Things to do in Los Angeles on Sunday

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. 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, a Brooklyn import that boasts a mix of much-loved pop-ups and future foodie stars. Over a dozen new vendors joined the lineup this year: Feast on Afro-Caribbean cuisine from withBee, Lebanese street food from Teta, ice cream tacos from Sad Girl Creamery and more. Wash it all down at the family-friendly beer garden. You’ll also find shopping stalls selling everything from framed vintage ads to jewelry made locally with ethically sourced gemstones. Entry and the first two hours of parking are free.

This spectacular exhibition from the Icelandic–Danish artist brings a new series of optical installations to MOCA’s Little Tokyo location. Don’t let the reflective, colorful pieces fool you into thinking this is some run-of-the-mill “immersive” exhibit: Olafur Eliasson’s works invite you to admire the everyday miracles of physics that shape how we see the world. The towering, mirror-lined stacks that fill the entrance of “OPEN” bring the outside in, as the warehouse-style Geffen Contemporary’s skylights create infinite spaces and mini worlds out of the sun and sky. The surprisingly analog optics behind them can be truly sublime: Gently moving water has a pair of pieces appear as shimmery landscapes, mirrors turn tubing into floating rings that trail into a black void and a simple array of pendants produce colorful flares against a screen. These aren’t pieces you’re meant to disappear into; instead, they provide a lens for the enviornment around us. You’ll need a timed ticket ($18) to see “Olafur Eliasson: OPEN.” Look for reservations on the first Friday of the month, from 5 to 8pm, for free admission.

If you really want to immerse yourself in local theater, you can’t miss the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Since 2010, this fest has specialized in productions from emerging writers and performers, and it now boasts hundreds of different shows—most are around $15 a ticket or less, and some cost absolutely nothing. Expect one-person shows, new musicals, comedies and edgy dramas to descend on Hollywood once again from June 12 through 29. See the full list of shows here.

For more than 50 years, this venue has drawn theatre aficionados to its storied, open-air stage for engaging productions in a magical setting. The 299-seat amphitheater in Topanga Canyon hosts audiences of all ages for plays from a wide range of genres, from Shakespearean classics to folk tales. This season, whose theme is “A Season of Resilience,” catch highlights such as William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as a Malibu-themed retelling of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull and Strife by Nobel Prize-winning writer and activist John Galsworthy.  

Nature lovers, rejoice! Spend a day at the Natural History Museum’s Butterfly Pavilion, which will be open March 23 through August 24 and be home to up to 30 butterfly and moth species, as well as an assortment of California plants. The seasonal outdoor exhibit allows for adults and children alike to witness nature up close—we’re talking walking amid hundreds of butterflies and having them land on your arms or shoulders. Tip: The prime time for these unique butterfly flight experiences is typically between 10am and 11am each morning.

This special exhibition at the Broad makes its way to Downtown L.A. from the 2024 Venice Biennale—and Angelenos should consider themselves lucky that such a remarkable display has set up stateside. Jeffrey Gibson became the first Indigenous artist to represent the United States with a solo exhibition at the Italian art event, and this adaptation of that show, “the space in which to place me,” assembles 30-plus pieces of geometrically-patterned paintings and glass bead–adorned sculptures into the first-floor galleries of the Broad. Born in Colorado with tribal roots in the Southeast U.S., Gibson explores Indigenous identity as well as queer history by fusing pop music lyrics and foundational American documents into psychedelic statements on belonging, history and oppression; the Declaration of Independence’s “we hold these truths to be self-evident…” line—but not “all men are created equal”—is spelled out across brilliantly saturated beads that’ve been affixed to a literal punching bag. But this is ultimately a joyous show, an inclusive celebration of survival, resilience and empowerment that pays tribute to histories of resistance and looks optimistically forward. Unlike the rest of the otherwise free museum, you’ll need to buy a $15 ticket to see Gibson’s exhibition. And while it’s absolutely worth the price, you can save by taking advantage of free admission on Thursday evenings after 5pm. Expect an accompanying slate of performances, talks and workshops, as well.

The Skirball’s latest pop culture exhibition takes a deep dive into the six-decade career of legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby. You might know him as the co-creator of Captain America, Black Panther, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and some of the Marvel universe’s most cosmic characters. But did you know he was also a first-generation Jewish American born to immigrant parents, World War II veteran and family man who split his time between New York and Los Angeles? The exhibition only occupies a few small galleries, but it’s stuffed with information about Kirby’s life, as well as pristine prints of issues plus his original comic illustrations—many on view for the first time. It’s not just a Marvel showcase, either: You’ll find some of the work Kirby did for DC, plus personal collages, a drawing he gave to Paul and Linda McCartney, and a fantastic reproduction of a costume he designed for a UC Santa Cruz production of Julius Caesar. Though not explicitly framed this way, the exhibition also presents a clear-as-day retort to any contemporary fans who decry comic book stories today as too “political”: Marvel has been political from the very start. Kirby’s cover for the first issue of Captain America features Cap punching Hitler—a full year before America would break its isolationist policies and enter WWII. The fifth issue follows Captain America in a battle against the German American Bund, a domestic Nazi organization that staged an infamous...

Support Pasadena’s resilient restaurant scene and enjoy some delicious food at this new culinary festival, which will transform Union Street between Raymond and Fair Oaks Avenues into a big, pedestrian-friendly alfresco dining room. In fact, the fair is also a celebration of the street’s newly expanded outdoor dining spaces. Groove to live music from local bands as you order fare from Pez Coastal Kitchen, Union, Bone Kettle, Chado Tea Room, the Blind Donkey, Pie ’N Burger and more. You can also expect DJs, a beer garden, and games like tic-tac-toe basketball, cornhole and French fry Jenga (which I didn’t know was a thing but now need to try).

Walk, run, skate, bike and explore car-free stretches of South Pasadena, Alhambra and San Gabriel during the latest edition of this open streets event series (formerly known as 626 Golden Streets). The Metro-presented Active Streets clears cars off the road in different parts of the San Gabriel Valley for one day only. On Sunday, June 22, you’ll be able to set foot on five miles of streets sans cars, from Mission Street in South Pasadena, down Marengo Avenue and along Alhambra Road, Main Street and Las Tunas Drive toward Mission Drive in San Gabriel (hence the “Mission at Twilight” name of this particular event).