Best things to do this weekend in Los Angeles and Southern California: August 9 - 11

Daily art classes, more than 180 local artists, live music, and more are all part of the summer-long Sawdust Art Festival in charming downtown Laguna Beach. This weekend is a great time to go because L.A. County residents get in free on Sunday, but it’s open through Sept. 1 and any other time general admission is $12. Sunday also features the Artists' Benevolence Fund Auction, a live auction with 100% of the proceeds benefiting Laguna Beach artists in time of emergency.

Time and again, the Nisei Week Japanese Festival is on L.A.’s “best” lists for the year, and why is no surprise. With a big parade, Ondo dancing, delicious eats, art exhibits, and a festival vibe all through Little Tokyo for the week, the celebration is always a local favorite. Plan your visit and check out the dozens of shows and events in their online booklet or just take a ride downtown and wander through.

Stephen Sondheim’s Company is a uniquely adult musical about marriage, and this touring production of last year’s Broadway hit gender swaps the lead, Bobbie, and takes a revelatory modern take on an already groundbreaking show. With classics like “Ladies Who Lunch” (remember the pandemic Zoom version with Meryl Streep?), “Being Alive” and of course the fast-talking “Getting Married Today,” Sondheim fans and newcomers alike will love it.

A summer adventure up to Mt. Wilson Observatory (home of the LAist radio signal!) is well worth your time to experience the combination of science, art, and architecture that make it special. The dome has been transformed this summer into an immersive exhibit called Of Sea and Sky — open on weekends through October 20 — with video installations from Rebeca Méndez and large-scale prints by Stephen Nowlin. On select Sundays, the exhibit isn’t on view, because the observatory’s artistic director Cécilia Tsan has curated a series of concerts that make the most of the incredible acoustics in the dome. This Sunday, L.A. string group Rogue Lemon Collective will play; there will also be a reception with light refreshments in between the concerts at 4 p.m.

You could spend all day navigating the entertainment-themed experiences that have taken over Century City mall lately. Whether you’re a Colleen Hoover fan, obsessed with the spy antics of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, an Anglophile who’s watched every episode of The Crown, or have kids (or grown-ups!) who love The Little Mermaid, there’s something for you to do in between getting gelato at Eataly and returning those seemed-good-at-the-time Nordstrom anniversary sale purchases (just me?).

At the It Ends with Us experience, fans can visit a real-life version of Lily Bloom’s iconic floral shop ahead of the movie (starring Blake Lively). The Mr. & Mrs. Smith Escape Room runs through Monday; the experience puts you in Amazon Prime’s spy cat-and-mouse game starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine. It’s free, but you need to book a time. The Crown pop-up has photo ops from the set of the show. And ongoing this summer is the extensive Little Mermaid experience at CAMP, which lets kids sit on King Triton’s throne, visit Ariel’s trinket grotto, and more.

Through August 11
It Ends With Us pop-up experience
The Crown pop-up experience 
COST: FREE

Ongoing 
Mr. & Mrs. Smith Escape Room 
COST: FREE

CAMP x The Little Mermaid
COST: $44

Meet up in Culver City to watch the end of the Paris 2024 Olympics on a huge LED screen and count down to the next summer Olympics happening right here in L.A. The community celebration will also have food, music, games, and more.

Word Theatre brings their brand of immersive storytelling to work by Chicano authors at this special event at Bergamot Station. Actors Richard Cabral, Diana Maria Riva, and Remy Ortiz will perform stories from Daniel Olivas’s new book My Chicano Heart: New and Collected Stories. Former Poet Laureate of Los Angeles Luis Rodriguez and writer and poet Estella González will also be featured at the event; books (and tacos!) will be available for purchase.

We often suggest hikes and nature walks along the L.A. River in this column and this weekend is your chance to support and learn more about the ecosystem right in our backyard. Join Friends of the L.A. River for their third annual celebration of the river with eco-activities, live performances, an art gallery, food trucks, and more at the L.A. State Historic Park.

Dozens of short films – some of which you may just see in the Oscar nominations next year – are showing at the annual HollyShorts Film Festival, which honors the best in short films, from comedies to sports movies, dramas, and more. It’s always amazing how much narrative can get squeezed into less than 20 minutes – makes me think about these too-long Netflix series that probably should have been a short! The festival also has panels with filmmakers and expert sessions on marketing your short film, navigating legal questions, working with agents, and more.

Get your luau on at Gladstones with traditional Hawaiian food, tropical drinks (mai tais served in pineapples and pina coladas in coconuts, yessss!), live hula performances, fire dancing, Hawaiian music, and a live set by the Royal Rats.

Rush Park in Rossmoor is the setting for this food festival, complete with a beer garden, live music, a carnival, and more than 50 gourmet food vendors.

Is there a happier Happy Meal than one that comes with free braiding and haircuts for kids? Book a free appointment and head to the McDonald’s on La Tijera for McDonald’s treats, music, games and free hair styling for students from Pre-K to Grade 12.