Your Perfect LA Weekend: September 25-27

Friday

Start your weekend off with a belly full of barbecue at Holy Cow's First Anniversary. Head over to either the Santa Monica or Culver City location and enjoy some deep discounts on items like their signature pulled pork sandwich, the Hog, plus $3 side dishes and $5 brews.

Follow up your dinner with a rooftop screening of Pulp Fiction. Rooftop Film Club is presenting the Tarantino classic atop the the Montálban Theatre on Vine. They'll provide the headphones, chairs and cozy blankets—not that you'll need one this week.

If you're more in the mood for comedy, head to the Teragram Ballroom for a set from Reggie Watts. The freewheeling, beat-boxing musical-comedy madman takes a night off from The Late Late Show with James Corden for this headlining spot.

Saturday

Slip on a pair of comfy shoes this morning for a whole lot of museum shuffling. Museum Day Live! runs all day today, with free admission to 12 local museums as well as more than a thousand others around the country.

Grab a cold one and gather 'round for a daylong celebration of America's favorite beverage. LA Beer Fest returns today with more than 200 selections of both international and domestic all-you-can-drink drafts on tap, along with 15 food trucks and live music.

If you prefer your outdoor entertainment free, head to the park by the La Brea Tar Pits—one of our favorite parks—for Tarfest. Grab a beer at the Lagunitas biergarten, watch live painting demonstrations and listen to an afternoon full of music, including Time Out favorite Gavin Turek.

From there, make your way into West Hollywood for WeHo Reads: Banned Books. In honor of Banned Books Week, the city scheduled a full day of literary and artistic events, panels and activities; stop by at 5:15pm for a conversation with The Perks of Being a Wallflower author Stephen Chbosky.

Head across town to Barnsdall Art Park for a screening of Coming to America with an appearance by director John Landis. The Eddie Murphy classic is part of the park's Outdoor Movie Nights; come out early for picnicking, live music and four tasting-sized glasses of wine from Dark Horse Wines.

If you'd rather dance than picnic, show up to ROW: Rave on Wheels instead. Lace up your roller skates—not before a yoga warmup—for this party on wheels. Circus Disco will transform into a reggae-themed roller rink, with DJs across two stages, a hookah lounge, food trucks and more.

Sunday

Make sure your car is in tip-top shape for a trio of events south of the city on Sunday. Start out in Huntington Beach for the Surf City Surf Dog competition. The action starts in the morning with big dogs and works its way up (or down?) to pint-sized pooches before the final round. If you're looking for cute dogs closer to home, consider a stop at the Wiggle Waggle Walk in Pasadena instead.

Head back toward LA and stop off at the Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival. There’s a fine lineup of bands and, of course, tons of lobster—which, surprisingly, is all flown in from Maine.

Head up the 110 and take a detour to Watts Towers for the Simon Rodia Jazz Festival. The free, long-running fest brings together a host of jazz performances and tributes.

Keep following the freeway into Downtown and grab dinner at Grand Central Market for #foodislove. This ticketed event benefits St. Vincent Meals on Wheels; admission grants you tasting plates from the food hall's stalls and two drinks, along with access to all sorts of performances and panels.

Close out your weekend at the Griffith Observatory for a Lunar Eclipse Star Party. Scope out Sunday's supermoon eclipse through a wide variety of telescopes set up on the Observatory lawn. Teenage pianist Ray Ushikubo of the Colburn School will be serenading the crowd with live piano music, courtesy of Steinway & Sons and the Los Angeles Philharmonic as part of its Immortal Beethoven program. The total eclipse peaks at 7:47pm, but you'll want to show up way earlier to fight the sure-to-be-excessive traffic.