The Brief

We’re always spoiled for choice, no matter what kind of musical groove you’re into, and this weekend has it all. It’s a great time to support our friends at Levitt Pavilion after the MacArthur Park immigration raid; they have a free show with Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band on Saturday. There are also big-name concerts from K-Pop superstars Blackpink at SoFi, absolute icon Paul Simon at Disney Hall (back from a few cancelled shows post-surgery), and newcomer Noah Cyrus will shimmer under the stars at the Ford.

Plus, explore even more on LAist.com, where you can read about the volunteers working to preserve the oral histories of Eaton Fire survivors, mourn the loss of Cole’s French Dip downtown, make a plan for all the crazy treats you’re going to try this year at the Orange County Fair and get your summer reading set with these book recommendations.

Here's what else is happening around the region.

Events

July 11-13
Tryst Alternative Art Fair and NOMAD IV
Torrance Art Museum, Del Amo Crossing
21535 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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Discover Torrance

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The work of more than 175 artists will be on display at the third annual Tryst Alternative Art Fair at the Torrance Art Museum, which celebrates bringing together artists from Southern California and more from around the world. The event features artist-run spaces and galleries that create conversation between artists, and it lets the public in to be a fly on the wall for those collaborations. Together with NOMAD IV happening at the same time, Torrance will light up with live DJ sets, performance art and more.

July 12-13 
Belly Laughs Comedy Festival 
Peacock Theater 
777 Chick Hearn Court, Downtown L.A.
COST: FROM $129; MORE INFO

Hasan Minaj, Margaret Cho, Kumail Nanjiani, Bobby Lee and more comedians and special guests are taking the stage at the Belly Laughs Comedy Festival, celebrating Asian-American culture. Plus, there’s a special Asian night market with food from favorites like Holy Basil and Hermanos Empandas.

July 12-13 
44th Echo Park Lotus Festival 
751 Echo Park Ave., Echo Park 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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JuanCarlos Chan

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Los Angeles Dept of Recreation & Parks

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A celebration of South Korean heritage and culture takes over Echo Park with fun stuff for kids, a lantern launch, dragon boat races, food vendors and live entertainment — including a lion dance and ballet performances. The events are all free to attend but if you want to launch a lantern, and I think you do, you can buy tickets. There’s also a 5K run/walk on Sunday.

July 11-13
Daredevil Arts Festival 
Electric Lodge 
1416 Electric Ave., Venice 
COST: FROM $15; MORE INFO

Performance art, dance, theater, comedy, even clowning — the Daredevil Arts Festival has it all. The line-up includes Psychopomp Dance Theater’s modern reimagining of Der Golem and the feel-good drag-king spectacular, The Ramón Show. Check out individual hour-long shows like John Newspaper & Friends or the dark comedy Brainwashed for a taste of local performers at this first-ever outing for the Venice fest, which features more than 20 original productions.

Sunday, July 13, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 
We Outside Soccer Fest: Club World Cup Final Watch Party 
Intuit Dome Plaza
3930 W Century Blvd., Inglewood 
COST: FREE WITH RSVP; MORE INFO

Join soccer fans in Inglewood outside the Intuit Dome Plaza to watch the FIFA Club World Cup Final. Enjoy a DJ lineup, food vendors, and more. It’s a great taste of the types of fan events we can expect to enjoy when the World Cup comes to L.A. in 2026.

July 12-13
'Art Within the Craft'
120 East 8th St., Suite 805, Downtown L.A. 
COST: FREE, DONATIONS ACCEPTED; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy Art Within the Craft

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Production design is often an overlooked but very key part of moviemaking, and a group of local artists is making sure designers get their due at this new exhibit. The pop-up features everything from sculpture to digital works, celebrating those who literally build the worlds we see on the big screen.

Saturday, July 12, 6 p.m. 
Art, Punk Rock and Gender Roles, a panel discussion with Exene Cervenka
Laguna Art Museum
307 Cliff Drive, Laguna Beach 
COST: FROM $35; MORE INFO 

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Eric Stoner via Laguna Art Museum

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Laguna Beach won’t know what hit it when punk icon Exene Cervenka of Punk Band X joins a panel discussion with friend of the newsletter Shana Nys Dambrot (13 Things L.A.) and writer Jenny Doh. The evening marks the close of Laguna Art Museum’s Carole Caroompas: Heathcliff and the Femme Fatale Go on Tour exhibit. Caroompas’ bold work combines punk rock and feminism wrapped in a fine art package.

Sunday, July 13, 10 a.m. 
Drop-In Tactile Filmmaking Workshop 
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
LACMA West, 6067 Wilshire Blvd., Miracle Mile 
COST: $25, FREE WITH MUSEUM ADMISSION; MORE INFO

Check out this "Drop-In Tactile Filmmaking Workshop," where you can make a camera-less movie, animating directly onto 16mm film using materials like markers, tape, pushpins and ink. It’s your last chance to catch the "Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema" exhibit at the Academy Museum before it closes on Sunday. The workshop is followed by curator tours of the show. The unique exhibit looks at the techniques of groundbreaking filmmakers like Len Lye, Oskar Fischinger and Mary Ellen Butte.

Outdoor Pick

Saturday, July 12, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. 
Plastic-Free July Cleanup Challenge with L.A. Waterkeeper
Tower 20
2030 Ocean Way, Santa Monica
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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L.A. Waterkeeper

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Do your part to keep our beaches clean and plastic-free by heading to the L.A. Waterkeeper beach cleanup. Can’t make it to the west side? North Atwater Park is up next on the calendar for a community plastics sweep on Saturday, July 19.

Viewing Pick

Sunday, July 13, 7:30 p.m.
Love Island USA season finale watch party 
The Penmar 
1233 Rose Ave., Venice 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

At this point, I think I might be the only person not watching Love Island USA. But as we are here to serve, I must share with you that the group chat is moving to The Penmar to watch the season finale, and drinks will definitely be flowing as the sun sets over the golf course and on this drama-filled (I assume) season of the reality show.

Dine & Drink Deals

Weekends through Sept. 1, 12 to 8 p.m.
Loreto x Calabra pop-up
Calabra at Santa Monica Proper
700 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica
COST: VARIES, MORE INFO

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Courtesy Calabra and Loreto

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The Proper Hotel rooftop in Santa Monica is hosting Frogtown gourmet Mexican favorite Loreto all summer long. The space is the perfect spot to watch the sunset while enjoying spicy crudo, bang bang shrimp tostadas, refreshing ceviche or an all-out seafood tower with oysters and more. Plus, margaritas and spritzes that go down easy.  

July 11, 9 to 11 p.m. 
French Fry Day: FryLab L.A.
Amboy Quality Meats 
727 North Broadway, #117, Chinatown
COST: $25; MORE INFO

Ahem, name a better holiday than National French Fry Day. I’ll wait. Then head to Chinatown for FryLab L.A. from Chef Alvin Cailan, who is taking Amboy to the next level with an experimental “FryLab” tasting room with Lamb Weston and Spiceology. There are fries, but not just any fries. Expect Bloody Mary fries and Filipino flavor-inspired Picadillo Fries. Plus, beer and ice cream, natch.

Sunday, July 13
FabFitFun x Creamy Boys
Melrose and Abbot Kinney 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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FabFitFun x Creamy Boys

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Did someone say free ice cream? Head to 8408 Melrose Place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. or 1344 Abbot Kinney in Venice from 3 to 5:30 p.m. and score free New Zealand-style ice cream, courtesy of Creamy Boys. There will also be free stuff and prizes from favorite brands like Our Place, Thrive Causemetics, Kopari and more.

The autonomous ride-hailing service Waymo plans to file a voluntarily software recall after several reports that its self-driving taxis illegally passed stopped school buses.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation in October in response to "a media report involving a Waymo AV [autonomous vehicle] that failed to remain stopped when approaching a school bus that was stopped with its red lights flashing, stop arm deployed, and crossing control arm deployed."

WXIA-TV in Atlanta aired video in September that showed a Waymo vehicle driving around a school bus.

The NHTSA website also includes a letter from the Austin Independent School District, saying the district has documented 19 instances of Waymo vehicles "illegally and dangerously" passing the district's school buses. The letter, signed by the district's senior counsel, says in one instance the Waymo vehicle drove past the stopped bus "only moments after a student crossed in front of the vehicle, and while the student was still in the road."

In a statement emailed to NPR, Waymo Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Peña said that while the company is proud of its safety record, "holding the highest safety standards means recognizing when our behavior should be better." Peña wrote that Waymo plans "to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA" and it "will continue analyzing our vehicles performance and making necessary fixes."

The company says it identified a software issue that contributed to the incidents and it believes subsequent updates will fix the problem. Waymo says it plans to file the voluntary recall early next week and it points out that no injuries have occurred because of this problem.

Waymo is a subsidiary of Alphabet, the parent company of Google. It has focused on safety in public statements, showing that driverless Waymo cars have a lot fewer crashes than those with human drivers. In the cities where the company operates, it says there have been 91% fewer crashes with serious injuries and 92% fewer crashes with pedestrian injuries.

Independent analyses from technology news website Ars Technica and the newsletter Understanding AI support Waymo's claim that its AVs are safer than human drivers. Still, federal regulators are asking the company to provide a lot more information about these incidents.

According to NHTSA, Waymo's AVs surpassed 100 million miles of driving last July and continue to accumulate 2 million miles a week. Given that and discussions with Waymo, the agency says "the likelihood of other prior similar incidents is high."

Earlier this week, NHTSA investigators sent a list of detailed questions about the incidents to Waymo as part of its inquiry. The agency asked Waymo to document similar incidents and provide more information about how it has responded. NHTSA set a deadline of Jan. 20, 2026, for Waymo to respond.

Editor's note: Google is a financial supporter of NPR.

Copyright 2025 NPR

"3... 2... 1..."

Voices rang out in unison until the nearly mile-long row of cedar trees along Santa Rosa Avenue burst with color.

The Christmas Tree Lane lighting is Altadena’s kickoff to the holidays, a 105-year-old tradition that attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year.

And it was all that on Saturday night.

After the Eaton Fire, though, the celebration was more for many who attended. Many things about the lighting remained the same: speeches by dignitaries, a performance by the high school drumline.

But so much was different. A tree just off the lane was lit in white with 19 green lights honoring every person who died in the fire.

A tree off the Christmas Tree Lane was lit in white with 19 green lights honoring every person who died in the fire.

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And during the ceremony, a minute and 19 seconds of silence was observed, led by the night’s emcee, actor Edward James Olmos.

LAist was at Saturday night's lighting event.

Megan Murdock

Longtime Altadena resident Megan Murdock and her partner Steven Valle.

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Fiona Ng

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LAist

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Saturday marked longtime Altadena resident Megan Murdock's very first outing.

"I love Christmas Tree Lane, but I've never been to the lighting event," she said. " This felt like the year to show up and represent."

As the first anniversary of the Eaton Fire approaches, Murdock said it's been amazing to see the community rebuild, even though the scars are still raw.

"Through the rebuilding, there were really hard days, there's going be more really hard days," she said. "But today's a good day."

Seamus Bozeman

Seamus Bozeman and his family lost their home in Altadena.

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Fiona Ng

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LAist

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Seamus Bozeman will always call Altadena home.

He and his family lost their house in the Eaton Fire. But every chance he gets, Bozeman (a former LAist intern) can be found hanging out in his old haunts.

"I come back and shop at the shops as much as I can, eat from the restaurants here," he said. "I love this place so much."

Christmas Tree Lane lighting ceremony on Saturday.

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He said the tree-lighting ceremony he grew up knowing was a quaint, neighborhood affair.

" With this whole festival and everything because of the fire, I don't know, it's not the same for me," he said.

But change, he knows, is inevitable.

" I'm hoping it's for the better," Bozeman said. "But one thing I do know is that we'll be closer as a community because of this fire."

Patricia Valencia

Patricia Valencia (R) and her friend at the Christmas Tree Lane lighting ceremony.

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LAist

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For Patricia Valencia, who lost her home in the fire, Saturday night's event was a reunion.

"I saw my neighbor for the first time since we evacuated," she said. "It was emotional! I gave him a hug, and I was like, I think I'm gonna cry because I haven't seen you since that night that we left."

Greg Demus

Christmas Tree Lane resident Greg Demus.

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Fiona Ng

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Greg Demus lives right on Christmas Tree Lane. For him, the event is an annual ritual.

" I've been coming here all my life," he said.

But after the fire, few things are a given.

" I wasn't quite sure what to expect," Demus said of this year's ceremony. "But it's good to see so many people come back to try to celebrate Altadena and keep Altadena strong."

Howard and Linella Raff

Howard Raff and his wife Linella at Saturday's Christmas Tree Lane lighting ceremony.

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Howard Raff and his wife Linella are renting outside of Altadena while their home is being remediated.

"Coming back, you just want it to be what it was, and you don't know what it's going to be like. So having this was kind of an anchor of something that you knew was going to be there," Linella said.

Marguerite Lockwood de Jauregui

Marguerite Lockwood de Jauregui holds up a photocopy of the house in Altadena she lived in for three years, at the corner of Santa Rosa Avenue and East Mariposa Street where she is standing.

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Marguerite Lockwood de Jauregui and her husband arrived at Christmas Tree Lane on Saturday in the early afternoon.

As soon as they were able to enter the area, the two set up their chairs at the corner of Santa Rosa Avenue and Mariposa Street.

The intersection of Mariposa Street and Santa Rosa Avenue at Christmas Tree Lane

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The lot on that corner now sits razed and empty. But before the fire, it was the house where de Jauregui had lived for three years after college. A place where she built lifelong friendships with her roommates.

"It was such great memories and a great camaraderie," she said.

Altadena, she remembered, was vibrant and free-spirited.

 "It was a really close-knit community," she said. "When you go further down Fair Oaks, you could go to the movies and dinner. You get together with friends in their historical homes, and we'd all sit around and play music."

Marguerite Lockwood de Jauregui brought with her a photocopy of the Altadena house she stayed at.

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She returned to Christmas Tree Lane on Saturday to honor those formative years — and brought along images and drawings of the house that burned down.

"It was almost like claiming a bit of my own personal history back," she said.

The FIFA World Cup is just a few months away, and some national soccer teams, like Cape Verde, Curacao and Uzbekistan are competing for the first time. Their fans — and those of the other 45 countries — will probably look for something familiar when they land in L.A.

• Read: Your essential guide to the 2026 World Cup in Los Angeles

Whether it’s a fast food logo or a restaurant serving regional dishes from home, that sense of familiarity can be the first stepping stone before you start discovering the delights of where you are now.

When I arrived in Los Angeles from England, I was soon directed to Ye Olde King's Head in Santa Monica. Judging by the dozens of photographs on the wall, it has been a kind of entry checkpoint for newly arrived British Isles celebrities and regulars alike since the 1970s. They do afternoon tea, of course, plus their bar will open early to show UK soccer matches. Their store has snacks and candy for the homesick.

It was, of course, reassuring for me to hear familiar accents and recognize the beers on tap and even some of the crisps — sorry, chips — behind the bar. Asking whether any “football” matches were going to be shown didn’t raise any eyebrows either, even though that could mean having to arrive soon after sunrise because of the time difference in the UK.

British comfort food at Ye Olde King's Head in Santa Monica.

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Donal Tavey

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Even if I had been living locally, I don’t think it would have become my “local” (as it were) because I thought it was important to try to get to know my new home, rather than hold on too tight to what I had just left behind.

That said, I did occasionally return to watch football matches and even for a couple of New Year’s Eves, which happen here at 4 p.m. to coincide with midnight in England. Then I could call home and hear the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” while we in the pub were singing it at the same time.

Here's a select list of pubs where you can sample the drinks, eats and even watch the sports from several European countries.

Ireland

• The Auld Fella (Culver City & Brentwood)
  9375 Culver Blvd., Culver City

Auld Fella in Culver City

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Kevin Kearns

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Owned by an actual Irishman, Kevin Kearns from Inishowen, they pour an excellent Guinness (don’t ask any Irish person about the importance of that, nor how hard it is to find that in L.A.) and have a good selection of savory pies. Kevin’s also an actor and appeared in blockbuster Battleship.

• Tom Bergin’s (Mid-Town/Fairfax)
  840 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles

Tom Bergin's in the Fairfax District.

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An L.A. staple since 1936, it’s the center of celebrations on St. Patrick’s Day. Stapled to the ceiling and walls around the horseshoe bar are shamrocks with the names of past patrons: try to find Cary Grant, Kiefer Sutherland, Ronald Reagan and Bing Crosby. A short menu, but you can get shepherd’s pie (steak, carrots, celery, caramelized onions, under mashed potatoes), and it’s said to have invented Irish coffee. Choose that or a good Guinness.

• Molly Malone’s (Mid-Town/Fairfax)
  575 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles
  

Molly Malone's in the Fairfax District.

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Owned by Irish family the Hanlons since 1969, Molly’s was damaged by a fire last year but bounced right back with its dark interior and original mission as a place where Irish troubadours and traditional musicians could get together. It’s long been a respected music venue and occasionally gets some bigger names on stage. You’ll get a good pour here, too, though the menu is just a few items long.

Scotland

• The Tam O’Shanter (Los Feliz)
  2980 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles
  

The Tam O'Shanter in Los Feliz.

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James Bartlett

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The Tam O'Shanter's main dining room.

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Jakob Layman

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Courtesy The Tam O'Shanter

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Named after a bonnet worn by Scotsmen, the “Tam” looks like a castle crossed with a witch’s house, in part because the original fairytale European look wasn’t a hit for owners Van de Kamp bakeries when they opened in 1922, so they pivoted to kilts, flags and bagpipes. Actors came in from the nearby studios, and famously, Walt Disney and his companions were regulars. A steakhouse, it also offers Scottish rarebit (cheddar, Scottish ale, cayenne pepper on sourdough) and, as you see when you enter, a large selection of scotch whiskeys. It even has resident ghosts!

Germany

• Wirsthaus Restaurant & Beer Garden (Mid-City/Hancock Park)
  345 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles
  

Wirstshaus in Hancock Park.

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David Marano

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Courtesy Wirsthaus

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Interior of Wirsthaus.

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Courtesy Wirsthaus

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Head to Wirsthaus to experience the best of Bavaria with steins of German beers, giant pretzels, schnitzel (boneless, thin slices of meat that are pounded, breaded and pan-fried until golden and crispy), bratwurst (sausages), plenty of oompah music and staff dressed in traditional dirndls and lederhosen — the Hollywood movie go-to for scenes of beer debauchery.

• Red Lion Tavern (Silver Lake)
  2366 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles
  

  

  Red Lion in Los Feliz.

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Originally an “Olde English” pub opened by the then-owners of Cole’s in downtown, it always had some German beers on draft, and in 1963, new owners fully embraced that. The German wife of one of them reportedly taught her home recipes to the chef, and it was German-owned until 2004, when Aidas Mattis and family, longtime patrons, took over. They kept up the style at this small, maze-like local favorite: flags, German signs, memorabilia and the back-patio beer garden. Schnitzel, spaetzle (doughy noodles), goulash and bratwurst are on the menu, as well as many beers and ciders. Oktoberfest runs Oct. 14, 15, 21 and 22. Try a four-liter boot of beer.

England

• The Cat & Fiddle (West Hollywood)
  742 Highland Ave., West Hollywood
  

  

  The Cat & Fiddle in West Hollywood.

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Located on Sunset Boulevard for several decades, “The Cat” has long been an expat hangout, especially for musicians. Now on Highland Avenue, the Gardner children carry on offering a friendly face and a familiar meal to all visitors. Their Sunday roasts are a real taste of home, and they have other classic British dishes like shepherd’s pie, a ploughman’s lunch (Gloucester, brie, scotch egg, grapes, cornichons, Branston pickle and baguette), Scotch egg and sticky toffee pudding. Want to know what those last two are? Go visit!

• The Canaby (in the works)

Soon, ex-pats will be able to try Gordon Ramsay at the Carnaby, a recently announced 175-seat British gastropub that will open at Downtown Disney and bring 1960s London to Anaheim. Live bands will play music from that fab era, and dishes will include beef Wellington, fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding. No word yet on an opening date.

The Trump administration has removed Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from next year's calendar of entrance fee-free days for national parks and added President Trump's birthday to the list, according to the National Park Service, as the administration continues to push back against a reckoning of the country's racist history on federal lands.

In addition to Trump's birthday — which coincides with Flag Day (June 14) — the updated calendar of fee-free dates includes the 110th anniversary of the NPS (August 25), Constitution Day (September 17) and President Teddy Roosevelt's birthday (October 27). The changes will take effect starting January 1.

Non-U.S. residents will still be required to pay entrance fees on those dates under the new "America-first pricing" policy. At 11 of some of the country's most popular national parks, international visitors will be charged an extra $100, on top of the standard entrance fee, and the annual pass for non-residents will go up to $250. The annual pass for residents will be $80.

The move follows a July executive order from the White House that called to increase fees applied to non-American visitors to national parks and grant citizens and residents "preferential treatment with respect to any remaining recreational access rules, including permitting or lottery rules."

The Department of the Interior, which oversees NPS, called the new fee-exempted dates "patriotic fee-free days," in an announcement that lauded the changes as "Trump's commitment to making national parks more accessible, more affordable and more efficient for the American people."

The Interior Department did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a statement: "These policies ensure that U.S. taxpayers, who already support the National Park System, continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations."

The new calendar follows the Trump administration's previous moves to reshape U.S. history by asking patrons of national parks to flag any signs at sites deemed to cast a negative light on past or living Americans.
Copyright 2025 NPR