Things to do in L.A. this weekend

The bottom level of Vintage Land will be decked out for the holidays December 19–21. The special edition of Los Feliz Flea will host a vintage market and artisan pop-ups, where you can find unique, handcrafted items perfect for gift-giving. Grab a hot cocoa or coffee to keep warm, and shop the day away amid live music. Admission and parking are both free, and the market is pet-friendly. If you’re able, bring a donation for the toy drive, which will benefit the Art is My Drug Foundation. And if you need a break from shopping, you can test your gaming skills at Vintage Land’s VR Escape Room.

Head to the Hollywood Roosevelt for a classy, Christmassy night out. A reception in the Roosevelt lobby—complete with mulled wine, chestnuts, hot cocoa, carolers and a brass band—kicks off the festivities. A traditional Christmas dinner in the ballroom comes next, followed by the main event: Tim Davis, with Gerrit Kinkel and his JAZZ:||:SYMPOSIUM Orchestra, will present “Let It Swing!,” a two-hour performance that combines jazz, holiday classics and ballroom dancing. Be sure to don your best “holiday-inspired” black-tie attire. Have the kids in tow? You can bring them to meet Santa at a free matinee show on Saturday from 4–6pm.

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 multichannel 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.

Nothing says “winter solstice” quite like ringing quartz crystal bowls. Raise your vibration on the longest night of the year with a sound bath by L.A. favorite Roxie Sound Healing—who’s kicking off a monthly residency at West Hollywood’s Kimpton La Peer hotel. Dress in comfy clothes, and bring a yoga mat or anything else you’ll need to feel at home. Afterward, plan to stay for dinner at Ladyhawk, where Top Chef Middle East champion Charbel Hayek will be unveiling his Fesenjoon, a Persian-inspired dish of chicken stew with pomegranate molasses, available for one night only.

A favorite of in-the-know shoppers, MAUM Market champions AAPI artists, creatives and entrepreneurs, and the result is a mindfully curated shopping experience. Founded in 2022, MAUM regularly pops up both in New York and in L.A., at ROW DTLA. The next market will take place right in time for last-minute Christmas shopping. Find accessories, art, kids’ toys, beauty and wellness goodies, ceramics, clothing, jewelry and home wares at the family-friendly and pet-friendly pop-up.

If you’ll follow wherever Gilmore Girls leads, then you’re going to need to embark on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour this holiday season. For the final couple weeks of the year, the Burbank backlot is supplementing its regular tour with the Holidays Made Here addition, which decks out the Stars Hollow section in festive decor, including the gazebo and Luke’s Diner, where you can sip on coffee from “Luke” actor Scott Patterson’s own brand. Holidays Made Here runs as part of all studio tours (the cheapest one is a three-hour tour) from December 18, 2024, to January 5, 2025.

Out-of-context samples from The Office, horror-movie-inspired music videos and the slurping sounds of an Invisalign being removed may not seem like the makings of a pop juggernaut, but L.A. local—not to mention Grammy and Oscar winner—Billie Eilish has become a free-spirited icon of her generation. She’ll spend five nights at the Kia Forum during her “Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour.”

Ah, the joys of Christmas in a Mediterranean climate, where boat owners can deck out their ships in holiday lights and set sail without the impediment of icy weather. For the 116th year, the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade is doing just that as over 100 decorated yachts and ships parade around a 14-mile circuit in the Newport Harbor. You can see the parade for free during each of the five nights from any bay-facing point along the harbor (Marina Park, which also hosts a holiday market, is the go-to spot), but there are also reserved seats, dining packages and cruises available for purchase. 

RECOMMENDED: Where to see Christmas lights in Los Angeles

Take your Christmas movie binge-watching up a notch and reserve a seat to one of the upcoming special screenings of Home Alone at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The Los Angeles Philharmonic is bringing the classic to life and performing John Williams’s score live to picture in an immersive experience, conducted by David Newman. 

American Ballet Theatre is returning to Southern California with its production of The Nutcracker. The show will feature larger-than-life scenery, a Christmas tree, and sets and costumes designed by Tony Award winner Richard Hudson (the visionary behind the sets of the stage version of The Lion King). The Pacific Symphony will perform Tchaikovsky’s score live.

Amy Sherman-Palladino of Gilmore Girls fame is behind this new adaptation of Once Upon a Mattress, a musical take on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Princess and the Pea. The star-studded cast features Broadway star Sutton Foster (the Tony winner whose alleged affair with Hugh Jackman has been recent tabloid fodder), Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) and Ana Gasteyer (Saturday Night Live). Make a night of it with a special “dinner and a show” package and start the night at Italian restaurant Rossoblu.

This serene entry into the holiday-lights-at-botanic-gardens category finds the native-plant-focused California Botanic Garden lit up with twinkling strands and luminarias—lanterns made from candles in paper bags. Illuminated pathways lead to live music stages, which will be hosting three performances each night, ranging from jazz to Native American flutes to Caribbean music. A food truck, sweet treats and hot drinks will also be on offer.

Long Beach Ballet’s The Nutcracker is one of the only area productions of the holiday classic that includes not only a live full orchestra, but a horse, a flying sleigh and pyrotechnics. Sure, the story may be the same, but this production pulls out all the stops to entertain audiences year after year.

Tanaka Farms opens up its Irvine fields for this after-dark wagon ride and walk-through. Hikari—which means “light” or “shine” in Japanese—has set up a long trail of lanterns, plus some festive theming that’s overtaken the farm’s scarecrows, tractors and trees. You’ll be able to explore the lantern field by both tractor and foot, and afterwards you can peruse a petting zoo, games, crafts and photo ops. While you’re there, you’ll also find the farm’s produce stand, a holiday market and a Christmas tree lot. You’ll need to purchase a parking pass on weekends, as well as tickets for each person any day of the week.

RECOMMENDED: Here’s where else you can see Christmas lights in L.A.

Relive your childhood theatergoing experiences this Christmas with Uncle Drosselmeyer, Clara and her beloved Nutcracker at the L.A. Ballet. The timeless show—which gets a SoCal twist here—will travel all over L.A. for the holiday season, bringing classic pirouettes and Mouse King battles to Pasadena and Westwood, as well as 10 performances in Hollywood, where the show will be backed by an orchestra (a rarity among Nutcracker performances).

Sip on eggnog, mulled wine, hot toddies and other seasonal drinks at Blitzen’s, a monthlong drink pop-up inside Westfield Century City. The collection of pop-up shops and bar is taking over the shopping mall’s atrium space, where you can also expect scheduled “snowfall” and live performances. Blitzen’s will offer bar snacks, plus hot chocolate with marshmallows for the kids (or anyone else who doesn’t wish to imbibe). 

Forget Dorothy and her ruby slippers—head to Oz for the story of Elphaba and Glinda. Follow the Wicked cast down a different yellow brick road for a beautiful tale of friendship, love and courage. The ever “Popular” show returns to the Pantages—just weeks after the feature film’s release—to expose the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. You don’t even have to paint your skin green, just belt out “Defying Gravity” and “Something Bad” to fit in here. Wicked and its “Wonderful” set will inevitably win over your heart, and change your perspective on Emerald City “For Good.”

This international Christmas cocktail bar pop-up is landing in three L.A. County locations: Denae’s Diner (Downtown L.A.), Patrick Molloy’s (Hermosa Beach) and the Ordinarie (Long Beach) with over-the-top decor and a themed cocktail menu in novelty mugs like Rudolph’s Replacement and Jingle Balls Nog. Miracle in Long Beach and Hermosa will run through New Year’s Eve, while the Downtown edition will stay open until January 5. Online reservations for all three locations—Downtown, Hermosa and Long Beach—are not technically required, but they’re highly recommended.

For a darker take on holiday cheer, look no further than this underworld-inspired drinking den from the team behind Halloween pop-up bar the Black Lagoon. The creepy Alpine legend himself will lead you to your table in the back of Cole’s French Dip (RIP the Varnish). After a complimentary welcome drink, you can sip on chilling remixes of classic holiday cocktails amid black Christmas trees and evil snowmen. The ticketed experience lasts approximately 90 minutes, but seats at the bar will be open for walk-ins.

This national Christmas pop-up in the heart of Hollywood (6555 Hollywood Blvd) promises a 21+ immersive night of holiday cheer, complete with twinkling lights, snowflakes and other festive decor. Think giant ornaments, seasonal craft cocktails, theme nights and live entertainment. Expect plenty of Instagram-worthy backdrops and photo opportunities. Pay $10 admission to the space to order beverages a la carte, or buy drink tickets and event swag up front to save a few bucks.

Not to be confused with A Noise Within’s A Christmas Carol—though the talents involved are equally stellar—here we have the chance to see the story up close. Now in its 20th year, the show finds David Melville displays his classically trained, beautifully polished craft to bring the famous writer to life as he tells his classic tale of Christmastime redemption; Melville also performs the tale’s many iconic characters, all in the intimacy of Independent Shakespeare Co.’s indoor theater space.

The annual L.A. Kings ice skating rink once again returns to L.A. Live. Skate around the dazzling Christmas tree that stands in the middle of the outdoor rink, and take in an LED holiday light show on the huge screens around the plaza. Choose from four nightly skating sessions. Note: Tickets, which include skate rental, are only sold on-site, and can’t be purchased online.

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Street Food Cinema has put together a series of outdoor holiday screenings in the closest thing to a Dickensian town square in L.A.: Heritage Square. In between Victorian home tours, piano sing-alongs, strolls through a light tunnel and sips on hot chocolate and mulled wine, you can catch screenings—many of them double features—of flicks like Elf, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, The Muppet Christmas Carol and more. Just make sure to bundle up in your best Christmas sweater.

Right down the hill from Universal Studios Hollywood, at the Hilton hotel, you’ll find this ice skating rink with views of the Hollywood Hills. For the kids, there’s Santa’s Workshop and face painting. Grown-ups can opt for the “date & skate” package, which includes two tickets and two themed cocktails from Jingle Bell Tavern, a holiday pop-up bar. Theme nights include “Wicked Wednesdays,” when the rink is lit up in green and tracks from the musical provide the soundtrack starting December 4 (timed perfectly not only for the film version of Wicked but also the musical’s return to the Pantages). On opening night, November 30, skating will be free from 6–8pm after performances by a Wicked cast member and the Los Angeles Ice Theater. 

Even the grumpiest of list-makers at yuletide has to include a production of Dickens’s most beloved tale of becoming a better person. Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott direct this merry and music-filled production, starring Elliott and his fellow resident artists of A Noise Within theater company—all ranking among L.A.’s best classical actors—staged in ANW’s spacious house with perfect sight lines from every seat, even for the kids.

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.

Stroll across the grounds of King Gillette Ranch as the Santa Monica Mountains hideaway is illuminated during Holiday Road, which returns with a nearly mile-long walking trail. The event, which comes from the same team as Nights of the Jack, includes thousands of lights, festive decor like a small Christmas village, larger-than-life holiday displays and lit-up archways. Look out for Santa and Mrs. Claus, and fill up with food trucks and a holiday bar while you’re there. Prices start at $25 before fees and go up depending on the day and time you visit.

The American Contemporary Ballet returns to the holiday stage with its fantastical take on the tale from author E.T.A. Hoffmann. Experience the seasonal classic on a snow-shrouded stage set within an immersive space in DTLA’s Bank of America Plaza. The 75-minute production includes an ensemble of 11 live musicians performing Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, as well as an artist reception following the show.

If you’re shopping in Orange County and dreaming of a white Christmas, the open-air Irvine Spectrum Center is your answer. Located in Giant Wheel Court by Nordstrom, this rink offers an opportune time out from a busy shopping day. Following each 90-minute skating session, the rink is closed for resurfacing, so you’ll never have to skate on slush. Head to the adjacent Ferris wheel during the half-hour the rink is closed for nonstop fun. Tickets—$25 with skate rental, $22 if you bring your own—are available at the rink, but if you want “jump the line” tickets, you can buy them online ahead of time for $45.

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, Lektrik 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.

This Christmas-themed Costa Mesa event is celebrating 10 years of turning Orange County into a winter wonderland. Expect a North Pole walk-through, snow play, ice tubing and photo ops, plus an all-new holiday light show twinkling with more than 2 million lights. Upgrade your experience with an expanded carnival, ice skating, VIP arctic cabanas, “polar putt putt” golf and fireside igloos. Hot cocoa and seasonal treats will help keep things cozy.

L.A. doesn’t typically seem like much of a winter wonderland, until, that is, you create an ice skating rink right in the midst of Downtown skyscrapers. Come glide around and pretend there’s snow on the ground at Pershing Square’s outdoor holiday skating rink. Skate rentals are included in admission, though lockers and skating aids costs a few dollars extra.

Cirque du Soleil has left behind DTLA for the beach with this staging of KOOZA next to the Santa Monica Pier. The high-flying troupe heads under the big top for its first show in the oceanfront city since 2014—and its first tented show in L.A. in about five years. If you’re only used to arena or theater productions, there’s a palpable shift in the vibe at these performances thanks to more preshow interaction with the performers and across-the-board closer seating. As for KOOZA itself, it’s a remarkably enjoyable program of gravity-defying balancing acts that fuses a bit of Parisian flair with a mix of Indian music and ’70s funk.

Riverside’s stunningly beautiful Mission Inn is bathed in 4.5 million twinkly lights during the annual Festival of Lights. The free six-week-long holiday tradition runs from late November to early January and typically features more than 400 animated figures. Having been voted the “Best Public Lights Display” by USA Today, the festival attracts over 500,000 visitors each year.

It’s always Christmas at this charmingly kitsch amusement park outside of Lake Arrowhead. But it’s extra Christmassy toward the end of the year at Santa’s Village—especially if we’re lucky enough to have had some fresh mountain snowfall. Swing by from November 14 to January 5 for lighting displays, a train ride, a magical nighttime walk through the forest, seasonal snacks, breakfast with Santa and tea with Mrs. Claus (those require a separate ticket) and ice skating.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

Sure, it’s only half the story, but Jon M. Chu’s high-energy repurposing of Stephen Schwartz’s Wizard of Oz origin musical is still a thrillifying ride. The Crazy Rich Asians director’s screen version pops with vibrancy and energy, effervescence and sincerity, adding the odd tweak, expanding the occasional storyline, but largely visualising the musical in a way that will delight the many millions who have seen it on stage since its Broadway premiere in 2003.

Savage baboons. Killer sharks. Opium hits. Panto villains. Ridley Scott’s brawny, bloodthirsty, and occasionally wildly camp sequel is not your dad’s Gladiator movie – or your history teacher’s. But for all its flaws, it’s a colossally entertaining ride that never stints on its efforts to wow you with its scale and spectacle.