Things To Do

Things to Do This Week in L.A. [5-16-2022 to 5-20-2022]

May 16, 2022 by Brian Champlin and Christina Champlin
Panel of flames at A Forest for the Trees. Photo by Brian Champlin

Had your fill of pixelated photos of last night’s blood moon eclipse? Good. It’s time to look forward to the week ahead.

This May 16-20 in Los Angeles, you’ll find free botanical garden admission, a special Murakami talk at The Broad, A Forest for the Trees immersive experience, late night at Skirball, AAPI movie night at Million Dollar Theater, a free concert at Union Station, and more. If you’re looking to get out and about then start with our list below, and plan a great week!

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Things To Do

Metrolink Bike to Work Week -> For Bike to Work Week, Metrolink (not to be confused with Metro) is offering free rides to anyone boarding trains with their bike from May 16-20. Concurrent with the free rides, Metrolink is offering entry to a giveaway with prizes including an Aventon e-bike, hotel stay, and $200 restaurant gift card. Details on the free ride and giveaway here.

Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse -> The first west coast display of the iconic fashion designer’s works is now in exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art . Mind, Mythos, Muse examines McQueen’s artistic legacy through a display of garments from the Collection of Regina J. Drucker alongside artworks from LACMA’s permanent collection. Runs through Oct. 9. LACMA is open Thursday to Tuesday. More info here.

L.A. Underwater: The Prehistoric Sea Beneath Us -> The newest exhibition at the Natural History Museum focuses on L.A.’s prehistoric past, when much of the land we see together was covered by ocean, and sea creatures. Included with general admission to NHM, which starts at $15 for adults. Open Wednesday through Monday. More info here.

An Untold Past: Chinese Americans in LA -> Learn the history of Chinatowns in Los Angeles at a special discussion event hosted at the Chinese American Museum this Tuesday. This event, moderated by FCAM board member and Cal State LA professor Juily Phun, Ph.D, will be the first in-person program in the series, “An Untold Past.” Free to attend or stream on Zoom. Get more info and RSVP here.

Free Garden Days -> The South Coast Botanic Garden, L.A. Arboretum, and Descanso Gardens all offer free admission on the third Tuesday of every month. Note that all three required advance reservations, and space is limited. If you miss this Tuesday’s free days, make sure to check out our big list of free museum days to see other upcoming options.

King Lear at The Wallis -> This week at The Wallis, a new production of Shakespeare’s King Lear continues featuring actor Joe Morton (ABC’s “Scandal,” the legendary Brother from Another Planet, Netflix’s “The Politician”) in the title role. Shows run on select dates through June 5. Tickets for some performances are as low as $29. More info here.

A Forest for the Trees -> A brand new experience by artist Glen Kaino (artistic producer of In & Of Itself on Broadway) is now open at Ace Mission Studios near DTLA. A Forest for the Trees pushes visitors to rethink their relationship to the natural world by immersing them in a surreal forest environment built within 28,000 square-feet of warehouse space. Check out animatronic head pieces, illusions of fire, and a dazzling light performance built upon the re-creation of a 144 year-old fig tree that once stood on Olvera Street. Adult tickets (non-peak hours) start at $20 per person during non-peak hours, and go for $30 during peak hours. Runs Wednesday to Sunday through the end of the summer. Get more info here.

Un-Private Collection -> The much anticipated Takashi Murakami exhibition Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow is set to open at The Broad on May 21.. In advance of the debut, this Thursday the museum will host an Un-Private Collection conversation between Murakami and the co-founder of RTFKT Studios Benoit Pagotto, moderated by The Broad’s Curator and Publications Manager Ed Schad. Tickets are $20. More info here.

L.A. County Fair -> The centennial edition of the L.A. County Fair continues at Fairplex in Pomona with a new spring timeframe, and its usual assortment of carnival rides, concerts, and way-too-greasy food. Advanced purchase adult tickets start at $15. Open Thursday to Sunday through the end of the month. More info here.

Late Night at Skirball -> This Friday, Skirball Cultural Center takes their Jewish Deli exhibition late night with a special after-hours access to galleries, food for purchase from deli pop-up stands, and DJ’d music. Tickets are $10. More info here.

Metro Art Presents Dorian Wood -> This Friday evening at Union Station, Metro Arts will host a special concert event by multi-disciplinary artist Dorian Wood. Wood, accompanied by the Isaura String Quartet and guitarist Michael Corwin, will perform Xavela Lux Aeterna, a tribute to legendary Costa Rican and Mexican singer Chavela Vargas. The event take place at the Old Ticketing Hall, and is free to attend. Seating is first-come, first-served. More info here.

AAPI Heritage Month Movie Night -> To celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the Million Dollar Theater is hosting a pair of Asian produced, directed, and performed films to screen on the final two Fridays of May. This Friday catch The Farewell, staring at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5. More info here.

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Jazz at LACMA -> This Friday at 6 p.m., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art welcomes MFUO with Jacques Lesure & Marvin “Smitty” Smith to the Smidt Welcome Plaza as part of the ongoing Jazz at LACMA series, which continues every Friday evening through June 24. Admission is free, however seating is limited and first come, first served. More info here.

Create to Destress -> On Fridays in May, artist Carmela Morales leads special workshops on making personalized embroidered canvas bags as a way to destress, spur mental health conversations, and learn a new skill. The sessions run from 5 to 7 p.m. in Virginia Avenue Park in Santa Monica, and are free to attend. The workshops are part of the month-long We Rise 2022 event series, which aims to reshape mental health treatment by promoting awareness and increasing community access to health and wellness resources. More info here.

Dining

Margherita Pizza at Ronan. Photo curtesy of Ronan.

Margherita Mondays are back at Ronan -> Ronan’s popular Monday special is back! Dubbed On “Margherita Mondays” you can get half-priced Margherita pizzas ($10.50, regularly $21) and $40 Margarita pitchers every week.

Bridgetown Roti x Employees Only Collab Dinner -> On Tuesday, May 17 stop by Employees Only in West Hollywood for a special collaboration dinner with Bridgetown Roti. Available à la carte, the one-night only dishes include Smoked Jerk Chicken with couscous, sungolds, spring peas and a salted citrus vinaigrette; Soft Shell Crabs with stracciatella, cilantro oil and pickled scotch bonnets; Shaved Zucchini Salad with curried apricots, celery root, young coconut chutney; and White Asparagus Mousse with coffee kombucha syrup and shaved chocolate. Dinner service starts at 6 p.m., and reservations are available on Resy

NOUVELLES SAVEURS at the Beverly Wilshire -> Chef T. Nicolas Peter recently launched a poolside summer residency, ‘NOUVELLES SAVEURS’ at the Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel. The al-fresco dinner experience takes place in a newly built poolside veranda where guests will be treated to a seasonally-influenced five course menu prepared by Chef Peter (Cafe des Artistes, The Little Door, Harlowe.) Served prix-fixe style, menu highlights include an Espelette Seared Scallop with Santa Barbara uni, saffron emulsion and Ossetra Caviar; Grilled Loup de Mer with Dungeness Crab, fava beans and tomato-pernod beurre blanc; Wagyu Shank served with baby artichoke, preserved lemon and potato mousseline; and desserts such as a Strawberry Pistachio Mille-Feuille with Harry’s Berries strawberries and rose syrup and a Molten Chocolate Torte with Grand Marnier Valrhona and crème chantilly. The NOUVELLES SAVEURS residency is open for dinner from Wednesday-Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m. and costs $150 per person. Reservations are available via OpenTable

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Bisol1542 Prosecco Superiore -> Fans of the Italian bubbly can attend a rooftop aperitivo gathering at the Kimpton La Peer Hotel in West Hollywood this Thursday, May 19. Gianluca Bisol of Bisol1542, will be pouring Prosecco Superiore DOCG from Valdobbiadene for the evening while guests enjoy cicchetti (Italian small bites), DJ tunes, photo opps, and  sunset views of West Hollywood and beyond.  A ticket costs $24 per person. Use code Bisol20 to get 20% off. More info here


Any notes or corrections? Want to suggest an event we should add to an upcoming list? Hit us up at [email protected].


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