People gripe about the rain and its effects, especially on traffic. It's easy to forget that we're living desert-adjacent; being a part-time Hi-Desert dweller, I'm grateful for every inch of rain we get, especially after the devastating fires of 2006. Along with nourishing our parched land and turning that empty concrete wash into an actual "LA River", the rain brings an abundance of wildflowers, transforming the desert floor into a multicolored carpet for miles. Peak......

Your pets want the house to themselves today. Some of yesterday's festivals like Detour, NoHo Scene and the Eagle Rock Music Festival are over with. Yet Sunday, here in Los Angeles, is still a busy day. Events continuing from yesterday's Weekend Festival Guide: Brewery Art Walk and TarFest Jazz at Drew 10:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.: In it's 17th year, the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science's popular music and charity event......

Photo by Henry David for LAist.com The 6.5-acre Japanese Garden in Van Nuys is open 5 days a week. It was opened to the public in 1984 and has since served as an ideal place of rest and meditation. It is conveniently located close to the 405 freeway in the Valley -- we encourage you to take a visit. It usually has only a handful of visitors and offers more than enough space to......

Photo: The Japanese Garden with the Administration Building (which looks like a 70's monorail station) This is one of our city's hidden gems and if you were looking for something to do on a Sunday afternoon or a weekday, here it is (many pictures after the jump) When the Federal Water Quality Act passed in 1965 came about, so did the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant (after some embattled years and a consent......

It's been a FleetBank tradition since 1998, as mentioned by our sister site Bostonist, but Bank of America has brought its annual "Museums on Us" promotion to Cali for the first time. Throughout the month of May, you'll be able to get into many Southland museums for free by showing your B of A ATM, check, or credit card, or MBNA credit card. So for once, the card that typically drains your bank account......

It's certainly no secret that LAist loves Japanese food. After all, we're on a constant search for new adventures in sushi. This weekend we're excited to report that the Japanese Restaurant Association of Southern California is sponsoring a one-day only Japanese Food Festival, to be held in one of our favorite downtown spots, the New Otani Hotel. The event will include demonstrations, for food preps like ultra long rolled sushi and filleting a large......