The Beverly Hills Art show is one of our favorite happenings. The show is held twice a year…read more It is a juried show and has the best of everything. What's nice is we can always look forward to seeing new artists at this show. Another bonus is that the artist is always present to answer questions and talk about their art. If you are hungry, there are many food trucks in the center of the art show. There are approximately five blocks worth of artist to view. It's a great show. There is free street parking. The Beverly Hills police will ignore the two hour limit parking on the days of the art show. Please respect the neighborhood as it is a residential area.

A stroll or walk-run through Beverly Gardens Park is relatively routine when visiting Los Angeles…read more Still, we've often planned to visit our relatives around the time of the semi-annual (Spring and Fall) Beverly Hills Art Show to view this showcase of painting, mixed media, photography, sculpture, ceramics, glass, jewelry, drawing, and printmaking from local and artists around the nation. Also, part of our plan is to enjoy lunch from one or two of their gourmet food trucks at their Wine and Beer Garden after viewing the artwork for a nice picnic lunch. The free admission, weekend-long art show encompasses four city blocks in Beverly Gardens Park along Santa Monica Boulevard and goes on rain or shine. According to the information desk and map of artists, this Spring's event showcased over 300 artists. The original works range from traditional to very contemporary pieces and are represented by the creative artist in person. We enjoy talking with friendly artists willing to share their inspiration(s) or background to their work. Because we haven't purchased large art pieces and we live out-of-State, we can't say whether or not the artist will assist in wrapping or shipping the artwork to your home. Most times, we've bought either jewelry or small art pieces that we can either pack in our suitcase or carry on board with us during our return flight to Hawai'i. There are multiple City parking structures located one or two blocks south of the show site, or if you're lucky, you might be able to find free street parking north of the show. 2023 marks this art show's 50th Anniversary, and appeared to be more festive than in years past. We look forward to returning and browsing the art show in the Fall.

Great place really learned a lot since I've been living in this area for a long time now. Didn't…read moreeven notice this place but now I do I will be back!

A little gem of the San Fernando Valley! A nice place to take a little stroll, and learn about the…read morehistory of our very interesting Valley. The docents are friendly, and extremely knowledgeable. Found them on Facebook of all places!

It was today! You missed it! I didn't!…read more But there's always next year...because this event is held annually, on Sunday, around the weekend before Halloween, in front of Lunada Bay Plaza (Via Anacapa & Yarmouth Road, adjacent to Palos Verdes Drive West). Signs are posted in Malaga Cove & Lunada Bay on PV Drive West before the event. The festival is small, mostly locals who walk there from home. If you drive, park on surrounding residential streets (free). Via Anacapa is shut down between the hardware store & Yarmouth Road for the festival. There's a concert in Lunada Bay Park, right in front of the plaza. The event is put on by Lunada Bay Homeowners Association for Lunada Bay residents but open to all. Leashed dogs apparently OK, I saw several (who didn't know quite what to think of the critters in the petting zoo). No charge for entry to the festival or concert but you might want to bring a pumpkin on wheels & register to enter the pumpkin race. Great fun! Pumpkins go every which way, rarely in a straight line. People chase their pumpkins down the hill on the practice runs to keep them from smashing into whatever's in their path. I saw one wipe out against a car tire. Adults were having at least as much fun as kids with those pumpkins. There was also a petting zoo, a climbing wall, food booths, balloon artist, face painting & more. Some kids wore their Halloween costumes. The owners of Lunada Market & Deli cooked up burgers, brats, corn on the cob, sides, all reasonably priced. Delicious cheeseburger with all the trimmings ($7)! I shoulda had two. I got sunburned watching the pumpkin races! They race in groups of 5, then the winners of each race compete, assuming their pumpkins survive the first round. Family fun at its finest. I wanna enter the pumpkin race next year! I'll borrow a neighbor kid to bring with me so I don't look stupid. In my Halloween costume....

This is a 40+ year old Dia de los Muertos celebration in the city of Los Angeles that is one of the…read moreoldest celebrations in the United States. The festival's best access is via the Gold Line. Street parking is available, however, the residents in the area already struggle w parking issues. The festivities typically begin with a ritual blessing and a procession. Rich cultural Aztec performances & altar displays give festival attendees a bit of a connection to the Mexican Dia de los Muertos (day of the dead) traditions & rituals that became frowned upon with colonialism. This unique & colorful event also has face painting for all ages, kiddie craft tables, food, merchandise, etc. Cash donation recommended but your are always encouraged to donate to Self Help Graphics low cost/free art programs. Parking: Limited Street WC: Porta potties

I love art and I'm always looking for art events around the area. When I heard about BoldPas I knew…read moreI had to go. I came across it on Facebook and immediately became interested. I was able to find parking in a nearby parking garage and it was easy to find the art installations. They had a lot of really cool installations that were very interactive and picture perfect. My favorite part was the fact that these art installations were created by the local shops in the area which is amazing. I got to talk to a couple of the artists/ shop owners and all of them were so friendly and passionate about their art pieces. This is only the second year they do this event and it's definitely growing. If you love art and talking to locals I definitely recommend it. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to see what they create for next year.

Cute little museum located next to the Library…read more I never heard of the Santa Monica History Museum till late last year and I figured it might be interested to visit it and learn more about the area. And we did, SM was part of Tongva land, and Tujunga, Cahuenga, etc major streets have their names originated form their tribal language. The museum is small, but the permanent collection is very interesting. It focuses on Santa Monica's history, its development, there are many fascinating stories on display along with great photos and older objects. There's a chapter dedicated to the Muscle Beach, history and highlights, another one to Pacific Park with great memorabilia on view and another one dedicated to the Entertainment Industry and some local members like Sherley Temple, and they have some of her costumes on display. I wasn't that taken with their exhibits, a tad on the depressing side. Also, there was noise coming from the library, lots of banging, so it was hard to concentrate in one room in particular. Otherwise, nice staff and clean restrooms. $5 regular admission, Free 1st Sunday of the month! Free for kids and seniors. Opened Thu. 2pm-5pm. Friday - Sunday 11am-5pm. Worth a visit for sure, it could be a nice way to spend an hour or so. Great activity if you visit Santa Monica or if you are like me, sometimes a tourist in your own town!

I was able to visit this museum and it was fun and informative. It has something for everyone for…read moreany age. The unhoused exhibit was very informative and it was interesting to see how much Santa Monica has changed over time. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone. Parked in the parking structure.

This is my second year coming, and once again I had so much fun!…read moreThere are so many booths that my friends and I still couldn't make it through all of them lol. Oh well, maybe next year I always love all the interactive sections they have too, like "Who's your ultimate fictional crush?", "What are you reading?", "Which audiobooks and podcasts do you love?", the celebrity and fictional character life-size cutouts, the photo ops, etc. It all just makes the experience so much more enjoyable! This year I also got to listen to some of the live music, like Skusic, and it honestly felt like getting a mini concert hahaha Overall, I can't wait to come back next year and do it all again, and more!

The LA Times Festival of Books is one of our favorite things to do annually. The only cost is the…read more$25 parking fee at USC's campus; however, we always get our value in coming here. This year, we got 5 hardcover used books for $8 each, we got 2 hardcover slightly damaged cooking books for $10 each, we got to watch Phil and Lily Rosenthal attempt to make the hot chocolate from Max and Helen's diner. We got the opportunity to meet and greet with Phil and Lily Rosenthal and they signed our copies of their books. We got samples of Liquid Death's new energy drinks, which I'll need to use this week at work. I also love hearing the USC marching band, which opens the event annually. Overall, I think it's a great event. Definitely keep an eye out for the used book vendors as they give the best value; however, there are some really interesting panels and author signings here that could make it really worth your while.

MY 800TH REVIEW! And what better way to celebrate with a FTR for the very first Dessert Week LA?!…read more:) 2016 was the first year of Dessert Week LA! It's kind of like DineLA on a much smaller scale, and only featuring dessert places. During the first six days of Dessert Week (this year Oct 9-14), select dessert shops around Los Angeles offered special deals, discounts and menu items for dessert connoisseurs like me to try! The week then culminated with the Top 25 Desserts coming together for a Dessert Festival where attendees could come and try samples from all the places in one designated area. This year it was held on Saturday, Oct 15 @ Pershing Square in DTLA. Being dessert addicts (no joke, we have 10 pints of artisanal ice cream in our fridge at all times), my bf and I were stoked and bought tickets online ahead of time. They had 3 ticket tiers: GA - $15: Entry to the event and lets you sample from 10 vendors of your choice. VIP - $25 (what we got): All the perks of GA plus sampling from all 25 vendors, and early entrance and hour before GA. VIP Group Package - $85: Get a private cabana with couches, table and a server for your party. We definitely recommend getting the VIP passes we got since we were allowed to get in an hour early and beat most of the lines, and also got to sample from all of the vendors! The VIP Group Package was way overpriced IMO and when we looked at the cabanas there, literally nobody was sitting in them (even though they said they sold all but 3 of the available cabanas). Participating vendors of this year's Dessert Week LA included: Salt & Straw SusieCakes Lady M Confections Sprinkles Diddy Riese Porto's Saffron & Rose Wanderlust Creamery Beverly Hills Beignets Gelateria Uli Ridges Churro Bar The Pie Hole Breadologie Bakery Sweet Lady Jane Coolhaus Braise & Crumble Cafe Café Dulce Cream Crepe Studio Frostalicious Hello Sweetie Pies Ice Cream Lab Nothing Bundt Cakes Randy's Donuts Jamaica's Cakes Because it was the first year, there were a few kinks that needed to be fixed, but I could definitely see this becoming a popular food fest over the years! Upon entry, we were confused which line to stand in because they kinda merged into one. They needed bigger signage explaining where to line up for VIP vs GA tickets. Also, no tickets were sold at the door. They needed to be purchased online ahead of time. Once inside, we were given a sampling card (looked like a Bingo card) where each vendor could sign off before you received a sample from them. It kinda reminded me of going to Costco and eating all of the samples, except this time all the samples were desserts. All of the vendors had their own tents, but they were close together and the lines also ran into each other at several of the smaller areas. I also don't think the sampling card thing was the most efficient. Booths that were understaffed had a hard time managing signing off cards while handing out samples at the same time. The biggest annoyance/con IMO was the LACK OF TRASH CANS! I could not understand why they didn't have a trash can for each booth. A lot of the time my hands were so full of empty sample cups and I had to walk around Pershing Square trying to find a trash can because there was only one located like every 50 feet. It was super annoying and inconvenient. It was cool how the vendors offered a variety of different desserts, like pastries, cake, gelato, ice cream, etc. I am personally an ice cream connoisseur, but it was cool branching out and trying dessert spots I had never been to before. Everyone working at the vendors was super friendly and they all looked excited to be there! At the end of sampling, you were able to vote for your favorite so one business would be crowned winner of Dessert Week LA. My bf and I didn't really care about it so we didn't vote and aren't really sure who won, haha. For $25, we sampled desserts from 25 LA-based dessert vendors and were surprisingly very full! I liked that this festival wasn't SO HUGE that it was annoyingly packed and the lines weren't obnoxiously long. They did a good job for their first year, although there are definitely things they can improve on in the future. I would definitely be interested in going next year to try new vendors and desserts!