Weekend Planner: 23 Things To Do In Los Angeles

LAist gets a lot of event announcements, and we comb through them all to bring you a curated list of what’s happening in LA this weekend, including these 22 events. In case you missed it, here's our August events column with even more suggestions.

(Sidebar: We're getting requests to moving this Weekend Planner column to Thursdays. Let us know if we should make the move in the comments section below.)

FRIDAY, AUGUST 1

MUSIC: sElf—the alt-pop-rock band led by Matt Mahaffey—headlines a night at the El Rey with Hellogoodbye and Magnolia Memoir in support. Doors at 8 pm, show at 9 pm. Tickets: $22-$25.

OUTDOOR FILM: X bar, the renovated bar/lounge in the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, begins a “Movies Under the Stars” series every Friday in August, starting on Aug. 1 with Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused at 8 pm. The movie’s free and so are the popcorn and candy. The kitchen serves up small bites, burgers and sweets until midnight. Get there early for happy hour from 4-7 pm.

DANCE: There’s an evening of World Fusion Dance at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre at 8:30 pm on Friday as Bellydance Evolution puts Alice in Wonderland through the prism of Middle Eastern Dance, break dance, theatrical hip hop, tribal dance and fusion. The dancers will perform with an original score composed by Paul Dinletir and the live beats of Ozzy Ashkenazi. Tickets: $23-$43; students and children: $12-$20.

NATURE NIGHT:: The Natural History Museum presents Summer Nights in the Garden on Friday from 5-9 pm. The museum’s summer series features a DJ spinning in the Nature Garden while there are performances, tours and workshops throughout the night. (Friday’s workshops are on making bird houses and juices.) Sip on a garden-inspired cocktail as you explore the gardens. Pack a picnic or buy from a food truck onsite. Admission is free (to the gardens only) with RSVP.

FILM: The Echo Park Film Center’s Filmmobile hits the road on Friday screening The Red Kimona (1925) at 8 pm. There’s an introduction by Girl Director author Andrea Richards and live original musical score by Emily Lacy. Check the Echo Park Film Center on Facebook or follow @EPFCFILMMOBILE on Twitter for exact location.

FILM: On Friday and Saturday night at the ArcLight Hollywood, writer-director-actor James Franco will do Q&As after the 7:15 pm screenings of his latest film Child of God, and stick around to do intros for the 9:30 pm showings each night, too. The film is a brutal look at one man's "decent into hell" and is based on the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name. Tickets: $14.75-$16.

COMEDY: On Friday at 7 pm, Nerdmelt presents Star Wars Minute: LIVE! The evening features a live recording of the Star Wars Minute podcast, with Alex Robinson and Pete The Retailer picking apart the Star Wars saga in true minute-by-minute detail. Special guests are: With special guests Tony Thaxton, Joseph Scrimshaw, Matt Belknap and others. Tickets: $8 in advance, $10 at the door.

FILM : Gallery1988 opens Storybook: a little gallery show, artist Joey Spiotto’s debut solo show on Friday with a reception from 7-10 pm. The show (with the artist in attendance) features 50 new limited edition prints, which turn fav movies, books, TV shows, video games and more into classic children's book covers. The show will remain on view through Aug. 16.

OUTDOOR FILM: Grand Performances screens the animated film Les Triplettes de Belleville under the stars on Friday at 8 pm with a live score led by the original composer Benoît Charest and the Terrible Orchestre de Belleville. Film’s TRT: 109 minutes.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 2

MUSIC PANEL: Cinefamily and BMI present a live chat and panel discussion about music in film on Saturday at 1 pm. The discussion will focus on clearing music for films and TV (and web shows) and how musicians can even break into the film industry. The panel is moderated by musician/songwriter and actor Michael Des Barres, and includes: Danny Bramson (music supervisor, Almost Famous), Tiffany Anders (music supervisor, Like Crazy), Miriam Cutler (composer, American Promise), Denny Tedesco (director, The Wrecking Crew), James Ponsoldt (director, The Spectacular Now), Allison Anders (filmmaker, Grace of My Heart), Doreen Ringer Ross (BMI's V.P. of Film & TV) and others. Tickets are a bargain at $7 (free for Cinefamily members).

ART PARTY: LACMA holds its late night art party—Muse ‘til Midnight—on Friday from 8 pm to midnight. The fun begins at Chris Burden’s Urban Light, where design collective ISO50 has something special planned with guest opener Willits at 8 pm, followed by a DJ set by Tycho until 10 pm. The Silver Lake Chorus then performs inside the Van Gogh to Kandinsky and John Altoon exhibits. Muse attendees also get to preview the new Marsden Hartley show the night before it opens to the public. A cash bar and small bites will be available all night long. Tickets: $45 general admission; $35 for LACMA members and $25 for LACMA’s Muse members. The event is 18+.

MUSIC: On Saturday at 8 pm, Grand Performances presents the free outdoor music program, People Get Ready: A Soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Performers include Dwight Trible, Ejyptian Queen (Sam Cooke’s granddaughters), Les Nubians, N’Dambi and more.

ART + MUSIC PARTY : Spaceland, Inner-City Arts and 89.9 KCRW present an evening of performances by Peanut Butter Wolf, Yacht, De Lux and more Dub Lab DJs on Saturday at 7 pm. Held at Inner-City Arts in DTLA, the evening is a celebration of the power of creativity and proceeds benefit free access to arts education. Visuals by artists in residence Friends with You & Animal Charm, video games curated by Messhof, and food trucks onsite include Guerilla Tacos, Heirloom LA, Salt & Straw and Urban Oven. Cocktails by The Spare Room and coffee by Stumptown Roasters. This event is 21+.

Merry Karnowsky Gallery opens a new show with works by Tara McPherson, Audrey Kawasaki and Deedee Cheriel. (Image: Tara Mc Pherson, 'Supernova.')

ART : Merry Karnowsky Gallery presents a summer group exhibition featuring new works from Audrey Kawasaki, Deedee Cheriel and Tara McPherson. There’s an opening reception on Saturday from 8-11 pm. An RSVP is needed to attend: info@mkgallery.com. The show remains on view through Aug. 30.

THEATER: The Loft Ensemble presents the world premiere of Windows, a collection of comedic one-acts written by Mitch Rosander and Cory Pilawski. “Windows explores the hilarity of various relationship scenarios and invites the audience to creep in the bushes outside and see what can happen when the blinds are left open. From threesomes, to blow up dolls, to the anxiety of waiting for a text message, look inside to see what people do when they think no one is looking.” The performances begin on Saturday at 8 pm for a three-weekend run. Tickets: $10.

COMEDY: On Saturday at 10 pm, Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Hollywood presents three brand new short musicals: "Gwyneth Paltrow’s Nightmare," "Catfish: The Musical" and "Understudies: The Musical." Tickets: $10.

ART PARTY: Coagula Curatorial in Chinatown opens the exhibition Heads Will Roll with an opening reception from 7-11 pm. The show brings together new and established artists from different cultural backgrounds and experiences. Works on view by Alice Bag, Diane Gamboa, Meg Madison, Shizu Saldamando, Lorraine Scognamillo, Kelly Thompson and Sashiko Yuen. Performing at the opening night party are LITTLE T & The Swigs and Genevieve Atkerson (acoustic).

SCULPTURE ART: Giant Robot 2 opens Tiny Little Objects, a show of mini-art pieces and small art figures created by Japanese artist Dehara Yukinori. The artist will be in attendance at the opening reception on Saturday from 6:30-10 pm. On Sunday, Aug. 3, Terada Katsuya joins Dehara in a live demo featuring Yokai (monsters from Japanese folklore).

MUSIC : We love the local band Leftover Cuties and its prohibition-era jazz sound. The Cuties play a free concert at One Colorado on Saturday night at 8 pm. It’s part of a new series in which concerts are accompanied by pop-up, alfresco dining with One Colorado eateries. Saturday’s featured restaurant is Sushi Roku.

MIDNIGHT MOVIE: Cinefamily screens the 1980 sci-fi adventure Flash Gordon at 11:59 pm on Saturday night. With a soundtrack by Queen, awesome special effects and Max Von Sydow as Ming the Merciless, this is a great midnight ride. Tickets: $12.

SUNDAY, AUG. 3

SHOP : ShopWalk returns to DTLA’s Historic Core on Sunday (anchored by Boutique Row on 6th and 7th Streets between Broadway and Main). Dozens of the area’s stores and eating/drinking establishments are hosting or offering in-store treats, refreshments and discounts. We spied Cole’s offering 15% off food orders for ShopWalk attendees and King Eddy Saloon doing $5 well drinks and $4 Bass with a ShopWalk map or a flash of the site on phones.

READING: The Eclectic Voices Festival is a series of play readings by writers based at The Eclectic Company Theatre (in Valley Village), The readings will be performed by the company’s actors and there will be talkback sessions with the playwrights following each performance. Refreshments will be served. The readings—which begin on Sunday at 2 pm with The Many Deaths of Kassie McGreevy by Chelsea Sutton—are all free and open to the public (though no donation will be turned down, of course).

COMEDY: The (Kinda) Open Mic Show is a half-booked and half-open mic night at the Satellite LA on Sunday night from 5:30-8 pm. The evening features comedy by Richard Bain, Matt Peters, Yassir Lester, Ed Crasnick, Grant Pardee and others. Free.

Related:

- Your Ultimate Guide to August Events

Want the 411 on additional events and happenings in LA? Follow @LAist or me (@christineziemba) on Twitter.