The Brief

Summer may be long over, but what if I told you that camping in the wintertime in California can be just as magical as in the warmer months — or even more so?

And you don’t even have to embark upon camping in snow, like you might be envisioning. While that’s certainly available if you want it, there are also a wealth of incredible campsites right here in the Bay Area — or close at hand — where the weather isn’t even all that cold in winter.

From firsthand experience, I can tell you that it doesn’t take much to convert your normal summer setup to a winter one — and it’s also much easier to get reservations to hard-to-get spots during the winter months.

“It can be a lot of fun as long as you come prepared,” said Lillie Oravetz, a state park interpreter II at Calaveras Big Trees State Park in Calaveras and Tuolumne counties. “You’re gonna get cold, but it’s really beautiful.”

Read on for tips from the experts, or jump straight to five great winter camping spots to start planning your winter excursion now. And remember: If you read this and the idea of pitching your tent in the colder months still doesn’t appeal, you can always go glamping instead.

Expert tips on planning a successful winter camping trip

Tip: For warmer winter climates, head to the coast — but still check the weather forecast

Therese Cools, park aide for Sonoma Coast State Park, said the Sonoma Coast can get some of its best weather in the winter, with blue skies overhead and less wind than usual.

But be aware: That area does get heavy rains starting in January, so don’t forget to check the weather forecast ahead of time.

“If it’s raining heavily, it’s not a great place” for camping, Cools said, “But when there’s not a storm coming through, it’s beautiful.”

November is also crabbing season on the coast, so if you’d like a fresh catch, come this month. Or for a front seat for California’s famed King Tides, plan your trip for January, she said.

Wintertime isn’t the best for water sports, so unless you’re an expert, you may want to leave your surfboard at home and plan to stay out of the ocean altogether. But you should bring your binoculars, as there’s a wealth of seabirds and other wildlife to explore on the Sonoma Coast, many of which spend the winter on the coast in large flocks.

Tip: Unless you’re ready for snow, avoid the mountains

If you’re planning on heading to higher ground, know it’s likely to snow. In Calaveras, which is 4,600 feet above sea level, “it’s pretty unpredictable when we will get snow,” Oravetz said — “but we can guarantee at some point there’ll be snow.”

And conditions can change rapidly at high elevations, so don’t just check the weather once a few weeks out, Oravetz warned. Double check the forecast regularly, “a couple of days in advance” for a more accurate forecast, she cautioned.

Don’t forget: No matter where you’re going, but especially if you are planning to go up high in elevation, be sure to check nighttime temperatures ahead of time and be prepared for below-freezing nights.

Tip: Make a plan — and a plan B

Rachel Borick, operations manager at private campground Costanoa on the San Mateo County coast, said her number one piece of advice for winter camping is: “Be prepared and always have a backup plan.”

On the coast, that might mean preparing for heavy rains in the winter. In the mountains, you’ll need to prepare for snow and below-freezing conditions as well.

But even “a rainy day spent in a tent with the right supplies can be more memorable than a perfectly sunny day on the trails,” she said. “Having an open mind and leaning in to what Mother Nature provides is vital.”

Know where you’re going and what you’re planning to do, but make sure you have other options in case your trailhead is no longer accessible — or if winter weather makes travel downright unsafe. Take note of towns with services like gas stations and hotels near your camping destination, just in case you need to bail on your plans outright and hunker down.

Don’t forget that many campgrounds and wilderness areas have no cellphone service — so in winter, it’s especially important to know your exit routes and bailout points ahead of time.

Tip: Bring layers

No matter where you’re going, remember to bring waterproof and windproof gear.

Calaveras’ Oravetz went one step further and advised campers to come prepared for almost any weather. “Sometimes it might snow, but then be pretty warm the next day, and we don’t want people to overheat,” she cautioned

Brian Low is the general manager at Club Urban Diversion, a Bay Area-based social club that organizes all sorts of outdoor trips, including winter camping. Low said his winter packing list varies by location, but “no matter what the forecast is showing, you’re always going to want to pack some sort of rain gear,” he said. And don’t forget insulating layers to go underneath for warmth, too, urged Low.

Layers are the most efficient way to pack for winter camping “because it’s easy to either layer up to get warmer, or easy to take off layers to adjust your body heat to make sure that you’re not getting too warm or too cold,” he said.

Costanoa Lodge & Camp offers year-round hot showers, hot meals and even a sauna.

(

Courtesy of Costanoa Lodge & Camp)

)

Tip: Pack smart, and bring backup gear

Calaveras’ Oravetz said starting in November, anyone traveling up to the higher elevations should bring chains for their car, “just in case.” That goes for extra fuel in your car, too.

“You could come up for a couple of days here or go further up the mountain, and then a snowstorm comes in,” she said.

If you’re parking on the side of the road and not at a campsite, be aware of potential avalanche areas and snowplow routes. Low warned — you don’t want to return to your car only to find it buried.

Low said some auto shops like Les Schwab even allow you to buy chains and return them at the end of the season for a full refund if you never end up using them. You can check chain controls online and learn how to properly install chains on Caltrans’s website, and read more about preparing to drive in wintry conditions with our KQED guide.

Bring or plan to store extra water, Oravetz said, since the pipes at some campgrounds, like Calaveras’, can freeze, so the only available water is at a central location. And remember that even in the winter, you need to store your food safely away from bears in bear canisters or food lockers provided at each campsite.

The upside? There shouldn’t be too many bugs in the winter, so you can leave your DEET at home. But remember that the sun sets early in the winter, so make sure to bring ample light and something to do during the night hours, like a deck of cards or a book to read.

Staying warm at night is important, Low said — and one way to stay toasty that might surprise you is to get up and out of your tent as soon as you realize you have to pee.

That’s because your body is sending energy to your bladder that could otherwise be used to keep you warm, he said.

“It’s a lot better to just actually bite the bullet, get out of your tent, put on your shoes and just go pee,” he said. “At the end of the day, you’ll be a lot happier because you’ll sleep better, you’ll be warmer.”

Just remember that even in winter, you have to properly dispose of any and all waste — that includes any trash, food waste and especially poop — as anything buried in snow is headed for a waterway come spring. 

In general, if you have any questions — or are at all worried about winter camping — you can always call ahead to the campground or wilderness area for advice on that particular spot.

“Winters, especially snow camping, can be very intimidating for people just because of the temperatures,” Low said. “But with the right gear list and the right techniques, then you can really have an amazing time.”

Your winter and snow camping gear checklist

As an expert in winter camping, Low recommends bringing these items for your next cold-weather or snow trip:

A zero-degree sleeping bag, or warmer

Remember: the ratings on sleeping bags tell you the temperature at which it will keep you alive, not comfortable: “Generally speaking, you want a zero-degree bag for anywhere that it’s going to be below 30 degrees,” Low said. “It’s better to have a bag that is a little too warm and not warm enough.”

If you’re still worried about warmth, a sleeping bag liner can add five or 10 degrees of warmth to the bag you might already have.

Synthetic or wool clothing to hike and sleep in

Forget cotton, Low said, because once you sweat in it, or it gets wet, cotton takes a really long time to dry out. If you’re backpacking or going for a long hike, abide by the saying “be bold, start cold” by peeling off layers before they get drenched in sweat.

And if you’ve just gotten back from a hike and are overly warm, take that opportunity to remove any sweaty items and change into your warmest clothes, including a beanie and gloves — to best retain your body heat all evening long.

Sunglasses 

So you can avoid snow blindness when it’s sunny out.

A first aid kit 

… and knowledge of not only what’s in it, but how to use it.

A bear canister 

For food storage, if one is required, where you’re camping.

A liquid fuel stove 

Low recommends this type of stove over a more typical backpacking gas fuel stove because the fuel canister will maintain its pressure and perform better at cold temperatures.

In addition to cooking, you can use your stove to melt snow for drinking water, but remember to find a clean, undisturbed patch of snow — and to be extra safe, you can always boil the water before drinking it.

Microspikes, crampons or snowshoes

For traction underfoot, depending on your activity. Low said he loves using microspikes for walking around camp in slippery conditions because they keep you on your feet while not being as clunky as snowshoes.

Lots of food

Eating a good amount of calories will keep you warm, and cooking up a hot meal of fresh — not dehydrated — food can make your evening that much more enjoyable, Low said.

A doubled-up sleeping pad

Low said that one of his guiding colleagues — who’s summited Denali, the highest mountain in North America — swears by putting an inflatable pad underneath a foam pad for the warmest night’s sleep. (Don’t forget to check the “R value” of any pad you bring — that will tell you its warmth).

Low even recommends inflating your pad with a small pump instead of blowing it up by mouth, to keep out condensation, which can freeze inside your pad.

A small shovel

If the snow is deep where you’re camping, bring something with which you can dig out a seating area, kitchen and even a trash bag-lined toilet to use, as recommended by Low.

Any durable tent 

Any model will do, Low said — even a three-season tent, so long as heavy snow isn’t in the forecast. When to consider a four-season tent instead: If you know you’ll be out in a heavy storm with the risk of high winds, or snowfall that could pile up and break your tent poles.

A Nalgene-style water bottle 

Before going to bed, a bottle like this can be filled up with boiling water, screwed nice and tight and placed inside your sleeping bag to act as a heater. Just remember to wrap it in a sock, so you don’t get burned by accident.

Hand and toe warmers

Typically used by skiers, these are perfect for placing inside clothes or a sleeping bag for warmth.

Plastic bags

Use these to keep your socks dry in your boots, if they’re not as waterproof as they need to be.

Gaiters

To keep snow out of low-cut shoes.

5 beautiful wintertime camping spots to try this year

Sonoma Coast State Park

Both Bodega Dunes and Wright’s Beach at Sonoma Coast State Park are open all winter long to campers and RVers, although they don’t have hookups. Campsites start at $45 per night and reservations can be made on ReserveCalifornia. Both campgrounds allow campfires all year round.

Park aid Cools said while Wright’s Beach fills up more quickly, Bodega Dunes tends to have more availability on winter weekends — and weekday reservations are easy to get in the winter.

“During the winter, the Sonoma Coast can be really nice with blue skies — and it tends to be less windy,” she said.

Yosemite National Park

Itching to experience Yosemite without the craziness of summer crowds? Winter might be your best bet.

“I love to go to Yosemite in the wintertime,” Low said. “It is so beautiful, and you can get a piece of Yosemite all to yourself without a person in sight.”

Tioga Road and the road to Glacier Point — and much of the upper areas of the park — close during the early months of winter. But if you want to soak in the snow-dusted granite walls from Yosemite Valley, you can make a reservation (typically $35 per night) or try your luck at first-come, first-served campgrounds in the park.

Or, take Low’s suggestion and get a wilderness permit to backpack into Dewey Point or along any route off Glacier Point Road once the first five miles of road to Badger Pass Ski Area are plowed (check the park website or call 209-372-0200 for status updates) and the rest is groomed for cross-country skiing.

Just remember: You must camp at least one mile away from any plowed road. 

“How often do you get to go to a place that’s as busy as Yosemite and camp in a spot where there’s not another soul around for as far as you can see?” Low said. “Waking up to see Half Dome or to see El Cap and watching the sun rise on the dawn wall while having a cup of coffee or tea is spectacular.”

Calaveras Big Trees State Park

Located on Highway 4 in the Sierra Nevada range, Calaveras Big Trees State Park — known for its massive sequoia trees — is open all year round. That said, some camp spots and parts of the park close to cars after the first significant snowfall or by Dec. 1, Oravetz said. This includes Parkway Road, which closes off access to the Stanislaus River and two groves of big trees, plus a couple of picnic areas and some camping. But those areas are still accessible to snowshoers and cross-country skiers, she said — so your sense of adventure could be rewarded by having these beautiful areas devoid of summer crowds.

Oravetz recommends the North Grove Trail for visitors looking to wander among the big trees on snowshoes or cross-country skis.

“The snow is beautiful against the giant sequoias,” she said.

But be warned, the trail is popular with visitors and locals alike, and can get quite busy between Christmas and the New Year.

That area is not open to general snowplay, so Oravetz recommends heading to Parkway Road instead to sled, build snowmen or start a snowball fight.

Reservations for family campsites are $35 and can be made on ReserveCalifornia.com.

San Mateo’s Memorial Park

Among the redwoods of Memorial Park in San Mateo County, the Azalea Flat campground stays open all year long while other nearby camping areas close for the winter. RVs, trailers and campfires are allowed, and buying wood to burn at the park is recommended to avoid spreading bugs from park to park, said Carla Schoof, spokesperson for San Mateo County Parks Department.

Schoof said while the park gets crowded in summer, it’s not so full in the winter, which can make it feel extra peaceful.

“It’s relatively easy to get to, but you really do feel like you’re far away,” she said. “You are deep in the Santa Cruz Mountain Range, surrounded by redwoods.”

Plus, the nearby towns of Loma Mar and Pescadero offer opportunities to get supplies and explore — which may be extra necessary in the winter, when Memorial Park’s camp store is closed, she said.

At over a century old, the park is “a special place to a lot of people … who’ve been going camping there since they were pretty small,” Schoof said.

Park rangers are happy to answer questions about park conditions and camping. They can be reached at 650-879-0238, Schoof said, and reservations can also be made online and are $32 per night in the off-season.

Costanoa Lodge & Camp

If you’d like a more bougie experience (and who could blame you?), the Costanoa private campgrounds on the San Mateo County coast are known for their “failproof camping,” Borick, the camping and glamping resort’s operations manager, said.

But still, prepare for anything: “You could end up with a full storm, huddled with your campmates, hot cocoa in hand, with a story to tell — or out on a muddy trail with the spectacular view of a clear winter’s day, she said.

“Having a beach all to yourself, or the top of a viewpoint with the silence surrounding you, can be truly worth the invigoration of a winter camping trip,” Borick said.

And the winter season brings abundant bird migrations and elephant seal pupping at nearby Año Nuevo State Park that can even be heard from the property, Borick said.

In any case, the private campground has year-round hot showers, hot meals and even a sauna. And if you get tired of braving the elements, you can always upgrade to a glamping tent, cabin or a room in the lodge.

Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling narrowing the Voting Rights Act undermines legal protections that have helped Latinos gain representation in politics, California Democrats and activists say.

The case centered on the boundaries of a Louisiana congressional district. The court found by a 6-3 majority that Louisiana had relied too heavily on race to decide the borders.

“One may lament partisan gerrymandering, but … partisan gerrymandering claims are not justiciable in federal court,” wrote Justice Samuel Alito for the majority. “And in a racial gerrymandering case like the one before us, race and politics must be disentangled.”

The ruling scales back Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting practices that discriminate against people based on their race.

The ruling will not change California’s congressional districts, which were redrawn to favor Democrats after voters approved Proposition 50 last November. Partisan gerrymanders are permitted under the constitution, the Supreme Court has previously ruled.

The decision also nullifies the California Republican Party’s “Hail Mary” attempts to invalidate the state’s new maps, which the GOP argued were a racial gerrymander to favor Latinos.

But when it comes to House majority math in the U.S. Congress and which party clinches a majority in the November election, the curtailing of Section 2 could make Democrats’ Prop. 50 gains moot.

Gov. Gavin Newsom put forward the measure after Texas Republicans redrew congressional boundaries to favor the GOP. Prop. 50 was meant to help Democrats pick up five additional California seats.

After the new ruling, several southern states in particular could redraw their maps to eliminate “majority-minority” districts that were drawn to magnify the power of nonwhite voters. Such a move could oust as many as 12 Democrats, according to a New York Times analysis, and shift the long-term balance of power in the House toward Republicans. The GOP could then control Congress’s lower chamber even if the party loses the popular vote by a wide margin.

Newsom called the new ruling “outrageous.” Attorney General Rob Bonta, also a Democrat, said in a statement that while it’s unclear what impacts the changes will have on California, the ruling overall endangers minority voters in other states.

“While the full impact of this ruling is still uncertain, we know from past experience that decisions striking down, or effectively gutting, provisions of the Voting Rights Act are often followed by new state laws that restrict access to the ballot for voters of color,” Bonta said in a statement.

Kristin Nimmers, policy and campaigns manager of the Black Power Network, said in a statement that the decision rolls back “generations of progress.”

“The ability of voters to challenge discriminatory districts manipulated to drown out people’s voices based on race is a critical safeguard against being silenced,” Nimmers said.

In California, Voting Rights Act violations aren’t only a memento of Civil Rights-era discrimination. As recently as 1990, a federal judge cited Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in declaring the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors had unconstitutionally gerrymandered their districts to exclude Latino voters.

Section 2 required that redrawn district maps must be “equally open to participation” from protected groups — including racial minorities. The Supreme Court decision on Wednesday left Section 2 intact, but significantly curtailed how it could be applied by raising the bar for violations to “a strong inference that intentional discrimination occurred.”

The high court’s three-justice liberal minority argued that the changes to Section 2 effectively dismantled the Voting Rights Act. The conservative majority on the court has been narrowing the law since 2013.

Conservatives in California celebrated the ruling.

Chris Kieser, senior attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, said the ruling was a victory long hoped for by California conservatives who had argued that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act improperly used race in redistricting.

“The very idea of a majority-minority district and having a candidate of their choice is kind of antithetical to democracy,” Kieser said. “Voting is an individual right, it’s not a group right.”

The Voting Rights Act has been primarily used to help the state’s growing Latino population achieve political representation from the 1960s to the 1990s. Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the ruling is unlikely to have much immediate impact in California.

The ruling won’t affect California’s recent redistricting effort, he said, nor will it affect the independent state redistricting commission’s decisions.

“I don’t believe there is any challengeable gerrymandering in this state,” Saenz said.

But Rosalind Gold, chief public policy officer of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, said the ruling has dire long-term implications for Latino representation in California.

“By eviscerating the Voting Rights Act, this could open the door to counties and localities looking at how they used Section 2 to draw their maps and challenging those maps,” Gold said.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Westlake has never been an easy neighborhood to summarize.

At its center sits MacArthur Park — a landmark that has come to embody the city’s sharpest contradictions, a place of beauty and crisis, history and neglect, that now anchors one of Los Angeles’s most contentious debates over how to address its unhoused crisis.

The neighborhood’s development arc is long. In the mid-19th century, it drew newcomers chasing California’s promise — the Gold Rush, the weather, the mythology of the West. Over time, the neighborhood evolved through many identities: home to members of the Hollywood and business elite, a more affordable enclave for middle- and working-class Angelenos, and later, a refuge for immigrants fleeing political unrest in Central America during the 1980s.

That layered past now finds expression in an unlikely form: art. 

But what truly sets Westlake apart from the many other artsy L.A. neighborhoods is how friendly it is to up-and-coming artists of all ages and backgrounds. Admittingly, that that ecosystem is fragile: Astralab, a cultural hub serving Southwest Asian and North African diaspora communities, was recently forced out of the neighborhood where it has operated for nearly two years. 

With Astralab’s loss, it becomes even more important to highlight four other institutions anchoring it, each operating on the conviction that creative life should be available to artists of every age and background, not just those who can afford a trendy address. 

Frida Kahlo Theatre — Moisés Rodríguez Ovidio González and Christopher John Magallanes en Ruben Amavizca-Murua’s “Ayotzinapa Situacion Desaparecido.”

(

Courtesy Ruben Amavizca-Murua

)

Mexican Center for Culture & Cinematic Arts

There is no shortage of Mexican artistry represented throughout the City of Angels, and few places offer a stronger starting point than the Mexican Center for Culture & Cinematic Arts.

Located within the Consulado General de México en Los Ángeles (Mexican Consulate General in Los Angeles), the venue showcases a wide range of work by Mexican and Mexican American artists, as well as creators whose work explores Mexican culture more broadly.

With both a gallery and theater space, the Mexican Center hosts art exhibitions, film screenings, lectures, conferences and cultural programming throughout the year, serving as a bridge between artistic expression and community identity.

Art Division

A painting class at Art Division.

(

Courtesy Art Division

)

Founded in 2010, Art Division was created by Dan McCleary, who recognized a critical gap in arts education for young adults over the age of 17.

This nonprofit is dedicated to supporting aspiring artists ages 18 to 27 — particularly those from underserved communities — as they continue developing their craft beyond high school.

Art Division’s campus includes a library of more than 10,000 books, studios for multidisciplinary workshops, a printmaking studio — where students learn linoleum and woodblock techniques — and a gallery space that hosts exhibitions throughout the year. 

The organization functions not only as a creative incubator but as a launchpad for emerging artists navigating professional pathways.

Heart of Los Angeles

For younger artists looking to develop their skills, Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) has served children in grades K-12 since 1989 with programming that spans academics, athletics, music and visual arts.

HOLA has partnered with respected institutions such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Eisner Foundation and the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, offering students access to high-quality musical instruction and mentorship.

For visual artists, the organization provides classes, public artist residencies, exhibitions, field trips and additional creative opportunities that nurture both artistic growth and personal development, including classes, public artist residencies, field trips, exhibitions and more.

Frida Kahlo Theater

At the Frida Kahlo Theatre, Ruben Alejandro and Dina Jauregui in Ruben Amavizca-Murua's “Frida Kahlo.”

(

Courtesy Ruben Amavizca-Murua

)

The Frida Kahlo Theater is where the Grupo de Teatro SINERGIA hosts its groundbreaking productions in both English and Spanish, all of which shine a spotlight on stories and voices from Latin America.

Beyond its performances, the theater functions as both an incubator for rising talent and an educational platform for young creatives seeking a welcoming environment to explore storytelling and performance.

Programming includes the annual 10-Minute Play Festival (as well as the Theater Youth 10-Minute Play Festival), the Staged Reading Series and on-site workshops that foster artistic development across generations.

Frida Kahlo Theatre — Daniel Mora, Itzel Ocampo and Eden Vera en “Yellow” by Jose Henrickson.

(

Courtesy Catherina Cojulun

)

I spent the weekend in my other favorite LA — Louisiana, that is, at the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Seeing Stevie Nicks in the rain and the Pine Leaf Boys in the sun was worth the trip. But the jazz love doesn’t have to end now that I’m back home, because the first annual Santa Monica Jazz Festival kicks off this Friday at venues around the Westside (and one downtown).

If you’re not festivaled-out yet post-Coachella/Stagecoach/Jazzfest/wherever you got to in the past few weeks, BeachLife takes over Redondo Beach all weekend long. Headliners are Duran Duran, The Chainsmokers, James Taylor and The Offspring. Beyond that, Licorice Pizza has more music picks, including Health at the Hollywood Palladium and Helloween with Beast In Black bringing the darkness to the YouTube Theater on Friday.

Saturday, Lewis Capaldi is at the Hollywood Bowl, the Wedding Present performs their classic album Seamonsters in its entirety at the Lodge Room, Pup with Illuminati Hotties will be at Pomona’s Glass House and Shoreline Mafia plays Ontario’s Toyota Arena. Also on Sunday, L.A. club impresarios and drag pioneers the Boulet Brothers will bring their Dragula to the Fonda.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can take a look at the Natural History Museum’s new orca exhibit, read about a shipping container turned into art and get your tickets to celebrate 100 years of the L.A. Public Library with us on Saturday.

Events

L.A. TACO: Taco Madness

Saturday, May 2, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
Gloria Molina Grand Park, Downtown L.A. 
COST: $25; MORE INFO 

Get a taste of L.A.'s best tacos from favorites like Taqueria Frontera, Tire Shop Taqueria, Evil Cooks, LaSorted's and many more — so come hungry and support our fellow non-profit media friends at L.A. TACO. There’s also craft beer from Boomtown Brewery and DJ sets from Slow Jamz, Ambiente Central, Camilo Lara (Mexican Institute of Sound), Spiñorita, El Marchante and Sonrisita.

Irene Tu

Saturday, May 2, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. 
Hotel Cafe
1623 Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood
COST: $30; MORE INFO 

Irene Tu will do two shows at Hotel Cafe.

(

Michael Tullberg

/

Getty Images

)

Comedian Irene Tu takes the stage for two shows at the intimate Hotel Cafe — one is a taping for a TV special, the other a late show. Tu’s relaxed comedy style often goes viral in social media clips; her stories focus on everyday life and her experiences as a lesbian Asian American woman. Tu was featured as one of Vulture's "Comedians You Should and Will Know,” and will also perform during the upcoming Netflix Is a Joke festival as part of the "Asian Nation" show hosted by Margaret Cho.

Cinco de Mayo at UCLA Spring Game 

Rose Bowl 
1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

UCLA's spring game this Saturday will be the first for new coach Bob Chesney.

(

Luke Hales

/

Getty Images

)

The Bruins head across town for their Spring Game — less of a game game and more a preview of the upcoming fall football season under new head coach Bob Chesney. The free day includes a Cinco de Mayo Marketplace featuring handmade jewelry, clothing and local resources, plus lots of food and drink options. There’s also a boxing tournament in the Court of Champions and live music.

Teen Beat Live: '80s Movie Mixtape

Through Sunday, May 17 
CineVita 
1248 District Drive, Inglewood
COST: FROM $59; MORE INFO

(

Courtesy Teen Beat Live

)

The '80s come alive at this immersive music experience at the new CineVita theater at Hollywood Park. The mirror-lined Spiegeltent brings the action to you, with jams from your favorite classic teen movies like Footloose, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Dirty Dancing, Back to the Future and more. Totally rad.

Master Harold and the Boys 

Through Sunday, May 10 
Geffen Playhouse
10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood 
COST: FROM $45; MORE INFO

(

Jeff Lorch

/

Geffen Playhouse

)

South African playwright Athol Fugard’s now-classic 1982 play takes a deep look at race, power and betrayal during apartheid. The Geffen’s revival got a rave from the L.A. Times, where Charles McNulty noted the relevance of its message of hope in times of political darkness.

Khorus Harmonia

Through Saturday, May 2
Hudson Theatres 
6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood
COST: $65; MORE INFO 

(

Courtesy Shelter PR

)

Fans of Sons of Anarchy will want to book in for this latest collaboration between the show’s masterminds (and married couple) Katey Sagal and Kurt Sutter. Khorus Harmonia is a 66-minute-long choral concert that Sagal conceived following the L.A. fires to build community. The result is an event that combines artists and instrumentalists performing music from favorites like Bon Iver and U2, with choral arrangement and direction by Steven Argila. All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights & the Wounded Warrior Project.

HERITAGE BARBECUE X Genevieve Taylor Guest Chef Dinner 

Friday, May 1, 5 p.m.
31721 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano
COST: $200 per person; MORE INFO

(

Courtesy FWD PR

)

British barbecue expert and cookbook author Genevieve Taylor pays a visit to San Juan Capistrano’s Heritage Barbecue to celebrate the release of her newest book, How to BBQ: The Definitive Guide to Fire Cooking. The evening will feature a five-course menu prepared by Taylor using recipes from the book, including dishes like maple-cured cold-smoked bass crudo with lime and tequila dressing, smoked honey carrots, ribeye tagliata parmesan and more.

World Labyrinth Day 

Saturday, May 2, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Various locations, including Peace Awareness Labyrinth and Gardens
3500 West Adams Blvd., West Adams
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

(

Courtesy Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens

)

Avid walkers and hikers in L.A. have been charmed many times over by the peaceful labyrinths amid the hiking trails and gardens in our fair city. Discover new ones and celebrate the world of meditative walking on World Labyrinth Day. The annual event includes time slots at the Peace Awareness Labyrinth in West Adams (which is designed after the one at Chartres Cathedral in France), as well as many others marked throughout the region on this map.

Topline:

Why it matters: The program allocated anywhere from $200 to just over $1,000 to help taxpayers with economic relief. You were eligible if you hit certain income criteria. Some amounts were sent through bank direct deposit, others through debit cards. But many debit cards haven’t been used or have funds remaining.

Look for your card: It has the bear from the California flag printed on it, as well as the Seal of California and the phrase Middle Class Tax Refund above the Visa logo.

What you can do: While the California Franchise Tax Board oversees the process, the company Money Network administers the debit cards. If you were eligible, you can check if you have any money left in the refund and hear options for how to use it if you can’t find your card. The automated customer service number is (800) 240-0223.

The backstory: Sacramento set aside billions of dollars in 2022 from a surplus to help taxpayers as the cost of gas and groceries rose.

What's next: Money that is not used by the deadline will go back to the California general fund.