Local Fun
Our 5 Fave Los Angeles Weekend Freebies (Sept. 14-15)
Freebies this weekend let you explore paper in various forms, arts, music, car-free streets and a unique form of solar photography.
Our 7 Favorite September Family Events
Our favorite events in September feature duckies, dogs and dinos, things with strings, cirque magic and speechless blue men.
Have Good, Clean Fun Protecting the Planet
It’s always helpful to have events that remind us to take care of our planet. Coastal Cleanup Day, Sept. 21, is one of those. The world’s largest environmental volunteer day boasted 789,138 volunteers who picked up more than 20 million pounds of trash in 2018. Locally, Heal the Bay last year organized 13,464 volunteers who […]
Two Days and Two Big Free Block Parties
Two SoCal cities are hosting free civic open houses this month – on the same weekend! The block in front of Glendale’s historic Alex Theatre will be filled Sept. 14 with a colorful array of music and art during the fourth annual Open Arts & Music Festival (www.openartsmusic.com). The main stage, curated by Spaceland Presents, […]
Smithsonian Magazine Invites You To Explore Museums for Free
On Sept. 21, hundreds of museums across the country will invite visitors in free in honor of Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day. More than a dozen are here in SoCal, and you’ll need a special ticket to take advantage of this once-a-year deal. Visit www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday to claim yours and score free admission for two people (one […]
Tween Time: Pasadena Says “Yeah!” for YA
Some of the nation’s top young-adult writers are coming to Pasadena Central Library Sept. 21 – and you and your family are invited to join them. The library is once again partnering with Bridge To Books for Pasadena Loves YA (www.pasadenalovesya.com). This literary afternoon, taking place from noon-4 p.m., includes four panel discussions led by […]
Set Sail in September
Worn out by road trips? Perhaps it’s time to consider voyaging into open water with these boating activities. During September, four local events will let you explore life on the ocean. Watercrafts take center stage at the Los Angeles Harbor Boat Show (www.laharborboatshow.com), which docks in San Pedro’s Cabrillo Way Marina Sept. 19-22. This in-water […]
Creative Entrepreneurship Programs for Kids
Outside a nondescript building just south of Hollywood Boulevard, parents, friends and young siblings are lining up to get a good seat at a fashion show where all the apparel is imagined, constructed and modeled by young designers. Once inside, the excited audience sits around an elevated runway where a kid DJ is pumping out […]
Labor Day Getaways
As summer draws to a close, many of us (kids and parents alike) have difficulty stepping into a routine once again. Luckily, there’s one saving grace for those of us who want to experience summer fun before it’s gone for good: Labor Day weekend. “Labor Day weekend is always a great time to snag deals on […]
Go Retro for a Back-to-School Film Fest
As a latchkey kid of the ’80s, I enjoyed summers that were far from over-scheduled. I watched soap operas, fried my skin with friends at the beach and never, ever missed $2 Tuesday movie night at the local theater. We’d pay for the 6 p.m. show, sneak into the 8 p.m. show and eat popcorn […]
Play Hooky With Your Kids
Ever think of taking a day off work and playing hooky with your kids? You should this month! August is chock full of weekday events and unique experiences you should fit in before the freedom gates of summer clang closed. From chasing dancing fairies through Descanso Gardens to leaping across giant indoor trampolines and handcrafting […]
Beat the Summer Heat … L.A. Style
For the first few days in July, summer in L.A. felt more like summer in San Francisco. Sometimes June gloom takes an unwavering hold over the city, continuing well into July. It’s all par for the course when you live near the great air conditioner unit, we call the Pacific Ocean. It can be a […]
Fair Season Times Three
A trifecta of county fairs is occurring in August. Start your month visiting the OC Fair and the Ventura County Fair, which both close Aug. 11. Then you have a couple of weeks to rest before the L.A. County Fair kicks off Aug.30 “Acres of Fun,” is the apt motto for the 129th Orange County […]
Dream, Explore, Create in Octavia Lab
The library was once the place we ventured to research, study, check out books. Along came the internet, and some of us began viewing libraries as halls of dusty irrelevance. In response, the Los Angeles Public Library has for some time positioned itself as a hub of state-of-the-art technology and learning, and its latest foray […]
L.A. by Foot: Exploring Walkable Neighborhoods
My boys are at the age now where we can take neighborhood walks without strollers. Hank, who’s 4, either runs at full velocity down the sidewalk or saunters at varying speeds, zigzagging this way and that as he checks out every flowery bush or squirrel-infested tree we pass. “Hey, Henry, try one speed and in […]
Kids and Cars in L.A.
Being a car guy in L.A. is a tough job because you have to keep track of all the cool car things that exist here. It can be overwhelming sometimes, as there’s simply way too much fun going on. Let’s dive in and look at some of the spots here in SoCal that car lovers […]
6 Places to Make Art
What’s the most important thing you can teach your children? How to let their imaginations run wild! But don’t take it from us. Get some creative tips from the most unique places to make art in L.A. From baking cactus cakes to embracing their inner steampunk rebels, creating fantastic dragons and painting by the sea, […]
Touring Burger Town U.S.A. With a Side of Small Fries
A couple of months ago, I wrote about places in and around L.A. to keep your fitness game high even while raising toddlers. I meant every bit of those 800 words, and readers responded with “You-go-Dad!” encouragement. This month, dear readers, I must admit that recently I’ve been engaging in an L.A. roundup of something […]
Leo del desierto: Toddlers in the Desert
Some kids don’t mind the heat. But mine, when the sun beats down just right on their porcelain little foreheads (we’re the descendants of peoples that dealt mainly with dark Brittonic clouds that nay bent to the sun’s relenting power), melt into cranky, lifeless puddles. This is what keeps us on the Westside. So why […]
Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle
With the castle as the projection screen, the World of Harry Potter comes alive in a way that is even more multidimensional than watching one of the Harry Potter movies on a theater screen.
8 Great L.A. Toy Stores
If you’ve been fretting about where to do your toy shopping since the closure of Toys R Us, we have good news: L.A. County has an incredible selection of independent toy stores. No matter where you live – the Westside, Hollywood, the Valley or points beyond – there is at least one can’t-miss store that […]
Stay Strong: How to Make Parenting and Fitness Work Out
On a recent Sunday, as I was lying in bed (still half asleep), a light drizzle showered the orange tree outside my window. I stared at the ceiling, feeling awfully lazy. Suddenly, I heard the thundering footsteps of my 4-year-old, Hank, rushing toward my door. The door burst open. “Dad! Wake up!” he yelled, yanking […]
Sensory-Friendly Story Times at L.A. Libraries
Librarians have special powers. With the use of dramatic recitation, song and dance, interactive Q&A sessions and art – and a good story, of course – librarians can captivate any gaggle of children scattered about their feet. They make reading fascinating and make the library a central location for early learning. Story time is a […]
A Parent’s Ode to Kidspace
L.A. isn’t often described as a “beautiful city,” which is to say that no writer would rank it among towns such as San Francisco or Paris. OK, sure, there’s the Riviera of Malibu, the exquisite beaches of the South Bay, the golden oak-laden hills of the Verdugos and the lush residential canyons that make up […]
Journeying Through L.A.’s Art Scene With Kids
My 4-year-old, Hank, and I watched a local news story the other day about award-winning class paintings rendered by kindergarteners. “I guess that’s not bad for 5-year-olds,” I said. “Why is this on TV, Dada?” asked Hank. He loves to draw, and I proudly cherish all of his renderings (to be saved in perpetuity like […]
The Great Ice-scape, or How I Learned to Let My Kids Love the Snow
My boys loathe the cold. My boys loathe the heat, too, but since it’s January and about as chilly as it’s going to get here in L.A., I’ll focus on the cold. Hank, who’s 4, has always been more curious about the weather than willing to be out in it. “Tell me more about these […]
The Parks Project Eases a New Big Sister’s Transition
In March of 2014, just after my son was born, my daughter Eka and I started traveling to as many parks around the San Gabriel Valley as we could. Eka was 4 at the time and very attached to my wife. Our almost-daily trips began as a way to distract her from no longer being […]
Helping Out in L.A.
People often ask me how I manage to raise children in a city like L.A. They imply that my hometown is where shallowness abounds while social pressures prevail, where traffic divides communities and, in the absence of a central location, the most vulnerable populations become invisible. When I hear these complaints about the City of […]
Adventures in SoCal’s Zoos: Planning your Attack with Toddlers
Taken by a weeklong sweep of toddler nagging, a few Saturdays ago we took our kids, Hank and Leo, to the San Diego Zoo. “Why do we keep going up and down so much?” Hank, who is 4, kept asking as we climbed hills to reach the zoo. My wife, Kate, and I glanced at […]
Go On Tour with Kids in L.A. Factories
Got a golden ticket? You’d need one to enter Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. But if you want to peek inside some of Southern California’s most interesting factories, usually all you have to do is ask. Local factories – which make everything from fresh marmalade to olive oil and, yes, chocolate – gladly open their doors […]
Birthdays That are So L.A.
Kick your child’s star power up a notch on their special day the L.A. way, with a one-of-a-kind celebration served up with a touch of the delicious, the wild and a side of the fantastic. Why not knock a few things off the bucket list while they’re young, and let the adults come along for […]
Does L.A. Have Small Towns? A Search Within the City Limits
Here’s a common complaint (mostly from newbies): L.A. is a sprawling and isolating place. We natives will take the jab, for who among us hasn’t fantasized about our city of times past? Like when it was the size of Dubuque and there was nothing but oil fields west of Vermont Avenue. Or when red streetcars […]
Under-the-Radar Beaches: Planning Seaside Family Time
There is a stereotype about L.A. that suggests no one here works. Common sense tells us that a world-class economy with diverse industries employing millions of people couldn’t function if we didn’t, but even my wife Kate and I have found ourselves annoyed at, say, noon on a Tuesday at Blue Bottle Coffee. “What do […]
Ripe for Satire: A Taste of this Summer’s Farmers Market Scene
On a lazy, unseasonably chilly Sunday morning in L.A. this May, my 3-year-old son exclaimed, “Let’s go to the farmers market!” It was 7 a.m. My wife Kate and I, still half-comatose, were hardly through our first sips of coffee. We looked at each other as Hank continued his demands. Defeated, we shrugged, downed the […]
7 L.A. Playgrounds Perfect for Unstructured Play
Right now, parents across the U.S. are feeling the subtle but ever-present tug of war between structured and unstructured time for their kids. The trend over the last few decades has been toward increasing amounts of scheduled activities for children in the interest of safety and student achievement. And despite a large body of recent […]
Neighborhood Gallery Offers More than Art
Families in the Arlington Heights area of L.A. have a hidden gem in their neighborhood. The Underground Museum, an unassuming storefront art gallery, serves as a community center, farmers market, yoga and meditation studio and outdoor movie theater. Founded by the late painter and installation artist Noah Davis and his wife, Karon Davis, The Underground […]
A Literary Resurgence: The Fall – and Rise – of Indie Bookstores
About a week ago, I was driving in my Prius listening to NPR (because you know: West L.A.), and as I passed a couple of boarded-up frozen yogurt stands and poké spots in Santa Monica, I heard a story on the unlikely resurgence of independent bookstores. Apparently, 27 percent more libro vendors exist in the […]
Mommy and Me Spa Day in Los Angeles: Share the Ahhhhh
While a relaxing day at the spa can be a great solo break for a busy mom, it can also be a fun way to spend one-on-one time with your child. We found a fantastic group of L.A. spas that offer special packages for moms and kids to enjoy together, or services for kids to […]
Getting ‘Centered’ at L.A.’s Nature Centers
It has been one of those weeks of endless traffic, of arguing over screen time, of too much social media and disheartening news reports. So, on a crisp, clear Sunday, I head to Eaton Canyon Nature Center in Pasadena. It is a rare morning when I am alone, so I decide to scope out this […]
Make it a Date with 15 Family-Friendly Outings in Los Angeles
February is the month for Valentines, hearts, flowers and dates with the one you love. We’ll trust you moms and dads to plan your own grown-up outings (or evenings in) – but why should you have all the fun? Here are 15 family dates you can enjoy with the kids. Bring on the Brunch For […]
Millennial Dad in Los Angeles: Suds with my Bud: Kid-Friendly Craft Breweries
On a December afternoon, while the rest of the country was freezing its collective butt off, mine was planted on a picnic bench at Rock & Brews, a kid-friendly biergarten in El Segundo. I sipped craft beers and noshed on fries while my son Hank romped around in the kids zone. There are moments in […]
6 Top Doughnut Shops
The greater Los Angeles area has an abundance of doughnut shops, and doughnuts make a great treat for the whole family. Check out one of these quirky and popular shops next time a doughnut craving hits.
Surprises Behind the Orange Curtain: Good Coffee and Gated Adventure Parks in the OC
This month’s column is an exploration of Bizarro World. I’m talking about that other dimension just south of the Habra-Mirada Line: Orange County. Although the OC is just a 30-minute drive from LAX (traffic permitting), we Angelenos tend to look down on the suburban sprawl just south of us. Perhaps the annual trip to Disneyland […]
Wake Up: A Millennial Dad’s Guide to Los Angeles Coffee
I’m tired. My son, Hank, is now 10 months old and wakes up every morning at 5:30. I used to wake up at 8:30 a.m. Those days are over. Now my alarm clock is a howling cry from the next room. Now it’s all about this little angel – and yet all I can think […]
Where to Find L.A.’s Coolest Ice Cream and Gelato Shops
Considering our year-round sunny weather, it’s no wonder Los Angeles has a seemingly endless array of ice cream parlors, gelaterias and FroYo shops. If you’re ready to venture beyond the shop on the corner for something truly special, here are six spots that are absolutely worth a try. Scoops original location is on hip-as-can-be Heliotrope […]