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Not going to Comic-Con? No worries because LAist presents its carefully curated lists of things to do, including these 21 events happening right here at home. Don’t forget to check out our July Guide for other options, too.
FRIDAY, JULY 10
MUSIC: Low Roar and Active Child play a show at the the Immanuel Presbyterian Church on Friday night. Low Roar just released their new Remix EP and Active Child’s promoting its sophomore release, Mercy. Doors at 7 pm. Tickets: $25-$35.
GARDEN PARTY: The Natural History Museum holds a free Summer Nights in the Garden event on Friday night beginning at 5 pm. Listen to DJs spinning tunes throughout the grounds, sip on garden-inspired cocktails, participate in arts & crafts activities and hands-on garden workshops (pickling, building bee hotels) and check out some art and performances, too. Bring a picnic or buy from one of the foodtrucks on site: Green Truck, Coolhaus and Mandoline Grill. Free admission. RSVP guarantees entry.
THEATER: Unbound Productions presents Wicked Lit — The Monkey's Paw and a world premiere, staged reading of H.P. Lovecraft’s From Beyond. The show runs weekends from Friday to July 25. The performances require the audience to move with the action through the venue—Mountain View Mausoleum in Altadena. This weekend’s performances are at 7 pm, 8 pm and 9 pm and tickets are $25.
COMEDY: The Nerdist Stage welcomes Karen, its improv house team, who opens for the renowned improv troupe Big Black Car on Friday (and every second Friday of the month). The Nerdist Stage, an offshoot of the Nerdist School, offers classes every day and shows at the Stage each weekend. The Nerdist Stage is located next to Meltdown, and all shows are free. Karen is on at 9 pm.
FILM: Television: A Reunion (20 Years Later) is at NerdMelt on Friday at 8 pm. Imagine all the stars of Lost getting back together to share stories and reminisce about the series—except that no one could show up in person—and their places are taken by great comedians. On Friday, the cast features: David Blue, Mike Schmidt, Chad Fogland, Daisy Faith, Gina Ippolito, Bennie Arthur, Samm Levine, Steve Benaquist and Jim Bruce. The night’s hosted by Paul Goebel. Tickets: $8-$10.
COMEDY: Comedian Daniel Tosh, executive producer and host of Comedy Central’s Tosh.0. tapes a live comedy special this weekend at the Wilshire Ebell Theater on Friday and Saturday at 8 pm. Tickets are $75+ fees.
SUNSET SWIM: The Annenberg Beach House holds a Sunset Swim on Friday night from 6:30-9:30 pm for adults 18+. There will be pool games, arts & crafts, a sing-along, s’mores and more(s). Tickets: $10.
MUSIC + MORE: FIGat7th presents a Downtown Festival every Friday night in the summer starting this week. Free concert at 8 pm (7 pm doors) by King and Mara Hruby. Get to Figat7th early for happy hour priced food and drinks from select eateries inside TASTE Food Hall.
SATURDAY, JULY 11
PODCASTING 101: Poketo hosts a Podcasting 101 workshop on Saturday from 2-5 pm at the Line Hotel in Ktown. Led by Hrishikesh Hirway, the man behind the Song Exploder podcast, he’ll talk about the nuts and bolts of getting your show up and running. Bring a laptop, smartphone or tablet and examples of podcasts you enjoy. Participants of the workshop will automatically get a free ticket to the live taping of Song Exploder with Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast on Sunday at 7 pm at The Line Hotel.
MUSIC: The Getty Center’s Saturdays Off the 405 series features spectacular views, art, DJ sets and live performances by emerging bands and artists. The series continues on Saturday from 6-9 pm with the Van Pierszalowsk’s latest project, Waters. Parking is $10 at the Getty after 5 pm. Free.
POKÉMON MUSIC: Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions a video game concert of the year dedicated to the music and evolution of the Pokémon franchise. The concert features all-new orchestral arrangements and visuals that include images from recent and classic Pokémon video games. Tickets: $53.40-$119.05.
COMEDY + HIP-HOP: Can I Kick It? returns to NerdMelt on Saturday at 9 pm. The evening is a mashup of Mystery Science Theater meets Biz Markie. Hosted by comedian Al Jackson, he’s joined by Joe DeRosa and Tone Bell to review and do live commentary on some choice videos from from the ‘70s to ‘90s. DJ Josh Spoon spins before the show. Tickets: $8 in advance, $10 at the door.
COMEDY: Hollywood Rooftop Comedy presents Andrew Santino & Friends + Special Guests and More! The show takes place on top of the Montalban Theater in Hollywood and features standup by Santino, Jerrod Carmichael, Fahim Anwar and Sarah Tiana, a DJ and drink specials. Tickets: $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Must be 21+ to attend. 8 pm.
CRAFT FAIR: The Renegade Craft Fair returns to LA’s Grand Park on July 11 and 12 from 11 am to 6 pm each day. The weekend features the talents and crafts of more than 300 makers and vendors as well as music, food trucks and craft workshops. Free admission.
SKATE: The 2015 Street League Skateboarding (SLS) Nike SB World Tour is returns to L.A. to start the season at USC’s Galen Center on Saturday from 12-9 pm. The event is part of a professional street skateboarding competition series, in which each tour stop progressively determines who will make it into the SLS Nike SB Super Crown World Championship in Chicago. Tickets start at $30 and are good for all day.
ART: Crewest and Open Space cafe and gallery present a collection of paintings by Codak Smith, curated by Man One. “Codak's work is defined by an acute sense of how to utilize space & composition in an organic fashion while maintaining a constructed approach with a mixed media base.” The reception is on Saturday from 7-10 pm. Special guest DJs Young Einstein and Phyz Ed spin tunes in the back theater. RSVP to rsvp@crewest.com.
FOOD FEST: The 6th Annual LA Street Food Fest is at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. Enjoy street-inspired eats from more than 100 vendors, including food trucks, old school carts and stands, celeb chefs and brick-and-mortar restaurants. Craft beer and cocktails, wine, tequila tastings, an iced coffee lounge, ice cream and more will complement the food and ensure that you definitely won’t be able to button that top button on your jeans. The fest runs 3-8 pm with all you can eat, all you can drink tickets $60-$90 (for VIP early entry). The event is all ages.
SITE-SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE: Everywhere in Between is a video installation by artist Kate Johnson, who takes over Bergamot Station on Saturday from 8:30-10:30 pm. The project is a large scale exploration and transformation of public space with projection art, dance, lights and performance. Joining Johnson in the endeavor are Pennington Dance Group, light installation artist Greg Christy, violinist Lili Haydn, composers Kate Crash and Michael Maio, and spoken word artist Victoria Looseleaf. Free.
SUNDAY, JULY 12
POP-UP PARTY: Boulevard Brewing Company presents the pop-up party BLVD on the Pier on Sunday from 1-5 pm to celebrate the West Coast launch of Boulevard Beer in California. They’re setting up a bar on the pier to offer a Boulevard craft beers for just $5 and eats from Clutch in Venice. Backyard games will be available to play, too, including ping pong from Beard Pong, Bimini Ring Toss, cornhole, and oversized Labyrinth, Connect Four and Jenga. Live music by Only You and trunk shows by Abbot Kinney’s vintage shop Pistol Club, Whimsy and Row, and Valentine. The party is open to guests ages 21+ with RSVP.
BASTILLE DAY:: Bouchon Beverly Hills throws an Ultime Partie Française on the Canon Park Gardens in Beverly Hills on Sunday to celebrate Bastille Day. The day-long party is being held from 1-6 pm and features live music from Vintage Confidential beginning at 3 pm, $5 beer and wine, $8 waffles with Nutella and cream and other French treats, and an 8 pm outdoor screening of Ratatouille. Inside the restaurant, Bouchon offers $2 oysters at the Raw Bar and a Supper Special: Braised short-ribs Bourguignon, pomme puree, bacon & onions.
MUSIC: On Sunday night at 7 pm, The Theatre at Ace Hotel welcomes the L.A.-based duo The Bird and the Bee with Zee Avi. Tickets are $25-$30. Doors at
Related: LAist’s July Guide
Want the 411 on additional events and happenings in LA? Follow @LAist or me (@christineziemba) on Twitter.
