Santa Monica Festival. Photo from Santa Monica Festival Official Facebook.

Between baseball games, playoff games, concerts and bike tours, downtown L.A. is going to be pretty crowded this weekend. Try to take public transportation to avoid dealing with the mess of traffic and parking. Here is our earlier post about taking transit to downtown this weekend.

Park at Union Station and take the free Dodger Stadium Express to Dodger games. Plenty of buses, including the Metro Silver Line, run past Staples Center, and you can also get there by taking the Metro Expo and Blue Lines (hop off at Pico Station) or Red and Purple Lines (exit 7th/Metro Station and stroll south on Figueroa). There will be some road closures for the Amgen Tour of California Bike Race on Sunday, so plan ahead. Check out this earlier post for more details on how to get around and as always, use Trip Planner to find the best routes.

If you’d prefer to avoid downtown, you’ve got choices. Head to the Aquarium of the Pacific this weekend to see the new penguin habitat that opened May 17. Featuring Magellanic penguins, some of which were rescued from Brazil, the habitat has a “crawl-in” space so you can view the penguins from below water level. The aquarium is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. General admission for adults is $24.95, go Metro and save a few bucks.

This weekend is also the Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Festival, which Queen Latifah is headlining. She’ll be performing on Saturday and the parade will step off at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. The event takes place along Shoreline Drive by Marina Green Park and lasts from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. both days. Admission is $20. (Metro Blue Line to Transit Mall Station or Metro Bus 232 to Pacific/Broadway, transfer to Passport Bus C.)

The Santa Monica Festival is this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The festival celebrates the local community and sustainable living with DIY workshops, live music and dance and great food. Go Metro and get a chance to win a free bike or other prizes! The event takes place at Clover Park, 2600 Ocean Park Blvd. (Metro Rapid 733 to Ocean/Colorado or Metro Rapid 704 to Santa Monica/Westwood, transfer to Big Blue Bus 8 to Ocean Park/25th.)

Those going to the Roger Waters concert at the Coliseum on Saturday might want to take the Expo Line. Just get off at Expo Park/USC Station. Also convenient from that station this weekend is the Natural History Museum’s Bug Fair, open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more than you ever wanted to know about Earth’s creepy-crawlies and enjoy performing artists and bug-based food demonstrations. Admission to the museum is $12 for adults, go Metro and get a discount.