“Roaring Nights at the L.A. Zoo”
This summer music series brings together popular indie bands, LA food trucks, full-service bars, pop-up zookeeper talks, animal encounters and a DJ dance party. Select animal habitats and exhibits, including the new “Rainforest of the Americas” that features endangered, rare and exotic animals from Mexico, Central and South America, will be open during these after-hours concert nights. Ticket prices are $18 for regular admission; $15 for GLAZA members; Friday, 7 – 10 pm; 5333 Zoo Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90027; 323.644.4200
The Pikey’s Vintage Whiskey Menu
If you’re a whiskey lover, you’re going to want to head over to The Pikey for their new vintage whiskey menus. It’s full of stuff like 129-proof ’83 Glen Mhor, ’42 Catto’s and shots from extinct distilleries. 7617 W Sunset Blvd.; 323.850.5400
L.A. Live Presents: Dark Nights
Celebrate DTLA’s culture by experiencing the best of its music, art, and food! Snag $5 food and drink menus from Wolfgang Puck’s Bar & Grill, Katsuya, Lucky Strike, and more! Friday, 5-11:30 pm; L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Downtown
Tall Ships Festival
I can be you have never seen a 60-foot rubber duck (unless you have been to this festival before). It’s part of the Port of LA’s Tall Ships Festival. I mean it floats, so does that make it a ship? $5-85; Through Sunday; LA Waterfront, 600 Sampson Way, San Pedro; 310.732.3508
Eat| See | Hear: Princess Bride
Spend your Saturday than with this classic movie and enjoy a picnic. Everyone loves the Princess Bride, plus munch on food from food trucks Roll’N Lobster and Coolhaus. Saturday, 8:30 pm; La Cienega Park, 8400 Gregory Way, Los Angeles, CA 90211
Summer Soiree at Lounge Spa
Who doesn’t need a little pampering? Bring your friends and enjoy snacks and cocktails while shopping for jewelry, apparel, and body care items. Free; Friday, 7-9 pm; Lounge Spa, 4130 Sepulveda Blvd., Suite C, Culver City
Taste of Brews
Sip dozens of seasonal, craft and micro-brews from local and international breweries at the summer craft brew festival. $32.50–42.50; Saturday, noon-4 pm; Lighthouse Park, 200 Aquarium Way, Long Beach; 714.375.1132
Fiesta La Ballona
Enjoy an afternoon of live music, a variety of food from food trucks and vendors, a beer and wine garden, carnival rides and many family-oriented attractions at the annual festival that celebrates Culver City. Free.; Friday-Sunday; 4117 Overland Ave., Culver City
Long Beach BBQ Festival
Grab your eating pants and ditch the vegans for a taste of some of the most extravagant smoked meats in SoCal. As part of this three-day competition, you’ll indulge in juicy ribs, tri tip, pulled pork, sausages, and much more. Come hungry! $15; Friday-Sunday, various times; Rainbow Lagoon, Shoreline Dr., Long Beach
Design Competition,Fabric Swap and Boutique
Maker City LA will be hosting this event for aspiring designers on a budget! So, fashion designers, clean out your studio (apartment) and network with local designers to swap unused fabrics, threads, buttons, etc. $12; Saturday, noon-5 pm; 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica
Ugi Fit class at Winsor Pilates
Snag one of the limited spots at this intense (and awesome) free workout class. Ugi combines strength, cardio, core, and balance using the Ugi ball! You’ll have a blast while getting your exercise on with LA’s top Pilates and fitness instructors! Free; Saturday, 1-3:30 pm; Winsor Pilates West Hollywood Studio, 8204 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood
Elation Pool Party
Vegas isn’t the only place throwing poppin’ pool parties (although, that’s where I’ll be this weekend)! Put on your most fabulous bikini and spend the day dancing by the pool with your friends. Saturday, 1-6 pm; The Sofitel Luxury Hotel, 8555 Beverly Blvd., Beverly Grove
Vegan Pop-Up Shop
The Eastside is probably those most vegan part of the city and Echo Park will soon be home to PETA’s very first vegan pop-up shop. The rooftop deck of their Bob Barker Building will be transformed into a shopping bazaar filled with dozens of ethical fashion brands, including Cri de Couer, Sydney Brown and MooShoes. Pressed Juicery and Courtesan Cupcakes will be in the house too. Saturday, 11 am-6 pm; PETA‘s Bob Barker Building, 2154 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles 90026
FIGat7th Downtown Festival
LA’s shopping, dining, and entertainment destination FIGat7th proudly presents the last of six outdoor concerts at the FIGat7th Downtown Festival. The festival’s final performances will feature The Belle Brigade and In The Valley Below. Kevin Bronson of BuzzBands.LA will host the evening. Free; Friday; 735 S Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90017
ACME Bar Crawl
The Historic Core and Financial District of DTLA is getting some foot traffic this weekend with this crawl hosted by ACME Hospitality Group. All five of ACME’s downtown establishments will be part of the crawl: Beelman’s Pub, Spring St. Bar, Library Bar, Sixth St. Tavern, and King Eddy Saloon. Along with fine cocktails, the event is equal parts grub crawl, and you will get your fill of the greasy pub fare with each stop. Diverting from the usual playbook, you can cut your own path, starting at any establishment. However, the end party is at King Eddy Saloon, where you can join a dirty 90’s disco, as well as raffled giveaways. $35 presale, $45 at the door; Saturday, 5:30 pm – 2 am
Ninth Annual Venice Beach Music Fest
The Venice Beach Music Fest features live music, belly dancers, artists, authors and more. Musical acts include Roots Collective (multi-genre world beat), The Greg Douglass Band (guitarist from Steve Miller Band, Van Morrison), Jah Faith and The Hashishans (reggae), Zen Robbi (swing/funk fusion), The Untouchables (ska), and The King Brothers (blues). Saturday, 11 am-7:30 pm; 1 Windward Ave., Venice (between the boardwalk and the bike path)
Cocktail Theatre at 41 Ocean
National Director of Mixology, Rob Floyd, is bringing his famed Cocktail Theatre to Santa Monica’s members only club, 41 Ocean, yet again! As he embarks on his third show at the oceanfront club, Rob wants to end summer with a bang with his next unique show, “Kama Sutra – Eyes Wide Shut Edition.” Enjoy this one-of-a-kind education tasting series that has interactive storytelling and cocktail tasting. $115; Friday, 7 pm; 1541 Ocean Ave., #150, Santa Monica, CA 90401
The PopUp Dinner Los Angeles presented by Acura
Hosted by HandMade Events, this memorable experience is celebrated as the city’s first-ever white themed picnic. The event will take place in a secret location and this year will feature a locally celebrated DJ and dancing under the stars. The PopUp Dinner Los Angeles is an elegant “pop up” picnic experience that encourages you to be creative with your attire, culinary choices and table design. The exact location will be disclosed to ticket holders via email just two hours before the event, at approximately 3 pm on Saturday. You will also have a unique opportunity to experience the all-new 2015 Acura TLX; the sedan will be transformed into a custom photo booth allowing you to capture the magic of the night. Acura will also provide the means to transport guests’ picnic items and party favors from check-in to the dinner location in style. Saturday, 5-10 pm
PigOut
Building on the success of PigOut 2.0, PigOut 3.0’s main attraction will be a 250 pound Templeton Rye Duroc Pig of the Templeton Rye Heritage Pork Project. Templeton Rye Duroc Pigs are fed a special diet that is formulated to best utilize the spent grain by-product from the Templeton Rye whiskey. Only 25 of these pigs are in existence and PigOut 3.0 is thrilled to featuring one.This year they will also be featuring chefs including Amar Santana of Broadway by Amar Santana, Mark McDonald of Old Vine Cafe, Greg Daniels of Haven Gastropub, and Eric Samaniego of Little Sparrow and cocktail creations by Gabrielle Dion of the Mixing Glass, Jason Schiffer of 320 Main, Jarred Dooley of the Playground, and Koire Rogers of ARC. The culinary demo area is with Mike Puglisi of Electric City Butcher, who will be doing a pig deconstruction demonstration, a pig farmer “Q and A”, and a knife skills demonstration. Sunday, 3-7 pm; The California Scenario (Noguchi Gardens), 611 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
FYF FEST
This festival is back in action again! Catch shows from The Strokes, Darkside, Little Dragon, Tanlines and Balance and Composure, just to name a few. Overall, there are over 60 indie rock bands to check out. Plus, enjoy food and drink vendors. Saturday & Sunday, doors: 2 pm, shows: 2:30 pm-12 am; Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, 3939 S Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA
Balance and Composure
Catch this band at FYF on Sunday and the El Rey Theatre on Monday. Balance and Composure formed in 2007 in Doylestown, PA and have since released two full length albums, Separation (2011) and The Things We Think We’re Missing (2013) and a handful of splits and EPs. The band’s latest record debuted at #51 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart and has been very well received in the media. Influenced by bands like Sunny Day Real Estate, Neutral Milk Hotel and Nirvana, Balance and Composure’s music has a familiar alternative rock sound while crisscrossing genres of indie rock for a sound that is uniquely their own. There latest record has spawned several popular singles and videos including “Reflection,” “Tiny Raindrop” and “Keepsake.”
Shore Hotel’s Cool Down Series
Cool off at the community benches with an artisan ice cream cone or an icy Popsicle this weekend. Downtown’s Peddler’s Creamery will serve bicycle-churned dairy and non-dairy ice cream and frozen desserts. Peddler’s uses only organic ingredients and fair trade chocolates featuring handcrafted classics like fresh strawberry and banana chip to creative combos like mint chocolate cookie, candied kumquat, strawberry basil sorbet, and vegan Mexican Chocolate. $3.50/scoop; Saturday & Sunday, 11 am – 3 pm; 1515 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401; 800.599.1515
Celebrate the Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl
Fifty years ago, this legendary band played their iconic show at the Bowl. To celebrate, Dave Stewart acts as musical director for a surprise cast of performers who’ll run through a night of hits including “Twist and Shout” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” accompanied by vintage film clips. Friday, 2301 N. Highland Ave.; Hollywood
LA Weekly Pancake Breakfast
Over 40 of LA’s top restaurants are serving up their favorite takes on the pancake. You can wash it all down with a selection of cocktails and beer. Participating restaurants include: A-Frame, Amara’s Chocolate & Coffee, Beachwood Cafe, Berlin Currywurst, BLD, Canelé, Copenhagen Pastry, East Borough, Eggslut, EuroPane Bakery, Farmshop, Fifty Seven, Fred 62, Goldie’s, Good Girl Dinette, Gottsui, Huckleberry Bakery & Cafe, Jist Café, Jongewaard’s Bake n Broil, Kitchen Mouse, Kobawoo House, KTCHN DTLA, Little Flower Candy Company, Little Next Door, Locali Conscious Convenience, Localita & The Badasserie, Lucky Duck by Square One, Mendocino Farms, Metro Cafe, McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream, Pez Cantina, Poppy Cake Baking Co. in Sierra Madre, Salt’s Cure, Secret Chinese Delivery, Sweet Butter Kitchen, The Waffle, Valerie Confections, and Wexler’s Deli. $40;
Something About Mary at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
This film has the romance and raunch, which makes it a brilliant 90s comedy from the Farrelly Brothers. Ted (Ben Stiller) gets a chance to meet up with his dream girl from high school, but he’ll have to beat the competition. There’s just something about Mary… Starring Cameron Diaz and Matt Dillon in his most hilarious role. $14; Saturday, 9 pm; 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
Charm City Cakes West Cake Decorating Classes
This weekend learn how to decorate a cake and Say It With An Emoji. You can choose from five different emoji designs to recreate in edible form. Led by the bakery’s team of professional decorators, you will learn a variety of decorating fundamentals, such as working with fondant, creating cut-out designs, and more. Vegan and gluten-free cake options are also available. $100; Saturday, 11 am; 8302-A Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90069; Resys are required: 323.642.7234 or info@charmcitycakeswest.com
Los Angeles Food & Wine
The city’s most jam-packed food festival returns, with events including a tribute to Nancy Silverton, a beer-and-bites brewfest, and the Saturday & Sunday afternoon grand tastings. August 21-24; Various locations
Simply Magical, Tearing Down Walls
Award winning filmmaker Darla Rae (McConnell) is a Pasadena Native and a 1976 graduate of Azusa High School who is returning to her old stomping grounds to debut her new inspirational documentary Simply Magical, Tearing Down Walls. This documentary champions the underdog and is about a group of performers who continue to face their fears. “Simply Magical” chronicles 31 years of a volunteer theater company which blends the talents of professionals, amateurs and members from the special needs community who are the true shining stars. $8; August 22-28, noon; Pasadena Laemmle 7, 673 East Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA
KTOWN Night Market
More food is coming this weekend! A bunch of of KTown’s best chefs are setting up at Angel’s stadium and serving up not-necessarily-Asian awesomeness, ranging from short rib poutine to tostadas to dumplings. $3; Friday-Sunday; Angel Stadium, 2000 E Gene Autry Way, Anaheim, CA 92806
I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky
Southern CA premiere of I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky, composed by John Adams, with a libretto by June Jordan, and performed by Long Beach Opera — Titled after a quote from someone who experienced the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the story is set amid the aftermath of L.A.’s last mega quake. Seven young, diverse Angelenos are intertwined on their journey toward love and self-discovery. $60-125; Saturday, 8 pm; Ford Theatres, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd., East Hollywood, CA 90068; 323.461.3673
Sales:
Beckley
Score 70% off almost everything in store, including brands like Stuart Weitzman, Citizens of Humanity, Theysken’s Theory, Dannijo, Opening Ceremony and more during the boutique’s “Sayonara Summer”sale. Friday-Sunday; 8128 W 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90048; 310.652.3500
Sole Society
Score up to 70% off the accessory brand’s spring and fall footwear, handbags and more during their third pop-up sale at their Culver City HQ. RSVP for your spot here. Saturday & Sunday, noon-4 pm; 8511 Steller Dr., Culver City, CA 90232
Tarina Tarantino
Now until stock lasts, save 30-80% off the DTLA-loving designer’s colorful accessoriess, cosmetics and more during her Melrose shop’s moving sale. 7957 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046; 323.651.5155
Trina Turk
Score apparel, swimwear and more for women and men starting at $30 during the LA designer’s two-day sample sale. Friday, 9 am-6 pm, Saturday, 9 am-5 pm; 3025 W Mission Rd., Alhambra, CA 91803
Tankfarm & Co.
Score up to 75% off apparel, footwear and accessories from Tankfarm, Zanerobe, Herschel Supply Co., Banks, Stussy and more during the stylish men’s boutique’s summer warehouse sale. Saturday, 10 am-7 pm, Sunday, 10 am-4 pm, Monday, 10 am-6 pm; 212 Main St., Seal Beach, CA 90740; 562.594.4800
Reformation
Now until stock lasts, the sustainable LA brand is unveiling a second round of markdowns; expect 60% off dresses, jumpers, tops, bridal gowns and over 400 more just-added styles during their ongoing semi-annual sale. 8253 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046
Riller & Fount
Enjoy up to 80% off the LA basic brand’s tops, dresses, skirts and more during their two-day summer sample sale. Friday, 10 am-3 pm; 308 E 9th St., Los Angeles, CA 90015
Line & Dot
Snap up the LA label’s apparel starting at $10 during the brand’s one-day, cash-only summer sample sale. Saturday, 9 am-2 pm; 2807 S Santa Fe Ave., Vernon, CA 90058
Polkadots & Moonbeams
Now until stock lasts, enjoy up to 50% off brands like Michael Stars, Dolce Vita, Flynn Skye and more during the essential indie boutique’s summer sale. 8361 W 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90048; 323.651.1746
Hudson Jeans
Score 60-80% off the luxe LA denim label’s women’s and men’s jeans during their two-day sample sale. Friday, 11 am-6 pm, Saturday, 10 am-4 pm; 5900 Triumph St., Commerce, CA 90040
Deus Ex Machina, Tavik, More
Enjoy 50-80% off women’s and men’s swimwear, apparel, accessories and more during their warehouse sale in Costa Mesa. Friday & Saturday, 10 am-6 pm, Sunday, 10 am-5 pm; 1981 Placentia Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Current/Elliot, Equipment, Joie
Save an additional 50% off already discounted prices during the three cult cool brands’ major sale. Friday; 4575 District Blvd., Vernon, CA 90058
Surf Bazaar
This weekend, Alchemy Works is joining forces with a bunch of LA boutiques and labels for a two-day Surf Bazaar and sample sale at CNTRL Studios. Score up to 80% off men’s merchandise from shops like Alchemy Works, Wittmore and Lot Stock & Barrel vintage. In addition, local labels like SeaVees (shoes for $10-30 a pair), Grover (boxers and more basics starting at $10 and Wellen (up to half-off shorts and tees) will also be in the house, plus Echo Park Surf Squad‘s Joel K will be spinning tunes. Friday & Saturday, 11 am-5 pm; 836 Traction Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Shopaholic Sample Sales
They are slashing prices even more during their 5th anniversary sale at their boutique. Get labels like Finders Keepers, Cameo, Keepsake and MinkPink, plus Cali-cool basic brands like Dolan, Bobi, Bordeaux, LA Made, Saint Grace and many others for $28, $38 and $48. To keep you hydrated, ice-cold coconut water by Vita Coco will also be in the house. Saturday & Sunday, 11 am-6 pm; 8032 W Third St., Los Angeles, CA
