Michael Juliano

Looking for the best things to do in Los Angeles? We have you covered with the very best that L.A. has to offer. I’m a Los Angeles native and have lived here all my life, and take it from me: There’s always more to discover and explore. Whether you’re a culture vulture, an outdoorsy type or simply a lover of our fine city, you’ll find more than enough here to keep you busy. Even lifelong Angelenos can find something new to add to their to-do list, between the city’s landmark attractions, an ever-changing inventory of the best restaurants in Los Angeles, essential L.A. museums and even some off-the-beaten-path secrets. How many of the best things to do in Los Angeles will you try? August 2025: Summer is winding down, but our favorite alfresco movies, concerts and parties are still going strong—take advantage of the warm nights before things turn autumnal. The 626 Night Market pops up in Arcadia twice this month, with over 250 Asian street food and drink vendors to choose from. Also worth a visit is the new Photo Booth Museum in Silver Lake, where retro photography meets selfie culture. Or perhaps plan an island-getaway day trip to Catalina over Labor Day weekend? Note: In the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires, we’ve temporarily removed the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine, Temescal Gateway Park and Eaton Canyon Falls from our list, as at press time the beloved L.A. attractions were still closed. You can also find out more about how Time Out selects the very best things

L.A. is a sprawling, hugely varied place, which can make deciding on where to stay in Los Angeles a difficult task. You could go all out with a plush hotel by the beach, or opt for a more affordable budget hotel and save those extra dollars for increasingly costly cocktails. You could stay in the midst of the action of Hollywood’s famous attractions, or get as far away as possible and find the real L.A. If you’re struggling to decide, I’ve taken some of the guesswork out of where to stay in Los Angeles with these six neighborhoods, including a vibrant beachside locale and the one section of Downtown that’s actually worth staying in. I’ve even called out which areas can be reached by the L.A. Metro—so that infamous L.A. traffic won’t clog up your trip and get in the way of your plans for all of the city’s amazing things to do. First time visiting? I suggest brushing up on these 20 essential L.A. travel tips. RECOMMENDED: The best hotels in Los Angeles

Outdoor movies combine two things we love about L.A.: an appreciation of movie-making and spending as much time as possible outside. Alfresco screenings usually start to surge across the city in the early spring and continue into the fall and holiday season, be it atop rooftop bars, at L.A.’s best parks or even at a Hollywood cemetery. Most of our favorite outdoor series fall into two formats: Alfresco screenings where moviegoers bring their own chair or blanket and can pack together some picnic food, and rooftop ones where you’ll be offered a seat and some on-site snacks as you catch films both old and new. (If you’re looking for a fun date idea, this one takes the cake.) Be sure to check back all year long for updates on the list, as new screenings are always being added. Looking to see a new movie any night of the week? Check out the best movie theaters in L.A. or the few remaining old-school drive-in movie theaters. And for some at-home inspiration, you can always catch up on the best L.A. movies of all time. For screenings with multiple movies on a single night, each film is separately ticketed unless otherwise noted. Also, unannounced schedule changes tend to occur, but we’ll do our best to keep the list below updated on at least a monthly basis.

Looking for a fun date idea? Travel back to a time when going to a movie was a major Friday-night activity and enough to land you a second date. We’re not talking about the local multiplex or a plush dine-in theater: We’re talking about drive-in theaters. Yes, they still exist—as many of us were reminded were reminded of a few years ago. In fact, there are a number of drive-in theater options in Southern California that have never gone away and stayed true to those midcentury ways (including no options to buy tickets online, so make sure to show up early if you want a prime parking spot). Skip a romantic restaurant and instead pack a picnic or stock up at the snack bar while you enjoy a (mostly first-run) flick at one of these classic drive-in theater locations. Enjoy your movie! Looking for even more cinema options? Try one of the best movie theaters in L.A., or consider an alfresco evening at an outdoor screening.

Based on the sheer volume of stand-up comedy shows that happen in Los Angeles on any given night, it’s safe to say we’re the center of the comedy universe. So how do you choose where to go? (Especially as some long-standing venues have gone dark, while at the same time shows increasingly pop up in unconventional venues.) We’ve made things a bit easier by picking out the very best comedy clubs in L.A., including Sunset Strip venues where you’ll catch well-known names and live podcast tapings, plus spots ranging from an old-school haunt in West Hollywood to an intimate theater on the edge of Koreatown where you’ll find cutting-edge comedians. Bring your sense of humor, and prepare to laugh the night away at the best comedy clubs in L.A. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best things to do in Los Angeles

Between bachelorette parties, talkative drunks and two drink minimums, traditional comedy clubs can feel like the absolute worst place to see stand-up. We're not saying that all of L.A.'s legendary comedy clubs are bad, just that sometimes we need a break from them. Some of L.A.'s most exciting comedic talent has taken a break from club stages, too, and gravitated toward gastropubs, cafes and cocktail bar backrooms. If you're in the mood for a comedy show and looking for something a bit unconventional, consider these 16 comedy club alternatives.

Hollywood boasts an international reputation like no other neighborhood in Los Angeles. But ask your average Angeleno what they think of it, and you’ll likely be met with groans. Yes, it’s busy, touristy and often in disrepair. But parts of Hollywood still sparkle, thanks to a few old glamorous hotels and movie palaces. It’s not quite as full of celebrity hangouts as you may expect, but it is home to a pretty bustling entertainment-industry production scene. Follow our guide to what to see in Hollywood and tour the iconic movie town’s must-visit attractions—along with a few stops away from the crowds that line the Walk of Fame. RECOMMENDED: Discover more things to do in Hollywood  This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, click here.  

Skim through the must-visit attractions in Los Angeles and you’ll notice a trend: It’s a lot of outdoorsy fun. So committing to a day inside of a museum might be a tall ask. In fact, choosing anything over a 75-and-sunny day at the beach is a hard ask—especially if you’re visiting from somewhere with a climate that’s not as consistently comfortable as SoCal’s.  But here’s the thing: No matter how good the weather, visiting L.A.’s museums is a must. In fact, not only are they among the city’s best things to do, but Los Angeles museums can increasingly stand toe to toe with ones in cultural capitals like New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. And, lucky you, a handful of them have stunning outdoor campuses with hilltop views, sculpture gardens and sunny courtyards. I’ve spent the past decade-plus visiting all of L.A.’s museums (and revisiting them as each riveting new exhibition opens). There are even more institutions in the L.A. area than just the ones on this list (including plenty of quirky, off-the-beaten-path museums), but I think the 21 below are the very best—and I’d say the top five in particular are borderline essential for any trip to L.A. If you’re on a budget, don’t worry: L.A. is flush with free museums. In fact, of the ones on this list, nearly half of them don’t cost a dime, and most of the rest offer regularly scheduled free days. Sure, you might have to pay for parking or trek across town, but that’s nothing a Metro trip or ridesharing service can’t solve. Thi

What’s the deal with Hollywood? Let’s start with the bad news: Hollywood can be pretty disappointing. Yes, there are still some movie studios here, and yes, there’s some worthwhile history. But it’s probably not the Tinseltown paradise you’re expecting. Hollywood is basically just a district in L.A. with a lot less glitz and moviemaking magic than you’d hope for—and a lot more grime and traffic. But here’s the good news: Hollywood (the neighborhood, that is—certainly not the industry) is having a bit of a moment in recent years. High-end celebrity hangouts, famous restaurants and hotel bars feel right at home next to tucked-away cocktail bars and bespoke coffee shops—and there seem to be more and more popping up by the day. Where exactly is Hollywood? Hollywood is centrally located within Los Angeles, served by the 101 freeway and multiple Metro B Line stops. The sizable area greets the scenic Hollywood Hills to the north, as well as Universal Studios Hollywood just on the other side of the hill; stylish West Hollywood and the eclectic Fairfax District to the west; lively Koreatown and adorable Larchmont Village to the south; and a slew of neighborhoods to the east, including East Hollywood, Thai Town and Los Feliz. Is Hollywood part of Los Angeles? Yes, Hollywood is simply a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, and has been since 1910. What will you find in Hollywood? Well, you know, other than disappointment: the sort of big-name attractions you’ve seen in movies an

Tacos, driving shortcuts, burgers—Angelenos tend to play favorites, and Disneyland rides certainly aren’t exempt. We’re counting down the best attractions, in order, at both Disneyland and California Adventure. We’ll revisit this list each time the pair of parks reimagine or add attractions. Over the past decade, that’s meant we’ve reshuffled this list about once a year, including around the openings of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and the Marvel-themed Avengers Campus. What’s new? Timed to Disneyland’s 70th anniversary, the park unveiled Walt Disney - A Magical Life, an attraction that’s part museum, part documentary short and part robot—yes, it features the first-ever animatronic of Walt Disney himself. It’s impressive for sure, but not quite as riveting as the other 25 picks on this list; that said, you can find our thoughts on it at the bottom of this story. What has recently made the list, however, is Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the Princess and the Frog-inspired reimagining of Splash Mountain that debuted last fall. What’s opening next? So what’s on the horizon that might make it onto this list? Rides based on Avatar and Coco, plus a pair of new Avengers Campus attractions. But those are seemingly still some years off—though a Mandalorian-inspired addition to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is set for 2026—so in the meantime, consider this your to-do list for the next time you venture down to Anaheim. Just a heads up: Not all rides may be op

Want to cool off during the summer? Go to the beach. Not near the water? Try a public swimming pool. Looking for something a little more outdoorsy? Head to a lake. Alright, but what if you’re looking for some things to do where you can get wet and tack on some off-the-beaten path exploration at the same time? Well, that’s where swimming holes come in. Part day trip, part wilderness trek, these mountainous oases offer a cool dip in a scenic locale, oftentimes at the end of a waterfall hike. If you’re not afraid of a bit of walking and a risk of fecal bacteria—we’re only half joking—then reward yourself with a dip in one of these swimming holes near L.A. A few notes before you head out: Water levels vary with the season and drought conditions; the warm summer weather unfortunately coincides with L.A.’s driest stretch of the year, so be advised these swimming holes may be more like “wading holes.” If it does happen to rain, you may want to wait a few days before putting your toes in, lest you want to fool around with E. coli. Additionally, all of these swimming holes require moderate hikes to access them. Rocks are hard, slippery and unforgiving, so please stay on the trails and don’t climb onto or jump off of any boulders. In addition, wildfires have limited access to a number of our featured spots; we’ll update this story with the latest reopening info.

There’s few more glorious summer activities than lying back in the great outdoors and soaking up a movie. The sun dropping beneath the horizon, the prosecco flowing, Hugh Jackman about to start singing in a top hat – let’s face it, you’re statistically likely to be watching The Greatest Showman – and a deckchair to sink into. What could be more perfect? You even get to use that comfy blanket your nan gave you. But if there’s one thing that ups the ante on the experience, it’s doing it in an eye-poppingly beautiful location – like one of the 30 starlit screens on this list. From a screen that emerges from Sydney harbour like a kind of cinematic Botticelli, to a vertiginous Colorado amphitheatre, to Cannes’s iconic Cinéma de la Plage, they cover all bases and the entire globe. Take a tour of the most spectacular screens on the planet. RECOMMENDED: 📽️ The 50 most beautiful cinemas in the world🌎 100 places every movie lover should visit

About a month and a half before the start of the NFL season, you can see the Chargers take the field at their training facility in El Segundo—and for free, no less. For four weeks in July and August, the team holds practices at the Bolt that are open to the public, with covered bleacher seating behind the north end zone. Admission is limited to 1,500 fans per session; tickets are available the Monday prior to each practice week (so sessions from July 21 to 26, for example, are available to book on July 14). Look out for a handful of themed days, including a family day, a celebration of women in sports and a happy hour with some Chargers legends—just note that select days are exclusive to season ticket holders.

Before achieving mainstream success with Fun, singer Nate Ruess fronted indie pop darling the Format. After the pandemic scrapped plans for a reunion, Ruess will finally rejoin multi-instrumentalist Sam Means for a limited tour, including this October 10 stop on the Fairbanks Lawn at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Upping the aughts nostalgia: “California” scribes Phantom Planet open the show.

Ready or not, spooky season is slowly stalking its way ever closer. The clearest sign? Universal Studios has already announced the haunted houses set to inhabit its Hollywood-adjacent theme park for Halloween Horror Nights—and there are some pretty big ones. Fallout will get its own haunted house at Universal Studios Hollywood this year (as well as the theme park’s Orlando location), which promises to be a blast. Wander through the post-apocalyptic Wasteland—complete with Scavengers, Raiders, the Ghoul and RAD Roaches the size of dogs—inspired by the award-winning video game franchise and Prime Video TV show. You’ll also find a maze celebrating 45 years of Friday the 13th’s iconic villain, Jason Voorhees, in “Jason Universe,” which will re-create the summer camp, cabin and forest as the hockey-mask-wearing killer goes on a vengeance tour. And a Five Nights at Freddy’s haunted house will bring the creepy animatronic characters to life. Over on the studio tour—ahem, Terror Tram—you can expect a “disturbing new turn” this year.  Halloween Horror Nights runs on select evenings from September 4 to November 2. Tickets cost $77 to $107, depending on the night; with Express Pass add-ons, options range from $209 all the way up to $529 (for the R.I.P. Tour option). See more of the best haunted houses in L.A.

It isn’t summer in L.A. until the first cemetery screening brings hoards of movie-lovers to Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 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, with summertime screenings at the cemetery and a few off-site ones on either end (usually at L.A. State Historic Park). For each evening at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, pack a picnic (yes, booze is allowed), pose in the photo booth and enjoy DJ sets, dance parties and all sorts of other magical mischief that’d otherwise be strictly forbidden behind the cemetery gates. The outdoor screenings are 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, pee early… it’s a popular affair, to say the least.

Walk, run, skate, bike and explore car-free stretches of South Pasadena, Alhambra and San Gabriel during the latest edition of this open streets event series (formerly known as 626 Golden Streets). The Metro-presented Active Streets clears cars off the road in different parts of the San Gabriel Valley for one day only. On Sunday, June 22, you’ll be able to set foot on five miles of streets sans cars, from Mission Street in South Pasadena, down Marengo Avenue and along Alhambra Road, Main Street and Las Tunas Drive toward Mission Drive in San Gabriel (hence the “Mission at Twilight” name of this particular event).

Everyone’s favorite NPR member station has a hand in a slew of summer concert slates at public plazas and beloved museums, and this summer’s schedule is reliably packed. Familiar KCRW DJs and local buzz bands will be providing free, open-air tunes on select nights from June through September at Union Station, CAAM, Descanso Gardens, Bowers Museum, Wende Museum, the Autry, Benny Boy Brewing, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, California Plaza and—our favorite—the party-till-midnight bashes at Chinatown Central Plaza. The details slightly differ at each spot, but you can typically expect a bunch of food trucks, beer gardens and after-hours museum admission. This year, there’s even a kid-oriented installment at the Kidspace Children’s Museum, where DJ Lance Rock of Yo Gabba Gabba is the special guest. Regardless of the location, you really can’t go wrong with any evening spent at Summer Nights. (Note: The kickoff June 7 event at Benny Boy Brewing and Aug. 29’s Descanso Gardens event are only for KCRW members).

This epic (and free) outdoor concert series features live performances by artists from around the world at the totally overhauled California Plaza stage in DTLA, where the shallow water separating the stage from the audience has been replaced by a proper event lawn. Don’t miss a diverse and highly intriguing mix of bands, DJ sets and dance parties. Saturday nights from June 14 through August 23 you’ll find free concerts (though you should RSVP ahead of time to reserve a spot)—highlights this year include a 30-year anniversary show by Grand Performances mainstay Ozomatli and tributes to John Coltrane and Dr. Dre. And on Friday nights, you’ll find a mix of poetry, film and classical music during Fridays in the Amphitheater. 

Hilltop sunset views and rising bands combine to make this Getty tradition a worthy destination for Angelenos on both sides of the 405. This year’s lineup of free Saturday-night shows includes SML (May 31), Mabe Fratti (June 14), Madi Diaz (July 12), Empress Of (July 26) and Emile Mosseri (Aug 23). Tip: Avoid the traffic and the crowds and arrive early, preferably after 3pm when the parking price drops to $15 (though it’s actually free if you wait until the show starts, after 6pm). You’ll get to visit the exhibits, which stay open until 8pm on Saturdays, and beat the dinner rush.

Speak the secret phrase to the owl sculpture in the lobby of this private club, and the rest—well, we don’t want to ruin the surprises in store for visitors at this magical institution. The mansion is over a century old, but since 1963, it has been the home of the Academy of Magical Arts, an exclusive organization made up of more than 5,000 magicians. Perhaps the hardest trick to pull off here? Getting inside. Dinner is a delight, featuring the Academy’s beef Wellington and a rich and tender Colorado rack of lamb—both dishes come with bordelaise sauce and garlic confit, and all entrées are served with roasted fingerling potatoes. While the bar feels like a speakeasy inside Hogwarts, complete with cheeky options like mystical margaritas and sorcerer’s sangria. But the move is the NPH old-fashioned, a Castle favorite named after past president Neil Patrick Harris. If you can’t find a member to tag along with, stay at the adjacent Magic Castle Hotel for access. With reporting by Giovanny Gutierrez

What if there was a scare-free version of Halloween Horror Nights for fraidy cats (like me)? That’s the quickest way I can sum up Universal Fan Fest Nights, a new after-hours event at the L.A. theme park. The open-till-2am specially-ticketed series runs on select nights from April 25 to May 18 and brings together an unexpected mix of franchises for walk-throughs (Back to the Future, Dungeons & Dragons, Star Trek), character photo ops (One Piece, Wicked) and screenings (Jujutsu Kaisen). The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has a new castle projection show, “Hogwarts Always,” for the occasion, along with appearances from the platypus-esque Niffler and serpentine Occamy. And Super Nintendo World sees the debut of meet-and-greets with Yoshi.  The clear standout, though, is the Back to the Future experience, an interactive recreation of Hill Valley in 1955 on the very same section of the backlot where the 1985 film was shot. Hop aboard the studio tour tram and you’ll be whisked down to Courthouse Square, where you can roam around on foot as familiar scenes spontaneously play out around you (and actors may even chat you up in-character). It’s just an absolute delight, and I’d definitely encourage you to spend enough time down here to see every possible scene from Marty McFly, Doc Brown and the rest of the lead characters. Elsewhere, the Dungeons & Dragons walk-through looks mostly cool (particularly an excellent Xanathar puppet crafted by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop), though a bit of

BTS, Minions and cute plush in one store? Meet the new LINE FRIENDS SQUARE at Universal CityWalk Hollywood. Born out of messaging app emoji, the Korean store already has a Hollywood location stuffed with cute plush. But this new one is full of CityWalk-only items, like headbands, hats, keychains and some old-school Universal mascots (think: Woody Woodpecker, Felix the Cat, Casper) that you can pin onto the brand’s Coller line of customizable bags. The main selling point here, though, is the signature K-pop group tie-ins, including BT21, a group of adorable characters inspired by the members of BTS. The shop plans to roll out limited-edition lines for other K-pop groups about twice a year, and expect those items to sell out very quickly. You’ll find the store, interestingly enough, right across from the Sanrio shop and café.

Listen to classical and jazz in a dome more than a mile above L.A. during this mountaintop concert series. The Mount Wilson Observatory is hosting monthly concerts this summer inside the dome of its 100-inch Hooker telescope, which was the largest telescope in the world for much of the first half of the 20th century. Tickets cost $60 (that also includes access to the exhibit at the observatory) and it’s highly recommended that you buy them in advance since seating is limited. You’ll need to be able to climb 53 steps to reach the dome, and children under 12 aren’t permitted. 

UPDATE: On Wednesday, July 30, Green Boy began to bloom and achieved its peak stink overnight around 2am the next day. I visited around 8:30am on Thursday, when the Huntington estimated the corpse flower was at around 50% stink. Expect that distinctive scent (which to me had an earthy, decomposing smell to it) to dissipate by the afternoon. That’s also when the flower will start visibly wilting (it’s already closed up quite a bit compared to its overnight peak). Regardless, I think it’s still beautiful to see, and you can find it in the conservatory today during regular museum hours (10am–5pm). Photograph: Michael Juliano for Time OutGreen Boy, a corpse flower at the Huntington in 2025 Our original story appears below. Normally we associate gardens with all sorts of lovely smelling flowers. But it’s a stench akin to that of rotting flesh that attracts visitors to the Huntington each summer—including this one. The San Marino botanical garden announced on Tuesday that its latest corpse flower is expected to bloom within the next two weeks. As a result, the institution has started an around-the-clock live stream to keep tabs on the remarkably stinky but short-lived bloom cycle. For now, “Green Boy,” as it’s been nicknamed, looks like a stumpy green stalk. But during its peak development, the rare titan arum specimen can grow as much as six inches per day to ultimately reach a height of 12 feet. When it’s finally ready to bloom, as it previously did in 2021, it’ll unfurl into w

It’s one of the oldest restaurants in Los Angeles, one of two debated originators of the French Dip and the birthplace of a cornerstones of the city’s contemporary cocktail scene. But come next month, Cole’s will permanently close its doors. The Downtown L.A. restaurant, a 6th Street mainstay since 1908 that’s easily spotted by its neon sign, will cease operations on August 3, 2025. The news surfaced over the weekend—first spotted by DTLA Weekly—and since then, Eater spoke with owner Cedd Moses, who confirmed the plans and cited the lingering impacts of the pandemic, the dual writers and actors strikes, rising costs and local bureaucracy. “We have cherished our time serving the Downtown community, and will continue to craft great drinks and our renowned French dip sandwiches until we shutter,” Moses said in a statement shared with the publication. If you ever sat in one of Cole’s shiny red booths over a late-night plate of garlic fries and an old-fashioned, then you already probably have some sense of the history here, from its famed French dip to its frequent appearances in film and TV (perhaps most beautifully shot on Mad Men) to its purported regulars: Plaques in the men’s room boast that gangster Mickey Cohen and novelist Charles Bukowski “pissed here” (as seen in my photo below from a 2014 visit—so excuse the decade-old smartphone quality). Photograph: Michael Juliano for Time Out Cole’s started service in 1908 as a sandwich shop and bar on the ground floor of the Paci

There’s not a single piece of artwork to see on the concrete walls of LACMA’s new building right now. And yet, this is undoubtedly the most exciting art destination in Los Angeles this weekend. Months ahead of the galleries’ planned April 2026 debut, and before the institution begins installing artwork, LACMA has allowed the public to take a peek inside its new David Geffen Galleries—to the tune of a one-of-a-kind performance from local saxophone extraordinaire Kamasi Washington, no less. For the museum members and everyday Angelenos who were lucky enough to secure tickets, they’ll find more than 100 musicians split between 10 performance areas, with each ensemble playing a different component of the six-part jazz suite Harmony of Difference; you might catch Washington soloing on sax toward the center of the building, but round a corner and you’ll hear the buzz of a brass section or the echoing voices of a choir. Photograph: Michael Juliano for Time Out Photograph: Michael Juliano for Time OutKamasi Washington But what about the building itself? The Peter Zumthor-designed replacement for LACMA’s myriad mid-century buildings on its eastern campus consolidates collections into a single-floor, 110,000-square-foot amoeba-shaped space. It’s also, since its unveiling in 2013 and start of construction in 2020, invited plenty of strong opinions about everything from its aesthetic to its footprint. So what’s it like to actually step inside (still sans art, of course)? Photograph:

“You know the beginning of Beauty and the Beast? ‘Oh, bonjour! Bonjour!’ This is Glendale Boulevard for me.” Atsuko Okatsuka is barely exaggerating her Belle-like status. The Los Angeles stand-up stops to take a selfie with a fan, bumps into the set builder for her new special, checks in with the owners of her favorite shops and tries to decipher a barely-intelligible “I love you” from some shrieking fans in a car—all in the span of about an hour in Atwater Village. For quite a few years now, this cluster of bakeries, thrift stores, bookshops and restaurants just across the L.A. River from Los Feliz and Silver Lake has been the stomping grounds for her and her husband, Ryan Harper Gray. “I grew up in Japan where I got to do all of my business within steps of my home,” she laments about America’s gotta-drive-everywhere culture. “And so I try to keep things convenient, I just keep it on Glendale Boulevard.” We’re meeting ahead of the then-upcoming release of Father, her new stand-up special that just hit Hulu on June 13. You’ve possibly seen Okatsuka’s viral videos on Instagram and TikTok, often dancing with her grandma or killing it in a colorful outfit—or both. But her comedy routines transcend phone-sized screens—there’s a reason she was in our 2019 class of L.A.’s “comedians to watch”—as I was invited to see at one of the Father performances, taped last fall at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre (where she became the first female comedian to perform at the Disney-owned movie p

The surest sign that it’s just about summer in Los Angeles? The nightly barrage of fireworks. But the next-surest sign? Outdoor movie screenings in a century-old cemetery. Put ‘em together and you have the recipe for a perfect summer night. After making its seasonal return over Memorial Day weekend, Cinespia has announced the classic cinema selections headed for Hollywood Forever Cemetery this July, including two chances to see a fireworks-accompanied film. The lineup—which we’ll dive into below—boasts a high-flying action classic, a local love letter, a semi-recent horror sensation and a pair of ‘90s comedies. Fri, July 4: Top Gun + FireworksSat, July 5: La La Land + FireworksSat, July 12: IT (2017)Sat, July 19: Romy and Michele’s High School ReunionSat, July 26: The Addams Family Tickets for the events, presented by Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video, are on sale now and cost just under $52 per person for the two fireworks screenings and $30 for the rest, with prices roughly between $24 and $36 for parking. We’d suggest jumping on tickets soon, too; Cinespia’s screenings pretty much always sell out. “Each summer, we invite our city to come together and celebrate the movies that made us laugh, dream and scream,” said Cinespia founder John Wyatt in a statement. “This July is pure movie magic—from high-flying action and fireworks to nostalgic reunions and spooky classics under the stars.” If you’ve never attended the summertime rite of passage before, here’s the deal: Since 20

We really want to believe that traffic won’t be an issue for Los Angeles’ “no-car” turn at hosting the Olympics in 2028. After all, the city will have more Metro expansions finished by then, a pivotal people mover at LAX and a fleet of Summer Games-specific buses—plus none of L.A.’s traffic fears came to pass during the 1984 Olympics. But, you know, just in case the traffic doomers are proven right, maybe an air taxi isn’t a bad backup. On Wednesday, Archer Aviation announced that it’s been chosen as the official air taxi provider for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as for Team USA. So what exactly does that mean? The San Jose-based company’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, dubbed Midnight, will transport fans and VIPs and shuttle emergency services to vertiports at SoFi Stadium and the L.A. Memorial Coliseum (as well as all local airports, as outlined in the company’s initial network announcement last year). Expect 10-to-20-minute rides between key Olympics venues. Rendering: Courtesy Archer Aviation Of course, you probably haven’t actually seen Midnight airborne yet; the four-person electric vehicle, which Archer says produces less noise and emissions than a traditional helicopter, was first announced with a 2026 service target, and the vehicles are still in the process of achieving FAA certification. As for pricing? In an interview with the L.A. Times, Archer Aviation CEO Adam Goldstein said the cost would be similar to a high-end r

There’s clearly an insatiable appetite for live film score performances in the Los Angeles area. John Williams has been a fixture at the Hollywood Bowl for decades, as has, more recently, Danny Elfman and a slew of orchestra-backed movie screenings. It’s spilled into the music festival circuit, too; I can very distinctly remember its apparent origin, when the Coachella 2017 crowd lost its collective mind over Hans Zimmer’s performance of his themes from Pirates of the Caribbean and Interstellar. So kudos to award-winning composer duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who are putting together an entire one-day-only festival with some of the coolest and most legendary film and television composers on the lineup. Future Ruins will take over the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on November 8, and it’ll bring with it a blockbuster lineup of folks behind some of your favorite moody movie music, including Danny Elfman, John Carpenter and more than a dozen other composers behind films and shows like The White Lotus, Stranger Things, Joker and many, many more. “There’s no headliner. There’s no hierarchy. This is a stacked lineup of visionaries doing something you might not see again,” say Reznor and Ross in a statement (they’re on the lineup too—though you can also catch them in September at the Forum under Reznor’s more storied Nine Inch Nails moniker). Expect three stages at the outdoor Burbank venue with a mix of electronic, live band and orchestral performances, including appearances fr

Four miles of new subway tracks will completely transform how Angelenos can commute to and from parts of the Westside by the end of this year. The first phase of Metro’s D Line extension, slated to open later in 2025, will extend service underneath Wilshire Boulevard from Koreatown to just past the Beverly Hills border—and eventually as far west as UCLA. But transit riders, particularly those in K-town, will have to tolerate a couple months of commuting pain before we can get there: Metro announced that it’ll temporarily close the entire D Line (formerly known as the Purple Line) for 70 days, starting on Saturday, May 17 at the start of service through the end of service on Friday, July 25, in order to connect its current terminus at Wilshire/Western with three upcoming stations to the west. The D Line is the shortest of Metro’s half-dozen rail lines, and of its eight stops, the six in Downtown L.A. and Westlake are shared with the B Line (Red). Thankfully, that means all of those stations will continue to have rail service during the closure due to the DTLA-to-North Hollywood B Line. In Downtown L.A. specifically, Metro says you can expect trains to increase from every 12 minutes to every 8 minutes (until 7pm on weekdays and after 7am on weekends). Courtesy Metro But it’s a much different story for the two stops west of there in Koreatown: Wilshire/Western and Wilshire/Normandie. With those two stations completely out of service, Metro will instead operate a temporary 855

The Paris Olympics’ riverfront opening ceremony route along the Seine probably had some Angelenos wondering if Los Angeles would alter its own plans for 2028 and try something equally inventive. Alas, you’ll have to keep dreaming as the city’s Olympic organizers have formally unveiled their plans—and they seemingly don’t involve a parade of athletes on the 110-105 interchange à la La La Land. As expected, LA28 announced on Thursday that the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium will share hosting duties for the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. How exactly they’ll divide up the blockbuster event remains to be seen. LA28 says that both locations will “feature artistic elements.” But we’ll have to wait for “specific activities to be identified” further on in the development process—inevitably, only one will be able to actually hoist the Olympic flag. (For what it’s worth, L.A. mayor Karen Bass referred to the Coliseum as the “heartbeat” of the Olympics during a press conference on Thursday.) In a bid book from 2017, organizers proposed a “Hollywood-produced program” of live music at the Coliseum; the Olympic torch would then leave that stadium and head toward Inglewood, where SoFi would host the formal ceremonies, including the parade of nations and Olympic oath. But that information is roughly eight years old at this point, back when L.A. was initially bidding for the 2024 Olympics and SoFi was nothing more than a dirt field sti

Oh, Oceanwide Plaza… The trio of Crypto.com Arena–adjacent towers began construction a decade ago, but stalled out in 2019 when its developer ran out of money. Then, early last year, the windows of about 27 floors were tagged with very visible graffiti—and, despite the L.A. City Council initially saying it would clean up the buildings, they still remain all tagged up. Now, these monuments to Downtown L.A.’s slump are about to be immortalized in a video game. The graffiti towers’ appearance is actually part of a much more upbeat announcement: The Los Angeles-inspired level in the upcoming Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 will include a detailed recreation of Miracle Mile’s much-loved El Rey Theatre. Thanks to a collaboration between publisher Activision and promoter AEG Presents, both Goldenvoice and the Roxy will have billboards in the level, as well. But the announcement footage for the El Rey’s inclusion came with one unmissable detail: a graffiti-covered skyscraper looming in the background that looks unmistakably like the beleaguered Oceanwide Plaza buildings. If you’re wondering what a Mid-Wilshire theater is doing next to a DTLA high-rise, the remake of the early-aughts skateboarding game’s L.A. level is kind of a pastiche of local landmarks. (And the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 didn’t include the El Rey in that space but an adult movie theater instead.) Pershing Square’s purple tower is immediately recognizable, as is the Biltmore across the street and the ca

We’ve just crossed the year-to-go mark until the opening of LACMA’s new David Geffen Galleries, and as promised, the Miracle Mile museum is offering a pretty unique opportunity to step inside the building’s empty interior. L.A. native, Kendrick Lamar collaborator and all-around saxophone wizard Kamasi Washington will headline three performances inside the new building this June—months ahead of its artwork-filled April 2026 opening. But he won’t be alone: More than 100 musicians will be scattered across 110,000 square feet of vacant gallery space. Washington’s performances on June 26, 27 and 28 will tackle Harmony of Difference, a six-movement suite that he released eight years ago—but that’s never been performed live in its entirety. “I wrote Harmony of Difference in 2017 to celebrate the beauty of humanity’s diversity through a metaphor of music,” Washington said in a statement. “In music it is the combination of different notes, chords and rhythms that create beautiful songs. The same is true in life; most of humanity’s greatest achievements came from the combined efforts of people of different backgrounds with different knowledge and abilities.” Photograph: Christian Bertrand / Shutterstock.comKamasi Washington Washington goes on to elaborate on the Geffen Galleries’ unique acoustic properties; visitors will hear both the direct sounds from nearby musicians as well as the “spirit” of other farther-away groups of performers. If you want to check out the performance inside

Sometimes it feels impossible to find something that truly unites Angelenos, but there’s one fact that we can all agree on: The traffic at LAX is the worst. Getting to—and more so around—the horseshoe-shaped automotive hell in the middle of the airport’s terminals will test your patience, as well as just how much you love your family and friends in need of a ride. Thankfully, there’s a little bit of relief on the way soon for the “getting to” part of that equation: Metro announced that the LAX/Metro Transit Center station, a new light rail stop east of the airport with bus transfers and bike parking that serves both the K and C Lines, will open on June 6, 2025. As for the “getting around” part of your LAX trip, this is still only half of what you’re really waiting for. The station will eventually connect with a stop on the Automated People Mover, a separate 2.25-mile transit line owned by Los Angeles World Airports that will make three stops inside of the central terminal area. But that persistently delayed project won’t open until early 2026. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (@metrolosangeles) So why is this still a big deal now? After all, the C (formerly Green) Line opened a station with “LAX” in its name back in 1995, and it added the Aviation/Century stop with last fall’s expansion of the K (formerly Crenshaw) Line. Well, the short version: way more rail connections and a much more use