37 Things to Do in L.A. This Weekend [3-19-2021 to 3-21-2021]

We used to tell you about all the things you could go out and do in Los Angeles on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Then, COVID-19 changed life for all of us, in a thousand small and massive ways. Until the pandemic is behind us, we’ll post events that adhere to Public Health’s current protocols—including plenty of at-home and online events—every Monday and Thursday. We hope they keep you busy, make you laugh, teach you something, or help you feel less alone.

This weekend, we’ve got the return of Desert X, new virtual and IRL art, drive-in movies, March Madness food deals, and more. Have something you want to submit for next week? Hit us up: [email protected].

In-Person Events

Desert X returns for its biannual public art show March 12 through May 16. Artists have been commissioned to use the desert landscape as their canvas with breathtaking results. You’ll find the works spread throughout the Coachella Valley in various outdoor locations.

Go for a morning stroll with your dog on March 21 at South Coast Botanical Gardens. Tickets are $15. This event takes place every third Sunday.

Let RuPaul’s Drag Race superstars dazzle you during Drive ‘N Drag at the Pasadena Rose Bowl on March 19. The queens will perform on an elevated stage with jumbo screens and powerhouse music. On the bill are Bianca Del Rio, Kameron Michaels, Violet Chachki, Naomi Smalls, and more.

La Cha Cha Chá opens in the Arts District on Friday, March 19 offering Mexican cuisine from chef Alejandro Guzman (Le Comptoir). The rooftop space will also serve cocktails from Bryan Tetorakis, formerly of The Varnish and Coles. 

JW Marriott Los Angeles Live resumes its poolside dinner & a movie series March 19 with a screening of The Invisible Man. Tickets are $45 per guest and include one appetizer, one entree, unlimited popcorn, and the screening. Other snacks, beer, wine, and cocktails are also available for purchase. Tickets and more info are here.

Magic Asphalt, the standup comedy drive-in located in the Magic Castle’s parking lot, returns on March 20 with comics Iliza Shlesinger, Ron Funches, Caroline Rhea, Orlando Leyba, Sarah Tiana, Bruce Jingles, Taylor Williamson, Joash Adam Meyers, Kennelia, Steven Randolph, Adam Ray, Samantha Hale, Bryan Burris, Scotty Cav, and more. Get tickets here.

Trejo’s Tacos will celebrate its fifth anniversary on Saturday, March 20 at its La Brea location. A live Mariachi band will perform from noon to 2:00 p.m. Specials, including $5 OG Margaritas and $5 appetizers, will be available all day. 

Amy Sherald: The Great American Fact opens at Hauser & With on March 20. Per a release: “In her first West Coast solo exhibition, Amy Sherald presents new portraits of Black Americans in scenes of leisure and centered in stillness that build upon the techniques she employed in her iconic portraits of former First Lady Michelle Obama and Breonna Taylor for Vanity Fair.” On view through June 6. Weekend entry will be allowed on a first-come, first-served basis. No booking necessary. During the week, Tuesday – Friday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., visitors must book a timed viewing appointment. Weekday appointments are released on a weekly basis.

Employees Only turned its parking lot into Summer Social Club last year featuring a roster of weekly culinary pop-ups paired with refreshing cocktails. Every Monday through Sunday, find a different pop-up, such as hand-made pasta from Orso Pasta, Mediterranean rice dishes and dips from Golden Rice Company, and wok-fried Asian street food by Pigeon.

The Marina Drive-in’s weekend (March 19-20) offerings include The Princess Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. All screenings begin at 6:30 p.m. with doors an hour earlier. Tickets are $20 per car. Nearby restaurants are open for outdoor dining and takeout if you’re looking for a meal to enjoy beforehand or in your car.

Universal Studios Hollywood reopened March 12 for Taste of Universal, which will continue every weekend this month. The ticketed event gives guests access to shops and outdoor dining from restaurants in the theme park’s upper lot, including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Springfield, USA areas. The experience includes your choice of five classic and new culinary items, photo ops, offers at several themed shops, and a preview of the Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash shop. No rides yet, and don’t forget your mask! Tickets are $48 on Fridays and $53 on Saturdays and Sundays.

Broken Spanish extends its residency at NeueHouse in Hollywood through April. Broken Spanish permanently closed its downtown L.A. location in early August of 2020 in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Some items on the menu include hand-pressed tortillas and lentils, seasonal tamal and tostada, duck meatballs, and chicharron with pickled cabbage salad. You’ll also be able to order cocktails, like Broken Spanish’s margarita or El Antiguo (bourbon, ancho reyes, suze, amaro meletti, aztec spice, achiote bitters, chocolate bitters). 

ROW DTLA is giving back to frontline workers with a “Buy A Meal, Give A Meal” campaign from March 20-April 16. For every meal purchased on-site at one of ROW DTLA’s culinary concepts, one meal will be donated to essential workers at Keck Hospital of USC. Participating restaurants include Rappahannock Oyster Bar, Go Get ‘Em Tiger, Pikunico, Hayato, and Café Dulce with meals donated from a different restaurant each week. To kick off the philanthropic campaign, Phil Rosenthal, host of Netflix’s Somebody Feed Phil, will stop by ROW DTLA on Saturday, March 20 from noon to 1 p.m. to dine at the participating restaurants, and Angelenos are invited to join in support of a good cause.

Knott’s Taste of Boysenberry Festival features over 80 boysenberry-inspired savory and sweet bites and themed beverages. The festival takes place at the theme park on select dates through May 2. Tickets are $45.

Cinespia is going the drive-in route this season with weekend movie screenings at the Greek Theatre. This weekend’s screenings include Toy Story and Chicago.

Street Food Cinema has pivoted to a drive-in at the Santa Monica Airport. This weekend’s slate includes Back to the Future, Monsters, Inc., and La La Land. 

Hot 8 Yoga will host yoga classes on Saturdays, Feb. 27 through March 20, at 10:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. from ROW DTLA’s rooftop. Mats and other equipment will be provided, but bring your own towel and water. And don’t forget your mask, which must be worn at all times!

Drive-In Theatre at The Hollywood Roosevelt screens classic films every Sunday in March in the hotel’s valet lot. This weekend, catch The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Guests who book a double feature get a round of drinks for everyone in the car.

WE Drive-Ins in Santa Monica is screening Disney’s Raya & The Last Dragon all weekend.

Glendale’s Electric Dusk Drive-In will be screening The Terminator 2, Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2, and Up this weekend.

The Cinelounge Drive-in in Hollywood’s screenings include Nomadland, Minari, Soul Eclipse, and Happily this weekend. Don’t forget to pre-order some of Cinelounge’s gourmet popcorn!

At-Home & Online Events

On March 19 join FILM at LACMA for a free screening of KCET’s ARTBOUND documentary The Watts Towers Arts Center. The film will be followed by a conversation with Rosie Lee Hooks, director of the Watts Towers Arts Center Campus, artist Charles Dickson, and moderator Juan Devis, executive producer, chief creative officer of KCET.

Non-profit organizations InHouse Theatre and Age of Inclusion in Media (AIM) are partnering with MiniBar Hollywood, Little Dom’s, and 72 Cookies for a craft cocktail tasting and ghost story-telling experience called Black Humor: A Night of Cocktails and Storytelling. Runs March 17-20 at 7p.m. via Zoom.

The Museum of Latin American Art presents a free Sunday Virtual Tour on March 21. Led by a MOLAA docent, the tour will give attendees a view of some of the exhibitions available online, including Arpilleras: Arte, Mujer y Memoria; the Robert Gumbiner Foundation Sculpture Garden, and OaxaCAlifornia.

On March 21, The Groundlings will teach an online improv class designed to help parents harness the foundations of improvisation to improve a child’s listening skills, manage anxiety, and improve self-confidence, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal skills through playful and silly ways.  

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County celebrates Women’s History Month with a series of digital events inspired by the museum’s Rise Up LA exhibition March 18–25.

Tune Up is a virtual cannabis wine tasting experience on March 20 hosted by Abdullah Saeed with music from Amo Amo & Res. Tickets are $59.50 per household and include cannabis wines from Rebel Coast. Ticket sales end March 19 at 10 p.m.

The Music Center and non-profit radio station dublab have announced the 71 Best Films and Officials Selections of A Quiet Scene: L.A., a free film competition and screening initiative launched in January 2021. Watch them via a continuous livestream at musiccenter.org and on dublab.com on March 20 at noon through March 23 at noon. The top selected films will also be shown on the LED screens at Jerry Moss Plaza in an immersive sound environment at The Music Center from March 20–April 18. 

INSIDE THE RENDON // ARTISTS SALON premieres on Zoom on March 21 at 6 p.m. This is the first event in a series that will feature local artists, musicians, and actors. Per a release: “Each episode will focus on the art and performances that have taken place in individual rooms at The Rendon, revealing/exposing how its community of creatives helped bring the historic hotel back to life.” More info here.

Moving Arts Theatre Company’s “Isolation Inn” streams every Sunday in March at 2 p.m. The comedic series follows nine essential workers isolating together in 2020’s lockdown. Tickets are pay-what-you-can. Register here.

On March 19 at 1 p.m., NFMLA hosts the panel “You Finished Your First Feature Film. What’s Next? Presented by The Chimaera Project.” Filmmaker Paula Rhodes will discuss her own journey with her first feature and consult industry experts on how to navigate the festival circuit, distribution, and more. Register here.

Join Matter of Wine (MOW) on March 19 at 6 p.m. for a virtual tasting of a cabernet from Maipo, Chile. Tickets are $18, and 20% of proceeds benefit Habitat LA. The wine is available to buy online via Total Wine. More info here.

Delejos is an immersive theater experience conducted over Zoom from writer/actor/comedian Julia Piñero. When her partner, Jose Zambrano, died unexpectedly in 2019, Piñero turned to Zambrano’s unfinished virtual reality game about long-distance love, Delejos. Though Delajos was originally about Zambrano’s forced immigration from Venezuela, it took on a new meaning for Piñero after his death. This two-hour performance is “a true story that weaves together standup comedy, live music, and a virtual reality experience.” Tickets are currently available through May 1. They’re free, but you’ll need to reserve them here.

Dining Events, Pickup & Delivery

Michael Mina’s ghost kitchen concepts Tokyo Hot Chicken and Bourbon Burger Bar will be offering March Madness food and drink specials all tournament long, March 18 through April 5. At Tokyo Hot Chicken, they’ll be slinging a six-piece basket of drumsticks with sweet chili sauce and furikake fries for $21. Bourbon Burger Bar will roll out a “madness burger” that comes with a pepper jack and mozzarella stuffed dry-aged steak patty, topped with barbecue sauce, applewood smoked bacon, and crispy onions for $22.95.

Foo Fighters and Casa Vega have brought back their limited-edition taco collaboration that benefits No Us Without You. Now through the end of April, order The Foo Fighters Especial ($22) featuring smoked brisket tacos with backbeat BBQ sauce, Mexican coleslaw, pickled onions, and cilantro on homemade flour tortillas, served with elote, Spanish rice, and refried beans. A Foo Fighters cocktail called Los Luchadores Foo ($14) made with La Gritona Reposado tequila is also available.

Bill Esparza’s taco festival Taqueando pivoted last year to a multi-week pop-up in DTLA featuring rotating guest chefs and their most popular tacos. For 2021, Taqueando continues with a four-week pop-up (March 10 – April 25) by Chef Priscilla Curiel of San Diego’s famed Tuétano Taquería, Ricky Piña of Ricky’s Fish Tacos, and tamales (to-go) from Tamales Elena y Antojitos. Wine, beer, and cocktails will also be on the menu. The Taqueando pop-up is open Wednesday through Sunday from 5-10 p.m. for takeout, delivery, and outdoor dining on the restaurant’s patio (first-come, first-served basis). Note that Ricky’s Fish Tacos will only be serving Thursday through Saturday.

Georgia’s Restaurant is bringing “Nana” Gretchen Shoemaker’s Gumbo back at both Long Beach Exchange and Anaheim Packing House locations through March. The gumbo features Nana’s secret Southern-style roux, chicken, andouille sausage, shrimp, crab, and okra, served over rice.

Need more delivery and takeout options? Check out our latest comprehensive guide here.