March 2025 events calendar for Los Angeles

PST ART is winding down, and while you can still catch some of our favorite exhibitions in the coming months, celebrate the intersection of art and science with this free day-to-night event at the Wilshire Ebell Theater. You’ll find a pop-up art book fair from Printed Matter, salon-style talks with PST ART artists, hands-on workshops, music and performances from AfroRithm Futures Group, Massima Bell and Julianna Barwick, and food from L.A. favorites LaSorted’s Pizza and Kogi BBQ. You can also catch the pilot taping of Radiolab’s new game show, take a tour of an alien solar system, then end the night with some marine biology and mermaid lore at Becoming a Body of Water: A Hydrofeminism Lounge. RSVP here for free admission.

Get out from behind your screen and into the world of printed lit at L.A. Zine Fest. Now in its 12th year, the free event is expanding to a two-day festival on the lawn of the Broad. Support the DIY publishing community by shopping for zines from over 300 artists, small presses, independent booksellers and community organizers from Southern California and across the country. Don’t miss the fest’s hands-on workshops and panel discussions at the museum’s Oculus Hall. Note: Each day has its own lineup of exhibitors and activities.

If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at paddling (or drumming), this fourth annual festival dedicated to the 2,000-year-old Chinese tradition of dragon boat racing is the place to do it. Not feeling competitive? You can stake out a spot along the waterfront at Burton Chace Park to cheer on the teams. Expect lion dancers on the sidelines, food trucks serving Asian-inspired street food, and stalls selling arts and crafts from local makers.

So maybe you can’t score an invite to the Oscars, but attending the official watch party from the folks who put it on seems like the next best thing. On March 2, the Academy Museum will host a cocktail-attire soiree that includes hors d’oeuvres and wine, as well a gift bag and access to the David Geffen Theater, where the Academy Awards will be telecast live. If you can’t snag a ticket to the party, the museum’s restaurant, Fanny’s, will be hosting its own watch party with a champagne toast and prix-fixe menu for $250. Fanny’s is also offering a special menu of cocktails inspired by this year’s best picture nominees.

This now-closed, critically acclaimed Laotian cuisine pop-up is back again in Hollywood for a few weeks. (Back in 2023, we gave Yum Sະlut a glowing four-star review.) After decamping back to his hometown of Washington DC, chef-owner Tharathip Soulisak is visiting L.A. and serving a menu of familiar favorites like crispy rice salad, sukiyaki and khao soi out of Hollywood’s My Lai Kitchen for two weekends, with his last day of service falling on March 3. Yum Sະlut will be open inside 7501 W Sunset Boulevard on Mondays and Fridays (3:30–9pm) and weekends (11am–9:30pm).  

Got a list of L.A. museums you haven’t visited yet? Clear your calendar for Museums Free-for-All, when museums all over the region throw open the doors for free admission.

Over 30 museums will drop their admission fees on Sunday, March 16. It’s the perfect opportunity to knock a couple of cultural to-dos off your list, like the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, LACMA, the Autry, Grammy Museum, the La Brea Tar Pits, Craft Contemporary, the Skirball and more.

You’ll still have to pay to see any exhibitions that require a special ticket and for parking, but we can’t say no to free admission. Make sure to scope out the full list of participating museums. (We’d suggest skipping any of L.A.’s always-free museums, though, as you can visit those admission-free on any other weekend.)

Geek out with fellow TV nerds at PaleyFest, the annual weeklong festival of exclusive episodes, clips and panel discussions with the cast and creators of the hottest TV shows. Now in its 42nd year, the Paley Center for Media-hosted festival is headed back to the Dolby Theatre with a lineup that includes panels for Severance, Cobra Kai, Agatha All Along, Matlock, The Handmaid’s Tale, Hacks and Poker Face, plus one for a trio of Amy Sherman-Palladino shows: Gilmore Girls, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and the upcoming Étoile.

The steady stream of L.A. wildfire benefit shows has slowed somewhat, but the newly announced “Let’s Get L.Aid” promises to be a particularly fun night. The lineup of comedy and music superstars is led by “Weird Al” Yankovic, Margaret Cho, Maria Bamford, Reggie Watts, Rufus Wainwright, the Beach Boys’ Al Jardine, Bob the Drag Queen, Chris Fleming, Monty Python’s Eric Idle, Neil Hamburger, Paul Shaffer, Puddles Pity Party and Tim Heidecker, with even more talent to be announced. Proceeds will benefit wildfire relief, and tickets start at just $70—more than reasonable for a lineup this impressive.

Best known as the brother of pop sensation Billie Eilish, Finneas Baird O’Connell is his sister’s most trusted collaborator, serving as a producer and co-writer of much of her music. While he doesn’t have the voice of Eilish, Finneas does have a self-aware music persona that he employs on his solo catalog of jaunty pop anthems and moody ballads. Catch him at the Palladium this month.

Join in one of L.A.’s oldest traditions at the 126th annual Golden Dragon Parade (rescheduled from February). The colorful procession of lion dancers, dance troupes, music groups and more will make its way through Chinatown (kicking off at Ord and Hill Streets, and concluding at Broadway and Cesar E Chavez Avenue) on Saturday, March 22, from 1 to 4pm. The parade historically coincides with a free Lunar New Year festival in the Central Plaza as well.

RECOMMENDED: Lunar New Year in Los Angeles

Participate in a 5K or 10K run or walk, a 2K dog walk, a kiddie run or a 20- or 50-mile bike ride that will take you along the L.A. River and through Griffith Park during this weekend-long Lunar New Year tradition in the heart of historic Chinatown (rescheduled from February). All courses start and end at Chinatown Central Plaza, which will host a concurrent, free family-friendly festival with a beer garden and live entertainment, if you want to celebrate without breaking a sweat. Don’t miss the weekend opening ceremony, with lion dancers and the traditional lighting of 100,000 firecrackers. Check the website for a detailed schedule of events.

In partnership with the Firecracker Run’s Paw’er Dog Walk, this second annual Lunar New Year celebration specifically caters to dogs and their owners. The Blossom Plaza event includes Year of the Snake–themed pet photography sessions and portraits, plus shopping, cultural activities and pet adoptions thanks to the Lovejoy Foundation. Entry is free, but if you opt for a PASS (Pawsitive Action Supporting Shelters), you get a swag bag and can help support local animal rescues.

Pasadena’s underrated collection of museums and performance spaces open up their doors for free at this biannual arts and culture open house. Take advantage of the free shuttle buses or hoof it between local institutions such as the Gamble House, Art Center, Norton Simon Museum and more, many of which will be offering special programming and performances. And, of course, no arts fest would be complete without food trucks, which often include pop-ups from local bricks-and-mortar.

A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti, YG and Ken Carson headline this two-day fest, whose lineup is always a who’s who of hip-hop. For its 10th year, Rolling Loud is back in Inglewood at Hollywood Park, on the grounds next to SoFi Stadium, where you’ll also find a Ferris wheel, immersive art installations and a karaoke bar. The likes of Sexyy Red, Ski Mask the Slump God, BLXST, Destroy Lonely, Quavo, BossMan Dlow, Gelo, Dom Kennedy and dozens more complete the lineup. Plus, special guest Peso Pluma will make history as the first non-hip-hop act to headline the fest when the Mexican artist takes the stage on Saturday—a sign of regional Mexican music’s influence on pop culture. A portion of all this year’s net ticket sales will be donated to help rebuild communities impacted by the wildfires.

Welcome in spring at this traditional Indian festival of colors with an L.A. twist; pelt those around you with colored powder while enjoying the surf and sand (just make sure you’re not attached to what you’re wearing). The event, located at Seaside Lagoon in Redondo Beach, also serves as a fundraiser for the L.A. chapter of the Association for India’s Development, which works on grassroots projects in India.

This beautiful, free festival celebrates the history and whimsy of the kite. Watch as hundreds take to the sky—you can buy a kite on the pier or bring your own. There will be contests for biggest kite, longest kite, best handmade kite, youngest kite flyer and youngest at heart. The fest culminates with a group kite-flying session on the sand. There’s also a slew of non-kite-related activities on the pier all day, including a hot-dog-on-a-stick-eating contest, a dance performance, martial arts demo, face painting and live music.

The desert-spanning biennial is back, with premieres of site-specific works from about a dozen artists. For its fifth iteration, Desert X will once again stage outdoor installations across about 40 miles of the Coachella Valley from March 8 to May 11, 2025.

It’s Mardi Gras weekend, but you’re having a seriously hard time deciding whether to toss some beads or to play toss with Fido. Do both at the Original Farmers Market with their annual Mardi Gras celebration. The event includes the Mutti Gras Pet Parade & Costume Contest at the Market Plaza on Saturday at noon. Pups parade along the plaza in costume and are judged by the crowd. A King and Queen are then crowned in categories of small, medium and large, and are awarded prizes from the Dog Bakery. If you’re in need of a four-legged friend of your own, there will also be on-site dog adoptions Saturday afternoon.

The Mardi Gras celebration continues throughout the weekend with live Zydeco and brass bands. It’s the perfect accompaniment to seafood and gumbo, jumbalaya, blackened chicken, beignets, po’boys and more traditional New Orleans food.

The Boy Who Lived lives on in a wizardly spectacle. As though it had cast a Shrinking Charm on itself, the formerly two-part epic is now a single show, albeit a long one—and one that our New York critic awarded five stars.

The Culver Hotel is embracing Culver City’s cinematic history with a new series of screenings celebrating the golden age of cinema. To mark the centennial of both MGM and the hotel, you can catch a classic MGM film at the Culver Theater, then head across the street for a themed gathering at the hotel’s Velvet Lounge, complete with cocktails and bites inspired by the evening’s featured presentation.

Soul titan Mary J. Blige has shifted millions upon millions of albums over the past three decades. Expect to hear old favorites as well as new jams during this stop at Intuit Dome.

Now under the stewardship of only one of its cofounders, Liz Fairbairn, the former Lucha VaVoom brings its unique mix of sexo y violencia to the Mayan with this exuberant spectacle. Fill up on tequila and tamales while you watch Aztec dancers and luchadores. This time around, it’s a March Madness edition of masked Mexican wrestling, burlesque stripteasing, amazing aerialists, live music and comedic commentating. 

Kicking off at Dodger Stadium, this annual parade of physical endurance and community spirit winds its way through 26.2 miles of L.A. It used to wrap up in Santa Monica—though this year’s route again loops back around West L.A. and toward Century City. More than 25,000 runners will participate, and even if you aren’t one of them, being a spectator can be an exhilarating experience as well. There’s also a concurrent charity half marathon, which goes straight from Dodger Stadium to Avenue of the Stars.

RECOMMENDED: L.A. Marathon guide

Gary Lightbody and co. return with their first tour since 2019, including this show at the Wiltern. Expect new tracks that hew to the Snow Patrol sound you’ve always known, with singer-songwriter tendencies that borrow the best melodic elements from Britpop and indie rock’s dreamy, anthemic past.

Mark the annual gray whale migration from the shore with this festival, now in its 54th year, which offers a full weekend of marine-themed activities, educational exhibits, family-friendly entertainment, whale-watching excursions, marine conservation talks and a cardboard-boat-building contest and Dinghy Dash in Dana Point. Things kick off Friday with a sunset welcoming ceremony by members of the local Acjachemen Nation, followed by a reception with live music and food trucks. This year, instead of the traditional Festival of Whales Parade, there will be an inaugural Festival of Whales Carnival, complete with carnival rides, games, food and a beer garden with an ocean view. Park at Dana Hills High School (33333 Golden Lantern) and take a free shuttle to Lantern Bay Park.

The iconic Hollywood Roosevelt hotel is honoring the spirit of L.A. with poolside screenings of some favorite films featuring the city. Tickets are super reasonable ($12), and all proceeds from sales will go toward wildfire relief efforts, specifically Baby2Baby, which provides essential resources to families in need. And don’t worry if it’s a chilly night: Towels, blankets and heaters are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Find the series running every Thursday night through the end of June.

This concert will change your life: The Shins, Iron & Wine, Frou Frou, Colin Hay, Thievery Corporation, Remy Zero, Cary Brothers, Bonnie Somerville and Zero 7 collaborator Sophie Barker will play through songs from the Garden State soundtrack. The 20th anniversary show at the Greek benefits the Midnight Mission.

Shop local at this celebration of small businesses, held not in Venice but in downtown Mar Vista, along Venice Boulevard. The arts and music festival brings together over 300 local brands and artists three times a year, attracting some 100,000 shoppers. You’ll also find food, live music, art installations and games on Venice between Centinela Avenue and Inglewood Boulevard. The fest is free and pet-friendly.

Spend an afternoon underneath Torrance’s cherry blossoms as dancers and Japanese folk musicians perform at this annual Pan-Asian celebration. Amid the pink and white blooms, you’ll also find a craft fair with everything from ceramics to intricate textiles handcrafted by local artisans, plus food from South Bay vendors.

For the Record, a live production company known for transforming the soundtracks of favorite filmmakers into immersive musicals, is back with its most impressive display yet: CineVita, the world’s largest Spiegeltent, will be FTR’s new home in Hollywood Park, next to SoFi Stadium. And it’s kicking things off with Tarantino: Pulp Rock, which celebrates 30 years of Pulp Fiction and re-creates memorable musical moments from the director’s Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

This springtime spinoff in Insomniac’s Wonderland series adds a whimsical, carnival-like atmosphere to the house, techno, dubstep, trance and bass-heavy festival. Go down the rabbit hole with multiple themed stages, where the likes of deadmau5, Zeds Dead, Illenium, Excision, Louis the Child, Seven Lions, Odd Mob and more will perform.

Did you resolve to read more this year? Enter Reading Rhythms, a happy alternative for the literary-inclined. Billed as a “reading party,” the event series started in NYC and got noticed by The New York Times and Good Morning America for its refreshing spin on book clubs: You bring a book of your own choosing to a central location, then alternate between peaceful reading time and chatting with fellow readers about what you’re reading. Reading Rhythms is popping up again at Espresso Cielo, so bring your current read and head to the popular coffee shop.

The beloved puppet theater’s new show is actually a throwback to its beginnings. Something to Crow About was first created in 1959 for the Laguna Beach Festival of Art and gave Bob Baker Marionette Theater its signature style before the theater officially opened in 1963. The satirical show, which has been revitalized, uses farm animal characters to tell a story about Broadway. Note: Bob Baker is offering comp tickets to fire-affected families throughout opening weekend.

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 “museum” part of the name might be a little bit of a stretch (though each photogenic piece is actually credited to a named artist), but 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.

Perhaps the Los Angeles area’s most iconic flea market, this event around the exterior of the Rose Bowl is staggeringly colossal—but what else would you expect from a 90,000-seat stadium? The sheer size and scale of this flea market means that it encompasses multitudes: new and old, handcrafted and salvaged, the cheap and the costly. On the second Sunday of each month, treasure hunt among the odd mix of vendors that populates the loop around the stadium—and don’t miss the rows and rows of old furniture, albums and vintage clothes and accessories that fill the adjacent parking lot.

Think men could do a bit of a better job listening when it comes to dating? This Bachelorette-style game show runs with that conceit as its one rule: The four men competing for a date can’t speak. Instead, they’ll nod and doodle while host Allison Goldberg searches their phones and dials their moms. You can usually find Love Isn’t Blind staged monthly (and you can even apply to participate in it); look out for the next edition at Hollywood’s Bourbon Room on March 29.

The historic theater is putting on eight distinct cultural events to mark the Lunar New Year during this multi-week festival. Through March 9, Master Class finds Tim Dang directing Terrence McNally’s Tony-winning play about opera icon Maria Callas. See the full lineup of events here.

After popping up at D23 and Long Beach shopping center 2nd & PCH, themed mini-golf experience Pixar Putt has landed at its most logical home: the Pixar Place Hotel, close to California Adventure and its Pixar Pier. Putt your way through 18 themed holes and step into the stories of Pixar favorites including Toy Story, The Incredibles, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Coco, A Bug’s Life, Wall-E and Inside Out. Opening weekend is sold out, but don’t worry: The course will remain open through June 1.

Feeling like you and your four-legged friend are attached at the hip? Spend even more quality time together during this dog-friendly series at Palos Verdes’ South Coast Botanic Garden. One Sunday a month (usually the last), you can roam the gardens’ 87 acres with your fur baby. Nearly all of the paths are open to pups, except for the rose garden and a couple of other small areas. You’ll find plenty of water stations set up across the grounds, as well as an optional obedience class for purchase. You—the human—will need a reservation, while your best friend—the pup—will need to remain on their leash at all times, including in the parking lot.

Explore the Autry into the evening at the Griffith Park museum’s Thursday-night series that spotlights the city’s emerging and established artists, musicians, poets, writers. Programming ranges from a sound bath to alfresco music to a meet-and-greet with the world’s first Indigenous droid.

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.

You can’t seem to get more a stone’s throw away from a huge festive light display in Los Angeles come holiday season. Well, except for this new entry to the scene, which is making its L.A. debut all the way at Raging Waters. If you feel like making the trek out to San Dimas, though, Luminosa looks like quite the impressive display, boasting over 1,000,000 LED lights and larger-than-life lanterns through miles of illuminated trails. Adding to the experience are acrobatic performers, artisan vendors, food trucks and even some stone-carving.

Austrian-born Helmut Lang walked away from fashion 20 years ago to focus solely on art. Now, thanks to the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, his first solo institutional exhibition is opening in Los Angeles—in the historic Schindler House, no less. Curated by Desert X founding artistic director and Frieze Projects curator Neville Wakefield, the show consists of a series of fist-like freestanding sculptures made with found or discarded materials that “both imagine the future and materialize the past.”

On the 50th anniversary of the Norton Simon Museum, look back to when Simon took over management of the Pasadena Art Museum in 1975, then ahead to the museum’s exciting future at this retrospective exhibition. See rare photos from the museum’s archives, and learn about the history of its major acquisitions, exhibitions, building and gardens—which are currently undergoing a transformation.

A true multi-hyphenate, 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 moveable school.

The Los Angeles–based conceptual artist and now-retired CalArts educator is back with his first L.A. solo exhibition since 2019, debuting new works from his Numbers and Trees series. The colorful and complex works combine Plexiglas, watercolors and his signature numeric grid systems to depict the baobab trees Gaines photographed on a recent trip to Tanzania. The show opens February 19 with a conversation between the artist and LACMA’s Naima J. Keith, followed by an opening reception (6–8pm). The event is free, but reservations are recommended.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House—centerpiece of Barnsdall Art Park and Los Angeles’ only UNESCO World Heritage Site—just might be the most stunning backdrop for an art exhibition. And, in this case, the home is the subject itself, too. L.A.-based photographer Ireland captured the intricate details of the Hollyhock House in 21 photographs on display throughout the onetime residence.

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.

After its fall debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall as part of PST ART, artist Doug Aitken’s multimedia collab with the L.A. Phil and L.A. Master Chorale makes the jump to the Marciano Art Foundation. The free museum mounts the multi-channel video piece in its massive theater gallery, which you can see during routine opening hours (Tue–Sat 11am–6pm). But look out for separate reservations for weekly (typically on Saturdays) live performances organized by both musical ensembles.

This first-floor exhibition at the Broad features hundreds of German artist Joseph Beuys’s “multiples,” editioned objects (with a focus here on environmentalism) that stretched the meaning of sculpture. But the most notable aspect of this show extends beyond the gallery walls: Inspired by Beuys’s 7000 Eichen (7000 Oaks), the concurrent Social Forest: Oaks of Tovaangar will plant 100 native trees (primarily coast live oaks) in Elysian Park and at Kuruvungna Village Springs.

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.

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.

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—during this LACMA exhibition.

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, the exhibit spotlights influential artists in the Chicano lowrider art scene. Even if you have no interest in cars, this colorful showcase of 20-plus lowered cars and bikes is excellent: The candy-colored paint jobs are dazzling, and the craftsmanship of the customizations—many vehicles are on display with their engines and undercarriages visible—is remarkable. You’ll learn a little bit of history here, how the “low and slow” movement is rooted in the postwar Mexican American zoot suit counterculture, but largely this is an excuse to ogle some L.A. automotive icons.