March 2025 events calendar for Los Angeles

Kick off your weekend with dinosaurs and DJs at the Natural History Museum’s First Fridays series. From March through June, you’ll find a KCRW-presented evening of music and hands-on learning, allowing visitors of all ages to stay late for a night at the museum. Each month offers a different lineup of musical guests and DJs, art installations, guided museum tours and scientist-led talks in the new NHM Commons. This month’s “Healing Sounds” edition explores the science and art of sound healing, with performances by VÉRITÉ and Kelcey Ayer, plus soothing sound baths in the Sensory Lounge.

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.

Cutting-edge dance company American Contemporary Ballet is debuting not one but two shows concurrently this month: Jazz re-creates a sultry underground jazz club set to songs by the likes of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, while Homecoming is billed as ACB’s “biggest and most original ballet,” channeling a high school dance complete with cheerleaders and a marching band. Both are the creations of choreographer Lincoln Jones. All ACB shows are performed to live music and and are followed by a reception with the artists and musicians.

It’s no Emerald Isle, but Hermosa Beach is full of Irish spirit during its annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. For the 29th year, bagpipers, marching bands, Irish dancers and classic cars decked out in green will all make their way along the coastal city’s parade route. The procession kicks off near City Hall on Valley Drive, heads west on Pier Avenue and ends at the corner of Hermosa Avenue and 8th Street. The free festivities also include live music nearby at Pier Plaza.

Support women-owned restaurants and dine at some of L.A.’s best spots during the return of this annual food fest during Women’s History Month. Regarding Her's festival will offer themed menu specials, convos and collabs from women restaurateurs all month long. Highlights from this year include a women-owned residency Sundays at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market, the annual Regarding Her Chef Dinner, featuring female chefs from Rossoblu, Anajak Thai, Botanica, Heritage, Osteria Mozza and Redbird (March 11) and a tamale-making class from James Beard Award winners hosted at Casa Vega (March 23). Check the website for the full lineup.

While other Holi events are typically held at the beach, this Downtown celebration is part color-throwing festival, part warehouse party. It’s the brainchild of PopShift, a music and events company whose mission is to elevate South Asian voices. Wear all white and dance the day away to live performances by Vani, Club Kiko, Kru.tik and MC Koko. 

Sure, Tam O’Shanter is technically Scottish, but head to the classic L.A. restaurant on St. Patrick’s Day for an epic Irish celebration starting at noon and ending, well, whenever the party dies down. The patio and a tented area in the parking lot will host live music as revelers clink pints of green beer, enjoy pub food and show their Irish pride. General admission is only $10, but if you swing for a VIP reservation ($149), you’ll secure seating and snacks all day, plus access to a private patio bar.

Stop by the Original Farmers Market on St. Patrick’s Day for corned beef, cabbage and potatoes at at the market’s first eatery, Magee’s Kitchen, plus green beer, Guinness and other imported Irish beers at E.B.’s Beer & Wine and Bar 326. Celtic tunes (12:30–3:30pm) from a strolling bagpiper provide a fitting soundtrack.

Holiday-themed theme park SkyPark at Santa’s Village swaps out Santa for Seamus the Leprechaun leading up to St. Patrick’s Day. Kitsch meets Irish with live trad music, entertainment, a hunt for gold coins, the Pot O’ Gold puppet show and more. Pair the festive fun with food and drink specials at SkyPark’s dining venues: Follow Irish nachos and corned beef and cabbage at St. Nick’s Patio & Grille with a SkyPark Shamrock Shake at Kringle’s Coffee & Gifts.

Level 8’s Miami-meets-Copacabana rooftop bar, Golden Hour, is going all out this month, celebrating the spirit of Brazil through music, dance, cuisine and performances that bring the country’s Carnival celebration to Los Angeles. The poolside carousel bar will be decked out with lights, golden pineapples and chandeliers, and executive chef Richard Archuleta will be serving up a bold menu of flame-grilled steak, pork belly and mushroom skewers, churrasco cheesesteaks and griddled mortadella and picanha. Finish with something sweet: a churro from the interactive station. If you’re coming with a group, you can live large and book a cabana, complete with a pitcher of cocktails, for a 90-minute slot. Stop by for an opening-night party on March 1, where capoeira martial artists, samba and fire dancers, a live band and Brazilian DJs will all make an appearance.

Disneyland’s already the happiest place on earth, but throw in a massive parkwide food festival—and now it’s somehow even happier. Running nearly two full months, the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival takes over the state-themed park with about a dozen different culinary marketplaces under themes such as garlic, local breweries and wineries, peppers and food-truck fare. Just be sure you don’t forget the rides in all of the culinary whirlwind—fan-favorite Soarin’ will temporarily bring back its California-themed version just for the occasion.

If you’re willing to brave the parking (or, better yet, take the Metro) and the steady stream of tourists at Ovation Hollywood, the complex is hosting a free St. Patrick’s Day celebration on March 15. NEFT Vodka will be mixing up green cocktails in the courtyard, bagpipers will be playing live music, and adults are welcome to participate in a photo scavenger hunt around the shopping center to win prizes.

Hollywood’s beloved British pub is back with its 43rd St Patrick’s Day celebration. The all-day party—part of Re:Her’s Women’s History Month Festival—kicks off at noon and runs till 11pm (get your food orders in by 10pm, when the kitchen closes). To eat, there’s traditional corned beef and cabbage, as well as split pea soup, corned beef sliders, a veggie roasted cauliflower option and, for dessert, Guinness chocolate cake. From 4pm to 6pm, there will specials on Irish beers Guinness and Harp, followed by a burlesque show by Miss Marquez at 8pm. We recommend showing up early in the day to stake out a spot—the pub isn’t taking reservations Monday.

Nature lovers, rejoice! Spend a day at the Natural History Museum’s Butterfly Pavilion, which will be open March 23 through August 24 and be home to up to 30 butterfly and moth species, as well as an assortment of California plants. The seasonal outdoor exhibit allows for adults and children alike to witness nature up close—we’re talking walking amid hundreds of butterflies and having them land on your arms or shoulders. Tip: The prime time for these unique butterfly flight experiences is typically between 10am and 11am each morning.

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.

There are plenty of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations going on around town, but ones that last from 6am until 1am the next morning are hard to come by. Enter Tom Bergin’s: an Irish pub mainstay and the best place to grab an Irish coffee in L.A. Celebrations on the 17th will start at 6am, when morning revelers can indulge in a traditional Irish breakfast before heading to work (email events@tombergins.com for a reservation). Things get a little more rowdy at noon, when a parking-lot party with three outdoor bars, a band and DJ and a live bagpipe performance typically kick off. You might want to consider taking the next day off from work.

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.

Framework, the independent purveyors of underground music events—and our pick for best nightlife experience in 2024—are back with another epic show. Known for producing events in iconic L.A. spots, they’re taking over Hollywood Boulevard for the second time—shutting down the space between Vine Street and Cahuenga Boulevard for a massive block party. London-based tech-house DJ and producer Michael Bibi, who last partnered with Framework at their debut Quasar stage at Coachella last year, will headline, with BLOND:ISH opening. A portion of proceeds will benefit the LAFD Foundation Fund, adding to Framework’s already-sizable post-wildfire contributions.

Nasstive Entertainment hosts not one but two St. Patrick’s Day bar crawls in Los Angeles—one in Downtown, and one in Hollywood. Channel the luck o’ the Irish with hundreds of other revelers as you hop from bar to bar and enjoy all-day drink specials, welcome shots, festive food, DJs and live music. For DTLA, you’ll check in at barbecue stall Maple Block at Grand Central Market, where they’ll be serving up reubens and corned beef hash alongside Guinness, then grab a wristband and drink coupons and travel between participating bars including Pattern Bar, Broken Shaker, Beelman’s, Golden Gopher and more. In Hollywood, the crawl starts at Saint Felix on Cahuenga and includes stops at Jameson’s Irish Pub, new Y2K spot Zero Lounge, Boardner’s, Cabo Cantina and more. 

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.

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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 to travel between local institutions such as the Gamble House, USC Pacific Asia Museum, Kidspace Children’s 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.

The Port of Los Angeles is the setting for a weekend of high-speed racing on the water courtesy of SailGP, which hosts events in five continents throughout its season, ending in Abu Dhabi. Cheer on the U.S. as 12 teams of F50 catamarans compete on the tight Outer Harbor race course—which should make for an exciting spectator experience from the grandstands. 

“Let’s hang out at the Pier” is something Santa Monica locals probably say next to never, but this monthly series is trying to change that. Every third Thursday from September to May, you’ll find everything from live music to storytelling to a classic car show on the Santa Monica Pier, all free to attend.

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.

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.

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.

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The last Holi celebration of the month takes over Redondo Beach’s Seaside Lagoon for a full weekend of colorful fun. Billed as the city’s biggest Holi festival, the event is back with a new, bigger music stage for Bollywood DJs, photo booths, food trucks, free beverages courtesy of Sprite and, of course, hours of color play.

Right on the heels of the release of his new film, Mickey 17, director Bong Joon Ho steps into the spotlight at the Academy Museum’s latest “Director’s Spotlight” exhibition (past subjects have included Spike Lee and Agnès Varda). The first-ever museum show dedicated to the Oscar-winning South Korean filmmaker will trace Ho’s career, creative process and cinematic influences. See over 100 storyboards, research materials, posters, concept art, creature models, props and on-set photos from the director’s archive and personal collection. On opening day, March 23, catch screenings of Okja (2pm) and Parasite (7:30pm) in the David Geffen Theater—Ho himself will be there in person.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.