year’s fest, you’ll find the likes of Above and Beyond, Abraxis (the latest project from Seven Lions), Astrix, Vini Vici and more.
The Great Los Angeles Walk
Every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the Great Los Angeles Walk debunks all of those cliches about walking in L.A. Hundreds of walkers start the free urban hike on one side of the city and, nine hours and 18 miles later, end up at the other.
Renegade Craft Fair
Any crafter worth her weight in cashmere yarn knows that Renegade Craft Fair is the fair all other fairs aspire to. Aside from the wares, Renegade offers all sorts of homemade DIY fun and festivities: think classes and demos, free photo booths and tons of tasty food trucks.
Chinese Lantern Festival
Hundreds of illuminated lanterns take over the Fairplex grounds with oversized displays inspired by seasons, biomes and mythical creatures.
More things to do in L.A. this weekend
Things to do on Friday
Kick back, relax and get the weekend started with the best things to do this Friday night.
Things to do on Saturday
Let the brunching commence with our guide to the best things to do this Saturday.
Things to do on Sunday
End the weekend on a high note, whether on the beach or back at the brunch table, with the best things to do this Sunday.
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