Best Things To Do This Weekend In Los Angeles And Southern California: Sept. 22 - 24

Take a Haunted Hayride. Attend a hands-on citrus tree workshop. Listen to Mortified storytellers. Join Lucha VaVOOM in celebrating luchador and queer icon Cassandro.

Events

Friday, Sept. 22; 7:30 p.m.

The Queen of the Ring
The Mayan Theatre
1038 S Hill St., downtown L.A. 
Lucha VaVOOM celebrates wrestling star Cassandro with The Queen of the Ring ─ a tribute show that honors the luchador and queer icon, who will be in attendance. The live show also spotlights the new feature film Cassandro (which also premieres Friday on Prime Video) and is based on Cassandro’s story as someone who defiantly fought homophobia throughout his career. This show is 21+.
COST: $45 - $90; MORE INFO

Fridays through Sundays through Oct. 29

Castle Dark
Castle Park
3500 Polk St., Riverside
Enter your worst nightmare at the annual nighttime experience, which debuts six all-new haunts, including the first-ever all-female cast starring in the ghostly Shipwreck Cove. Castle Dark is not recommended for children 13 or younger or the faint of heart. There’s also a family-friendly, daytime Dia de Los Muertos event running from Sept. 29 - Oct. 29 on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 5:30 p.m., celebrating Mexican and Latin American fall traditions.
COST: Tickets from $19.99 presale; MORE INFO

Actor Tim Meadows attends the Build Series in 2016 in New York City. He performs at The Wallis in Beverly Hills this weekend.

(

Matthew Eisman

/

Getty Images

)

Friday, Sept. 22; 7:30 p.m.

Tim Meadows
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Bram Goldsmith Theater
9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills
Legendary Saturday Night Live star and comic Tim Meadows performs standup on stage in Beverly Hills for one night only. In addition to SNL, Meadows has starred in Mean Girls and series fan favorites such as Disney Channel's Even Stevens.
COST: $29 - $39; MORE INFO

The Los Angeles Haunted Hayride returns to the Old Zoo at Griffith Park for Halloween season.

(

Courtesy of the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride

)

Friday, Sept. 22 - Tuesday, Oct. 31

Los Angeles Haunted Hayride
Old Zoo at Griffith Park
4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Griffith Park
The park’s grounds are once again transformed into Midnight Falls, an eerie village where it's always Halloween. This year’s haunt features new effects and horror scenes, a new maze titled Hellbilly Halloween and Zombie Splat — A GellyBall Experience (a paintball-like experience with less impact). The experience may be too intense for those 12 and younger.
COST: Tickets start at $29.99 on select nights; MORE INFO

Saturday, Sept. 23; 7:30 p.m.

Mortified
Dynasty Typewriter
2511 Wilshire Blvd., Westlake
One of the OG storytelling nights returns with adults taking to the stage to share their most embarrassing childhood artifacts (from journals, letters, poems, lyrics, plays, home movies, art) in front of total strangers. Ages 18+.
COST: $20 - $30; MORE INFO

The L.A. International Ukulele Festival returns with a weekend of music and family fun in Torrance.

(

Courtesy Shane O'Donnell

)

Saturday, Sept. 23 - Sunday, Sept. 24

L.A. International Ukulele Festival
Torrance Cultural Arts Center, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance 
The family-friendly festival dedicated to the small, four-stringed instrument offers classes, workshops, and presentations for all levels of playing ability and performances. The weekend also hosts a Ukulele Marketplace where guests can browse boutique Ukulele builders, accessories and ukuleles handcrafted in Hawaii, as well as take in open mic performances.
COST: $20 - $47 (main concert performance extra); MORE INFO

Saturday, Sept. 23; 6 p.m.

Opera at the Beach and Opera in the Park: Don Giovanni
Santa Monica Pier — 200 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica
La Mirada Community Regional Park — 13701 S. Adelfa Ave., La Mirada
Pack a picnic and bring your lawn chairs for the opening night of Don Giovanni under the stars. The L.A. Opera’s season-opening production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's masterpiece will be transmitted live in high-definition video from nine cameras at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown L.A. to large LED screens at La Mirada Community Regional Park and the Santa Monica Pier. Arts and crafts activities will be onsite for families to enjoy before the simulcast begins.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Saturday, Sept. 23; 8 p.m.

J. Ivy and Ensemble Poetry Uncut: Part I UCLA
Nimoy Theater
1262 Westwood Blvd., Westwood
UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) inaugurates its new UCLA Nimoy Theater (The Nimoy) with a performance by Grammy Award-winning poet, spoken word artist and songwriter J. Ivy is joined by singer Tarrey Torae and guest musicians. The evening is the first installment of Poetry Uncut, a four-part series of curated poetry evenings and music hosted by Ivy throughout the season.
COST: $32; MORE INFO

Saturdays, Sept. 23 - Dec. 2; 10:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Citrus Workshop Series 
Franklin Canyon Orange Grove 
1400 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills
Fruitstitute and Los Angeles Parks Foundation present a workshop series at the Franklin Canyon Orange Grove, one of L.A.’s original citrus orchards that sits on a 4.3-acre parcel in Beverly Hills. The trees are harvested each year by volunteers who distribute the fruit to local food pantries and soup kitchens. The workshop series helps care for the trees and prepares them for the annual harvest. Each workshop begins with a lecture on seasonal care followed by a two-hour pruning session. The workshop fee includes snacks and water provided.
COST: $50; MORE INFO

Volunteers clean litter on a windy Venice Beach as part of an Earth Day cleanup in 2022. There's a beach cleanup this weekend in Newport Bay.

(

Mario Tama

/

Getty Images

)

Saturday, Sept. 23; 9 a.m. - noon

Coastal Cleanup Day on Upper Newport Bay
Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center
2301 University Drive, Newport Beach
OC Parks and the Newport Bay Conservancy hold a cleanup day at Upper Newport Bay. Join in to remove trash and recyclables from the marsh, waterway and beaches. This year’s goal is to remove more than 10,000 pounds of trash.
COST: FREE, but registration required; MORE INFO

Saturday, Sept. 23; 2 - 5 p.m.

The Passage 
Discount Mirrors Gallery
7039 N. Figueroa St., Highland Park 
The gallery holds a special event on Saturday — featuring Tarot with the Tarot Nerd and sounds from John Vu — during the run of its inaugural group show The Passage. Curated by Liz Walsh, the show features artists from L.A. and the Bay Area who focus on transformation and shifts in perception. Artists include Adam Scott, Alex Sanchez, Amber Jean Young, Brad Eberhard, Daniela Soberman, Francesca Bifulco, Jay Erker, Johanna St. Clair, Jovi Schnell, Jon-Paul Villegas, Kyle Ranson, Maximus Oppenheimer, Thomas Linder and Veronica de Jesus. The show’s on view through Oct. 2.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Sunday, Sept. 24; 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Abbot Kinney Festival
Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice
Party with 150,000 of your BFFs along a stretch of Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Indulge in food, art, vendors, beer gardens, live music and community. There are charges for some activations and fast passes are available for the beer gardens.
COST: FREE admission; MORE INFO

Sunday, Sept. 24; 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Dino Fest 
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM)
900 Exposition Blvd., Exposition Park  
NHM focuses on the dinosaurs for this one-day festival featuring talks with museum paleontologists, hands-on activities and rare specimens, such as the Coelophysis, from the museum’s collections.
COST: $7 - $18; MORE INFO

Outdoor Pick

Illuminate the Night
On Saturday, Sept. 23, from 6 to 9 p.m., join in a free community festival by the L.A. River Bike Path in Frogtown from Fletcher Drive to the Taylor Yard Bicycle & Pedestrian Bridge. Attendees are asked to wear lighted attire, bring hand-held lights and decorate the path with lights. While traveling along the river, stop to listen to music, a spoken-word performance or watch dance and light installations. Please try and leave the cars at home and opt for public transportation, people power or rideshares.

Viewing Pick

Friday, Sept. 22; 7 p.m.

Chinatown Punk Wars 
Grand Performances
Two California Plaza
350 S. Grand Ave, downtown L.A.
Kick off of the LAist + KCET ARTBOUND Screening Series with a free screening, conversation, and performance by The Linda Lindas. The film examines how two Chinese restaurants became the unlikely epicenter of L.A.’s burgeoning punk rock scene in the late 1970s. The post-screening panel features The Linda Lindas, punk rock trailblazer Alice Bag (The Bags), and UCLA’s Jessica Schwartz, moderated by LAist Studios’ Antonia Cereijido. The evening will conclude with a LIVE performance by The Linda Lindas at Grand Performances. If you miss the screening of the film, Chinatown Punk Wars premieres on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m. on KCET / Friday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Agua Viva’s brunch includes the Ocean’s Bounty, a selection of seasonal raw bar favorites including oysters, crab salpicon and tuna ceviche.

(

Katrina Frederick

/

Courtesy of Aqua Viva

)

Dine and Drink Deals

Here are a few dine and drink options to indulge in this week.

• A Taste of Italy takes place at Pico House in downtown L.A. on Saturday, Sept. 23, starting at 5 p.m. Presented by the IAMLA (Italian American Museum of Los Angeles), the night features Italian food and wines from the region’s best Italian restaurants, authentic products, and live performances. Participating vendors include Antica Pizzeria da Michele, Drago Centro, San Antonio Winery, and dozens of others. Tickets start at $90.
• On Friday, Sept. 22, from 9 p.m. to midnight, celebrate the end of summer with Eataly’s first-ever after-hours storewide festival. Graze tasting stations featuring bites, summer cocktails, wines, craft beer and live entertainment. There’s also a VIP component starting at 10 p.m., giving ticketholders access to Terra’s Rooftop with a DJ and an exclusive cocktail. Tickets: $95 - $115.
• The Torrance Beer Run returns from Sept. 23 - 30. The fourth annual event, presented by Discover Torrance, is a self-paced tour of 12 breweries around Torrance. You can lace up your sneakers, but there’s no actual running required. Collect a stamp in your Beer Run Passport from each stop and turn in your completed passport for a limited edition 2023 Torrance Beer Run Hat. Completed passports can be redeemed for the Beer Run Hat at Smog City Brewing Co. (Del Amo Blvd. location) or HopSaint Brewing Co. and for a pair of super handy bottle opener sunglasses at the CA Welcome Center at Del Amo Fashion Center.
• The L.A. Times Food Bowl’s Night Market 2023 takes over the Paramount Studios Backlot this weekend (Sept. 22 - 24). Taste hundreds of different flavors and cultures that make L.A. such a culinary melting pot with three different experiences throughout the weekend. Friday night (21+) is Fiesta Friday; Saturday (21+)is Saturday Night Flavor Night; and Sunday is an all-ages brunch. The weekend features food demos, talks and chef appearances. Tickets: $50 - $600.
• Agua Viva by José Andrés, the open-air restaurant on the 10th floor of Conrad Los Angeles in DTLA presents a drag brunch on Sunday, Sept. 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of their ongoing DJ brunch series. Watch queens such as Jamila Skye, Charlotte Goodenough, Laylah Amor, Karen Beaches and Amber Crane perform throughout the venue. Admission is free, and the restaurant’s regular brunch menu — including Torrejas, Jamón and Eggs and a selection of seasonal raw bar favorites including oysters, crab salpicon and tuna ceviche — will be available. 
• Madre Oaxacan Restaurant & Mezcaleria opens its fourth location on Thursday, Sept. 21, in Santa Clarita. Along with Oaxacan cuisine, owner Ivan Vasquez offers a curated selection of more than 500 bottles of mezcal.