Best things to do in LA and SoCal: Sept. 16-22

I have heard about so many people starting new things this week — new jobs, new schools, new projects. It’s also the start of the Jewish New Year, so a fortuitous time for new beginnings. I hope you’re having a sweet one.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can meet the Glendale singer who made the finals of a Mexican singing contest, check out an exhibit of neurodivergent artists on Abbot Kinney in Venice, and visit the Jewish bakery where recovery and challah are braided together.

Music

Talib Kweli will be at the Blue Note this week.

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Isaiah Trickey

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This week, Licorice Pizza has your sweet, sweet music recs, including:

Wednesday

• Haircut 100 (who just released their first album in 43 years!) headline the Teragram
• Talib Kweli and Friends are at the Blue Note

Thursday 

• Robert Glasper starts his four-night run at the Blue Note 
• Belgian electronic legends Soulwax play their first of two nights the Fonda 

Friday

• Orville Peck with openers Lucius at the Hollywood Bowl
• Gravedgr at the Palladium
• Hedwig & The Angry Inch’s 25th Anniversary celebration with John Cameron Mitchell at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre 

Saturday 

• Sofi Tukker at the Greek
• “Weird Al” Yankovic at the Honda Center
• AFI at the Observatory

Sunday 

• Mike D’s first of two nights at the Observatory 
• Chance the Rapper plays the Hollywood Palladium
• Yellow Magic Orchestra legend Haruomi Hosono with Toro y Moi are at the Greek

Monday

• Lily Allen performs West End Girl at the Greek Theatre
• Kelela at the Wiltern (also on Tuesday)

Tuesday 

• Pond at the Bellwether
• Renée Fleming with Béla Fleck and My Bluegrass Heart (feat. Aoife O’Donovan) at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Events

World’s Largest Beach Cleanup

Saturday, Sept. 19, 4 p.m. 
Lifeguard Tower 18 
Venice Beach 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Volunteers participate during the LA28 Venice Beach Clean-Up at Venice Beach on December 05, 2025.

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Katelyn Mulcahy

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Leave it to Venice to have a beach cleanup with an afterparty. Join the attempt to make this weekend’s event the world’s largest beach cleanup (a worthy cause!) and like Rio, keep on dancing on the sand for hours after.

Urs Fischer 

Through Saturday, Oct. 3
Jeffrey Deitch
925 N. Orange Drive, Hollywood
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Urs Fischer

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Jeffrey Dietch

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You have a couple weeks left to catch Swiss artist Urs Fischer’s show at Jeffrey Deitch, where he uses the vast space to its fullest, creating installations of unexpected everyday objects (desk chairs, rotting fruit, melted wax) in some unique (and sometimes compromising) configurations.

Sutton Foster teaches dance fitness

Sept. 17, 22, 24
The Limit at Sierra Madre Dance Center
154 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre
COST: $40; MORE INFO

Sutton Foster will be teaching three dance fitness classes in Sierra Madre.

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Bruce Glikas

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I'm too nervous and uncoordinated to show up to this class, but if you go, please report back and tell me how amazing it was to dance with the queen of Broadway herself, Sutton Foster. The tap-tastic star is coming to teach a dance workout class with The Limit, so whether you’re looking for a workout or your next starring role, this is the spot.

Other Places Art Fair 

Saturday, Sept. 19, 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. 
Angels Gate
3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Angels Gate hosts a fair of underrepresented artists and craftspeople for the Other Places Art Fair. The decommissioned Battery Leary-Merriam Army battery makes for a unique backdrop to explore work from artists of all backgrounds. Plus, there will be hands-on weaving, voice and rhythm meditation, embroidery, printmaking, and mixed-media sculpture workshops.

Steampunk Rocket Ship Papercraft Workshop 

Sunday, Sept. 20, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 
CRASH Space
10526 Venice Blvd., Culver City
COST: $55.20; MORE INFO

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CRASH Space

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You don’t have to be a kid — just a kid at heart — to get your creative juices flowing and make a light-up rocket ship out of hand-inked paper. Run by Ink and Paper Apothecary, no experience is necessary, and the fee includes all materials; you’ll leave with your own unique piece to take home and display. Up, up and away!

Water for Elephants 

Through Sunday, Sept. 27
Pantages Theatre
6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood 
COST: FROM $69; MORE INFO 

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Matthew Murphy

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Broadway in Hollywood

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The seven-time Tony-nominated musical Water for Elephants makes the circus come alive onstage through incredible acrobatics and performance magic. It’s only here through Sept. 27, so catch the Broadway tour while you can.

Orange County Burger Week 

Through Saturday, Sept. 26
Multiple locations
COST: VARIES; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Moxxe PR

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Head to Orange County for the best burgers across the area all week long. The menus are up, and the deals are in, so check out a burger a day from Anaheim to Newport. Burgers are priced at $10, $15, $20, $25, $30 and $35. New this year are Luxury Burger Pairings, where premium burgers meet curated wine pairings and handcrafted cocktails, plus dedicated specialty and vegetarian/vegan menus. All participating restaurants, menus and pairings are updated at BurgerWeek.com.

LA in Motion, Now & Next: Reimagining Public Art, Access and Policy

Wednesday, Sept. 16, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Wende Museum 
10808 Culver Blvd., Culver City 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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The Wende Museum's Community Center

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Curious about where art and transport intersect in L.A.? A panel of art experts will discuss the future of public art, accessibility and policy in L.A. at this Arts Council of Los Angeles session. A reception will precede (and follow) the panel discussion, and if you haven’t spent any time in the Wende’s lovely courtyard, this is a great chance to hang in one of the city’s best-kept-secret gardens.

The Ford/Hill Project (West Coast Premiere)

Thursday to Saturday, Sept. 17–19, 8 p.m.
REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater)
631 W. 2nd St., Downtown L.A. 
COST: $35; MORE INFO

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Emilio Madrid

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The Redcat

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Using real Congressional audio testimony from Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford, this new docu-play explores what happened in the time in between the two testified and how far (or not) we’ve come. The powerful piece is only here Sept. 17 to 19 after an explosive premiere at BAM in New York last week.

TenderFest 

Saturday, Sept. 19, 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The Wallis
9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills 
COST: $65; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy TenderFest

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We have a debate in our house about whether it’s “chicken tenders” or “chicken tendies” (a word that, frankly, gives me the ick). But no matter what you call them — nuggets, strips, whatever — they're all delicious, and they can all be yours at TenderFest, an all-you-can-eat celebration of the mighty chicken tender. It returns to The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills this Saturday. There will be big-name chefs taking part, a sauce squad walking around with a selection of dips, and maybe even some low-key celeb sightings because, you know, it’s Beverly Hills.

Summer of '94 LA Community Day

Saturday, Sept. 19, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Evolve LA
1921 Blake Ave., Frogtown
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

The USA team celebrating during their game against Colombia in the first stage of the 1994 World Cup Finals.

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Shaun Botterill

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Maybe you still have World Cup fever, or maybe you want to relive the excitement of the U.S.A.'s exciting run as hosts of the 1994 World Cup, as documented in the film Summer of '94. You can join in a conversation with 1994 US Men’s National Team member and soccer legend Cobi Jones, plus Olympian and former Angel City FC captain Ali Riley at Evolve LA on Saturday. There will also be a skills clinic and a light lunch.