Los Angeles - Annual Event

JANUARY :
Tournament of Roses
Join nearly a million people as they watch marching bands and floral floats in this annual New Year's Day parade. Following the parade is the annaul Rose Bowl Game. It is a day of flowers, music and sports. This famous parade takes place in Pasadena, beginning at 8 AM. The game starts at 2 PM. Call (626) 449-4100 for more information.

Rose Bowl Flea Market
Visit one of the larger flea markets in the world, at the Rose Bowl Stadium, on the second Sunday in January and every month thereafter. Admission is $7.00, children under 12 are free. Call (626) 577-3100 for more information.

Kingdom Day Parade
The Council on Racial Equality (CORE) sponsors a parade in honor of Martin Luther King each January 21, which travels the two-mile distance from Martin Luther King Boulevard near Crenshaw to Western. Call (323) 299-1234 for more information.

FEBRUARY:
Whale Watching
Many viewing excursions are available at the Los Angeles city harbor, as the gray whale makes its migration from Alaska to Baja, during the whole month of February. Call (310) 548-6279 for more information.

Chinese New Year
Watch the hand-painted dragons and floats along North Broadway near North Spring Street in Chinatown, in mid-February. Call (213) 617-0396 for more information.

Firecracker 5K / 10 Run
This foot race begins in Chinatown each year in mid-February, and benefits the Need 2 Read Literacy Program. Call (323) 256-1363 for more information.

MARCH:
City of Los Angeles Marathon
Run or walk some or all of the 26 mile course through Los Angeles, beginning at 8 AM in front of the new Disney Hall on the first Sunday in March, stop to listen to one of the live bands along the way, or enjoy a healthy beverage and get your blood pressure tested. Call (310) 444-5544 for more information.

Academy Awards
See how close you can get to the stars, at the Hollywood Motion Picture Academy Oscars ceremony, around the third week in March. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau can give you the best directions and advice as the event approaches. Call (213) 624-7300 for more information.

Blessing of the Animals
The Los Angeles version of the Spanish Catholic Feast of St. Anton, where the priests bless farmers and sprinkle holy water on their livestock, happens on Olvera Street near the Pueblo de Los Angeles Monument. Instead of livestock, Los Angeles residents bring their poodles, pot-bellied pigs, snakes, ferrets and other exotics to receive the blessing, on the last weekend in March. Call (213) 628-7164 for more information.

Festival de los Ninos (Easter Street Fair)
On Easter weekend, the Latin community presents a free Easter Street Fair at Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Soto Street, featuring free toys for children, arts, crafts, rides refreshments and other products and services provided by local businesses. Call (323) 962-4735 for more information.

Easter Sunrise Service at Hollywood Bowl
Frank Lloyd Wright designed this magnificent stadium in Hollywood at 2301 North Highland Avenue for concerts and sporting events, and thousands also attend this special annual Easter service. Call (323) 850-2000 for more information.

APRIL :
Festival de los Ninos (Easter Street Fair)
On Easter weekend, the Latin community presents a free Easter Street Fair at Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Soto Street, featuring free toys for children, arts, crafts, rides refreshments and other products and services provided by local businesses. Call (323) 962-4735 for more information.

Easter Sunrise Service at Hollywood Bowl
Frank Lloyd Wright designed this magnificent stadium in Hollywood at 2301 North Highland Avenue for concerts and sporting events, and thousands also attend this special annual Easter service. Call (323) 850-2000 for more information.

Santa Anita Derby
Foot racing, a microbrew competition and tasting and other events accompany this famous horse race with the $1,000,000 prize that precedes the Kentucky Derby, held in Arcadia, 14 miles northeast of Los Angeles at 285 West Huntington Drive, during the first week in April. Call (800) 574-6401 for more information.

Independent Film Festival
Amateur filmmakers attend workshops led by independent directors, and the general public can enjoy screenings of the latest non-mainstream work, sponsored by the Directors’ Guild of America, during the last week in April, at 7920 Sunset Boulevard. Call (310) 289-2000 for more information.

MAY :
Cinco de Mayo Festivals
Hispanic food, crafts and live music are featured in MacArthur Park at Wilshire Boulevard and Park View, and a similar street festival happens in Pasadena near 100 North Garfield, during the first week in May, in celebration of General Zaragoza’s defeat of Napoleon III in the mid-1800s. Call (562) 495-5959 for more information.

Festival Dia de Las Madres
Mother’s Day weekend brings a Festival Dia de Las Madres street fair to Vermont Avenue and Eighth Street with flavors of Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, some 20 Latin American nations in all. Fun includes carnival rides, games, arts/crafts, and food. Call (323) 962-4735 for more information.

NoHo Theatre & Arts Festival
Mid-May’s NoHo Theatre & Arts Festival has grown over the past decade to entertain with live theater performances, concerts, Kids Kourt Stage activity, exhibits, international food, and more. Call (818) 506-3132 for more information.

Memorial Day Parade
The Armed Forces are honored with a parade of exotic cars, circus performers, movie stars and special floats, beginning at Canoga Park in the San Fernando Valley, circulating from Owensmouth Avenue and Sherman Way to De Soto and Vanowen and back. Call (818) 887-0320 for more information.

Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest and Arts Festival
The Paramount Ranch in Agoura on Cornell Road hosts a festival of live Bluegrass music and country dancing, during the third week of May. Call (818) 382-4819 for more information.

JUNE :
Playboy Jazz Festival
Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Hollywood Bowl hosts both famous and newer jazz musicians, some of whom get together with each other for the first time just to jam, traditionally hosted by Bill Cosby, at 2301 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood. Call (323) 850-2000 for more information.

Cajun and Zydeco Festival
In the middle of June, Rainbow Lagoon Park, on East Shoreline Drive behind the Long Beach Convention Center, hosts a food and music festival with a Mardi Gras spirit. Call (562) 427-8834 for more information.

Ha-Ha Comedy Festival
New comedians, stand up and improve, appear all over the Noho Arts District, in North Hollywood around Vineland Avenue, The Instigators Sketch Comedy Troupe hosts new stand-up and improv comedians in a variety of venues in the Noho Arts district each night, and seminars are offered each morning for those new to the art, around Vineland Ave. in North Hollywood, during the last week in June. Call (818) 754-COMEDY for more information.

Festival Dia del Padres
Father’s Day weekend brings the Festival Dia del Padres street fair to Van Nuys Boulevard and Vanowen Street in Van Nuys. Fun includes carnival rides, games, arts and crafts, and food geared to entertain the more than 30,000 Latinos living within the vicinity. Call (323) 962-4735 for more information.

JULY :
Twilight Dance Series
The Santa Monica Pier, at Ocean and Colorado Avenues, is the place to be every Thursday evening in July, for dancing to live jazz and blues. Call (310) 458-8900 for more information

Hurricane Harbor
Pirates, shipwrecks, treasure chests and elaborate water rides are featured at Six Flags California, in Valencia at 26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, throughout the month of July. Call (818) 367-5965 for more information.

Sawdust Festival
Artists offer seminars or just one on one chats with newer artists, at the Sawdust Eucalyptus Grove fairground on Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach, throughout the month of July. Call (949) 494-3030 for more information.

AUGUST :
Tofu Festival
This soybean curd adventure, featuring tofu cheesecake and tofu ceviche, happens on the first weekend in August, beginning at 11 AM, in Joe’s Auto Park Lot at 237 South San Pedro between 2nd and 3rd streets, sponsored by the Little Service Center. Call (310) 656-1616 for more information.

World Animation Celebration
The latest in cinematic and Web animation techniques is explored all over Hollywood every morning during the second week of August. Call (818) 575-9615 for more information.

Surf Festival
Lifeguards from Australia compete with Americans at surfing, volleyball, swimming and running, at Manhattan, Redondo and Hermosa Beaches in South Bay. Call (310) 305-9503 for more information.

SEPTEMBER :
Sweet and Hot Jazz Festival
The Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel on West Century Boulevard hosts famous jazz musicians during Labor Day weekend. Call (310) 641-5700 for more information.

Labor Day Festival
Less than 20 miles from downtown Los Angeles, the City of Compton and its large black and Latino population celebrates Labor Day in a big, festive way with a street fair brimming with carnival rides and games, service and product booths, crafts, food and more. Call (323) 962-4735 for more information.

Art in the Park
Art in the Park, staged by the Park La Brea Arts Council at Park La Brea Apartments, showcases world-class artists, with live entertainment, a food court and more. Festivities benefit Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times. Admission, parking and shuttle service are all free. Call (323) 525-1908 for more information.

Harvest Festival
The Godfrey Magic Show and an exposition of hand-painted clothing and lots of food booths are featured at the Long Beach Convention Center on Ocean Boulevard. Call (562) 436-3661 for more information.

El Dieciseis de Septiembre
Broadway’s Grand Central Market and the covered market at City Hall on Spring Street host this Mexican festival of food and dancing in mid-September, which includes an address by Mexico’s president on large screen television, broadcast from Zocalao Square in Mexico City. Call (213) 624-7300 for more information.

OCTOBER:
Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum
Enjoy Shakespeare plays along with a picnic each weekend in this open-air botanical theater at 1419 North Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Cheney Drive in Topanga, founded by the famous actor who is best known for his role as Grandpa Walton. Call (310) 455-2322 for more information.

Stand Up For Skateparks
A-list celebrities including Sean Penn and David Spade are behind Stand Up For Skateparks, a Tony Hawk Foundation annual family event to help create public skateparks in communities nationwide. Call (310) 201-5033 for more information.

Calabasas Pumpkin Festival
Come out to this annual weekend festival and enjoy food, live entertainment, and fun and games for the entire family. Admission for adults is $14.00 which includes games, activities and free parking. Admission for children is $10.00 which includes games and activities. Located at The Paramount Ranch. Call (818) 878-4225 for more information.

Oktoberfest
The best of many beer festivals in Los Angeles is held in Torrance at the Alpine Village, where you can enjoy contests and authentic live German bands. Call (310) 327-4384 for more information.

NOVEMBER :
Doo Dah Parade
The Parade Unorganizers present this irreverent un-Rose Bowl parade, as a parody of the Tournament of Roses Parade, in mid-November, beginning at 11:30 AM in Old Town at Raymond Avenue and Holly Street.
Call (626) 440-7379 for more information.

Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra Concert
Santa Clause and Christmas carols are featured during the last week in November at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive in Cerritos. Call (562) 916-8500 for more information.

Hollywood Christmas Parade
Famous entertainers participate in this opulent parade which proceeds from Van Ness to Bronson Avenue, by way of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, during the last week in November. Call (323) 469-2337 for more information.

DECEMBER:
Pomona Harvest Festival
Live music, food, arts and crafts are featured at the Fairplex, 1101 West McKinley, in Pomona, San Bernardino, during the first weekend in December. Call (909) 623-3111 for more information.

Tournament of Lights
In mid-December, the harbor at Marina del Rey hosts a boat parade and fireworks. Call (310) 822-9455 for more information.

Reindeer Romp
Throughout December, special programs and train rides for the kids, plus a special petting zoo with live reindeer are featured at the Los Angeles Zoo at 5333 Zoo Drive. Call (323) 644-6400 for more information.