Posted by Every week in Los Angeles there are tons of great things to do (even before the weekend gets started) that we think you ought to have on your radar. With that in mind, we put together a list every Monday through Friday morning to keep you in the know about what’s happening in the city you love (or maybe just like).
This week, from Monday, November 26 to Friday, November 30, features The Los Angeles County Tree Lighting, L.A. Zoo Lights, Canon PORTALS, a Tree Lighting Ceremony at Union Station, HYPERSPECTIVE, free immersive film festival, The Silent Skate Party, and MUCH more.
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Remember you can always go to our L.A. events calendar page to get an updated rundown of what’s happening around the city.
Hope you find the rundown useful and, as always, enjoy your week!
eep in mind that while we retain complete editorial control of our content, for some of the ticketing options provided we utilize affiliate links and receive a commission if you purchase through our links.
Monday November 26th, 2018
1. The Los Angeles County Tree Lighting is a beloved annual holiday tradition featuring performances from community groups and local artists. FREE
2. Descanso Gardens’ Enchanted: Forest of Light returns for another installment with a host of interactive displays and nighttime activities from November 18 through January 6, 2019 daily. This seasonal event runs daily. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
3. The Bai Holiday Ice Rink returns to Pershing Square from Nov. 15, 2018 to Jan. 21, 2019 daily featuring a 7200 square foot outdoor ice-skating experience. A wide variety of events will take place throughout the duration of the rink.
4. Head down to The Los Angeles Convention Center for AutoMobilityLA Nov. 26 – Nov. 29. A gathering of auto enthusiasts and industry professionals presenting panels, talks and networking events. The gathering will also feature major announcements and debuts of vehicles. FREE
5. Beautycon is offering a pop up expereince titled Beautycon POP from Nov. 16 through Dec. 16 daily featuring immersive galleries, makeup brands, vendors, a salon and other beauty related activities.
6. Tonight kicks off Holiday Movies Nights at South Bay Galleria Redondo Beach. Monday features a screening of Elf. FREE
7. The Business LA is a free comedy show at Little Joy featuring some of the best local comics in town. FREE
8. Film buffs can attend Re-Imagining Kurosawa, a lecture and panel discussion at Japan House Los Angeles. FREE
Tuesday November 27th, 2018
9. One of L.A.’s most magical holiday traditions, L.A. Zoo Lights returns November 16, 2018 through January 6, 2019 with thousands upon thousands of LED lights illuminating the zoo. This seasonal event runs daily. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
10. It’s that time of the year to celebrate the holiday season, which is the main purpose of Fa La Land, a pop up museum at Row DTLA. Guests will enjoy a wide variety of installations like a Jingle Bell Toy Factory and a fluorescent “Fa La Forest.” Fa La Land runs Nov. 18 through Jan. 6, 2019. Happening Tuesdays through Sundays.
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11. See a fake American Town Hall set in a “new” town but really it’s at The Virgil. The hilarious comedy show donates all ticket sales to the ACLU!
12. Sherman Oaks resident Mike Ziemkowski’s elaborate Christmas themed animatronic characters will return once again with Lights on Display a dazzling light show with a playlist of holiday tunes. Free to the public, the 13-minute show runs nightly 6 to 10 p.m. from November 23 through January 1, 2018. FREE
13. The Foodie Space (Nov. 21- Dec. 30) is the latest interactive pop-up museum designed for serial foodie photo-taker’s. Located in Pasadena the museum claims to poke fun at society’s obsession with social media and #foodporn. Food-themed exhibits include a giant bowl of phở, glitter fries that you can marry and more. Happening Tuesdays through Sundays.
Wednesday November 28th, 2018
14. The Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Garden presents Moonlight Forest, where crafted lanterns line the garden grounds, some depicting animals, shimmering exotic flowers, and figures from Chinese legends. Happening Wednesdays through Sunday till November. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
15. Celebrate the holiday season during a Queen Mary Christmas (daily Nov. 23 – Jan. 6) The special occasion will see Christmas spirit lining the famous Long Beach vessel including an 80-foot Christmas tree, a variety of holiday activities, an outdoor staking rink, musical performances, a 4D showing of The Polar Express, and dinner shows on select dates.
16. The Holiday Light Festival Train Ride at Griffith Park is a festive one mile ride on the tracks with tens of thousands of lights to get you in the Holiday spirit. Running daily Nov 23 through Dec. 23 and then again from December 26 to December 30.
17. The annual LA Kings Holiday Ice happening at L.A. LIVE’s Microsoft Square is a daily outdoors holiday skating rink. Open November 10, 2018 through January 6, 2019.
18. L.A.’s pop-up museum catalogue is growing larger this fall with The Pizza Experience – a multi-sensory pizza themed walkthrough. Explore giant installations, an oversized cheese pool, a pizza hall of fame, pizza theme-flavored snacks throughout, actual pizza slices and more. The Pizza Experience runs through January 7. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
19. It’s trivia night at Grand Central Market this Wednesday on the Broadway side of the food hall.
Thursday November 29th, 2018
20. The third annual Tree Lighting Ceremony at Union Station will kick-off the holiday season with a massive tree lighting and performances by The Los Angeles Symphonic Winds, as well as the Grand Arts Chamber Singers. Guests will also enjoy a cocoa bar, craft zone, Santa and a kids zone. FREE
21. Step into a world of limitless creativity and unlock new realms of photography inside Canon PORTALS, coming to Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica (Nov. 29 – Dec 16). The ongoing series of events features photo-walks, workshops, and on-site camera experts. FREE
22. Winterfest at Santa Anita Park kicks off the holiday season in style. This family friendly event includes a visit from Santa Claus, horse drawn carriage rides a Santa’s Village and petting zoo, carolers, seasonal foods, 80+ vendors and much more. Winterfest continues Thursdays through Sunday from November 23 through December 2. Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)
23. Head down to The Fairplex at Pomona for the Chinese Lantern Festival where the theme is “The Wild,” featuring animals represented in lanterns from five different areas of the world, Antartica, Asia, Oceania, Africa and America. Some of the larger pieces stand all the way up to 23 feet tall. The festival run every Thursday through Sunday from Nov. 15 – Jan. 16.
24. Party With is Los Angeles’ new Instagram-ready experience. Opening it’s doors on Friday Nov. 16 in Westfield Santa Anita Mall, folks can expect 15 premium photogenic installations like an infinity rainbow and a room filled with sparkling disco balls. Party With runs through January 27 and is open Thursdays through Sundays.
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25. Notorious RBG explores the life and career of Ruth Bader Ginsburg through a collection of contemporary art, archives, interactives, archival photographs and more. Each gallery section will allude to a song by the Notorious B.I.G. as the name of the exhibit suggests, and will playfully bring out the similarities between the two. Happening at the Skirball Cultural Center. The exhibit runs until March 10. The museum is free every Thursday.
26. Free museum days: MOCA Grand & MOCA Geffen (from 5 to 8 p.m.), Skirball Cultural Center (noon to 5 p.m.) and Long Beach Museum of Art (3 to 8 p.m,)
Friday November 30th, 2018
27. LACMA’s latest exhibit, Outliers and American Vanguard Art, highlight a period in American art history when avant-garde artists and outliers (that is, artists without formal training) intersected.
28. There’s a Tree Lighting Celebration at the Pasadena Playhouse courtyard. Guests are invited to join in for complimentary hot chocolate and coffee from Zona Rosa Caffe, live music, and a special performance by the Bob Baker Marionette Theater. This event is part of Holiday Concerts in the Playhouse District, taking place on Friday nights from November 30 through December 21. FREE
29. The Silent Skate Party is back at the Pershing Square Holiday Ice Rink. Headphones are provided to all skaters, who then have the ability to choose one of three stations to skate to.
30. HYPERSPECTIVE, a free immersive film festival comes to the Ace Hotel in DTLA Nov. 30 through Dec. 2 with over a dozen top immersive films will be screened in a 360-degree dome theatre. FREE
31. Pomona Harvest Festival happening at the Fairplex Expo (Nov. 30 – Dec. 2) will feature vendors showcasing handmade jewelry, blown glass, metalwork, photography, and much more.
32. Since 1969 Bob Baker’s Marionette Theater’s adaptation of the Nutcracker has been warming hearts and delighting kids and adults during the holidays. The show includes over 100 handmade puppets at the Pasadena Playhouse. Running now until Dec. 30.
33. LA Auto Show returns with thousand cars on display. From Nov. 30 to Dec. 9 experience various car exhibits, model debuts and more at the LA Convention Center.
34. The Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony in Downtown Alhambra will bring in the holiday season with a concert with the Alhambra Chamber of Commerce and a pop-up holiday shop.
35. Silent Night, Silent Disco at FIGat7th will feature three DJs curated by KCRW’s Anthony Valadez. The event is open to all ages and is free to attend with donations of food and or new toys required for entrance.
36. Uptown Whittier Holiday Sonata celebrates “Holidays Around the World” with a Santa’s Village plus a horse drawn carriage this Friday and Saturday.
Food Pick for the Week
This week’s pick by Christina Champlin, Co-Founder of We Like L.A.
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Japanese kaiseki newcomer INN ANN at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles opens to the public on Tuesday, November 27, 2018. The concept will feature a lineup of Japanese chefs, including some Michelin-decorated talent. A night at INN ANN is like a crash course in kaiseki-style dining straight out of Kyoto. You’ll experience a series of small dishes prepared with Japanese techniques and seasonal California ingredients. For the opening, the tasting menu is overseen by Chef Taro Araki, Executive Chef for the Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles. This means you’ll dine like foreign dignitaries, prime ministers and presidents from around the world.
It starts with a zensai. Nine bite-sized offerings come neatly arranged in a decorative bowl. Open the lid to find delights that include a Japanese omelet with truffle, shrimp in dashi jelly, and miso marinated grilled cheese. A chef’s choice sashimi course comes next. Follow that up with choice between shabu shabu of Kagoshima wagyu and vegetables, or grilled Kagoshima wagyu beef in Saikyo miso. If you are dining with a partner, opt for one of each to get a taste of that same wagyu cooked two ways, one with fire and the other in water.
Your fourth course is a small plate of nigiri sushi and miso soup with fish. Room temperature slices of buttery toro and other fish fill your plate, and then your belly. It’s the perfect palette cleanser before transitioning to dessert, where you choose between a chestnut crème brûlée or the orange purin, a Japanese custard pudding that holds the same texture as flan. Neither is overly sweet, which you will surely appreciate after a long, satisfying meal.
Omakase menu prices range from $75-100. The beverage program features Japanese wines and spirits including rare sake, shochu, and Japanese whiskey, as well as a cocktail list designed to pair with the omakase meal.
INN ANN is located on the 5th floor of Hollywood & Highland at JAPAN HOUSE 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028.
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