The Best Things To Do In LA And SoCal This Weekend: April 22-24

Attend the TCM Classic Film Festival. Celebrate literature at the L.A. Times Festival of Books. Immerse yourself in street art. Relive the ’90s at the L.A. Phil’s Gen X Festival.

Friday, April 22 – Sunday, July 3

Street Art Alive
The Lume Los Angeles
1933 S. Broadway, downtown L.A.
The new digital art gallery presents the world premiere of an immersive street art exhibition. View works by 200 artists from more than 20 cities around the world, including Blek le Rat, D*Face, L.A.’s own Aly Kourouma aka Timbuctu State, Aaron “Woes” Martin, and Jayski-One. The experience includes interactive installations, a themed café and bar, and eight original full-sized sections of the Berlin Wall. The exhibition may not be suitable for some photosensitive individuals.
COST: General adult admission starts at $39; MORE INFO

Through Sunday, April 24

2022 TCM Classic Film Festival
Various Venues in Hollywood
The film festival returns in person this year, screening films from the pre-Hays Code era (including Three to a Match with Bette Davis), old favorites (The Third Man), restorations (Giant), and films with anniversaries and cast reunions (E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Diner, and Cooley High).
COST: Starting at $20 (individual tickets) – $2,549 (Spotlight passes); MORE INFO

The L.A. Phil opens its Gen X Festival at the The Walt Disney Concert Hall this weekend.

(David McNew/Getty Images

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Getty Images North America)

Friday, April 22 – Saturday, May 14

The Gen X Festival
Various Venues 
The L.A. Phil’s genre-crossing festival — co-curated by Thomas Adès, Liz Phair, and Waiting to X-Hale podcast hosts Karen Tongson and Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh — begins on Friday at Walt Disney Concert Hall with the concert Voices of a Generation, featuring Adès conducting with violinist Pekka Kuusisto. Other events include the I Heart the Valley panel at The Ford, Liz Phair in concert with other Gen Xers, and Sunshine and Noir: 1980s L.A. Horror Marathon.
COST: Varies; MORE INFO

Friday, April 22; 9 p.m.

This Party Is Killing You!: The Robyn Party
Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd., Echo Park
Celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the long-running pop music tribute dance party dedicated to Swedish pop star, producer, and DJ Robyn. Listen to Robyn’s hits, B-sides, lost tracks, remixes, and other pop faves like Gaga and Mariah Carey. Ages 21+.
COST: FREE – $20; MORE INFO

Saturday, April 23 – Sunday, April 24

L.A. Times Festival of Books
University of Southern California
University Park
The massive, jam-packed literary festival returns in person to USC, featuring more than 500 writers, musicians, artists, and chefs in conversations, demonstrations, and book signings. Participants include Amanda Gorman, Billy Porter, Roxane Gay, Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, Amor Towles, Michael Schur, Lisa See, and Jonathan Franzen.
COST: Festival admission is FREE, individual panels/event prices vary; MORE INFO

Saturday, April 23: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Shop, Sip and Stitch
Atelier Saucier Studio 
10871 Washington Blvd., Ste. 101, Culver City
If you need to go fancy for your next dinner party, the L.A. tablescape brand holds a spring shopping event on Saturday. (Their linens are made from surplus fabric from the fashion houses in downtown L.A.) Enjoy drinks and fresh popcorn while shopping their entire collection and sample sale. Large Lemonade will be on site to custom chain-stitch monograms from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Saturday, April 23: 7:30 p.m.

Strong Words: Voices of the City
St. Francis Center/ Holy Spirit L.A.
3621 Brunswick Ave., Atwater Village
Celebrate the art of storytelling and listen to tales from Michael Coscia, Mario Diaz, Elaine Gale, Matthew Cuban Hernandez, and Vicki Juditz. The night also features a pop-up art show by Roy Cruz and music from cellist Connor Bogenreif. Tickets to the outdoor show must be purchased in advance. No walkup purchases.
COST: $10; MORE INFO

Saturday, April 23: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Seeding the City
Helms Bakery District
8800 Venice Blvd., Culver City
The Helms Bakery District, in collaboration with Frances Anderton (formerly host of KCRW’s Design and Architecture), presents an Earth Day event that celebrates creative designers who “green” the city in nontraditional ways. Learn through talks, tours, and workshops about ways people are transforming rooftops with trees, transit lines with flowers, and abandoned pools with plants. Also enjoy a vendor marketplace and popups.
COST: FREE admission; MORE INFO

‘Satan’s Fall,’ an oratorio by composer Stewart Copeland (formerly of The Police) has its West Coast premiere this weekend.

(Photo courtesy of The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts)

Saturday, April 23: 7:30 p.m.

Satan’s Fall
Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University
24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu 
Attend the West Coast premiere of an oratorio rock opera by Stewart Copeland, composer and musician best known as a founding member of The Police. Copeland’s work and other pieces will be performed by Pepperdine’s Chamber Choir and the Pepperdine Pickford Ensemble under the direction of Ryan Board and N. Lincoln Hanks. The rock opera was inspired by John Milton’s Paradise Lost.
COST: $20–$40, $10 for Pepperdine students; MORE INFO

Saturday, April 23 – Sunday, May 1: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

The Ban.do Warehouse Sale
315 S Robertson Blvd., Beverly Grove
Save up to 80% off apparel, activewear, drinkware, tech, shoes, bags, and accessories. If you spend $100+, you’ll get a free gift and goodie bag. Free products for the first people at the door each day, too. For priority entry, sign up to reserve a timeslot.
COST: FREE admission; MORE INFO

Shop and support your local record store for Record Store Day on April 23,.

(Rich Fury

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Getty Images North America)

Saturday, April 23

Record Store Day
Various locations
Get out and celebrate indie record stores and vinyl culture on Saturday for the annual Record Store Day. There are a number of special releases and promotions at dozens of participating stores in SoCal, including Third Eye Records in Long Beach, Amoeba in Hollywood, and Rhino Records in Claremont.
COST: Varies; MORE INFO

The outdoor play ‘Ramona’ returns to the Ramona Bowl for the first time in two years.

(Courtesy of the Ramona Pageant Association)

Saturdays – Sundays, April 23 – May 1

99th Annual RAMONA Pageant
Ramona Bowl Amphitheatre 
27400 Ramona Bowl Rd., Hemet
The long-running drama returns for its 99th staging after a two-year absence. Hundreds of actors, dancers, musicians, horses, cowboys, and members of Southern California’s Native Tribes come together to re-create a classic love story based on actual events that took place in early California during the 1850s. Ramona also represents the tragic history of Southern California’s Indigenous peoples.
COST: $11.25 – $65; MORE INFO

Saturday, April 23; 8 p.m.

Metalachi
The Bourbon Room
6356 Hollywood Blvd, 2nd Floor, Hollywood
The band that covers heavy metal and rock tunes with a mariachi twist returns to L.A. The Ghastlies open the night. Ages 21+.
COST: $40; MORE INFO

Sunday, April 24: 8:30 p.m.

Hasan Minhaj
Segerstrom Hall
600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa 
Watch the Peabody Award-winning comic in this cellphone- and camera-free show. Minhaj is best known for his breakout special Homecoming King and the political satire of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. Ages 13+.
COST: Tickets start at $48.50; MORE INFO

Sunday, April 24 – Sunday, May 22

2022 Pasadena Showcase House of Design
Oaklawn Manor, South Pasadena
Take a tour of this year’s Showcase House: a 1905 English Tudor mansion in South Pasadena with 20+ transformed spaces. Don’t forget to stay for the pop-up shops and a glass of wine at the onsite restaurant.
COST: $40 – $50; MORE INFO

A new exhibition at LACMA showcases the work of late designer Alexander McQueen, whose influences spanned time, geography, media and technology.

(© Museum Associates/LACMA)

Sunday, April 24 – Sunday, Oct. 9

Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse
LACMA
5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire 
The museum opens an exhibition that contextualizes the work of the late English artist and designer McQueen (1969–2010) within art history. Featuring nearly 200 objects, the exhibition places more than 70 McQueen designs with examples of costume and textiles, decorative arts, paintings, sculptures, prints, and photographs by 35 other artists — primarily drawn from LACMA’s permanent collection. LACMA’s presentation marks the first McQueen exhibition on the West Coast.
COST: Free – $25; MORE INFO

The Southern California Mountains Foundation hosts a series of wildflower walks at the Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve.

(Courtesy of the Southern California Mountains Foundation)

Outdoor Pick

Baldwin Lake Pebble Plain Wildflower Walks 
Road trip time: The Southern California Mountains Foundation hosts a series of wildflower walks at the Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve (44865, 44999 N. Shore Dr.) in Big Bear most Saturdays through June 25. The guided walks take place at 10:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. along the north shore of the lake, teaching guests about the regional flowers — many of which are found only in Big Bear, such as the “Belly Plants.”

Viewing Pick

The Flight Attendant, Season 2
If you haven’t seen season 1 of The Flight Attendant, mild spoilers ahead: Cassie (Kaley Cuoco) is now a flight attendant in L.A., working on her sobriety — and for the CIA as a side hustle. As her luck would have it, she witnesses a new murder. New Season 2 cast members include Sharon Stone, who plays Cassie’s estranged mother. The first two episodes are available now, followed by two more on April 28, then weekly single-episode releases on HBO Max.

The Maybourne Beverly Hills welcomes the London team from Claridge’s to offer a decadent alfresco tea service.

(Courtesy of Claridge’s London)

Dine and Drink Deals

Check out the 411 on restaurant, bar, and food happenings in SoCal this week:

• Goodboybob coffee roasters in Santa Monica presents a free tasting and discussion about their rare coffees and their partnership with the Cup of Excellence Program on Saturday, April 23 at 10 a.m. Guests enjoy a tasting of three Cup Of Excellence coffees from Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Colombia. 
• Bellwether Coffee holds a Crop to Cup Pop Up Earth Day Event at Sip and Sonder in Inglewood from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. The day focuses on the environmental impact of coffee on the planet, and also includes giveaways, community clean-up, composting lessons, and a look at sustainable practices in the coffee industry. 
• This weekend (April 22-24), more than 15 eateries from L.A.’s Eastside are highlighting their signature dishes and new offerings for dine-in, pick-up, and delivery. Taste of the Eastside donates 25% of the order to this year’s nonprofit beneficiaries: Silver Lake’s nonprofit Rose Scharlin Cooperative Nursery School and Friends Of the L.A. River (FOLAR). Participating vendors include Homestate, Silver Lake Wine, Mazal, Pocha L.A., Amiga Amore, and others. 
• The California Wine Festival takes place at Dana Point’s Sea Terrace Park on Saturday, April 23 from 1-4 p.m. (VIPs can enter starting at 12 p.m.). Nosh on food while sipping wines and local craft brews by the ocean. The event is 21+. General admission tickets are $75.  
• Get those pinkies ready to indulge in a decadent tea al fresco at the Maybourne Beverly Hills. Welcoming its sister hotel Claridge’s for an afternoon tea residency from April 23-30, Claridge’s Executive Chef Martyn Nail brings the Claridge’s scone recipe with him, adding to a fusion of California and English tea styles including British smoked salmon and cucumber sandwiches sitting alongside Maine lobster and flour tortillas. A selection of loose-leaf teas, curated by tea connoisseur Henrietta Lovell of Rare Tea Co., will be offered, with Laurent Perrier champagne served at the experience’s end. Tickets: $150 (excluding tax and service charge).
• Chef/owner Chris Santos recently added new menu items to brunch service at Beauty & Essex in the newish Vinyl District in Hollywood. Of course, there’s the go-to Oreo cookie pancakes with vanilla icing or the Roasted Strawberry Ricotta Toast, but new offerings include chilaquiles with pulled chicken, shrimp & grits, and vegan soyrizo tacos.
• Viceroy Santa Monica’s restaurant Sugar Palm launched its new Puppy Brunch menu available every weekend from 6:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., featuring special eats and drinks for the pups, including chicken & rice, salmon stir fry — and the Snoop Doggy Dog “dogtail” with CBD oil, peanut butter, banana, and almond milk.