The Best Things To Do This Weekend In Los Angeles And SoCal: Aug. 13 - 15

Dance under the stars. Ride, walk or skate the streets at CicLAvia. Celebrate the anniversary of Cypress Hill’s self-titled debut. Discover fresh LGBTQIA+ voices at Outfest. Listen to conversations with Emmy contenders. (With the delta variant spreading, it's best to check ahead of time to make sure events are happening as scheduled.)

Fridays, Aug. 13 - Sept. 10; 7 p.m.

The Music Center’s Dance DTLA
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.
The popular Friday night dance series returns for a five-week run. Instructors share easy steps while DJs spin tunes. This week, the featured dance is cumbia. Future weeks will feature disco, Motown, salsa and Bollywood. Guests are required to wear masks while on the dance floor. There will also be a free vaccine clinic (Pfizer and J+J) on-site for guests ages 12+ this week and again on Sept. 3. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Picnicking is allowed on the Plaza's table and chairs during the event.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Mexica warrior, Book 12 of the 'Florentine Codex' on the conquest of Mexico (detail).

(Courtesy the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence, and by permission of MiBACT)

Friday, Aug. 13; 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Nahua Voices on the Conquest of Mexico: “De cómo los españoles conquistaron a la ciudad de México”
The Getty presents an online reading of Book 12 of the 16th century illustrated manuscript, The Florentine Codex. Read in Nahuatl, Spanish and English, the work marks the fall of the Aztec Empire in 1521. The Florentine Codex offers an alternative to Eurocentric accounts of the takeover of what is now Mexico City.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

Friday, Aug. 13 - Sunday, Aug. 22

Outfest 2021
Various locations and online
The long-running film festival, which showcases and shares LGBTQIA+ stories and voices, returns to in-person screenings (although most of the films are also available for online viewings). The lineup includes 170+ films from nearly every genre and opens with a gala screening of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, an adaptation of an award-winning musical. The festival closes at the Orpheum with a screening of Fanny: The Right to Rock, about the first female rock band to release an album with a major label. The band reunites for a performance. Both Octavia Spencer and Elliot Page will be honored during the festival, which also hosts its fifth annual Trans and Non-Binary Summit.
COST: Varies; MORE INFO

Friday, Aug. 13; 7 p.m.

Uproar Hip-Hop Festival
The Torch at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
3911 Figueroa St., Exposition Park
Lil Wayne and Young Money headline the interactive music and arts fest. Check out the vendor village offering food, beverages and wares from local makers. There’s also a dance competition, an art walk, selfie stations, a beer garden and a basketball experience. Both in-person and concert livestream tickets are available. (Attendees will have to confirm that at the time of the event they will either have been fully vaccinated, received a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of the event, or agree to wear a mask for the duration of the event.)

COST: $89 - $179 (in-person), $25 - $125 (livestream); MORE INFO

Cypress Hill celebrates the 30th anniversary of the release of 'Cypress Hill' in a co-headlining tour with Atmosphere at the Shrine Auditorium this weekend.

(Courtesy of the artists)

Friday, Aug. 13; 7 p.m.

Atmosphere / Cypress Hill with Z-Trip
Shrine Auditorium — West Parking Lot
665 W Jefferson Blvd., University Park
Although currently on a co-headlining tour, Cypress Hill takes center stage during this hometown show to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their self-titled debut album, released Aug. 13, 1991.
COST: $54.50 - $60; MORE INFO

Saturday, Aug. 14; 7 and 9:30 p.m.

Improvised Shakespeare Company
Largo LA
366 N. La Cienega, Beverly Grove
The show is based on audience suggestion with the company creating a fully improvised play in Elizabethan style. Every show is completely different from the next, and neither the audience nor the cast know where the adventure will take them.
COST: $35+ fees; MORE INFO

Saturday, Aug. 14; 2 - 4 p.m.

History is Delicious
Skylight Books
1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz
Josh Lurie, an L.A.-based food journalist and the founder of FoodGPS.com, has written an illustrated history of various dishes and cultural traditions for kids. Selections include History of European Cuisine, Dining "Do's and Don'ts," Dumplings of the World. and Recipes from Around the World. Join Lurie for a meet-and-greet and book signing.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Saturday, Aug. 14 - Sunday, Aug. 15

Midsummer Scream Halloween: Awaken the Spirits!
Pasadena Convention Center
300 E. Green St., Pasadena
The kickoff to Halloween begins this weekend with more than 200 spooky vendors and a presentation stage where fans can get a preview of Halloween at venues including Six Flags Magic Mountain, L.A. Haunted Hayride, Delusion and the Winchester Mystery House. All guests are required to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status.
COST: Tickets start at $25; MORE INFO

Saturday, Aug. 14; 8 p.m.

Summer Swing Nights: Back to the Museum
Automobile Driving Museum
610 Lairport St., El Segundo
The concert and benefit series returns with a lineup that showcases the jazzy stylings of The Swing Tones with guest vocalist Antonia Bennett. Also performing on the outdoor stage is the Los Angeles Swing Dance Posse. Get there early for dance lessons at 7 p.m.
COST: $35 - $100; MORE INFO

Saturday, Aug. 14 - Sunday, Aug. 15; 9 a.m. PT

Deadline Contenders Television: The Nominees
The two-day virtual event features new interviews with Emmy nominees, creators, writers and performers. Highlighted shows include Mare of Easttown, In Treatment, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Ted Lasso, Sylvie’s Love and Wandavision.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

The 18th Street Center presents the roundtable discussion, "What is a Landmark? Cultural Equity in the Remembrance of Places."

(Courtesy of the 18th Street Center)

Saturday, Aug. 14; 11 a.m.

What is a Landmark? Cultural Equity in the Remembrance of Places
Landmark status and historic designation can protect sites from demolition, but the process is long, arduous and costly. It has also been inequitable as only 3% of the city of L.A.'s current landmarks are tied to Black history. This online roundtable discussion explores the historical significance of sites linked to Santa Monica’s Black history identified in artist Maj Hasager’s concurrent exhibition at the 18th Street Arts Center, Three Structures Touching. The discussion takes place online and on Zoom.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

Gallery 825 opens several art exhibitions this weekend including a solo show from Pat Gainor.

(Pat Gainor, 'Eye Candy 2,' photo: RP Bradley)

Saturday, Aug. 14; 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Art Openings
Gallery 825
825 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood
Los Angeles Art Association presents UPCYCLE, a group show of artists reusing materials to create higher-quality products than the original. The gallery also opens solo exhibitions by Pat Gainor, Barrie Goshko and Slate Quagmier. Appointments are not required for the shows’ full-day Saturday reception, but masks are. The exhibition will be on view through Sept. 10.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Saturday, Aug. 14; 5:30 p.m.

Summer Sizzler
The Garden Amp
12672 Main St., Garden Grove
Orange County’s ska/pop/punk outfit Bite Me Bambi headlines an all-ages event with The Scholars, The Littlest Man Band (Scott Klopfenstein, ex-Reel Big Fish), The Ruffolos, The Step Daughters and DJ Selectors from San Diego City Soul Club. Food trucks and vendors will be on site. Bar available for those 21+.
COST: $15; MORE INFO

Long Beach Opera performs "Pierrot Lunaire" and "Voices from the Killing Jar" on Aug 14 and 15 at The Ford.

(Courtesy of the Long Beach Opera)

Saturday, Aug. 14 - Sunday, Aug. 15; 8 p.m.

Pierrot Lunaire / Voices from the Killing Jar
The Ford Amphitheater
2580 Cahuenga Blvd., East, Hollywood Hills
In this production with the Long Beach Opera, women reframe their portrayals in opera by pairing a radical solo work from the last century (Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, 1912) with Kate Soper’s "Killing Jar" unravelling men’s depictions of women.
COST: $49 - $90; MORE INFO

CicLAvia, from a recent version in Wilmington

(Farah Sosa)

Outdoor Pick

CicLAvia - Wilmington
The free, open streets event returns to Wilmington after a COVID hiatus. People are welcome to bike, jog or walk all or part of a 2.25-mile route connecting Banning Park and Wilmington Waterfront Park via Avalon, C and M streets. Support local eateries and businesses along the route and stop by the CicLAvia hubs to access bike repair stations, free water, free pedicabs, first aid, restrooms and food trucks. Wilmington Town Square in the middle of the route features a local arts and crafts market, live music and a beer garden.

Streaming Pick

What If…?
This new Marvel series (yes, another one), which streams on Disney+, turns storylines and characters on their heads. The animated anthology is based on a comic book series of the same name and asks questions such as: What if Peggy Carter — not Steve Rogers — became the first Super Soldier? A number of Marvel stars return to voice their roles, including Haley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk, Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. What if…? debuted on Aug. 11 with episodes released weekly.

The Highland Park eatery and cocktail bar ETA reopens after a long, pandemic-caused hiatus.

(Ryan Julio)

Dine and Drink Deals

Here's the 411 on restaurant happenings in SoCal:

• ETA, a neighborhood cocktail spot in Highland Park, reopens after more than a year on Thursday. It offers a robust selection of cocktails and a new food menu by chef Ted Hopson (The Belwether, Father’s Office) that includes burrata and tomato confit and a marinated skirt steak sandwich. Plus, ETA continues its daily $1 oyster program until 8 p.m. (ETA will require proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test for entry.)
• Omayra Dakis of the Triple Threat Truck has opened her first restaurant, Rumba Kitchen, in the former Curry House space in Little Tokyo. The spot offers Puerto Rican favorites and street food staples, including a conch salad, assorted pinchos (skewers), lamb chops and flan.
• Veteran chef Daniel Holzman, who got his start at age 15 at New York’s famed Le Bernardin, has opened a New York-style pizza joint at Halo, the new dining hall in DTLA's Bunker Hill. Danny Boy’s Famous Original offers slices, pies, hot hero sandwiches, salads, classic appetizers (such as meatballs and garlic knots) and Italian ices. Halo is closed on weekends.
• ICYMI, Los Angeles Black Restaurant Week runs through Sunday. More than 100 restaurants are participating, including Jefferson Park’s fave Harold and Belle’s, Black Bottom Southern Kitchen in North Hollywood, Derricks on Atlantic in Long Beach, Island Breeze Jamaican Cuisine in Colton, and L.A. Grind Coffee and Tea Bar in Historic South Central.
• POPS Artisanal Creamery recently opened its third brick-and-mortar location, this one in downtown Newhall. (Other locations are in San Fernando and Van Nuys.) The family-owned operation has been making small-batch ice creams and sorbets since 2015. Flavors include cookies and cream, horchata, lucuma, soursop, raw cacao, mamey/zapote, salted pistachio and rum raisin.
• Queers and allies are welcome to partake in a Gayass Brunch at El Cid on Saturday at 11 a.m. Lounge on the patio while sipping bottomless mimosas and noshing on food. Tickets: $54.99. This is a 21+ event.
• Swanky restaurant and lounge Intercrew has opened in Koreatown, paying homage to a long-gone Ktown club. The namesake newcomer, currently open from Thursday to Sunday, features a mix of Euro-Asian cuisine. The menu includes uni and duxelle agnolotti, wagyu bolognese, seafood paella, burrata toast and geoduck clam chowder. (h/t Eater L.A.)
• There’s a new dining destination in the 909 with the opening of public market and food hall Rodeo X at New Haven Marketplace in Ontario. Among the eateries are Brew Haven Tap House, Primal Cuts, ’Vine Mediterranean, Okami Ramen, Dot & Dough and Fika Fika
• Hotel Figueroa in DTLA debuts its latest culinary concept, Café Fig, an all-day café with indoor and outdoor patio seating. The coffee and tea program is expansive, along with juices, tonics and wellness shots. Dishes include chilaquiles, shakshuka, a tuna tartare tostada, a mezze platter and an assortment of desserts.
• Theía, the Mykonos-inspired restaurant in WeHo, has a happy hour that runs 5 to 7 p.m. , Monday through Friday. Offering an all-vegetarian menu with Greek mezze (housemade pita with tzatziki, hummus, and htipiti; dolmades; spanakopita) and cocktails.