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21 Unexpected (and Super Fun) Things to Add to Your L.A. Fall Calendar

We don’t say this lightly, but L.A.’s fall calendar is so good this year, it’s getting us to step away from our ever-growing TV agenda (we still love you, Jack Ryan). From the light show projected onto the Walt Disney Concert Hall to dog surfing on Huntington Beach, there’s a high-low delight for everyone. See what not to miss here (and make sure you’re Wi-Fi-enabled, because everyone needs to see how cool you are).

7 Things Angelenos Are Talking About Right Now


refik anadol light art
Refik Anadol

1. From September 27 through October 6, the LA Philharmonic celebrates its centenary with media artist Refik Anadol, who will use light, data and machine intelligence to project images onto the external steel of the iconic Frank Gehry—designed Walt Disney Concert Hall.

2. Until September 29, the Getty Villa is the site of an open-air performance of The Bacchae, the ancient Greek play that asks how man can balance his rational and uncivilized sides.

apiece apart store clothes rack
Apiece Apart

3. Shop for fall’s indispensable fashion piece, the dress-up-or-down jumpsuit, at the new L.A. outpost of Apiece Apart in Venice.

4. Beginning in late September, the high-concept, super-scary 75-minute experiential seasonal theater project—aka arty haunted house—Creep returns with an experience called “Awake.” It’s all about nightmares, so be prepared to not sleep for a month afterward.

5. Musician Dave Grohl’s wife and two of her childhood Valley Girl pals unveil an every-Saturday food hall, starting September 22. The Valley Urban Market takes place in Studio City’s Sportsmen’s Lodge parking lot, with 20 next-level food vendors (mmm, lobster nachos), DJs and glitter tattoos for the kids.

los rios rancho botanic garden sign
Riley’s at Los Rios Rancho/Facebook

6. Go apple picking in Yucaipa at Los Rios Rancho. Climb up for all the sweet Galas and tart Spartans, and save time for a hard cider tasting.

7. International talent, feathers and sequins converge at the Globe, one of the city’s most regal old movie palaces, on September 28 in the burlesque extravaganza Tease, If You Please.

8. Starting September 28, Chinese contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei is basically taking over the city with three concurrent L.A. exhibits. He’s debuting a refugee-themed work at the Marciano Art Foundation on September 28; then on September 29, installing 6,000 stools at Jeffrey Deitch’s new Hollywood gallery, and finally, on October 4, he’s showing work in marble at the new UTA Artist Space in Beverly Hills.

dog on surfboard
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty Images

9. All the tail wagging and happy splashing is happening in Huntington Beach on September 29 at the McKenna Subaru Surf City Surf Dog competition.

10. On October 1, Portland-based Wildfang opens a boutique at 3430 Sunset, dedicated to its delightfully rebellious T-shirts and tomboy-styled separates.

lebron james brown hat talk show
Getty Images/Theo Wargo/NBC

11. Because, LeBron… On October 2, the Lakers bring their preseason game to the Staples Center.

12. Beginning Friday, October 5, La Cienega Design Quarter is hosting a two-day sidewalk sale. Expect vintage and contemporary home goods from the chichiest designers, at prices slashed by up to 70 percent.

girl stomping grapes with feet flowers
Twenty20

13. Walk away with purple feet after the Solvang Stomp on October 13, where this brand-new festival invites you to explore the town’s Danish downtown, taste the best wines of Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley and, yes, crush grapes with your feet.

14Browse international fashion at the edgy Dover Street Market, located in a 20,000-square-foot former warehouse at 608 Imperial Street. The boutique, slated to open in late October, mixes envelope-pushing luxury merch from labels like Comme des Garçons with streetwear brands.

la dance project two dancers
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for L.A. Dance Project

15. On October 18, the L.A. Dance Project, led by the prolific choreographer and artistic director Benjamin Millepied, joins Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil to stage vivid duets from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.  

16. Race alongside the Pacific on November 4 at the Malibu Half Marathon & 5K.

la margaretleng tan
Courtesy of Margaret Leng Tan

17. Small is huge in the performances of Margaret Leng Tan, the performance artist called the virtuoso of the toy piano. See this Juilliard graduate make her West Coast debut on November 1 at Redcat.

18. Celebrate Joni Mitchell’s 75th birthday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on November 6 and 7. On each night, musicians including Emmylou Harris, Rufus Wainwright and Norah Jones will perform selections from her 19-album oeuvre.

19. The first U.S. survey of artist Zoe Leonard, the critically acclaimed, cerebral and provocative photographer and sculptor, comes to the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA on November 11.

descanso gardens forest of lights
Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

20. Take a mile-long nighttime stroll through Descanso Gardens beginning November 18, when Enchanted: Forest of Light turns trees, flowers and walkways electric with thousands of multicolored LED lights.

21. The hot reservation this fall is Top Chef winner Mei Lin’s intimate new downtown restaurant, Nightshade. Pucker up: The chef’s tastes run toward creative dishes such as beef tartare covered in radish flowers and razor clams with a passion fruit and chive sauce.



dana dickey

Senior Editor

Dana Dickey is a PureWow Senior Editor, and during more than a decade in digital media, she has scoped out and tested top products and services across the lifestyle space...