Best Things To Do In This Week In Los Angeles And Southern California: May 28 - 30

Australian indie singer-songwriter Imogen Clark comes to The Hotel Café in support of her latest album, The Art of Getting Through. A soulful set of songs about "shouldering the weight of life’s baggage and powering forward," her single, "The Noise" was named a best pick by Rolling Stone Australia.

You had us at chocolate. The Natural History Museum is hosting a chocolate tasting and history lesson from the expert chocolatiers at Sad Girl Creamery and Albert’s Petite Sweets. Featured in the digital series ChocoLAte: From Beans to Bliss, SueEllen Mancini and Albert Daniel will talk about their love of the cacao bean and its meaning to their careers and lives in Los Angeles with Milena Acosta, Associate Director of Community Engagement at NHM.

The much-anticipated Mickalene Thomas show All About Love opens at The Broad this week. You have all summer to get downtown and explore the celebrated artist’s unique take on Black femininity and power in 80 pieces of her work created over the past 20 years. Thomas uses collage and a big-scale approach in her art (well-suited to The Broad’s massive space) in pieces like the twelve-foot-wide I’m Feelin Good (2014).

The Actor’s Gang takes on the Greek chorus in the new show, Topsy Turvy. Tim Robbins wrote, composed and directed what he calls a “musical Greek Vaudeville” that takes a stab at our pandemic and post-pandemic lives by following a Greek chorus disrupted by a mystery illness and their path back to harmony. Not to be confused with the 1999 Mike Leigh movie Topsy-Turvy about Gilbert and Sullivan (no? Just us? Worth streaming it!). Robbins hosts a Q&A following Friday performances; Thursdays are pay-what-you-can.

The third talk in a series about our relationship with AI at the Central Library geared toward teens and adults, this evening is focused on how AI and bias in AI affect law enforcement, healthcare, government, and education. Dr. Avriel Epps brings together scholars in the space including health informatics researcher Charles Senteio and NYU professor Meredith Broussard.

Lucha VaVoom’s latest show, Welcome to Tijuana, has more wrestling, more burlesque, more aerialists, and more, well, va va voom in store. The popular lucha libre-slash-comedy show returns for two nights at The Mayan. Featuring Mexican wrestling stars Rey Horus, Magno “The Man Mountain” Rudo, Extreme Tiger, Vegas’ Black Swan, and more as well as burlesque stars like Emma Vauxdevil and Ruby Champagne, the night is hosted by comedian Drew Carey and the show’s long-time comedian host Blaine Capatch.

Could there be a more appropriate book title for certain stereotypical L.A. denizens than Harvard Law professor Cass Sunstein’s latest, How to Become Famous: Lost Einsteins, Forgotten Superstars, and How the Beatles Came to Be? Sunstein looks at why some people “make it” and some don’t based on data analysis and the role of serendipity (spoiler alert: viral TikTok videos have little to do with it). He speaks with actress Sonya Walger (Lost) at Book Soup.

From shorts to features, animations to dramas, the L.A. Latino International Film Festival is showing dozens of films highlighting the work of Latino creatives in Hollywood. The fest opens with In the Summers, directed by Alessandra Lacorazza, which won the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.

Join Wondery’s May hike crew for a special evening summer hike with adoptable dogs from Pup Culture Rescue. The hike will take you near (of course not up to!) the Hollywood sign for great views and a good workout for you and the dogs. There will also be free drinks from Leisure Hydration.

To discourage no-shows, there's a $15 RSVP fee that will be refunded after the event.

Wine and food samples from dozens of local restaurants and eateries will be featured at this fun annual outdoor South Pasadena community event. Pets and kids welcome!

Orange County 2024 James Beard Award Finalist and tropical tiki bar Strong Water Anaheim has a new menu. Head south to check out drinks like the Corn & Oil or the Black Sesame Colada and fusion dishes like the Brie Cheese Katsu.

Chef Rashida Holmes of popular pop-up Bridgetown Roti is opening her own brick-and-mortar spot in L.A. soon, but in the meantime, join the James Beard Award semifinalist at Connie and Ted’s in WeHo for a special menu featuring items like plantain panzanella and soft shell crab with aloo curry.