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Best things to do this week in Los Angeles and Southern California: September 22-25
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Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
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Our Picks
Who says you need art skills to sell your art? I loved this story about Pasadena Humane’s poorly-drawn pets fundraiser — maybe the follow-up project to '90s band Badly Drawn Boy? Kidding. The fundraiser supports the organization's work following the Eaton Fire. It turns out that plenty of people, nearly 450 all over the country, tried their hand at "pet-traits," with varying degrees of success. Check out a few of LAist’s favorites here.
Find even more throughout LAist.com, where we’re remembering screen legend Robert Redford, previewing the best new fall TV shows and gathering all the info you need to snag your LA28 2028 Olympic Games tickets.
Also happening this week...
Events
Tuesday, September 23, 7:30 p.m.
Camerata Pacifica
The Huntington’s Rothenberg Hall
1151 Oxford Road, San Marino
COST: FROM $35; MORE INFO
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Manny Becerra
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Russian composer Anton Arensky’s "String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 35" opens the Camerata Pacifica concert and season at The Huntington’s Rothenberg Hall, followed by a more contemporary work from Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks and then Johannes Brahms' 1864 piece, "Sextet for Strings No. 2 in G Major, Op. 36." The organization aims to make chamber music more accessible; the performance features musicians Paul Huang, Alena Hove, Che-Yen Chen, Meredith Crawford, Ani Aznavoorian and Santiago Cañon-Valencia.
September 25-28
The Other Art Fair
Barker Hanger
3021 Airport Ave., Suite 203, Santa Monica
COST: FROM $30; MORE INFO
The Other Art Fair is more than just art. You can also party with tunes from KCRW’s Dan Wilcox, check out new work from favorite and undiscovered artists, get a chakra tune-up, take a sound bath or find out your future with a tea leaf reading. Taking place at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, you can join the fun starting Thursday and go all weekend long. Maybe you’ll get some artwork for your growing collection and support some up-and-coming artists; maybe you’ll go inward and just frame your own aura portrait. Either way, it’s a fun time, and there's so much to see.
Thursday, September 25, 8 p.m.
'Abbot Kidding': A Comedy Show in Venice
Roosterfish
1302 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice
COST: $13; MORE INFO
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Abbot Kidding
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Each week, the charming back patio at Roosterfish in Venice transforms into one of the most unique comedy clubs in L.A. Featuring a variety of performers from across TV and social media fame, the "Abbot Kidding" series is a fun, low-key date night where you might just come across your next favorite act. And you never know who will show up. Previous surprise guests include Alex Edelman (Just For Us).
Through Sunday, October 5
Eureka Day
Pasadena Playhouse
39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena
COST: FROM $53; MORE INFO
Well, it doesn’t get more topical than this. The new show at Pasadena Playhouse is Eureka Day, a comedy about a progressive Berkeley school trying to get its parents to agree on – you guessed it – a vaccination policy. If you don’t laugh, you cry, right? Fortunately, this Tony-winning new play by Jonathan Spector has taken the former route.
Wednesday, September 24, 7 p.m.
Go Inside America’s Test Kitchen with Julia and Bridget
Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., West L.A.
COST: FROM $90; MORE INFO
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Courtesy PBS SoCal
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Chefs and America’s Test Kitchen hosts Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison will launch their new cookbook at an event with our friends at PBS SoCal. The pair will share time-tested techniques, kitchen essentials, and favorite recipes and tools, live on stage with audience demos and participation opportunities. Plus, your ticket is a donation to PBS SoCal. Yum on all fronts.
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Through Sunday, February 15, 2026
'In Bloom: Flowers in Contemporary Art'
Forest Lawn Museum
1712 S. Glendale Ave., Glendale
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Painting flowers is nothing new. It’s often one of the first things we learn to do in art class at school. But at the new Forest Lawn Museum exhibit, "In Bloom: Flowers in Contemporary Art," the curation looks at all different approaches to flowers in art, from realistic to abstract; sculpture to painting to video. The exhibit features mostly new works by David Flores, DABSMYLA, Francesca Gabbiani and Eddie Ruscha, Simonette David Jackson, Jasmyn Marie, Analia Saban, Kim Schoen and Tiffanie Turner.
Through Sunday, July 26, 2026
'Jaws: The Exhibition'
Academy Museum
6067 Wilshire Blvd., Miracle Mile
COST: INCLUDED IN MUSEUM ADMISSION; MORE INFO
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Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
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Dun dun. Stay out of the water but in the museum for this huge retrospective look at Jaws, celebrating the film’s 50th anniversary year at the Academy Museum. Steven Spielberg himself was on hand for the opening of this exhibit last week; you have almost a year to get up close and personal with the most famous shark of all time.
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Viewing Pick
Through Thursday, September 25
Apollo 13: 30th Anniversary in IMAX
Multiple IMAX theater locations
COST: FROM $26; MORE INFO
Failure is not an option. Celebrate American ingenuity and 30 years of quoting “Houston, we have a problem” every time something goes wrong at work by enjoying Apollo 13 in IMAX, Ron Howard’s Best Picture Oscar-winning masterpiece
Dine & Drink Deals
Tuesday, September 23
Pasta Sisters 10-Year Anniversary
Multiple locations
COST: $8; MORE INFO
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Pasta Sisters
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Pasta Sisters’ classic Tomato & Basil with Spaghetti will be just $8 (regularly $15) in a "nod to their opening pricing and the viral Buzzfeed video that declared their $8 pasta better than a $100 dish." They’ve also launched happy hour at their Culver City location (4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Monday to Friday) with $8 wines and spritzes, $5 beers, pizza bites ($4-7), ham and cheese focaccia bites ($10), a mortadella and truffle cheese plate ($10) and more.
Tuesday, September 23, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Wines of Georgia tasting
The Shay
8801 Washington Blvd., Culver City
COST: FROM $23.18; MORE INFO
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Wines of Georgia
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The secret is out about the incredible wines of Georgia — the country, not the state. This biggest-ever Georgian wine tasting event features a Q&A with Phil Rosenthal (Somebody Feed Phil) and award-winning wine personality Vince Anter (V is for Vino), where they will discuss Rosenthal’s recent Season 8 episode filmed in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi.
Thursday, September 25
National Lobster Day
Luke’s Lobster
Multiple locations
COST: $20; MORE INFO
Snag a lobster roll at Luke’s Lobster locations for just $20 on National Lobster Day this Thursday (and they're including Friday, too). The quarter-pound lobster roll is available at all locations, including the newly opened Newport Beach location. Each roll is filled with wild-caught, chilled seafood on a split-top, toasted buttered bun with mayo, lemon butter and a sprinkle of Luke’s Secret Seasoning. The roll comes with chips and a soft drink.
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