Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Summer Block Party
If you’re on the hunt for a cheap, lively way to celebrate Uncle Sam, shake it over to Grand Park, and watch Downtown L.A. light up for free—though for the third year running around, the park has swapped out fireworks for more eco-friendly drones. Renamed from the Fourth of July Block Party, Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Summer Block Party will offer scrumptious food truck fare, a 75-foot-tall Ferris wheel and 90-foot super slide, plus two stages of live music—one with DJs programmed by KCRW Summer Nights, the other headlined by Grammy-nominated L.A. rapper D Smoke. The tunes begins while the sun is still high in the sky, so settle in for an all-day picnic—note that no booze is allowed, though—and relax. Best of all, the event is Metro-accessible via the Civic Center/Grand Park station (though $10 parking is also available at the Music Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall). Be sure to stay for the drone show—a flurry of some 800 illuminated drones above the Music Center—at 9pm.