Things to do in Los Angeles today

Each year, the botanical garden’s nighttime experience masterfully mixes hands-on art installations with atmospheric, luminescent forests, all against a background of uplit trees and shimmery sound effects. The 2023 edition returns from November 19 to January 7. Tickets, which cost $35 to $45, go on sale September 6 at 10am (and August 23 for members). This year’s event will add a new route through the rose garden’s labyrinth, which will feature HYBYCOZO’s familiar 3-D light sculptures as well as a glowing field of grass. Sculptor Tom Fruin’s kaleidoscopic stained-glass–inspired houses will move over to the main lawn, with an entire village of structures with interactive lighting. And over by the oaks, you can bask underneath a new hanging light installation. Back in 2022, we found Enchanted mostly as magical as always. We did miss the spinnable versions of HYBYCOZO’s dizzying kaleidoscopic pendants, as well as the serpentine Candyland-like path that’s seemingly absent for good. But elsewhere, Enchanted (delightedly) looked much like it had in the past: a field of faux tulips rippled with waves of twinkling color changes while the mist-filled “Ancient Forest” still beckoned visitors with its straight-out-of-E.T. setting. You could still tap the “Rainbow Sycamore” columns, and the event was just as intuitively immersive as ever. And, true to its botanical garden location, most of the installations highlighted the natural beauty of Descanso’s flora—with a refinement that sets i

Riverside’s stunningly beautiful Mission Inn is bathed in 4.5 million twinkly lights during the annual Festival of Lights. The free seven-week-long holiday tradition runs from mid-November to early January and typically features more than 400 animated figures.

“POKÉMON X KOGEI | Playful Encounters of Pokémon and Japanese Craft” puts the focus on a pair of Japanese cultural exports and the collision between a decades-old gaming franchise and centuries-old crafting techniques. For video game fans, the phrase “Pokémon exhibition” is probably all the convincing they need to swing by JAPAN HOUSE. But the Hollywood cultural center’s gallery has used the imagined world of Pokémon to assemble a superb spotlight on the traditional Japanese craft techniques—like ceramics, textiles, lacquer and metalwork—behind the 70 or so works on display (for example, how crafts’ reliance on the earth’s basic materials and forces are similar to the game’s elemental types). The free exhibition, which debuted at Japan’s National Crafts Museum earlier this year, heads to Hollywood from July 25, 2023 to January 7, 2024 (given the likely popularity, timed reservations are recommended). Note that some of the more delicate objects, like textiles and lacquerware, will be rotated off view in the fall. Among the 20 Japanese artists featured, highlights include textile designer Reiko Sudo’s “Pikachu Forest” of 900 strands of lace; metal artist Taiichiro Yoshida’s copper sculptures of Eevee and its three first-generation evolutions; Keiko Masumoto’s playful porcelain plates and fire-type Pokémon jars; and Kasumi Ueba’s ornately-painted creature-shaped pottery. You can expect pieces with adorable starter Pokémon like Rowlet, Litten and Popplio as well as some of the se

The Hammer Museum’s excellent, ongoing series of biennial exhibitions ups the ante each year with its spotlight on emerging and under-recognized L.A. artists, and the sixth edition is no exception. Titled “Acts of Living,” this year’s show focuses on how art is inseperable from everyday life and includes a mix of new commissions and historical works from 39 up-and-coming and prolific artists. Under the curation of Diana Nawi and Pablo José Ramírez, there’s a playful but poignant perspective on display from many of the artists being showcased here. Using squares of soil sourced from 144 L.A. neighborhoods, Jackie Amézquita drew landmarks and diasporic communities from each area. Christopher Suarez created a ceramic replica of Long Beach and the Los Angeles Contemporary Archive made an immitation break room that lets you look through art archives. Guadalupe Rosales has combined Mesoamerican altars with contemporary rave culture, while Roksana Pirouzmand sorts through flying family photos in a small room with a window on one side that resembles her house and her grandmother’s house in Iran on the other. Unlike the 2020 edition (which didn’t debut until 2021), this one won’t share its hosting duties with the Huntington. That’s no surprise, though, considering that the Hammer now boasts a larger, fully-realized venue.

West Hollywood rooftop bar E.P. & L.P. is transforming its second-story restaurant into a holiday wonderland, complete with floor-to-ceiling tinsel, festive cocktails and holiday-themed bites. Book via Bucketlisters for single tickets ($23 per head) or group tables for two to four. Each ticket includes a 90-minute reservation and welcome drink. Highlights inckude the sugar-rimmed Milk and Cookies (Tito's, Disaronno, Baileys, vanilla syrup, oat milk) and the mezcal-based Feliz Navidad, which comes with a deconstructed s'more.

L.A. doesn’t typically seem like much of a winter wonderland, until, that is, you create an ice skating rink right in the midst of Downtown skyscrapers. Come glide around and pretend there’s snow on the ground at Pershing Square’s outdoor holiday skating rink. Skate rentals are included in admission, though lockers and skating aids costs a few dollars extra. RECOMMENDED: The best places to go ice skating in Los Angeles

Step inside an oversized, crystalline Christmas ornament and a tree made of lights during the return of this Downtown installation. Sparkle DTLA is setting up shop at the Bloc through the end of the year, and every night you can expect its displays to dance to music on the hour (5–9pm).

West Hollywood’s ultra-chic restaurant and rooftop bar, E.P. & L.P., is serving much more than handcrafted cocktails and modern American bites. The spot also hosts Melrose Rooftop Theatre, an outdoor screening series that runs much of the year on the rooftop space attached to its open-air bar, L.P. Its all-VIP seating setup means everyone gets their own bean bag to watch a mix of cult classics and newly released films, with the audio piped in to provided sets of wireless headphones. Opt for the dinner-and-a-movie package and you’ll get a pre-show starter, main and dessert—or you can skip it and just opt for a cocktail during the movie.

Bluey, the delightful animated show that you’re about as obsessed with as your toddler, is bringing its imaginative Brisbane living room a little closer to home with this Century Century pop-up. Toy store and craft center CAMP will recreate Bluey’s playroom complete with a two-story pillow fort and cardboard box castle as well as some of her favorite games (including magic asparagus and keepy uppy). Plus, you can pose with some adorable Bingo and Bluey costumed characters at the end—and of course pick up exclusive Bluey merch. The experience is aimed at kids ages four to eight and opens on November 6 on the second floor of the Westfield Century City; timed tickets ($36 to $46, depending on the day) are currently available through mid-January.

Located just blocks from the ocean, Ice in downtown Santa Monica brings a bit of winter to the comfortable coastal city. The 8,000-square-foot outdoor rink runs daily from November to mid-January on the corner of Fifth Street and Arizona Avenue (less than a 10-minute walk from the E Line). Tickets for an hour-long slot ($22) include skate rentals, and you can book private parties and cabanas if you’re looking for something a bit more premium. Look out for treats for sale, plus themed nights on Wednesdays. RECOMMENDED: The best places to go ice skating in Los Angeles