Things to do in L.A. this weekend

See what’s cutting-edge in the city’s vibrant performing arts scene at REDCAT’s 21st annual festival, where it turns its theater into a creative artistic laboratory for Los Angeles artists à la its namesake institution, CalArts. Each of the three weekends boasts unique, daring and distinctive performances of new original works for the stage—from dance, theater and music to multimedia performance art. Week One sees the premieres of opera song cycle 7 Early Songs, dance performance Sissies: Something Perfect Between Ourselves and “surreal visual art, movement, and music ritual” Dravidian Futurities: Chapter II.

Recently reopened Downtown destination Clifton’s Republic is kicking off a season of arts and culture programming by collaborating with the nonprofit Speranza Foundation for a one-night-only, choose-your-own-adventure event. Poets, visual artists, musicians, cirque performers and storytellers will take over the multistory space for a nine-act experience and variety show. The night will culminate with live music under Monarch, Clifton’s 40-foot-tall faux redwood tree. Upgrade your ticket for access to an exclusive stage show in the Brookdale Ballroom.

The art and science of Southern California collide in this free family-friendly festival. Held on the lawns at La Brea Tar Pits, the event is produced by the renowned Edinburgh Science Festival and presented by the Getty in conjunction with its PST ART initiative. Curious and creative kids ages 4–14 can have fun with hands-on workshops (think building with adobe, making their own stop-motion animation and uncovering fossils), stage shows, live music and Street Science performances throughout the park. (Note: Some activities will take place nearby at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, LACMA and Craft Contemporary.) After hours on Saturday evening, L.A. band Quetzal and La Familia Gutiérrez will play a free concert (7–8:30pm). 

Mariah Carey is bringing her “Christmas Time” tour to Los Angeles again with a stop at the Hollywood Bowl on November 8 (as well as at the Yaamava’ Casino in San Bernardino County on November 6 and Palm Desert’s Acrisure Arena on November 13). And yes, “All I Want for Christmas is You” will absolutely be in the setlist; if previous concerts are any indication, expect around 20 other holiday standards, plus at least one performance of Carey’s most famous festive earworm during the encore.

Spend the weekend sipping wine by the sea at this Huntington Beach fest. At Friday evening’s Sunset Rare & Reserve Tasting, where wine connoisseurs can sample hard-to-find trophy wines, tasting-room exclusives and limited-production wines. Saturday’s alfresco Beachside Wine Festival combines sun, sea, food, wine and live music, with hundreds of varietals from winemaking regions across California, local craft brews and appetizers from Orange County restaurants.

Broadway travels back in time to the 1950s, by way of the 1980s, in a noisy musical adaptation of the hit 1985 movie opening at the Pantages this week.

Refreshing, artistic and boundlessly confident, Okatsuka’s sense of humor makes audiences feel like they’ve always been on her side, even when she’s taking them to task. Catch her at the Largo this week.

Located just blocks from the ocean, Ice in downtown Santa Monica brings a bit of winter to the comfortable coastal city. The 8,000-square-foot outdoor rink runs daily from November to mid-January on the corner of Fifth Street and Arizona Avenue (less than a 10-minute walk from the E Line). Tickets for an hourlong slot ($24) include skate rentals, and you can book private parties and cabanas if you’re looking for something a bit more premium. Look out for treats for sale, plus special themed nights.

The multicity Jackalope Arts fair is back again this year, featuring over 150 local artisans and high-quality, handcrafted goods perfect for gifting. Both the Pasadena market (held in Old Pasadena’s Central Park November 9 and 10) and Burbank market (held on San Fernando Boulevard as the Downtown Burbank Winter Arts Festival on December 7 and 8) offer free admission.

Score free food and hot sauce at the Original Farmers Market from Buldak. The viral South Korean chicken ramen brand is coming to town to promote its newly launched hot sauce (available bottled and in packet form). Bring any condiment or sauce packet in exchange for samples and free fiery snacks, including hot dogs, wings, cauliflower nuggets, cheeseburger sliders, steak bites and more (items subject to change). Hochi, Buldak’s cartoon chicken mascot, will also be on-site throughout the long weekend for meet-and-greet.

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.

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 Palladium.

LA Compost’s annual autumnal event gives “smashing pumpkins” a whole new—and very literal—meaning. Now that Halloween is over, you likely have at least one pumpkin rotting on your doorstep. Did you know that trashing it and sending it to the landfill releases methane, which contributes to global warming? Instead of adding your jack-o’-lantern to the 1.3 billion pounds of yearly pumpkin waste, bring it (as long as its free of paint, glitter or anything else nonorganic) to one of these composting parties to help nourish the earth. Check here for the different locations and to sign up.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

It’s a horror movie with Hugh Grant as the bad guy. Need we really say more? Grant is an inspired piece of casting for this spooky house chiller, bringing all his charm, which has developed a delightfully eccentric bent in the latter part of his career, and twisting it into something distinctly unsettling. It’s an overused phrase, but this is genuinely Grant as you’ve never seen him before.

It’s reassuring that, at 94, Clint Eastwood can still surprise us. After a long run of middling movies, he returns with his best since 2008’s Gran Torino. Sure, Juror #2 appears to be yet another polished, predictable courtroom drama; the kind we got a lot of during the ’90s. But thanks to Eastwood and first-time screenwriter Jonathan A Abrams, it’s a deeply involving and thought-provoking new spin on the genre, which serves up a ripe moral quandary that goes deeper than anything John Grisham ever managed.

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