Natural History Museum
Photograph: Michael Juliano for Time Out
Photograph: Michael Juliano for Time Out

Things to do in Los Angeles today

Discover these things to do in L.A. today—including free and cheap concerts, screenings, shows, parties and more

Michael Juliano
Advertising

Looking for last-minute plans? Figuring out how to stop from slipping into yet another night on the couch? Find out the best things to do today in Los Angeles with picks for our favorite screenings, concertsmuseum exhibitions and more.

Sometimes, you make plans to go out months in advance. Other times, you’re left scrambling for plans a few hours from now—consider this your social emergency savior for those situations. So stay occupied no matter what day it is with these things to do in Los Angeles today.

(On the other hand, if you’re a bit more of a planner, you can also check out our calendars for things to do this week and weekend, as well as our month-by-month overview of events below.)

RECOMMENDED: Full Los Angeles events calendar

Things to do in Los Angeles today

  • Things to do
  • TV, radio and podcast recordings
  • Hollywood
  • price 2 of 4
  • Recommended
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. The Paley Center for Media-hosted festival is headed back to the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood from April 4 through 12, 2026. This year’s lineup includes cast and creator panels for The Pitt, Pluribus, Emily in Paris, Scrubs, Your Friends & Neighbors, a 50th anniversary celebration of Charlie’s Angels and a pair of beloved L.A.-set shows, Nobody Wants This and Shrinking. Each event includes a screening—usually either a finale or a preview—as well as a conversation, and as you might expect, the talent lineup is pretty staggering. This year’s roster includes—and this is truly just the abbreviated version—Rhea Seehorn and Karolina Wydra (Pluribus); Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, and Cheryl Ladd (Charlie’s Angels); Jason Segel, Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams (Shrinking); Kristen Bell, Adam Brody and Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This); Lily Collins and Ashley Park (Emily in Paris); Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, John C. McGinley, Neil Flynn, Christa Miller and Bill Lawrence (Scrubs); Jon Hamm, Amanda Peet and Olivia Munn (Your Friends & Neighbors); and Noah Wyle, Katherine LaNasa and R. Scott Gemmill (The Pitt).
  • Movies
  • Downtown
  • price 2 of 4
  • Recommended
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. Find the full schedule on their site, or in our outdoor movie calendar.
Advertising
  • Museums
  • Movies and TV
  • Miracle Mile
  • price 2 of 4
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
Ponyo loves Sosuke! And we love this exhibition at the Academy Museum dedicated to the wholesome Hayao Miyazaki film. Studio Ghibli donated more than 100 objects to the Academy Collection, and you’ll find everything from an animation desk to colorful art boards to dozens of frame-by-frame pencil drawings of the scene when Sosuke first finds Ponyo. Though you may recognize a couple of items from the museum’s debut Hayao Miyazaki retrospective, the vast majority of Ponyo pieces are new—and some have never been displayed in North America before. It’s also a colorful and super kid-friendly exhibition; you can watch clips of the gorgeously hand-drawn movie, recreate the wave-running scene and even make your own stop-motion animation. You’ll find it on the museum’s second floor, inside the first few galleries of the “Stories of Cinema’ space.
  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • Huntington Beach
  • Recommended
Is it the stumpy legs? The size-too-big ears? The woolly rump? Whatever the cause, we love corgis, and so do the devoted dog owners at So Cal Corgi Nation. This free, semiannual meetup invades the Huntington Dog Beach (two blocks south of the Huntington Beach Pier). The “Tiki Beach Pawty” welcomes all dogs and their humans for a day of corgi contests, shopping at a pet-centric marketplace, food trucks, photo ops, goodie bags and even a corgi kissing booth. RECOMMENDED: The cutest corgis at Corg-A-Palooza
Advertising
  • Things to do
  • USC/Exposition Park
  • price 2 of 4
  • Recommended
Nature lovers, rejoice! The Natural History Museum is bringing back its annual Butterfly Pavilion, which will be open March 22 through August 23 and house 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. You’ll need to purchase a $10 add-on ticket on top of your museum ticket in order to explore the pavilion for a half-hour.
  • Art
  • Film and video
  • Miracle Mile
  • Recommended
When Mexican director Alejandro G. Iñárritu made his debut feature, Amores Perros, over a million feet of film didn’t make it to the final cut (to put that into perspective, the finished two-and-a-half-hour movie used around 18,000 feet of film). Twenty five years later, some of these unearthed reels of celluloid now zip through a ground-floor gallery at LACMA as part of a multi-channel film installation. As much a piece of sculpture as it is film or video art, Sueño Perro assembles six 35mm projectors that pierce the hazy near-dark space with raw, nonlinear snippets of the movie, fed from a mesmerizing curtain of film stock speeding along sprockets. It’s an intense experience, both sonically (during the car crash that connects the feature’s storylines) and visually (dog fighting plays a pivotal role in the film, though you’ll see here some of the behind-the-scenes tricks that kept the production cruelty-free).
Advertising
  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • Westlake
  • price 3 of 4
  • Recommended
Grab a cold one and gather ’round for a daylong celebration of America’s favorite beverage as the LA Beer fest celebrates its 20th anniversary. The festival returns to LA Center Studios with 200 pours from over 80 breweries, along with food trucks and live music. Tickets include unlimited beer samplings (food is sold separately); choose from either a GA ticket or a connoisseur ticket, which will get you access to a VIP lounge and event deck, tacos, exclusive beers and more.
  • Things to do
  • Exhibitions
  • Miracle Mile
  • price 2 of 4
It doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile—or if you’re more of a fan of the street racing and respect era or heists and hackers phase of Fast & Furious: There’s plenty of familiar motorized might to behold at this Petersen Automotive Museum exhibition honoring the high-adrenaline film franchise. You’ll find roughly 20 screen-used cars and production prototypes—including ones on loan from Vin Diesel’s private collection, as well as from the late Paul Walker—on display in the second floor of the Miracle Mile museum. It’s a very Fast & Furious kind of year in L.A. between Universal Studios’ roller coaster and this 25th anniversary exhibition. While the Petersen’s exhibition is certainly encyclopedic (the selections here span the entirety of the franchise, with a particular focus on the first three films), it’s not overly academic: Brief labels will let you know the story behind the stunt car you’re staring at, but this is ultimately an opportunity to ogle American muscle cars and custom Japanese imports (as well as the franchise’s melodramatic quotes about family). Highlights on display include the 1993 Toyota Supra “Stunt #3” and 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse driven by Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) in the original film, Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) 1968 Dodge Charger R/T and 1993 Mazda RX-7, and Suki’s (Devon Aoki) very pink 2001 Honda S2000.
Advertising
  • Things to do
  • Pasadena
Search for Easter eggs on one of the most iconic grass fields in the country: the Rose Bowl. The Pasadena stadium hosts its annual Easter celebration—a day before Easter Sunday—with more than 80,000 colorful eggs laid out on the field for kids (up to 12 years old) to find, plus a springtime family festival with free activities, face painting, games, entertainment and arts and crafts just outside the field. Early risers can opt for the ticketed Bunny Brunch, which includes a VIP egg hunt. 
  • Museums
  • Art and design
  • Torrance
Artist Ralph Steadman—known for his unmistakable illustrations, cartoons and collaborations with Hunter S. Thompson—has imbued his work with political, satirical, environmental and spiritual threads throughout his six-decade-plus career. Now, on the eve of his 90th birthday, you can see 149 of Steadman’s works, including some influenced by Los Angeles, for free at the Torrance Art Museum—it’s the only Southern California stop on the show’s national tour. If you’re feeling inspired, you can embark on your own off-the-page adventure, thanks to the exhibition’s accompanying interactive Gonzo Art Trail (find details here).

--

Recommended
    Latest news
      Advertising