Best Things To Do This Weekend In Los Angeles And SoCal: Sept. 16 - 18

Check out the debut of the Primavera Sound festival. Sing along to The Sound of Music. Celebrate Mexican Independence Day with a parade and festival. Attend an outdoor screening of House Party.

Friday, Sept. 16 - Saturday, Sept.17; 8 p.m.

BIGUIDIRIBELA
L.A. Dance Project
2245 E. Washington Blvd., downtown L.A.
As part of the 2022 Fulcrum Festival program — a regional exploration of the intersections of art and science across L.A. — LACMA’s Art + Technology Lab and L.A. Dance Project present a multimedia performance piece. BIGUIDIRIBELA uses 3D video technologies to explore multiple gender identities in a 21st-century context. The work uses the “Muxe” identity (a third gender of the Zapotec people) as a futuristic, timeless concept to explore universal themes—including the nonbinary, the divine feminine, the anti-patriarchal, environmental regeneration and origins of the world.
COST: $20 - $35; MORE INFO

Friday, Sept. 16; 8 p.m.

Jhené Aiko
The Greek Theatre
2700 North Vermont Ave., Griffith Park
The R&B/soul singer plays a hometown show under the stars. Her last album Chilombo was released in 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
COST: Tickets start at $29.50; MORE INFO

Friday, Sept. 16 - Saturday, Dec.17 (select dates)

Modern Parlor Magic
Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles
506 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.
Magician David Carlo brings an intimate evening of magic, mentalism, live music and theater to the Biltmore for an extended residency. The show is modeled after Victorian-era parlor shows set in homes in New York, London and Paris. Ages 12+.
COST: Tickets start at $79; MORE INFO

Friday, Sept. 16 - Sunday, Sept.18

BeachLife Ranch Festival
137 N. Harbor Dr., Redondo Beach 
Billed as a country and Americana festival, the new three-day festival features pop acts, too, including headliners The Lumineers and Hall & Oates (Fri.), Dierks Bentley and Ashey McBryde (Sat.), and Brandi Carlisle and Wilco (Sun.) along with appearances by local luminaries such as the Compton Cowboys.
COST: Single-day tickets from $159; MORE INFO

Friday, Sept. 16 - Sunday, Sept.18

Primavera Sound Los Angeles
Los Angeles State Historic Park
1245 N. Spring St., downtown L.A.
The Barcelona flagship festival makes its U.S. debut in Los Angeles this weekend, featuring more than five dozen acts across four stages, including Lorde, Nine Inch Nails, Arctic Monkeys, BICEP, Mitski, PinkPantheress, James Blake, girl in red, Arca, Giveon, Khruangbin, Tierra Whack, DARKSIDE, Paloma Mami, Little Jesus, and Buscabulla. Smorgasburg L.A. has curated the food offerings and KCRW, in partnership with Beat Swap Meets, curates Primavera’s official Vinyl Market. The Flatstock poster show series, presented by the American Poster Institute, makes its only West Coast stop of the year at Primavera Sound.
COST: Single-day tickets from $149; MORE INFO

Saturday, Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m.

Sing-A-Long Sound of Music
Hollywood Bowl
2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood
The popular family-friendly event returns, screening the singing adventures of the Austrian von Trapp fam and their fight against the Nazis. Wear a clever costume for the pre-show contest that starts at 6 p.m.
COST: Tickets start at $30; MORE INFO

Saturday, Sept. 17, 8 p.m.

House Party
Leimert Park Peoples Street 
4395 S. Leimert Park Blvd., Leimert Park 
The American Cinematheque presents an outdoor screening of the 1990 film House Party, directed by Reginald Hudlin and starring Kid’n Play, as part of the series Perpetratin’ Realism: 1990s Black Film. In addition to the film screening, local vendors will be on-site for shopping and a dance party takes place post-screening. Bring your own blankets or chairs.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17 - 18, 8:30 p.m.

Killer Klowns From Outer Space Cosplay Dance Party
ZJU Theatre Group
4850 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood 
Come and (cos)play with Killer Klowns composer John Massari who performs his new horror metal DJ set of the 1988 film’s music soundtrack. Activities also include audience contests and prizes for best air guitar, air drum, best costume and best Killer Klown tattoo. The party is for all ages.
COST: $22.50; MORE INFO

Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17 - 18, 12 - 8 p.m.

Fiestas Patrias
Flower St., between Civic Center Dr. and Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana
Head to Santa Ana to join in the holidays that mark the independence of various Latin American countries. The city of Santa Ana presents a street festival that includes live music, food, cultural exhibitors, carnival rides and family fun. Music performances by Beatriz Adriana on Saturday and El Chapo de Sinaloa on Sunday.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Saturday, Sept. 17 - Saturday, Jan. 21

Art Exhibitions
Art + Practice (A+P)
3401 W. 43rd Pl., Leimert Park
Mark Bradford’s art and social service organization opens three art shows this weekend. Two of them are being presented in conjunction with CAAM: #sky #nofilter: Hindsight for a Future America is Chloë Bass’ photography, text-based, performance art, and public sculpture project; and Lay Me Down in Praise, created by multidisciplinary artist Justen LeRoy, is a three-channel film installation that asks how the scream, moan, and melisma (vocal run) “provide a sonic route toward Black environmentalism.” Thaddeus Mosley: Forest, is being presented in collaboration with the Baltimore Museum of Art.
COST: FREE admission; MORE INFO

Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17 - 18, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Getty 25 Family Festival
The Getty
1200 Getty Center Dr., Brentwood
The Getty has celebrated its 25th anniversary in 10 neighborhoods across L.A. County. This weekend, the culminating, family-friendly festivities take place at the Getty Center and include live music and dance along with interactive art workshops inspired by the communities of Crenshaw, Inglewood, Koreatown, Lincoln Heights/East LA, Long Beach, Pacoima, Reseda, San Gabriel Valley, Watts and Wilmington.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

Views from LUMINEX: Dialogues of Light. April 2021.

(Koury Angelo)

Saturday, Sept. 17, 7:30 - 11:30 p.m.

LUMINEX 2.0: Projected Realities
South Park District of downtown L.A.
The outdoor digital art exhibition returns with augmented reality (AR) installations, immersive artworks, digital drone activations, live performances, and sound and video feeds. Take a self-guided walking tour to 12 site-specific installations scaled to the architecture of the urban facades with an artist line-up that includes Refik Anadol, Nancy Baker Cahill, Sarah Rara, Luciana Abait, Akiko Yamashita, Carole Kim, David Van Eyssen, Leah Smithson, Nate Mohler, Ryan P Griffin, Mark Hashimoto and Elizabeth Leister.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Sunday, Sept. 18, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

East Los Angeles Mexican Independence Day Parade and Festival
Cesar E. Chavez Ave., from Mednik to Gage avenues
The long-running parade feature former Dodger Fernando Valenzuela as the parade’s grand marshal and Katya Echazarreta, an electronics engineer and civilian astronaut and the first woman of Mexican descent to travel to space, co-grand marshal. The celebration continues between E. César Chávez Ave. and First St. along Mednik Ave. There will be music, entertainment, attractions and family fun.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

The seasonal Spider Pavilion retirns to the Natural History Museum (NHM) of Los Angeles County this weekend.

(Courtesy of NHM)

Sunday, Sept. 18

Dino Fest / Spider Pavilion Opening
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM)
900 Exposition Blvd., Exposition Park  
NHM focuses on the dinosaurs for this one-day festival (9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.) featuring talks with museum paleontologists and rare specimens from the museum’s collections. Sunday also marks the opening of the seasonal Spider Pavilion, seeing the web spinners and habitats that house different species from tarantulas to jumping spiders. The Spider Pavilion will be on view through Nov. 27. If you're a museum member, you can get in for a preview on Friday or Saturday.
COST: Varies; MORE INFO

Sunday, Sept. 18, 7 p.m.

Reggae Night XX
Hollywood Bowl
2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood
The pop-reggae veterans UB40 bring their Bigga Baggariddim tour to the Bowl. They’re joined on the bill by The Original Wailers with guitarist Al Anderson (who played lead on Bob Marley classics like "No Woman, No Cry"), Maxi Priest and Big Mountain.
COST: $31 - $140; MORE INFO

Get your heart pumping and your legs burning on The Mattachine Steps, located in Silver Lake.

(GlennFrancis@PacificProDigital.com)

Outdoor Pick

The Mattachine Steps
Now that the heatwave is over, it’s time to get back to the outdoor workouts. Get your heart pumping and your legs burning on The Mattachine Steps, located at 2348 Cove Ave., Silver Lake. Walk or run the ~160 steps and be rewarded with views of the reservoir and the Hollywood Sign in the distance. The stairs are dedicated to The Mattachine Society and its founder Harry Hay, an early LGBT advocate.

Viewing Pick

Los Espookys, Season 2 
Created by Fred Armisen, Ana Fabrega and Julio Torres, the first season of the kooky comedy (in Spanish with English subtitles) introduced viewers to a group of friends who turned their passion for horror into a business, providing the scary and the strange to customers who pay for it. After a pandemic delay, the second season returns with more adventures for Los Espookys’ leader and gore king Renaldo (Bernardo Velasco), Úrsula (Cassandra Ciangherotti), Tati (Fabrega) and Andrés (Torres). Uncle Tico (Armisen) searches for a new purpose in life after his valet career is derailed. The show airs on HBO on Friday, Sept. 16 at 11 p.m. and streams on HBO Max.

The Japanese ramen shop, Ramen Nagi has debuted a secret, off-menu ramen, The Lamb King — a ‘secret’ pork-free ramen available only at the Westfield Century City.

(Jakob N. Layman/Ramen Nagi)

Dine and Drink Deals

Check out the 411 on restaurant, bar, and food happenings in SoCal this week:

• Earlier this week, Ramen Nagi at the Westfield Century City (only) debuted The Lamb King, an off-menu item available only when requested. The pork-free ramen is $15.95. 
• Gasolina’s Paella Nights are back this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16 - 17 and every third weekend of the month. The three-course menu ($59 per person) features a starter salad, Spanish cheesecake and a choice of paella (Paella Negra, Paella Tierra y Mar and Paella Vegetariano). Reservations recommended for the Woodland Hills cafe.
• On Saturday, Sept. 17 starting at noon, The Propagator at Firestone Walker Brewing Company in Venice holds its Oaktoberfest celebration with live music, games, special menu items and three special Oktoberfest-inspired beers, including its signature Oaktoberfest, Garden Party Festbier and Hefeweizen. 
• The iconic Irv’s Burgers in West Hollywood launches a new menu item on Saturday, Sept. 17. Starting at 11 a.m., the first 50 guests receive a free turkey burger—turkey patty, Irv’s sauce, green hatch chilies, tomatoes, lettuce, onions and cheddar cheese on a house-made bun ($9.50.)
• The Studio City wine bar Vintage Wine + Eats holds an L.A. Wine Harvest Party & Grape Stomp on Saturday, Sept. 17 from 12 to 4 p.m. Taste flights of wine from L.A.'s own Byron Blatty, Cavaletti, Adorato, Acri Wines and AJA Vineyards and meet the winemakers. Stomp your own grapes, and afterward, treat yourself to dishes from chef Luke O'Grady of Little Dom's. Tickets to the wine tasting and stomping are $46. Food sold separately.
• Casa Vega in Sherman Oaks celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with a number of specials and activations this month. On Friday, Sept. 16 the restaurant holds a Mexican Independence Day fiesta with chiclets gum, sombreros, flower crowns a la Frida Kahlo, and live mariachi from Mariachi Zapopan. 
• Huntington Beach’s Old World Village opens this Sunday, Sept. 18 for its 2022 Oktoberfest through Nov. 6. Explore Old World’s cobblestone streets and enjoy authentic German beers, bites and bands flown from Germany. Fridays and Saturdays are for those 21+. Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are all ages. Admission prices vary.