Things to do in Los Angeles today

Each year, Descanso Gardens’ nighttime experience masterfully mixes hands-on art installations with atmospheric, luminescent forests, all against a backdrop of uplit trees and shimmery sound effects. This year’s event, which runs from November 16 through January 4, once again includes the garden’s whimsical model railroad, which will be lit up for the season and filled with miniature replicas of Enchanted’s most recognizable installations (last year it kept me absolutely mesmerized for about 20 minutes). A few recent changes have carried over to this year’s edition, including a glowing area around the rose garden where you’ll find HYBYCOZO’s familiar 3-D light sculptures, as well as an assortment of food and drink options underneath a cozy pavilion. You’ll find a couple of other snack options by the main lawn, where sculptor Tom Fruin’s kaleidoscopic stained-glass–inspired houses sit flanked by smaller ones that let you push a button to control the lighting—alongside a hypnotic lighthouse-like water tower. Elsewhere, Enchanted delightedly looks much like it has in the past: A field of faux tulips ripples with waves of twinkling color changes, while the mist-filled “Ancient Forest” still beckons visitors with its straight-out-of-E.T. setting. The event is just as intuitively immersive as ever, and, true to its botanical garden location, the installations’ use of light and shadow emphasize the natural beauty of Descanso’s flora. It’s this sort of refinement that continues to...

There’s nothing Christmassy nor even wintry about this hour-long Palos Verdes trail, yet its nine stellar installations are the most cosmically mesmerizing of the budding after-dark botanical garden shows that’ve come to blanket L.A. toward the end of the year. Astra Lumina, which debuted in 2022, returns to South Coast Botanic Garden with the same array of celestial-inspired displays. Last year’s edition was basically identical to its debut. But if you loved your first trip to Astra Lumina or haven’t been at all, we still think this is a worthwhile (albeit somewhat expensive) event—perhaps better suited for a date night than a large family affair. While some other year-end light shows seem less focused on moment-to-moment encounters and more on the photogenic snaps you’ll walk away with, Astra Lumina feels truly experiential. You’ll venture through scenes that interpret the arrival and departure of stars in an earthly garden: Archways pulsate with light and mist, perforated lanterns spell out a stargazing journey, shooting stars chase up and down a cylindrical frame, shimmery bulbs blanket a forest floor and tranquil lanterns float among the trees. There’s plenty of wonderfully atmospheric fog along much of the trail, including in a shower of lasers so thick that you’ll swear you can touch them. (It’s also worth mentioning how lovely it is to experience a celebration of the night sky in one of the few locations in L.A. where it’s actually dark enough to see plenty of...

The masters of alfresco rooftop movie viewing have returned for another season of screenings to LEVEL 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.

Riverside’s stunningly beautiful Mission Inn is bathed in over 10 million twinkly lights during the annual Festival of Lights, which has lit up the city for 33 years now. The free, six-week-long holiday tradition runs from late November to early January and typically features more than 400 festive, animated figures. Having been voted the “Best Public Lights Display” by USA Today, the festival attracts over 500,000 visitors each year. The spectacle will kick off with a Switch On Ceremony on November 22, followed by live music from Matt Mauser and the Tijuana Dogs, and there’ll be holiday-themed kiddie rides outside the hotel all season long.

The annual L.A. Kings ice skating rink presented by Coca-Cola once again returns to L.A. Live. Skate around the dazzling Christmas tree that stands in the middle of the outdoor rink, and take in an LED holiday light show on the huge screens around the plaza. Choose from four nightly skating sessions. Note: General admission tickets, which include skate rental, are only sold on-site, and can’t be purchased online ahead of time. RECOMMENDED: The best places to go ice skating in Los Angeles

Holiday light shows are popping up all over the city, but a free light installation is always welcome. Grand Illuminations—which features a custom 25-foot-tall LED light tree and dynamic display Lumiverse—returns for the second year on December 3 with a lighting ceremony, live music, a holiday market and refreshments from noon–7pm. The stars are the Electric Dandelions, 28-foot-tall kinetic sculptures that look like fireworks in action, which were designed by L.A.-based art collective Liquid PXL and debuted at Burning Man in 2016, popping up in the U.K., East Coast and various festivals before arriving at the Yard at Cal Plaza. The lights will stay on all holiday season, through January 4, till 10pm nightly.

Step inside a Christmas tree made of lights during the return of this illuminated installation at Downtown shopping center the Bloc. Sparkle DTLA will light up the night with 18 million different hues through the end of the year, and every night you can catch its displays dance to synchronized holiday music on the hour (5–9pm). The festivities kick off December 7 with live music, photos with Santa and the Grinch, plus some surprises.

The Queen of Christmas—well, her likeness anyway—has taken over the Skybar at Mondrian this holiday season, filling the swanky poolside bar with lots of “All I want for Christmas” spirit. Sure to be a hit with both Carey fans and Christmas lovers of all candy-cane stripes, the pop-up winter wonderland boasts wall-to-wall holiday décor inspired by the singer, interactive photo ops, album backdrop re-creations, festive food, holiday cocktails and, of course, lots of merch. And forget letters to Santa—here you’ll find a dedicated “Letters to Mariah Carey” station, and “All I Want for Christmas Is You” will be played every 30 minutes. Your ticket gets you a welcome cocktail and 90-minute access to the immersive experience.

This popular Santa Monica Hanukkah-inspired dinner series, which pairs a visiting chef with a local chef for a one-night-only special menu, is back for the fourth year—but this time around, it’s bittersweet. Birdie G’s, one of the city’s best restaurants, will be closing for good on December 20, so these eight dinners are some of the very last chances you’ll have to dine at the Rustic Canyon Family-helmed spot, and some nights are already completely booked out. This year, Birdie G’s guest chefs will include Vespertine and Destroyer’s Jordan Kahn; Quarter Sheets’ Aaron Lindell and pastry chef Hannah Ziskin; and Bar le Cote’s Brad Mathews. In addition to specials, an abbreviated regular menu will also be served. Note the event runs on December 1 to 4, then again December 8 to 11—meaning you’ll need to go on a weekday to enjoy these special-edition dinners. The full lineup of dinners can be found below: 12/1: Sean Gray of Sergeantsville Inn and Elijah Deleon of Rustic Canyon 12/2: Trevor Moran of Locust and Justin Yu of Theodore Rex 12/3: Jeremiah Langhorne of The Dabney and Saw Naing of Joplin’s 12/4: Wylie Dufresne of Stretch Pizza and Aaron Lindell & Hannah Ziskin of Quarter Sheets 12/8: Alex Stupak of Empellon and Jordan Kahn of Destroyer 12/9: Beau Schooler of In Bocca al Lupa and Katiana & John Hong of Yangban 12/10: Chris Cosentino of Koast Maui and Brad Mathews of Bar le Cote 12/11: Tracy Malechek of Birdie’s and Tara Monsod of Animae

Japan House Los Angeles is bringing an exhibition of shokuhin sampuru—hyper-realistic food replicas that have crossed over from marketing tool to art form (think Is It Cake? but cultural)—to Los Angeles for the first time. See mouthwatering faux food representing each of Japan’s 47 prefectures, from coffee house parfaits to izakaya skewers, as well as Chinese and Western cuisine, and try your own hand at food presentation by filling a bentō box yourself.