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Academy Museum
Photograph: ©Academy Museum FoundationAerial shot of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

The best things to do in Los Angeles this week

Find concerts, screenings, performances and more of our critics’ picks with the best events and things to do in Los Angeles this week

Michael Juliano
Edited by
Michael Juliano
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If we could write the rules of living in Los Angeles this would be our No. 1, always at the top of our list: When you live in this city, there’s no excuse for boredom just because it’s a weeknight. There are hundreds of things to do in Los Angeles each week, whether you hit the beach at sunset or go for a morning bike ride, or catch a concert or a comedy show—and that’s really only scratching the surface. Well, we don’t make the rules, but we will provide you with plenty of ideas for your next free weeknight right here. Now go out and tackle these things to do in L.A. this week.

The best events in L.A. this week

  • Things to do
  • Walks and tours
  • Rancho Palos Verdes/Rolling Hills Estates

Feeling like you and your four-legged friend are attached at the hip right now? Spend even more quality time together during this dog-friendly series at Palos Verdes’ South Coast Botanic Garden. Every third Sunday, you can roam the gardens’ 87 acres with your fur baby. You—the human—will need a reservation, while your best friend—the pup—will need to remain on their leash at all times, including in the parking lot.

 

  • Museums

Got a list of L.A. museums you haven’t visited yet? Clear your calendar for Museums Free-For-All, when museums all over the region throw open the doors for free admission.

Over 30 museums will drop their admission fees on Saturday, March 23. It’s the perfect opportunity to knock a couple of cultural to-dos off your list, like the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, LACMAJapanese American National Museum, GRAMMY Museum, the La Brea Tar Pits, the Skirball and more.

You’ll still have to pay to see any exhibitions that require a special ticket and for parking, but we can’t say no to free admission. Look out for the full list of participating museums soon. (We’d suggest skipping any of L.A.’s always-free museums, as you can visit those admission-free on any other weekend.)

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  • Comedy
  • La Cienega

Kate Berlant, who grew up in Los Angeles, started doing stand-up at 17 at Archer School for Girls—or at least, she told one-liners while wearing a kimono and sitting in a wheelchair. She no longer brings props on stage, but her definition of comedy is still expansive. Berlant doesn’t tell jokes so much as she riffs on the metaphysical, turning a set into a strange stream of consciousness that leads nowhere, and is simultaneously disarming and satisfying.

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  • Music
  • Rock and indie
  • South Park

Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme hosts this benefit show at the Belasco that includes an unbelievable mix of music, comedy and magic from the likes of Beck, Bill Burr, Dave Grohl, Matt Helders of Arctic Monkeys, Jesse Hughes of Eagles of Death Metal, Sarah Silverman, Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, St. Vincent, the Kills, Tyler Parkford, Vivant, Justin Willman and Homme’s Queens of the Stone Age bandmates Troy Van Leeuwen and Michael Shuman. All of the proceeds will benefit Homme’s Sweet Stuff Foundation, a nonprofit that provides assistance to music industry professionals and their families struggling with illness and disability.

  • Comedy
  • Stand-up
  • Cypress Park

Rory Scovel, Beth Stelling, Adam Conover, Dylan Adler, Nick Turner, Logan Guntzelman and Reem Edan top this outdoor comedy show in Glassell Park.

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  • Music
  • Music festivals
  • San Bernardino

This springtime spin-off in Insomniac’s Wonderland series takes its whimsical, carnival-like atmosphere to this trance-heavy festival. The dreamy, multi-stage experience includes the likes of the Chainsmokers, Madeon, Subtronics, Rezz, Zeds Dead and more.

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  • Comedy
  • Silver Lake

Prepare to witness a comedic clash like no other… is how ChatGPT wanted me to start this write-up about comedian Allison Goldberg’s latest show. But yes, as the title implies, writers and stand-ups will attempt (and hopefully succeed, for the sake of all of our jobs) to outcompete AI in crafting pickup lines and fake bible verses. Shantira Jackson, Alan Linic and Claire Einstein guest on this show at the Lyric Hyperion, while past participant and current collaborator Brad Einstein will man the AI; tickets cost $15 for humans (ChatGPT tells me that’s a “thoughtful” and “affordable” price, for what it’s worth).

  • Things to do
  • USC/Exposition Park

Nature lovers rejoice! Spend a day at the Natural History Museum’s Butterfly Pavilion, which will open from March 17 through August 25 with up to 30 butterfly and moth species and an assortment of California plants. The seasonal outdoor exhibit allows for adults and children alike to witness nature up close—we’re talking having bufferlies take flight and land on your arms or shoulders. Prime time for these unique butterfly flight experiences are between 10 and 11am each morning.

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  • Music
  • Folk, country and blues
  • Westlake

Adored and decried in almost equal measure by the country-rock/alterno-pop community, Bright Eyes main man Oberst steps out solo. Expect songs with clever lyrics cloaked in a sweet wooziness and stripped-back, piano warmth, but also with gritty, kick-ass rockisms and occasional acoustic interludes.

  • Theater
  • Musicals
  • Hollywood

This John Kander–Fred Ebb–Bob Fosse favorite, revived by director Walter Bobbie and choreographer Ann Reinking, tells the saga of chorus girl Roxie Hart, who murders her lover and, with the help of a huckster lawyer, becomes a vaudeville sensation.

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  • Things to do

Support women-owned restaurants and dine at some of L.A.’s best spots during the return of this annual food fest. Regarding HER’s RE:HER festival will offer themed menu specials, convos and collabs from women restaurateurs all month long. Highlights from this year include a paella night featuring Casa Vega and Gasolina Cafe (March 22), a chaat party at Benny Boy Brewing (March 10) and a “chefs of the Arts District” dinner (March 20).

  • Things to do
  • Talks and lectures
  • Santa Monica

L.A.’s star-studded lecture series returns—both virtually and in person—with a lineup of writers, artists, performers, scientists and business leaders who will graciously blow your mind. For both online and IRL events, you’ll often have the option of purchasing a signed copy of the speaker’s book, as well.

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  • Comedy
  • Stand-up
  • Cypress Park

Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler host their variety show, Hot Tub, every Wednesday night at Permanent Records Roadhouse (after years spent on Mondays at the Virgil). Expect a fresh, oddball lineup each week of stand-up comics, sketch performances and new music.

  • Movies
  • Downtown

The masters of alfresco rooftop movie viewing have returned for another season of screenings in Downtown L.A. Known for excellent film choices and a steady supply of snacks and booze, Rooftop Cinema Club is your snazzy, comfortable and less stressful alternative to other outdoor movie screenings. You don’t even need to bring your own camping chair—Rooftop Cinema Club provides you with your very own comfy lawn chair (with optional blankets for purchase to up the coziness). And instead of listening to the movie over loudspeakers, you’ll get a set of wireless headphones so you never have to miss a word.

Find the full schedule on their site, or in our outdoor movie calendar.

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  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs
  • Downtown Arts District

Every Sunday you can find dozens of food vendors at this market at ROW DTLA, with a mix of much-loved pop-ups and future foodie stars. Look out for this year’s new vendors, including Basket Taco Co., Battambong Barbecue and Taste of the Pacific.

  • Art
  • Installation
  • Boyle Heights

For one summer in 1987, a carnival popped up in Germany with traditional rides adorned with artwork by Salvador Dalí, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, David Hockney, Sonia Delaunay and a couple dozen others. And then… it kind of just vanished, sent off into storage for decades. But now, thanks to a couple of art world partners and Drake, Luna Luna has been revived in L.A., restored and reassembled in a soundstage in Boyle Heights.

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  • Art
  • Sculpture
  • San Marino

You might’ve noticed Johnson’s beautifully carved and gilded redwood organ screen on recent visits to the Huntington. Now, for the first time in four decades, you can see it paired with other pieces he created for the California School for the Blind in Berkeley, California—with 41 works in total on display.

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