Things to do in Los Angeles this Saturday
Let the brunching commence with our guide to the best things to do this Saturday
Who has a hangover-fueled appetite and loves brunch? We do. But we also love greeting the morning with a hike or shopping the afternoon away at a sample sale. However you choose to spend your Saturday, you’ll find plenty of things to do in L.A.
Time Out loves
Little Bao Pop-Up at Sari Sari Store
Hong Kong’s Little Bao is insanely popular—like one of the best restaurants in Hong Kong popular—and for good reason: The pillowy buns are sliced in half and dressed up like little bao burgers packed with flavors both familiar and fresh. For two days only, the beloved spot will make its way to Sari Sari Store at Grand Central Market. Chefs Margarita and Walter Manzke will hand the reins of their Filipino food stall at GCM over to Little Bao’s May Chow on August 23 and 24. The spot will be serving three types of bao (pork belly, Szechuan fried chicken and Impossible; $9.50) as well as lamb tartare, Brussels sprouts ($9.50), shrimp tacos ($12), Szechuan fried mushrooms ($6) and—pardon our drooling—ice cream bao ($5) in collaboration with Margarita Manzke. Swing by on Friday, August 23 from 11am to 9pm or on Saturday, August 24 from 10am to 9pm. There are no reservations—just walk-ups—so we’ll see you in line.
“Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop”
Celebrate the photographers responsible for helping to define hip-hop’s visual identity with this display of unedited contact sheets for famous photo shoots. Author and curator Vikki Tobak has assembled over 140 works from more than 60 photographers alongside rare videos, memorabilia and music. The era-spanning exhibition features photos of both the anonymous faces who showed up to hear early hip-hop at clubs and roller rinks in the late-’70s, as well as the genre’s biggest stars: Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Salt-N-Pepa, Kendrick Lamar, Cardi B and more. You’ll spot instantly recognizable images, as well as behind-the-scenes moments, like Nas in the studio recording Illmatic and Kanye West getting a haircut during the cover shoot for The College Dropout. The exhibition pulls from a visual book of the same name, and it features a few Annenberg-only additions, including a contact sheet of Nipsey Hussle driving around town with his daughter sitting in his lap, as well as a photo of Mac Miller playing piano that was the inspiration for a memorial mural on Beverly Boulevard.
Ice Cream Parlor Pop-Up at the NoMad
One of DTLA's coolest settings is now one of the sweetest spots to beat the heat. All August long, the NoMad hotel is flipping its coffee bar into a gourmet scoop shop with tons of ice cream—including the return of their beloved Milk & Honey ice cream sandwiches for the kickoff, August 2 (oh yeah, they're back). From noon to 6pm every Wednesday through Sunday, stop by the ground-floor, gold-and-mirrored coffee shop for specialty scoops, shakes, floats or affogatos (made with either cold brew or espresso) from executive pastry sous chef Henry Molina. Look for rotating flavors like a classic strawberry, featuring Harry’s Berries from the Hollywood Farmer’s Market; a vegan Valrhona dark chocolate; mint chocolate chip with fresh mint and chocolate ganache; lemon cookie; rainbow sherbert that involves mango, strawberry, coconut and lime; and a summery corn ice cream with blueberry compote and honey-butter cornbread crumble. Good thing you don't need to choose just one.
Retro Roller Rink
Lace up a pair of skates and glide around in the city’s most handsome train station. Union Station is setting up a retro roller rink inside of its historic ticketing hall this August, complete with DJs spinning disco tunes and performances from the L.A. Roller Girls. You’ll find the rink open on August 24 from noon to 9pm and August 25 from noon to 4pm, with one-hour sessions available for $7 in advance and $10 at the door (skate rentals are included in the price).
Eat|See|Hear
Eat|See|Hear travels to different locales throughout the city each Saturday during the summer, showing cult flicks on an inflatable screen taller than your average Malibu mansion. Bring your own bites or sample snacks from the impressive roster of resident food trucks and show up early for a set from local L.A. bands. Parking is free at most of the venues, and tickets for screenings at the Autry even include admission to the museum. What’s more? If you want to skip the crowds and stroll in casually during the opening credits, spring for an exclusive “Fashionably Late” pass, which guarantees you a reserved seat in front. All of the events dog-friendly, and a portion of ticket sales benefit Best Friends Animal Society.
Cinespia Cemetery Screenings
It isn’t summer in L.A. until the first cemetery screening brings hoards of movie-lovers to Hollywood Forever, toting folding chairs, picnic blankets, snack spreads and lots of booze. Each year, Cinespia brings classic cult favorites to the hallowed resting place of such Hollywood greats as Rudolph Valentino and Bugsy Siegel. The series typically releases its slate one month at a time, most recently for August: Point Break (Aug 3), Boyz n the Hood featuring a John Singleton tribute from Questlove and DJ Pooh (Aug 10) and Psycho (Aug 24). Of particular note: the 9th Annual Slumber Party on August 24, with a trio of sleepover staples including Never Been Kissed, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Jawbreaker. Angelenos line up for hours to partake in the concept—and to enjoy DJ sets, dance parties, sleepovers and more magical mischief otherwise strictly forbidden behind the cemetery gates. It’s an L.A. rite of passage, a quintessential summer experience and one of the best film venues in the city. Just be sure to get your ticket early, arrive early (doors open at 6:45pm), pee early… it’s getting a bit overcrowded, to say the least.
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.
Backstreet Boys: The Experience at the Grammy Museum
Brian, Nick, A.J., Kevin and Howie might be performing with all they have to give in their Las Vegas residency, but thankfully they’re decided to quit playing games with our hearts and show L.A. that no one else comes close: From April 10 to September 2, Downtown’s Grammy Museum will host a larger-than-life exhibit dedicated to the Backstreet Boys and their roughly three decades of making boy-band history. Set adrift on memory bliss as you stroll past merchandise, photos, costumes and other memorabilia, some original and the only one of its kind. You can stare for maybe a little too long at the open, pastel blouses the boys wore in the “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)” video—you know, the one with the rain where they're soaking wet? Yes, those shirts. You can see the “futuristic” hover boards BSB flew in on as they kicked off their Millennium world tour and appreciate fan art, not to mention some personal items from the five's private collections. How personal? Oh, just things like Howie's wedding album and A.J.'s baby shoes. No big deal. There’s even a hologram station, so you can dance and pose along with BSB, plus a “confessional booth” where you’ll get chances to record a video—during the call you can let them know you’ve always been the perfect fan. If sometimes you wish you could turn back time to the ’90s, impossible as it may seem, this is the exhibit for you.
“Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983”
Trying to condense decades of diverse contributions from communities around the country into the amorphous banner of “black art” is a preposterous pursuit. William T. Williams’s hard-edge abstract canvases have little in common aesthetically with Alice Neel’s expressionistic portraits, which look nothing like Betye Saar’s ritual-inspired sculptures. “Soul of a Nation” shatters that indefinable umbrella term by shining a light on the grassroots thought, leadership and art movements that arose out of communities in cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles over a two-decade period in the 1960s, ’70s and early ’80s. You’ll walk away from the exhibit not talking about “black art,” but the power of particular artists and pieces, like Barkley Hendricks’s eye-catchingly crimson Blood (Donald Formey), David Hammons’s X-ray–like “body prints” and the legacy of local institutions and movements like Spiral, BAM, JAM and AfriCOBRA (Wadsworth Jarrell’s psychedelic word clouds of activists are a colorful standout). Disagreements surrounding pieces at the time of their creation are still uncannily relevant to social discourse today: whether works were too radical or not “black enough,” if they should cater to a black audience or a universal one, and how they were often relegated to second-tier status in institutions. Though not organized by the Broad—London’s Tate Modern first hosted the exhibition two years back—it feels well-suited for the Downtown museum’s diverse, young audience
Free Shakespeare in Griffith Park
Each summer, Bard fanatics watch their favorite works come to life at the historic Old Zoo in Griffith Park. Independent Shakespeare Co. puts on a series of lively productions each week, inviting audiences to take a seat on the grass (read: bring a picnic blanket) and enjoy performances like this season’s headliners: Twelfth Night and Pericles. Insider tip: Before the show starts, grab a bite from the concession tent, which features sweet treats from the Village Bakery & Cafe, homemade kettle corn and more.
Popular
Retro Roller Rink
Lace up a pair of skates and glide around in the city’s most handsome train station. Union Station is setting up a retro roller rink inside of its historic ticketing hall this August, complete with DJs spinning disco tunes and performances from the L.A. Roller Girls. You’ll find the rink open on August 24 from noon to 9pm and August 25 from noon to 4pm, with one-hour sessions available for $7 in advance and $10 at the door (skate rentals are included in the price).
Eat|See|Hear
Eat|See|Hear travels to different locales throughout the city each Saturday during the summer, showing cult flicks on an inflatable screen taller than your average Malibu mansion. Bring your own bites or sample snacks from the impressive roster of resident food trucks and show up early for a set from local L.A. bands. Parking is free at most of the venues, and tickets for screenings at the Autry even include admission to the museum. What’s more? If you want to skip the crowds and stroll in casually during the opening credits, spring for an exclusive “Fashionably Late” pass, which guarantees you a reserved seat in front. All of the events dog-friendly, and a portion of ticket sales benefit Best Friends Animal Society.
Cinespia Cemetery Screenings
It isn’t summer in L.A. until the first cemetery screening brings hoards of movie-lovers to Hollywood Forever, toting folding chairs, picnic blankets, snack spreads and lots of booze. Each year, Cinespia brings classic cult favorites to the hallowed resting place of such Hollywood greats as Rudolph Valentino and Bugsy Siegel. The series typically releases its slate one month at a time, most recently for August: Point Break (Aug 3), Boyz n the Hood featuring a John Singleton tribute from Questlove and DJ Pooh (Aug 10) and Psycho (Aug 24). Of particular note: the 9th Annual Slumber Party on August 24, with a trio of sleepover staples including Never Been Kissed, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Jawbreaker. Angelenos line up for hours to partake in the concept—and to enjoy DJ sets, dance parties, sleepovers and more magical mischief otherwise strictly forbidden behind the cemetery gates. It’s an L.A. rite of passage, a quintessential summer experience and one of the best film venues in the city. Just be sure to get your ticket early, arrive early (doors open at 6:45pm), pee early… it’s getting a bit overcrowded, to say the least.
Backstreet Boys: The Experience at the Grammy Museum
Brian, Nick, A.J., Kevin and Howie might be performing with all they have to give in their Las Vegas residency, but thankfully they’re decided to quit playing games with our hearts and show L.A. that no one else comes close: From April 10 to September 2, Downtown’s Grammy Museum will host a larger-than-life exhibit dedicated to the Backstreet Boys and their roughly three decades of making boy-band history. Set adrift on memory bliss as you stroll past merchandise, photos, costumes and other memorabilia, some original and the only one of its kind. You can stare for maybe a little too long at the open, pastel blouses the boys wore in the “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)” video—you know, the one with the rain where they're soaking wet? Yes, those shirts. You can see the “futuristic” hover boards BSB flew in on as they kicked off their Millennium world tour and appreciate fan art, not to mention some personal items from the five's private collections. How personal? Oh, just things like Howie's wedding album and A.J.'s baby shoes. No big deal. There’s even a hologram station, so you can dance and pose along with BSB, plus a “confessional booth” where you’ll get chances to record a video—during the call you can let them know you’ve always been the perfect fan. If sometimes you wish you could turn back time to the ’90s, impossible as it may seem, this is the exhibit for you.
“Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983”
Trying to condense decades of diverse contributions from communities around the country into the amorphous banner of “black art” is a preposterous pursuit. William T. Williams’s hard-edge abstract canvases have little in common aesthetically with Alice Neel’s expressionistic portraits, which look nothing like Betye Saar’s ritual-inspired sculptures. “Soul of a Nation” shatters that indefinable umbrella term by shining a light on the grassroots thought, leadership and art movements that arose out of communities in cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles over a two-decade period in the 1960s, ’70s and early ’80s. You’ll walk away from the exhibit not talking about “black art,” but the power of particular artists and pieces, like Barkley Hendricks’s eye-catchingly crimson Blood (Donald Formey), David Hammons’s X-ray–like “body prints” and the legacy of local institutions and movements like Spiral, BAM, JAM and AfriCOBRA (Wadsworth Jarrell’s psychedelic word clouds of activists are a colorful standout). Disagreements surrounding pieces at the time of their creation are still uncannily relevant to social discourse today: whether works were too radical or not “black enough,” if they should cater to a black audience or a universal one, and how they were often relegated to second-tier status in institutions. Though not organized by the Broad—London’s Tate Modern first hosted the exhibition two years back—it feels well-suited for the Downtown museum’s diverse, young audience
Free
“Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop”
Celebrate the photographers responsible for helping to define hip-hop’s visual identity with this display of unedited contact sheets for famous photo shoots. Author and curator Vikki Tobak has assembled over 140 works from more than 60 photographers alongside rare videos, memorabilia and music. The era-spanning exhibition features photos of both the anonymous faces who showed up to hear early hip-hop at clubs and roller rinks in the late-’70s, as well as the genre’s biggest stars: Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Salt-N-Pepa, Kendrick Lamar, Cardi B and more. You’ll spot instantly recognizable images, as well as behind-the-scenes moments, like Nas in the studio recording Illmatic and Kanye West getting a haircut during the cover shoot for The College Dropout. The exhibition pulls from a visual book of the same name, and it features a few Annenberg-only additions, including a contact sheet of Nipsey Hussle driving around town with his daughter sitting in his lap, as well as a photo of Mac Miller playing piano that was the inspiration for a memorial mural on Beverly Boulevard.
Hermosa Beach Summer Series
This free music-and-comedy series makes its beachfront debut in August, with tunes from the Score, the White Buffalo, Mariachi El Bronx and Iglu & Hartly, plus stand-up from Jamie Kennedy and Steve Byrne. Look out for the event on the sand by the Hermosa Beach Pier.
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.
Free Shakespeare in Griffith Park
Each summer, Bard fanatics watch their favorite works come to life at the historic Old Zoo in Griffith Park. Independent Shakespeare Co. puts on a series of lively productions each week, inviting audiences to take a seat on the grass (read: bring a picnic blanket) and enjoy performances like this season’s headliners: Twelfth Night and Pericles. Insider tip: Before the show starts, grab a bite from the concession tent, which features sweet treats from the Village Bakery & Cafe, homemade kettle corn and more.
Off the 405
Hilltop sunset views and rising bands combine to make this Getty tradition a worthy destination for Angelenos on both sides of the 405. Tip: Avoid the traffic and the crowds and arrive early. You’ll get to visit the exhibits, watch the sunset and snag a seat at the restaurant before the dinner rush.
Movies
Eat|See|Hear
Eat|See|Hear travels to different locales throughout the city each Saturday during the summer, showing cult flicks on an inflatable screen taller than your average Malibu mansion. Bring your own bites or sample snacks from the impressive roster of resident food trucks and show up early for a set from local L.A. bands. Parking is free at most of the venues, and tickets for screenings at the Autry even include admission to the museum. What’s more? If you want to skip the crowds and stroll in casually during the opening credits, spring for an exclusive “Fashionably Late” pass, which guarantees you a reserved seat in front. All of the events dog-friendly, and a portion of ticket sales benefit Best Friends Animal Society.
Cinespia Cemetery Screenings
It isn’t summer in L.A. until the first cemetery screening brings hoards of movie-lovers to Hollywood Forever, toting folding chairs, picnic blankets, snack spreads and lots of booze. Each year, Cinespia brings classic cult favorites to the hallowed resting place of such Hollywood greats as Rudolph Valentino and Bugsy Siegel. The series typically releases its slate one month at a time, most recently for August: Point Break (Aug 3), Boyz n the Hood featuring a John Singleton tribute from Questlove and DJ Pooh (Aug 10) and Psycho (Aug 24). Of particular note: the 9th Annual Slumber Party on August 24, with a trio of sleepover staples including Never Been Kissed, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Jawbreaker. Angelenos line up for hours to partake in the concept—and to enjoy DJ sets, dance parties, sleepovers and more magical mischief otherwise strictly forbidden behind the cemetery gates. It’s an L.A. rite of passage, a quintessential summer experience and one of the best film venues in the city. Just be sure to get your ticket early, arrive early (doors open at 6:45pm), pee early… it’s getting a bit overcrowded, to say the least.
Rooftop Cinema Club
The masters of alfresco rooftop movie viewing have returned for another season of screenings in Hollywood and 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 blanket or camping chair—Rooftop Cinema Club provides you with your very own comfy lawn chair, as well as blankets on request for the ultimate cozy experience. 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.
Back to the Future
Teenager Marty McFly's dad is a hideous wimp, his mother a dipso, so he befriends mad scientist Dr. Brown (Lloyd). In a DeLorean time machine they travel back to 1955, the year his parents met in high school. But at that age, mom rather fancies her offspring more than his prospective father. Zemeckis takes obvious pleasure in solving not just the technical but also the emotional problems of time travel: how to avoid incest, how to unite your parents in order that you will be born, how to return to the future when both the car and the professor have blown a fuse, and above all how to avoid tampering with history. If this all sounds schematic, it shouldn't: the movie has all the benign good nature of a Frank Capra.
Apollo 11
Film review by Joshua Rothkopf The most perfect movie that will ever be made about its subject, Apollo 11 takes the purest documentary idea imaginable—telling the story of the first journey to the moon and back using only the footage captured in the moment—and rides it all the way home. Conceptually, it’s a masterstroke: Other films have leaned into narration or interviews, while Damien Chazelle’s brooding First Man took a somewhat incidental leap into personal grief. But by mining a trove of archival NASA footage (much of it unseen since 1969, or ever), disciplined filmmaker Todd Douglas Miller places an unmistakable emphasis on the thousands of people who toiled in modest synchronicity, pulling off America’s greatest mission without a hitch. Apollo 11 will bring you to tears: It’s a reminder of national functionality, of making the big dream happen without ego or divisiveness. Miller’s exhilarating first act supplies an emotional catharsis that’s rare in nonfiction (or, frankly, movies in general). Quietly, the rocket is rolled out on a massive tractor platform. Crickets chirp on a hot July night. In the astronauts’ blindingly white dressing room, the three-man crew—Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin—suit up. Their personal backstories receive flurries of silent images: wedding photos, military service, children. These flashes play like insistent memories; it’s the kind of subliminal device a dramatic director might use to reveal a character’s psychology. A
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