July 2024 events calendar for Los Angeles

The masters of alfresco rooftop movie viewing have returned for another season of screenings to LEVEL in Downtown L.A. Known for excellent film choices and a steady supply of snacks and booze, Rooftop Cinema Club is your snazzy, comfortable and less stressful alternative to other outdoor movie screenings. You don’t even need to bring your own camping chair—Rooftop Cinema Club provides you with your very own comfy lawn chair (with optional blankets for purchase to up the coziness). And instead of listening to the movie over loudspeakers, you’ll get a set of wireless headphones so you never have to miss a word. This spring and summer, looking out for a slate of wedding season picks and AAPI Heritage Month selections in May, as well as Pride and Black Music Month screenings in June. Also, select “wooftop” screenings will be dog-friendly starting in May. Find the full schedule on their site, or in our outdoor movie calendar.

Every Sunday you can find dozens of food vendors at this market at ROW DTLA, with a mix of much-loved pop-ups and future foodie stars. Look out for this year’s new vendors, including Basket Taco Co, Battambong Barbecue and Taste of the Pacific.

This major Ed Ruscha retrospective includes his meticulous photos of L.A. streets and a reconstruction of his Chocolate Room (which, yes, is a room made out sheets upon sheets of chocolate).

Nature lovers rejoice! Spend a day at the Natural History Museum’s Butterfly Pavilion, which will open from March 17 through August 25 with up to 30 butterfly and moth species and an assortment of California plants. The seasonal outdoor exhibit allows for adults and children alike to witness nature up close—we’re talking having bufferlies take flight and land on your arms or shoulders. Prime time for these unique butterfly flight experiences are between 10 and 11am each morning.

For dinner and a movie, all in one, just follow the food trucks. During the spring, summer and fall, Street Food Cinema throws together a series of outdoor parties—usually alfresco, sometimes in a drive-in format—that include screenings of some of our favorite movies, paired with an assortment of gourmet food trucks and even a live music performance from a cool local band. The screenings are held in venues across L.A. and alternate from week to week, so make sure to check the schedule. Some of the outdoor venues are dog-friendly, allowing you to bring your four-legged cinema lover along. See more of this season’s outdoor movie screenings in L.A.

Let the wild rumpus start at this celebration of beloved children’s author and illustrator Maurice Sendak. The Skirball Cultural Center will be displaying more than 150 sketches, storyboards and paintings from the Where the Wild Things Are creator. Titled “Wild Things Are Happening: The Art of Maurice Sendak,” the exhibition debuted at the Columbus Museum of Art in 2022 and will sail off (metaphorically speaking) to visit L.A. from April 18 through September 1, 2024. Admission costs $18 for adults, with discounts for students, seniors and children; it’s completely free to visit on Thursdays. In addition to his own books, In the Night Kitchen and Outside Over There among them, the exhibition will spotlight art that Sendak created for a handful of other authors, including Else Holmelund Minarik’s Little Bear, as well designs for Mozart operas and books. The show will also focus on his personal and family life, with portraits he shot, toys he designed and insight into his life as a child of Jewish immigrants and a lover of Romantic music and art.

The GRAMMY Museum celebrates hip-hop’s 50th anniversary with interactive DJing, rapping and sampling stations and instantly recognizable artifacts like LL Cool J’s red Kangol bucket hat and the Notorious B.I.G.’s red leather pea coat.

See 1930s-to-50s concept cars plus artwork from Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol and David Hockney at this Petersen exhibition.

See how the Hairspray and Pink Flamingos writer and director’s delightfully filthy style has redefined the possibilities of independent cinema—as well as what exactly goes into making an indie movie—during this career-spanning exhibition at the Academy Museum. “John Waters: The Pope of Trash” includes costumes, props, photos, handwritten scripts, correspondence and memos, scrapbooks and more. Highlights include an original Pink Flamingos script and Debbie Harry’s exploding wig and Ricki Lake’s roach dress from Hairspray. Look out for related screenings as well as an adjoining installation on the American avant-garde and New Queer Cinema.

Treat your ears to a vibrant concert on a spring or summer night this year, by attending MUSE/IQUE’s annual program. This monthly series of performances, held venues (largely outdoors) across L.A., features a mix of performances inspired by landmark albums and public figures, including tributes to Ed Sullivan, Bob Dylan, Abraham Lincoln, Oklahoma! and more. In order to attend, you’ll need to become a MUSE/IQUE member; you could make a $75 donation for a single event, but if you’re interested in more than just one, it’s cheaper per event to become a full-fludged member.