Things to do in L.A. this weekend

Boyle Heights-adjacent gallery and community center Self Help Graphics & Art has presented this Day of the Dead celebration for half a century. And though its brick-and-mortar location is currently under renovation, SHG will still stage its annual tradition, albeit with a few off-site tweaks. The event will still begin with a procession at Mariachi Plaza (2pm), but it’ll then move a few stops east on the E Line to L.A. County Civic Center Park, where you’ll find altars, a marketplace, food, face painting and live entertainment.

The YouTube sensation has become a bona fide pop star, thanks to a transition from delicate folk songs to soulful dance pop. Find her headlining the Forum for two nights.

Celebrate Day of the Dead at the end of Route 66 with this two-day art installation surrounding the Santa Monica Pier’s historic carousel, which will be decked out in marigolds and papel picado for the occasion. The free, family-friendly event also features ballet folklorico performances and activities for kids all weekend. Sunday’s celebration will start with a parade with Aztec dancers beginning at the west end of the Pier—Día de los Muertos attire is encouraged—followed by live mariachi music, arts and crafts, an artistan market and a car meet.

As the scrambled name implies, this London-based collective spins nothing other than the sweet tones of new edits and remixes of Fleetwood Mac tracks. The parties themselves are blindingly good fun and pretty much all the edits are superb, often full of ambient disco and dreamy electronic vibes, which give a lovely lush dance-floor touch to FM’s classics. For this “Leather & Lace Disco” edition held just after Halloween, extravagant costumes, Mac-related or otherwise, are very much welcome, so get your best Stevie Nicks bouffant on and prepare for unabashed Fleetwood fun.

A beauty lover’s playgroud, this convention presented by Refinery29 welcomes some of the industry’s prominent voices—from Jonathan Van Ness to Riverdale’s Lili Reinhart—to share their thoughts on the future of beauty. Highlights include a masterclass taught by Sir John (Beyoncé’s makeup artist); panels featuring the co-founders of Summer Fridays and the founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills; a marketplace stocked with both cult-favorite brands and hard-to-find international brands; and a “Buseum” with installations showcasing the history of beauty.

This exhibition of 21 soundstage-sized installations has floated its way into L.A. Don’t expect mere bundles of birthday balloons: Instead, these pieces range from room-filling ball pits to reflective LED tunnels to giant grabbable bubbles, all inspired by air in some way. The “Let’s Fly” edition of this touring show is a more fun experience than your run-of-the-mill made-for-Instagram attraction: Whether you’re bonking the bouncy “Ginjos,” pushing a charcoal-tipped sphere or getting swept up in a staticky whirlwind of balloons, there are some undeniably entertaining—and yes, very photogenic—hands-on scenes here.

Aussie psych-rock explorers King Gizzard geek out about mythological monsters and unconventional time signatures, creating songs that unfold like Heavy Metal magazine vignettes set to a trippy and technical soundtrack. Catch them at the Forum.

A new celebration of food and culture comes to L.A. this weekend, the West Coast outpost of New York’s Head in the Clouds Night Market from 88rising. The Asian night market-meets-Western-style flea market will spotlight local AAPI small businesses, boasting a roster of over 70 shopping and food vendors. Browse the stalls as local DJs provide the soundtrack, then try your luck at Taiwanese-inspired carnival games or a game of mahjong. Grab food from the likes of Iki Ramen or the Ugly Bao before settling in for an afternoon alfresco movie screening (catch Big Hero 6 on Saturday, Past Lives on Sunday).

Many band “disbandments” are followed by a triumphant return just a few years later, but still, it was a surprise when the dance-punk outfit came back so soon after its grand finale in 2014. That said, we’re sure glad James Murphy & Co. have stuck around since then—and that you can catch the seminal indie crew during a fall residency at the Shrine and Palladium.

Midcity Mercado’s second-annual Day of the Dead block party in West Adams celebrates the heritage of the community with live music and dancers, free carnival rides and games, workshops, an art gallery, live mural painting, food trucks and a market. The centerpiece is the community altar, which everyone is invited to contribute their photos to. It’ll all go down in the heart of West Adams, at 5640 W Adams Blvd.

Danny Elfman returns to L.A.—but nope, it’s not for a Nightmare Before Christmas show (don’t worry, you’ll still hear songs from that). If you caught the composer’s previous Coachella or Hollywood Bowl sets then you have some idea of what you’re getting yourself into: a high-energy, all-over-the-place, metal-meets-classical concert that includes songs from Oingo Boingo, Elfman’s solo career and his most famous film and TV compositions, including Batman, Edward Scissorhands and The Simpsons.

For a Day of the Dead day trip, head to Catalina Island for the art and history museum’s sixth annual celebration of Día de los Muertos, part of its First Fridays at the Museum. Bring the family for a colorful celebration of life and death with mariachi performances, a marionette show, kids’ art projects, local food vendors and tequila tastings for the grown-ups.

For a classical Day of the Dead celebration, head to the Walt Disney Concert hall for a performance by the LA Phil, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble and Los Angeles Master Chorale. Dudamel will conduct a festive program of Latin American music that includes Afro-Mexican commission Yanga by Gabriela Ortiz and the film score La noche de los Mayas by Revueltas.

Peruse altars in the plaza of El Pueblo at this Day of the Dead celebration. Expect plenty of festive wares from the merchants on Olvera Street, along with altars that go on display each morning and a candlelight procession every night. Stop by over the weekend for face painting and theatrical performances.

Kicking off with Grand Ave Arts: All Access is Grand Park’s two-week display of 20 altars in the park created by local artists and community organizations. For the first time this year, the celebration’s opening festivities spanned two days. The event closes this weekend with an outdoor film screening (Nov 2 at 7pm), presented by the GuadaLAjara Film Festival.

See over 50 garments from Diane von Furstenberg, best known for her iconic wrap dress, during this career-spanning exhibition at the Skirball. Alongside artwork and fabric swatches, the show will also focus on her philanthropic work, as well as how her life was shaped as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor.

Sixteen is not sweet for the heroine of the bruisingly joyful (and five-star) musical Kimberly Akimbo. Adapted by David Lindsay-Abaire from his own 2001 play, with music by Jeanine Tesori, the show has a central conceit that verges on magical realism: Kimberly Levaco suffers from an unnamed, “incredibly rare” genetic disorder that makes her age at a superfast rate.

Cirque du Soleil is leaving behind DTLA for the beach with this staging of KOOZA in Santa Monica. The high-flying troupe heads under the big top for its first show next to the Santa Monica Pier since 2014.

The DMV-like waiting room into the afterlife, the casino-esque bulb-lit signs and lots of black-and-white stripes and checkerboards: All of the familiar Beetlejuice motifs are here at this Hollywood pop-up, one of the rare “immersive” events that’s actually worth your while.

Step inside of a Glendale theater (324 N Orange St, Glendale) to find a supernatural soiree full of magic, hauntings and mystery that’ll set you on a chilling journey with themed drinks in hand. House of Spirits is a two-hour immersive experience that allows you to roam around and discover all sorts of macabre performances and pop-ups. Each ticket includes four mini cocktails.

Head to the mountains for the annual Oktoberfest at Big Bear Lake, where you’ll be able to clink steins every weekend through early November. Beer will be flowing, knockwursts will be cooked up, and dirndls will be worn. The schedule includes numerous bands—four flown in straight from Germany—and other performances, and some lucky damsel will be named the Oktoberfest Queen when she wins the stein-carrying contest.

Billing itself as "Orange County’s biggest party since 1977," the Old World Oktoberfest promises all the beers, brats and bands to make you feel like you’re in Munich—albeit with better ocean views. Every Wednesday to Sunday through November 3, this re-created Bavarian village will feature dancers and oompah and German bands. While Old World's Oktoberfest is 21-plus with a cover charge on Friday and Saturday evenings, it’s open to families and revelers of all ages on Saturday afternoons and other nights.

Walk across the grounds of the scenic King Gillette Ranch as the Santa Monica Mountains hideaway is illuminated with thousands of hand-carved jack-o’-lanterns. Nights of the Jack returns with an on-foot, mile-long trail this year (with food trucks and a “Spookeasy,” too).

Delusion, an interactive seasonal event that combines elements of immersive theater with a more story-based approach to a walk-through haunted house, takes over the Stimson House, a recognizable red brick mansion built in 1891 in University Park. “The Red Castle,” which runs just past Halloween, puts you in the role of a possibly superpowered asylum patient under the care of a spiraling psychologist who’s attempting to resurrect his deceased wife.

Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group hosts a chilling series of vignettes. Armed with a shoddy flashlight to illuminate their path, guests navigate a labyrinth of terror before enduring a series of shocking scenes (over the course of roughly 35 minutes) that will unsettle even the most stoic of horror fans.

Everyone’s favorite murder-mystery parody of true crime podcasts makes the jump from TV to IRL with this Only Murders in the Building escape room. Part of the Westfield Century City flips into a faux movie set, where you’ll be tasked with tracking down a missing film reel.

See the Bob Baker Marionette Theater’s Halloween performances during this two-month lineup of spooky festivities. The puppet theater will be performing “Bob Baker’s Halloween Spooktacular!”—a refurbished production of its long-running “boo-sical revue.”

Ready or not, spooky season is here. The clearest sign? Haunted houses have started to inhabit Universal Studios. The Hollywood-adjacent theme park’s Halloween Horror Nights includes experiences inspired by A Quiet Place, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Insidious and The Purge, plus a maze by the Weeknd.

Encounter free-roaming monsters, terrifying mazes—with themes like a twisted carnival and an alien-inhabited space station—a “boo-fet” dinner and all sorts of other haunted houses and attractions at the OC theme park.

The only thing better than a haunted attraction is a haunted attraction on a giant boat. You’ll find all the usual horrors here—fog, mazes and countless monsters. What sets Dark Harbor (back for the first time since 2019) apart is its use of its surroundings; the dark, cramped confines of the Queen Mary are already pretty spooky even without monsters—just be prepared to climb a lot of skinny staircases. The event’s 2024 return includes experiences set in the ship’s swimming pool, kitchen, engine room and staterooms.

A collaboration with the Carnegie Observatories and the Griffith Observatory, this LACMA exhibition brings together a global collection of pieces, from the Stone Age to today, that reflect humans’ ever-evolving attempts to explain the origins of the universe. Alongside pieces of sacred artwork and architecture, you can expect some heady, scientifically minded contemporary works—like a teaser from Josiah McElheny that’s already on display in the center of the Resnick Pavilion. Island Universe features five reflective, rod-encircled spheres; each individual sculpture is supposed to represent a different parallel universe, and each branching rod the passage of time.

“Color in Motion” features close to 150 objects—pieces of technology, costumes, props and film posters—from the 1890s to today. Broken up into six themes, the exhibition looks at the connection between color, music and movement, like in early dance and animated shorts; decades of color technologies, from Technicolor processes and Disney’s women-led Ink & Paint Department to contemporary digital tools; monochrome silent films; the narrative role of color; and experimental works. The final gallery in the show is dubbed the Color Arcade, an interactive, neon-hued space that includes a corridor inspired by the trippy stargate from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

This spectacular exhibition from the Icelandic–Danish artist brings a new series of optical installations to MOCA’s Little Tokyo location. Don’t let the reflective, colorful pieces fool you into thinking this is some run-of-the-mill “immersive” exhibition: Olafur Eliasson’s works invite you to admire the everyday miracles of physics that shape how we see the world.

As you might expect, the Getty has a sizable slate of free PST ART exhibitions this fall, and this one is easily the largest and most notable. “Lumen” takes a multi-faith approach to how astronomy and optics impacted art and religion in the Middle Ages—in other words, you’ll find illuminated Hebrew Bibles and a Byzantine chandelier alongside an Islamic astrolabe from the 1200s and a 12th-century manuscript that documented how monks used constellations to tell time.

The Natural History Museum’s taxidermy dioramas turn a century old this year, and to celebrate the museum is reviving an entire hall of displays that’ve been dark for decades. Expect some fresh approaches to these assembled snapshots of the wilderness, including alebrijes made of recycled materials, a crystalline depiction of pollution and a tech-driven display of the L.A. River.

Study the technical and cultural background of colorful clay vessels, textiles, bark-paper pages and sculptures in the Indigenous Americas—and how their significance has been downplayed among colonialist histories—at this LACMA exhibition.

More than 50 works on display at the Autry showcase how Indigenous artists have crafted visions of alternative futures in the face of enduring colonial trauma, with surreal spacescapes from Wendy Red Star, pop culture commentaries by Andy Everson and a site-specific space odyssey created by Virgil Ortiz.

Inspired by Steve Martin’s satirical City of Angels comedy—and blessed by the legend himself—“L.A. Story” is a group show about L.A.’s enchantments at Hauser & Wirth’s West Hollywood gallery. Though not a one-to-one response to the surreal 1991 film, the exhibition has plenty of after-the-fact homages to key locations and scenes, including swimming pools (David Hockney, Eric Fischl and Calida Rawles), the coastline (Florian Maier-Aichen), the cityscape (Mark Bradford), major streets (Ed Ruscha) and Hollywood shootouts (Vija Celmin).

Face your fears and head to the Natural History Museum’s Spider Pavilion, where you can observe several hundred orbweaver spiders in a living exhibit just outside of the museum. Scared the spiders might be hard to spot in the wild? Fret not. In previous iterations we’ve spotted ones about the size of an adult’s palm. Gulp. (But don’t worry: The scariest ones are in enclosed habitats.) 

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.

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.

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.

West Hollywood’s ultra-chic restaurant and rooftop bar, E.P. & L.P., is serving much more than handcrafted cocktails and modern American bites. The spot also hosts Melrose Rooftop Theatre, an outdoor screening series that runs much of the year on the rooftop space attached to its open-air bar, L.P. Its all-VIP seating setup means everyone gets their own bean bag to watch a mix of cult classics and newly released films, with the audio piped in to provided sets of wireless headphones. Opt for the dinner-and-a-movie package and you’ll get a pre-show starter, main and dessert—or you can skip it and just opt for a cocktail during the movie.

Take a seat under the arch at the former Hollywood & Highland for this free series of movie screenings, typically held on the last Friday of the month. Stop by the Ovation Hollywood booth for free popcorn and discounted treats from the TCL Chinese Theatre concessions stand.

Plunge into the deep end while watching a slate of movies (sometimes ones filmed at the Hollywood Roosevelt) during this outdoor screening series Thursday nights at the Tropicana Pool & Cafe. You’re welcome to get wet (towels, blankets and heaters are available on a first-come, first-served basis) or stay dry. Seating is available by the bed, which fit two to four people comfortably.

Gawk at a collection of mid-20th-century illuminated pieces from Andy Warhol, Dan Flavin, Allen Rupperberg and eight others at the Norton Simon’s display of electric art.

It’s more than just the low clearance: This exhibition at the Petersen explores the custom paint, engraving, upholstery and, of course, the gravity-defying suspension of the lowrider scene. In addition to iconic cars, influential artists in the Chicano lowrider art scene are spotlighted.

A true multihyphenate, Carver was a painter in addition to a pioneering agricultural scientist. CAAM will display seldom-seen paintings, as well as his lab equipment, alongside contemporary works that were inspired by his foundational work in modern conservation—ideas that started to spread with his “Jesup Wagon,” an early 1900s movable school.

See large ceramic and bronze sculptures at LACMA plus a few more sculptural pieces and collaborative video works at CAAM during this crosstown exhibition of Black feminist artist Simone Leigh.

Artists and JPL scientists come together for this collaborative exhibition in Glendale, where 11 artists across a mix of mediums present their take on how nature and the night sky can inspire wonder in us.

Move through a suite of sci-fi installations that depict a world overcome by rising seas and unchecked capitalism in this exhibition from Josh Kline. The MOCA Grand Avenue show includes a mix of sculpture, photography, moving images and ephemeral materials.

Hatched during the pandemic and 2020’s social justice demonstrations, this exhibition—guest curated by Glenn Kaino and Mika Yoshitake—examines how environmental art intersects with equity. You’ll find works from more than 20 artists, including Mel Chin, Ron Finley and Cannupa Hanska Luger, commissioned for this show at the Hammer.

Pasadena’s USC Pacific Asia Museum hosts this exhibition based on the Getty’s scientific research into Cai Guo-Qiang’s gunpowder art. The show fills up nearly the entire museum with a vast selection of the artist’s work alongside scientific imagery exploring the nature of gunpowder and Cai’s process in using it.

Hollywood’s Japan House has tapped artist Sebastian Masuda to dive into the roots of all things cute and colorful with this exhibition on Japanese kawaii culture. The free show includes multiple pieces and installations from Masuda.

See 1930s-to-’50s concept cars plus artwork from Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol and David Hockney at this Petersen exhibition.

Japan’s #MeToo moment is charted in a documentary that reverberates with defiance and outrage.