The best things to do in Los Angeles this week

It’s more than just the low clearance: This exhibition at the Petersen explores the custom paint, engraving, upholstery and, of course, the gravity-defying suspension of the lowrider scene. In addition to iconic cars, the exhibit spotlights influential artists in the Chicano lowrider art scene.

Every spring and fall since 1973, artists have descended upon the Beverly Gardens Park to showcase their works to browsers and buyers at this festival (once called the Affaire in the Gardens). This year will feature 230 artists exhibiting paintings, sculptures, watercolors, photography and much more. Set on four blocks along the grassy Santa Monica Boulevard between Rodeo and Rexford Drive, the event will include something for everyone with free kids’ activities, food trucks and beer and wine gardens with live music.

The aughts indie nostalgia shows no signs of stopping, so its no surprise that Just Like Heaven—a music fest that’s featured basically every beloved 2000s indie band—is coming back for its fourth edition. The fest will take over the golf course next to the Rose Bowl on May 18, 2024 with a lineup that’s pulled straight from your old iPod: The Postal Service, Phoenix, Death Cab for Cutie and the War on Drugs top this year’s lineup, with additional sets from Miike Snow, Gossip, Passion Pit, Tegan and Sara, Washed Out, Alvvays, Phantogram, Broken Social Scene and more.

Tickets go on sale Friday, January 26 at 11am. Tickets cost between $187 and $227, or $411 for VIP.

In an effort not only to entertain Westsiders but to support the area’s community programming, much of Santa Monica’s Main Street will transform into essentially an interactive Monopoly board game, allotting attendees “MAINopoly dollars” to be exchanged for food tastings across the street’s finest establishments. Trade a couple fake bucks for dishes from spots like Ashland Hill, Holey Grail Donuts, Jameson’s Pub, the Victorian and Pasjoli, or add on a couple of drinks in the “Go to Jail” VIP lounge and beer garden.

Listen to classical and jazz in a dome more than a mile above L.A. during this mountaintop concert series. The Mount Wilson Observatory is hosting monthly concerts this summer inside the dome of its 100-inch Hooker telescope, which was the largest telescope in the world for much of the first half of the 20th century.

Can’t get enough of his yearly appearance at the Bowl? The LA Phil complements John Williams’s summertime set with the first of two years of live scores and concerts in his honor at Disney Hall. The series wraps up with a Gustavo Dudamel-led evening that includes a performance of a suite of Harry Potter compositions (May 18, 19).

Pedal along just over two miles of car-free streets in Wilmington as CicLAvia brings this mini edition of its bike-friendly events to the harbor.

Join the Natural History museum and their winged, multi-legged, squirmy and sometimes bug-eyed friends for this annual event. Expect a variety of exhibitors featuring everything from exotic insect collections to pet tarantulas, plus bug-related products like honey and silk or artwork and jewelry.

The summertime screening series returns for the season, first with screenings at L.A. State Historic Park (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on May 17) and the Rose Bowl (Almost Famous on May 25), and then back at Hollywood Forever Cemetery toward the end of the month.

Kate Berlant, who grew up in Los Angeles, started doing stand-up at 17 at Archer School for Girls—or at least, she told one-liners while wearing a kimono and sitting in a wheelchair. She no longer brings props on stage, but her definition of comedy is still expansive. Berlant doesn’t tell jokes so much as she riffs on the metaphysical, turning a set into a strange stream of consciousness that leads nowhere, and is simultaneously disarming and satisfying.

The Academy Museum marks the unveiling of its new exhibition on the Jewish founders of the Hollywood studio system with this conversation between associate curator Dara Jaffe and historian Neal Gabler (you can buy a signed copy of his book, An Empire of their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood, before the event).

Love all things Arts and Crafts? This Pasadena event celebrates the earthy movement with craft fair that features over 200 exhibits of jewelry, woodwork, ceramics, clothing and food.

The oversharing host of the WTF podcast performs a mix of music and stand-up at Largo.

The Venice Artwalk returns for its 45th year to benefit the Venice Family Clinic with an auction and a free opportunity to glimpse the Venice and wider L.A. art scene. From May 10 to 19, pop into 910 Abbot Kinney to see pieces from Ed Ruscha, Larry Bell, Ed Moses, Alison Saar, Kenny Scharf, Patrisse Cullors, Sayre Gomez and more.

Irish playwright-director Conor McPherson spins a tale of strife in the Great Depression—set to songs by Bob Dylan—in Girl From the North Country, which we gave four stars during its New York run.

Travel back to the 1920s with the Catalina Island Museum’s annual showcase of silent films. This year’s open-air screenings in Avalon include Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail and Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last.

For dinner and a movie, all in one, just follow the food trucks. During the spring, summer and fall, Street Food Cinema throws together a series of outdoor parties that include screenings of some of our favorite movies, paired with an assortment of gourmet food trucks and even a live music performance from a cool local band.

One of L.A.’s best free live music offerings, Jazz at LACMA has featured legit legends over its three-decade run at the museum. Seating for the program is available in the museum’s plaza on a first-come, first-served basis, though you’re welcome to picnic on the grass, too (you won’t really be able to see the show, but you’ll still hear it). You’ll find the series on Friday evenings in LACMA’s welcome plaza (just behind Urban Light) starting in April.

See a free salsa concert every second Friday of the summer during this series at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. This year’s lineup includes Rumbankete, Gabrielito y La Verdad, Son Mayor, Son Miron and Club Mambi—all featuring Super DJ Robby.

Walk through a pavilion of fluttering butterflies and peep a chamber with pupae and caterpillars at South Coast Botanic Garden’s seasonal exhibition. For an extra $6, you can pick up a flower vial or ring filled with nectar to attract and feed butterflies.