The Brief

Amal Walks Across America follows the journey of Amal, a 12-foot-tall puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee girl who shares her story of hope as she discovers America's diverse culture and people. Amal wraps her final L.A. stop with a special event created by director and choreographer Debbie Allen. She's crafted a performance with the theme of monarch butterflies featuring 350 local student dancers and musicians from all across Los Angeles, who echo Amal’s migration journey. Expect a program of dance, music and spoken-word performances. Free admission and parking. Entrance on Prairie Ave.

BlizzCon, a celebration of gaming culture, returns to the Anaheim Convention Center after a four-year hiatus. Explore immersive universes, watch the Overwatch World Cup and hear developer insights. Plus, check out massive installations and art, and even network with other gamers and fans. BlizzCon 2023 will also be live-streamed on YouTube and Twitch.

Shop from more than 100 vendors who offer vintage, handmade, industrial, up-cycled and repurposed goods. While browsing, listen to live music and sip on cocktails. The Great Junk Hunt takes over the Anaheim Building, Los Alamitos Building, O.C. Promenade and The Hangar at the O.C. Fair.

The San Gabriel Mountains Chapter of the California Native Plant Society holds a sale of California native plants to support the chapter. Native plants create habitat, use less water and support California's ecology. Experienced society members will be on hand to help answer questions, including best plants to attract birds and butterflies. If you have new green thumbs, check out LAist’s Native Plants 101: A Starter Guide To Replacing Your Thirsty Lawn With Drought-Tolerant Foliage before you go.

Heritage Square Museum holds a magical celebration of life to honor ancestors and loved ones. Bring a photo of a loved one and place them at a community altar. Then, enjoy the grounds while shopping for a gift. Snack on vegan food, hear live music and participate in readings, sound baths, yoga, tarot or palmistry. Come dressed in your best vintage, calacas or witchy gear. Add a $5 ticket to tour the inside of the Victorian homes.

Anime Pasadena returns for its fifth annual anime and cosplay convention, which includes more than 350 vendors, celebrity guests, music, games, panels and other activities. Scheduled panels feature the casts from global hit anime series and gaming such as One Piece, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Spy x Family, Hunter x Hunter, Sailor Moon, Naruto, Persona 5, Kingdom Hearts, Genshin Impact and others. The two-day event also includes an artists' alley, anime karaoke, scavenger hunt, and Dragon Hall Z with a free arcade zone, free professional photo rooms, a maid café, Anime Fire giveaways and main stage entertainment.

The community arts center Self Help Graphics (SHG) celebrates its 50th Annual Día de los Muertos season, culminating this weekend with a mobile procession and celebration. Dress in your favorite Día de los Muertos outfit and take part in SHG's festive Día de los Muertos Celebration Procession from Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights to Civic Center Park in East Los Angeles. The procession is a little different this year. Meet at Mariachi Plaza at 2 p.m., then jump on the Metro L Line heading east to East LA Civic Center Park as a group, beginning at 2:30 p.m. (This will require participants to purchase their individual train ticket to participate.) The Día de los Muertos Celebration at Civic Center Park follows with altars by local artists and community members, an artisan Muertos Marketplace, Día de los Muertos-themed workshops and face painting, food by local vendors and live entertainment.

Watch Lauryn Hill perform her Grammy-winning album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, in its entirety for its 25th anniversary. Plus, she's joined by the Fugees for additional songs. Hill performs at the Crypto.com Arena on Saturday and the Kia Forum on Sunday.

Citizens for Los Angeles Wildlife (CLAW), a nonprofit environmental organization, works to protect and restore the wildlife environments of Los Angeles and California from dwindling open spaces. The organization presents an educational hike with L.A.'s first-ever resident ecologist Courtney McCammon. The 1.5 to 2-hour hike is appropriate for all ages and fitness levels. Learn about Griffith Park's habitat and biodiversity. Bring water, sunscreen and binoculars if you have them. Space is limited.

Bring your amateur and family home movies (16mm, Super 8 and videotape) to the museum for a free event in the museum's Shirley Temple Education Studio and Lower Lobby. Home Movie Day 2023 will shed more light on your films and add to L.A.'s own visual history. Meet with Home Movie Day volunteers and media archivists, explore film gauges, button-making and more activities. The open community screening with games and prizes runs from 12 to 4 p.m.

Benny Boy Brewing holds a two-day celebration with fall-inspired eats and treats, live music, new product releases and apple-pressing to make a community cider. The fall festival features foods by River Street BBQ, Gumbo Boys, Zef BBQ and Wellie Belly; apple pies and apple cider donuts from Just What I Kneaded and Amiga Amore; Benny Boy’s mulled cider, the release of 2023 Pippin Pommeau Part Deux and the launch of Pippin Cider in four packs to-go. Applefest is 21+.

If you were fans of Bryant Ng and Kim Luu-Ng’s The Spice Table (their DTLA restaurant that was forced to close because of Metro construction), you'll remember this burger. It features a ground short rib patty, sambal sauce, curried pickles, mustard aioli, fried shallots and classic iceberg lettuce, tomato & American cheese. It’s served up with cumin fries. The Spice Table Burger special is available through the end of the month.

Executive chef Charbel Hayek opens his first restaurant, focusing on Eastern Mediterranean foods. Ladyhawke features dishes such as the Ladyhawk Mezze Table, a selection of shareable plates and dips including hummus with chili sambal, baba ghanouj and muhammara; the za’atar manouche fermented poolish dough, a fluffy flatbread; a tabbouleh salad, which was adapted from Chef’s mother’s recipe; and aged Rohan duck.

The French seafood-forward restaurant in Culver City has launched "Magnum Hour." Every weekend (Saturday and Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m.), Juliet pulls a curated selection of magnums and Champagne from its cellar. Guests can enjoy these rare bottles for up to 50% off, alongside a menu that includes bites like oysters, Royal Ossetra Petrossian Caviar Blinis and more. Magnum Hour is available at Juliet’s communal table and the Parisian-style standing bar.