Things to do in Los Angeles today

“POKÉMON X KOGEI | Playful Encounters of Pokémon and Japanese Craft” puts the focus on a pair of Japanese cultural exports and the collision between a decades-old gaming franchise and centuries-old crafting techniques. For video game fans, the phrase “Pokémon exhibition” is probably all the convincing they need to swing by JAPAN HOUSE. But the Hollywood cultural center’s gallery has used the imagined world of Pokémon to assemble a superb spotlight on the traditional Japanese craft techniques—like ceramics, textiles, lacquer and metalwork—behind the 70 or so works on display (for example, how crafts’ reliance on the earth’s basic materials and forces are similar to the game’s elemental types). The free exhibition, which debuted at Japan’s National Crafts Museum earlier this year, heads to Hollywood from July 25, 2023 to January 7, 2024 (given the likely popularity, timed reservations are recommended). Note that some of the more delicate objects, like textiles and lacquerware, will be rotated off view in the fall. Among the 20 Japanese artists featured, highlights include textile designer Reiko Sudo’s “Pikachu Forest” of 900 strands of lace; metal artist Taiichiro Yoshida’s copper sculptures of Eevee and its three first-generation evolutions; Keiko Masumoto’s playful porcelain plates and fire-type Pokémon jars; and Kasumi Ueba’s ornately-painted creature-shaped pottery. You can expect pieces with adorable starter Pokémon like Rowlet, Litten and Popplio as well as some of the se

The masters of alfresco rooftop movie viewing have returned for another season of screenings in Downtown L.A., the Arts District and El Segundo. 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 (though you’ll need to bring your own blanket 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. Find the full schedule on their site, or in our outdoor movie calendar.

Its past installments have found attendees stealthing their way through a Victorian home and embarking on a Blade Runner-esque bounty hunt. And now this celebrated immersive horror theater event will once again return for an event at a nearly 150-year-old mansion. Delusion, an interactive seasonal event that combines elements of immersive theater with a more story-based approach to a walk-through haunted house, will again take over the Phillips Mansion, an 1875 estate in Pomona. “Nocturnes & Nightmares,” which opens on September 21 and runs well past Halloween, takes a somewhat meta approach to the ongoing saga. The anthology story centers around the Author, a mysterious figure who made all previous Delusion installments a reality—and though he’s gone missing, his ghastly creations haven’t. Director and action coordinator Jon Braver, who hatched Delusion in 2011, has again teamed up with the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride producers Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group for a staging that bills itself as a terrifying tapestry of stories. You can also float between rooms of the mansion to find some lingering story threads and lots of eerie puppets—plus music, merch, food and drinks—as part of the Spectral Soiree component of the evening. You can upgrade to a VIP ticket to get a peek behind the scenes and interact with actors and crew, and even opt to play a corpose if you’d like. Tickets, which start at $90, go on sale soon.

This haunted Griffith Park hayride once again returns to the mid-’80s fictitious town of Midnight Falls, which borrows a little bit of the road culture of Sons of Anarchy and the isolation of Twin Peaks. The Old Zoo tradition, which has been running for 15 years now, centers on a relatively lengthy hayride, which runs on select nights from September 22 to October 31. The premise: A witch has summoned creatures that’ve hidden themselves among Halloween decorations in the town’s foothills. This year’s event promises new wagons (with new seating options), updated effects and new horror scenes. The event’s various other attractions will be centered around the jack-o’-lantern–filled Midnight Falls Town Square, with a creaky old funeral parlor set up in the Midnight Mortuary haunted house as well axe throwing, water balloon-based paintball and the Hellbilly Halloween maze.

Blessed by the late artist’s estate (his sisters Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux serve as producers and curators), “Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure” brings over 200 pieces—a mix of paintings and drawings alongside ephemera and artifacts—to the Grand in Downtown L.A. That familial connection adds a touching amount of tenderness to the exhibition. The opening gallery explains how this isn’t meant to be a scholarly exhibition but instead a fresh perspective told from the family’s point of view (you’ll find a reproduction of the Basquiats’ living room and kitchen as well as interviews with family members and close art world associates). There’s a surprising amount of emotion in the wall texts, of all things; rather than taking an academic approach, they tell of “our brother” and how his love of cartoons influenced his earliest drawings.  The exhibit design leans on lots of wood plans and lifesize experiences, like stepping into recreations of Basquiat’s strewn-about studio or the VIP room at NYC’s Palladium nightclub, which showcased two of his paintings. But don’t let that fool you into thinking this is some sort of “immersive” show: The content here is substantial, with an exceptional assortment of rarely-seen pieces (and a bit of an L.A. connection, too, with two large paintings created on pieces of the fence behind Basquiat’s Venice studio). “King Pleasure” debuted in New York last April, and our friends at Time Out New York called it the closest thing to getting in

Ready or not, spooky season is slowly stalking its way ever closer. The clearest sign? Universal Studios has already announced the haunted houses set inhabit its Hollywood-adjacent theme park for Halloween Horror Nights—and there are some pretty big ones. The Last of Us will be getting its own haunted house at Universal Studios Hollywood this year (as well as the theme park’s Orlando location). Specifically, the attraction will take inspiration from the original post-apocalyptic PlayStation video game, not the HBO series. An announcement video teases the unmistakable sound of clickers, the fungus-infected zombie-like foes from the franchise; you’ll encounter them as well as all other sorts of the infected, including runners and stalkers, plus human hunters. The experience parallels Joel and Ellie’s trek through the Pittsburgh Quarantine Zone, with locations like the Hotel Grand and a series of dark tunnels.   In addition, Stranger Things will again return to HHN, this time around with a haunted house based on season four of the streaming series. You’ll find yourself facing off against Vecna and demobats as you venture through the Hawkins Lab, Creel House and Vecna’s mind lair. Elsewhere at HHN, you can expect additional experiences based on Evil Dead Rise, The Purge, the upcoming film The Exorcist: Believer, the TV adaptation of Chucky, the classic Universal Monsters and a selection of monsters inspired by Latin American folklore. The “Terror Tram” takeo

Embark on one, two or even three days of food adventure at this three day weekend event by the L.A. Times Food section showcasing the city's top restaurants. Each event ticket ($150 GA, $250 VIP) secures unlimited food and drink, plus access to all live cooking demonstrations. Each night's theme and participants are as follows: Friday, September 22nd: Fiesta Friday (21+)Participating restaurants: Bridgetown Roti, El Ruso, Broad Street Oyster Co, Mini Kabob, Mírate, Park's BBQ, Villa's Tacos, Park's BBQ and moreLive performances: Cooking demonstrations by Guelaguetza's Bricia Lopez and actor-restauranteur Danny TrejoSaturday, September 23rd: Saturday Night Flavor (21+)Participating restaurants: Amiga Amore, Awan, Holbox, Holybasil, Luv2Eat Thai Bistro, Poncho's Tlayudas, the Brothres Sushi and moreLive performances: Coking demos by Anajak Thai's Justin Pichetrungsi, YouTube's Nick DiGiovanni and more  Sunday, September 25th: Backlot Brunch (all ages, VIP area 21+)Participating restaurants: Brique French Toastery, De La Nonna, Ditroit Taqueria, Goodboybob, Heritage Barbecue, Jitlada, Mozza Restaurant Group, Pasjoli, Saltie Girl and moreLive performances: Barbecue, burger and other cooking demonstrations by Otium's Timothy Hollingsworth and Marcus Samuelsson, plus others 

Keith Haring’s colorful, energetic designs—like his barking dogs or crawling stick figure-like radiant baby—have moved well beyond the world of street art over the past four decades and ingrained themselves as instantly recognizable pieces of pop art. Now, the Broad is examining that body of work in a museum setting (for the first-ever time in L.A.) with this display of over 120 artworks and archival materials. The specially ticketed “Keith Haring: Art is for Everybody” explores the late New York graffiti icon’s artistic practices as well as his activism, including his work centered on nuclear disarmament, anti-Apartheid movements and the HIV/AIDS crisis. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Time Out Los Angeles (@timeoutla) The energetic show opens with a Day-Glo display of paintings and sculptures before moving into a wall-filling gallery of some of Haring’s most recognizable motifs. Alongside works on tarps, canvases and windows, you’ll find photos of Haring and an homage to Pop Shop, his New York retail shop (much of it set to a soundtrack pulled from the artist’s own mixtapes). In conjunction with the show, the free-to-visit permanent galleries upstairs at the Broad will display works from Haring’s contemporaries, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, George Condo, Jenny Holzer, Kenny Scharf and Andy Warhol.

One of Time Out New York’s best new restaurants of 2021, Brooklyn’s Pecking House is coming to L.A. for a limited time this summer at Tuk Tuk x Turntable, a pop-up restaurant space at 1644 Sawtelle Boulevard. Through October 22, enjoy Eric Huang’s chili fried chicken, which uses a buttermilk brine and a coating of Tianjin chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, MSG, salt and sugar to create a uniquely delicous crust. Diners can walk in (for takeout), order for delivery through UberEats and pre-order through Tock. Daily, 11:30am to 9pm.  

Watch a slate of classics from the past couple of decades on one of the prettiest rooftops—now called Anita’s Oasis—in Hollywood at this outdoor screenings series. All movies are piped in over sets of provided (and sanitized) wireless headphones. Before showtime, make sure to hit up the bar or the on-site kitchen.