{"id":779689,"date":"2026-05-07T13:13:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T13:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/779689\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T13:13:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T13:13:30","slug":"best-things-to-do-this-weekend-in-la-and-socal-may-8-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/779689\/","title":{"rendered":"Best things to do this weekend in LA and SoCal: May 8-11"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Mother\u2019s Day, and happy opening of the D Line extension<\/a> to all who celebrate!<\/p>\n

This past week, I had the pleasure of meeting a group of artists in Venice<\/a> who are creating installations that are open 24\/7 right on the boardwalk, and doing free pop-up opera and other performances at night all summer long. Being a Venice local, it\u2019s been so fun to see these projects come in along an otherwise pretty quiet stretch of Ocean Front Walk \u2014 take a stroll there this summer and you never know what or who you might see.<\/p>\n

Licorice Pizza<\/a> has your weekend music picks. On Friday, Muna begins their two-night run at Shrine Expo Hall, and Wu Lyf plays the first of two nights at the Lodge Room. Plus, Snow Tha Product is at The Novo, Fishbone plays the Teragram, and Netflix Is a Joke has two music-focused events: Beautifully Broken Comedy with Jelly Roll at the Greek, and A Visit From \u2018Portlandia\u2019 with Fred & Carrie at the Ford. The dream of the ’90s is alive! Saturday, the Netflix fun continues with two nights of Flight of the Conchords at the Greek; on Sunday, Rodrigo y Gabriela are at the YouTube Theater and Norah Jones is at Pacific Electric.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere on LAist, you can learn about a local benchmaker who includes the L.A. logo in his work<\/a>, meet the brand-new eaglets Sandy and Luna<\/a> and keep track of the more than 100 free World Cup watch parties<\/a> coming up.<\/p>\n

Let us help you find the most interesting things to do<\/p>\n

Sign up for the Best Things To Do newsletter, our twice weekly roundup of L.A.’s most interesting events.<\/p>\n

Events<\/p>\n

Santa Monica Jazz Festival: A Day in the Park<\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday, May 9, 1 p.m.<\/b>
Tongva Park\u00a0<\/b>
1615 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica<\/b>
COST: FROM $86.90; MORE INFO<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last weekend, I strolled down to the free jazz shows on Third Street Promenade and was happy to see so many folks out for the music. This week, the fest continues with its marquee events, including Kamasi Washington (the festival\u2019s organizer), jazz legend Stanley Washington (with Stewart Copeland of The Police) and many more greats taking the stage at Santa Monica\u2019s Tongva Park.<\/p>\n

Venice Art Walk<\/b><\/p>\n

Through Sunday, May 17\u00a0<\/b>
910 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice\u00a0<\/b>
COST: FREE; MORE INFO<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Silhouettes<\/p>\n

8-27-006 001<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Ed Templeton<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Venice Family Clinic Art Exhibition<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

Check out dozens of artworks from established, mid-career, and emerging artists \u2014 and maybe even snap one up \u2014 at the annual Venice Art Walk, benefiting the Venice Family Clinic. This year\u2019s Signature Artist is L.A. artist Alison Saar; the gallery and the online auction<\/a> are free to peruse and open to the public all week long.<\/p>\n

Unique Markets<\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10\u00a0<\/b>
Cooper Design Space<\/b>
860 S. Los Angeles St., Downtown L.A.<\/b>
COST: FROM $11.54; MORE INFO<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Bring mom to pick out her own perfect gift at this spring\u2019s Unique Markets at the Cooper Design Space penthouse. The Unique Market has a knack for finding brands that go on to become L.A. cool-kid household names, like Hedley & Bennett, P.F. Candle Co., CoolHaus, Poke’To and more. There are also free drinks, a free DIY charm-making station and a photo booth with free Polaroid prints.<\/p>\n

JANM\u2019s Nikkei Children\u2019s Book Festival<\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday, May 9, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.\u00a0<\/b>
Japanese American National Museum<\/b>
100 N. Central Ave., Little Tokyo<\/b>
COST: $10 ADULTS, KIDS FREE; MORE INFO<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The second annual Nikkei Children\u2019s Book Festival brings children\u2019s book authors and illustrators to the Japanese American National Museum for a fun day celebrating the love of reading. In the morning, there\u2019s a special reading of Ken Mochizuki\u2019s Baseball Saved Us (9:30 a.m.), plus a session with Maggie Tokuda Hall, the author of Love in the Library and a national leader of Authors Against Book Bans. An afternoon session (1 p.m.) features Korey Watari, the author of Kimi the Ballerina, and Mike Wu, a Pixar artist and the illustrator of Kimi the Ballerina. Many more authors and illustrators will be on hand, plus there will be arts and crafts, signings, a pop-up book store and more.<\/p>\n

Firebirth<\/b><\/p>\n

Friday, May 8, 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.<\/b>
Herb Alpert School of Music\u00a0<\/b>
Lani Hall Theater<\/b>
445 Charles E. Young Drive East, Westwood\u00a0<\/b>
COST: FREE; MORE INFO\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Mural by wemok_art\/Photo by Michele Yamamoto<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a better place you could spend Friday afternoon and evening than at UCLA, exploring a new collection of interactive exhibits and music created by artists impacted by last year\u2019s Palisades and Eaton fires. From a custom Fender Stratocaster crafted for San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity from trees that were damaged around the Eaton Fire to listening and viewing stations for works from local artists, including the L.A. Field Recording Club, there are all kinds of ways to explore how the community has responded and processed grief and resilience over the past year. A panel conversation features Chris Douridas (KCRW), Jessica Schwartz (UCLA Musicology), Liz Koslov (UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability) and Kim Yu (Altadena Town Council, Caltech), followed by a closing concert with works from UCLA students and faculty, including the Herbie Hancock Institute Band and the Los Angeles premiere of Will Rand\u2019s Firebirth with violinist Grace Alexander.<\/p>\n

L.A. Art Book Fair\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Through Sunday, May 10\u00a0<\/b>
Printed Matter<\/b>
ArtCenter College of Design, South Campus<\/b>
960 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena<\/b>
COST: $8, FREE ON SUNDAY; MORE INFO<\/a><\/p>\n

So much more than just a collection of art books, the annual L.A. Art Book Fair is organized by Printed Matter and features a whole weekend of DJs, live music and exhibitions. This year\u2019s projects include an archival show of newspapers by Chicano in Print; a curated selection of Ed Ruscha’s expansive Sunset Strip project by The Getty Research Institute; artifacts of pre-Y2K Asian girlhood from the ’90s band Emily\u2019s Sassy Lime (E.S.L.), organized by Ooga Booga; and a site-specific billboard project by Werkplaats Typografie that evolves over the course of the fair.<\/p>\n

PICASSO: Le Monstre Sacr\u00e9<\/b><\/p>\n

Through Sunday, May 17\u00a0<\/b>
Odyssey Theatre<\/b>
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West L.A.<\/b>
COST: $38, MORE INFO<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Brigitta Scholz Mastroianni<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

NUX Photography<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

If you saw Hannah Gadsby\u2019s stand-up special Nanette<\/a>, perhaps you also will never be able to read Picasso\u2019s name without whispering Pablo Pic-asshole to yourself. It\u2019s no secret that Picasso, like many brilliant artists, had a dark side, and this new play, coming to the Odyssey straight from London, explores just that. British actor Peter Tate and Olivier Award-winning director Guy Masterson bring their production here for just two weeks.<\/p>\n

Clockshop Kite Festival\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday, May 9, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.<\/b>
L.A. State Historic Park\u00a0<\/b>
1245 N. Spring St., Downtown L.A.\u00a0<\/b>
COST: FREE; MORE INFO<\/a><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s go fly a kite! Clockshop\u2019s free annual Kite Festival takes over the L.A. State Historic Park, giving you a chance to enter your homemade kite into a competition, check out artist-commissioned kites and an inflatable sculpture, and, of course, participate in a free kite-making workshop.<\/p>\n