Best things to do this weekend in Los Angeles and Southern California: April 4 - 6

I went to an inspiring lecture with Jane Goodall — who turns 91 this week — at Pasadena High School last Sunday. She shared stories from her life and the lives of the animals she’s spent her career studying. It was the perfect kickoff to Earth Month (and L.A.’s own upcoming Climate Week) and a reminder that, like nature, we are resilient.

One way to flex your green this month is by participating in CicLAvia — this weekend, it’s “Koreatown meets Hollywood” for the open streets event.

For more to explore, visit LAist.com, where you can listen to or watch Larry Mantle’s special 40th-anniversary show (congrats, Larry!), see the first layer of soil go in at the 101 wildlife crossing and learn about the Hollywood duo behind Argentinian empanada spot Fuegos.

Events

Friday, April 4, 6 p.m.
NCAA Women’s Final Four: UCLA vs. UConn
ESPN, Watch Me! Sports Bar and multiple other bars around the area
COST: VARIES; MORE INFO 

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UCLA forward Timea Gardiner, #30, celebrates her basket with teammates UCLA forward Kendall Dudley, #22, and UCLA forward Angela Dugali, #32.

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Allen J. Schaben

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L.A. Times via Getty Images

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Watch Me! in Long Beach is the place for watching women’s sports in the area (we wrote this piece featuring them last year), so it’s no surprise they will be hosting a big party for the UCLA game against the UConn Huskies in the NCAA Women's Final Four. Of course, bars closer to campus will be rocking, and it’s on ESPN as well. Go Bruins!

Through Saturday, May 3
'Superradiance' 
CTRL Gallery 
945 Chung King Road
Chinatown 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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superradiance.net

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It’s hard to explain, but this very cool installation that first premiered at Tribeca Film Festival is a must-see while it’s here. “Superradiance” is a multiscreen video and sound installation that blends dance, poetry, music, generative visuals and artificial intelligence. Created by L.A.-based artists @memo_akten and @katiepeytonhofstadter, the piece explores the relationship between ourselves and AI using the concept of “embodied simulation — our brain's tendency to unconsciously mirror the movements and experiences of others.”

Saturday, April 5, 9:30 p.m. 
La Roux
El Cid 
4212 Sunset Blvd. 
Silver Lake 
COST: $34.25; MORE INFO

Grammy-winning British synthpop favorite La Roux (Elly Jackson) plays El Cid for the last night of a month-long L.A. residency that’s taken her to several L.A. venues since March. These shows are the first for La Roux in L.A. in a decade; the El Cid show is sold out, but there is a waiting list.

Through Sunday, April 6
Homeboys: A Musical 
Casa 0101
2102 1st St.
Downtown L.A.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

I’m not sure you can get more L.A. than this. Homeboy Industries, the iconic L.A. nonprofit founded by Father Greg Boyle, is now the subject of a new musical. Workshop performances of Homeboys are on this weekend through Sunday, celebrating the organization that began serving former gang members and at-risk youth in 1988. The show “follows six homeboys and homegirls as they try to leave la vida, recounting the founding of Homeboy Industries by Father Greg Boyle and featuring pan-Latin musical styles from 1990s rap to reggaeton and cumbia.”

Following Sunday’s performance, a conversation featuring the creators of Homeboys and members of Homeboy Industries will be moderated by USC professor Robert Hernandez.

Friday, April 4, 8 p.m.
Bardfly Theatre Co. presents Twelfth Night
Boomtown Brewery 
700 Jackson St. 
Arts District 
COST: $15; MORE INFO

A little Shakespeare with your pint? Don’t mind if I do. Bardfly Theatre Company only does site-specific shows, so this time they’ve adapted Shakepeare’s tale of love and mistaken identity to the brewery’s picnic tables. Tickets for the 90-minute retelling of Twelfth Night are general admission; seating is available on a first-come first-serve basis.

Saturday, April 5, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
DTLB Art + Design Walk: Celebrate Downtown Edition
Multiple locations
Long Beach
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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Mike Zampelli

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Courtesy Downtown Long Beach Alliance

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Celebrate downtown Long Beach’s art scene during this free, walkable afternoon with open galleries, live bands and public art. There’s also a free shuttle and the presentation of the annual Spirit of Downtown Awards.

April 4-6
U.S. Hip Hop Dance Championship 
Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel 
2500 N. Hollywood Way
Burbank
COST: FROM $45; MORE INFO

Dance crews from around the country face off at the Hip Hop Dance Championship. Who will rep the USA this summer at the World Hip Hop Dance Championship in Phoenix? The creators of America’s Best Dance Crew host the championships, plus there are dance workshops and competitions for all ages going on throughout the weekend. Check it out with the whole family!

Outdoor Pick

Sunday, April 6, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Composting Workshop
Dirt Girls
Ojai
Address made available with RSVP
COST: $75, FREE FOR FIRST RESPONDERS/DISPLACED FOLKS; MORE INFO 

A compost pile.

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Jessica Langlois for LAist

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Kick off Earth Month with a drive up to Ojai for this unique composting workshop with the environmental collective Dirt Girls. You’ll learn to build usable, nutrient-dense compost using the “hot compost” method with Connor Jones, the founder of the Ojai permaculture site East End Eden. Plus, stick around after for a backyard grill at 5 p.m.

Viewing Pick

Saturday, April 5, 11  a.m.
The Garage and The Battle of the Century
Sierra Madre Playhouse
87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 
Sierra Madre
COST: $12; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Sierra Madre Playhouse

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Sierra Madre Playhouse has teamed up with Retroformat Silent Films for a real treat. A double feature of silent film comedies – The Garage (1920) starring Buster Keaton and Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, and The Battle of the Century (1927) starring Laurel and Hardy. It’s a rare opportunity to see films like this on the big screen.

Dine & Drink Deals

Friday, April 4, 8 a.m.
Levain opening in Venice
Levain
1661 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Venice 

Everyone in Venice has been walking by the Levain storefront for weeks now waiting for those cookies to be ready. I was walking down Abbot Kinney Boulevard yesterday and heard a woman stop a worker wearing a Levain apron to ask when it would be open. Friends, it’s here and if you’re one of the first 100 in line, score a free Levain swag bag. Those cookies the size of your head are baked daily in Venice from this Friday onward. Yum.

Saturday, April 5, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Yama Sushi x domi
Yama Sushi Marketplace 
911 W. Las Tunas Dr. 
San Gabriel 
COST: VARIES; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Domi

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Beautiful little matcha cakes from dōmi are popping up at Yama’s San Gabriel location in all kinds of delightful flavors this weekend. Flavors include: Matcha Red Bean Cake, Blueberry Matcha Cake, a Mini Matcha Strawberry Tart, Yuzu Matcha-Misu, and Chocolate Salted Caramel Black Sesame Cake

Sunday, April 6, 5 p.m.
The White Lotus Grand finale screening party
EDITION 
9040 W. Sunset Blvd. 
West Hollywood 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Morgana O'Reilly, Arnas Fedaravičius, Christian Friedel, Dom Hetrakul and Lalisa Manobal play resort workers in Season 3 of 'The White Lotus.'

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Fabio Lovino

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HBO

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Don’t mix lorazepam with your martini, but do head to the West Hollywood Edition for a free drink and a screening of the season finale of White Lotus. Wear your best tropical caftan and gasp as we all find out (finally, it’s been dragging, hasn’t it?) who fired the shots in the episode 1 opener and what will become of the guests at Thailand’s most luxe resort.