A view of downtown from LA Historic State Park. Photo from Earth Day Latino's Facebook page

Get your comedy fix on Friday with 420 Comedy Night, hosted by Gina Bernstein. The lineup includes comics from famed comedy schools such as the Groundlings and Second City. Curtains go up at Archway Studio and Theatre at 9 p.m. and tickets are just $10. (Metro Gold Line to Little Tokyo/Arts District Station, walk about a block and a half south on Alameda to Traction. Head two streets southeast on Traction; the theatre is located near Wurstkuche restaurant.)

Celebrate nature at Earth Day Latino, which will take place at the Los Angeles Historic State Park. The event begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday and you’ll be able to camp out overnight if you wish; a few activities are planned for Sunday morning. Young and old are invited to plant some trees, learn some history about the urban green space and take a guided walk around the park. There will be local high school bands providing entertainment, as well as a scheduled treasure hunt, bike ride and more. Food will be available for purchase, or you can bring your own picnic lunch. Those who wish to camp overnight need to check in; register online or before 10 a.m. at the park to be loaned a tent. The event is free and open to the public. (Metro Gold Line to Chinatown Station, Metro Bus 76 to Alameda/College.)

Of course, the big event going on this weekend is the L.A. Times Festival of Books. While the main focus is on books and reading, there will also be plenty of booths with food and handmade crafts, not to mention a ton of local community booths, celebrity panels and more. A few of the more noteworthy attendees include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Betty White, Jonathan Gold and John Cusak. The festival is free to attend and there are always lots of goodies to pick up: samples, promotional giveaways and raffle prizes. Some panels cost $1 to attend and the popular ones fill up fast, so buy your ticket in advance.

Festival of Books takes place at USC. It opens Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Avoid traffic and paying for parking by using public transportation. The Bullseye Bus runs free shuttles in a loop from Union Station (Patsaouras Plaza Bus Bay 4) to USC (Jefferson at Trousdale). Shuttles run from 9 a.m. until one hour after the festival ends on each day. Union Station is accessible by Metro Red, Purple and Gold Lines and various buses. DASH F runs through downtown L.A. and has two stops by USC – Exposition/Vermont and Jefferson/Hoover. Check Trip Planner to find the most convenient route.

If you ride the Bullseye Bus, you’ll be able to get a 10% discount when purchasing official Festival of Books 2012 merchandise by showing your valid Metro ticket or pass. And, yes, beginning next year you will be able to Go Metro on the Expo Line to the festival.