If you’ve been in a grocery store lately, you’ve seen the shelves already stocked with candy corn and plastic jack o’ lanterns. These days, Halloween (and Day of the Dead) are month-long activities. Which is why this week’s iteration of Go Metro Weekends is about savoring the end of September before we’re all swept up in the black-and-orange hail storm.
Here’s our two-part game plan for how to do this. First, attend a Moon Festival event. Chinatown, Arcadia, and the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena are all hosting celebrations of the mid-autumn/harvest season. Ok, so it doesn’t really feel like fall here yet… but it’s fall somewhere, and really, what more excuse do you need to devour mountains of moon cakes?
- Chinatown Moon Festival. Saturday, 5 p.m. to midnight. Free! (Metro Gold Line to Chinatown Station.)
- Arcadia Moon Festival at the L.A. County Arboretum. Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $5 pre-sale, $8 at the door. (Metro Bus 268 to Baldwin/Arboretum.)
- USC Pacific Asia Museum Harvest Festival. Sunday, 4 to 8 p.m. Free! (Metro Gold Line to Memorial Park Station or Metro Bus 264/267 to Los Robles/Union.)
The second strategy for making the most of this last weekend of September is enjoying great music outdoors, before venues like the Hollywood Bowl and Hollywood Forever Cemetery curtail their concert series for winter/El Niño. Fortunately, there are some stellar acts in town this weekend…
- The pope may be in New York, but Yeezus is here this Friday and Saturday. In truth, Mr. West will be performing 808s and Heartbreak each evening at 8 p.m. at the Hollywood Bowl. (Metro Red Line to Hollywood/Highland, then walk 10 minutes north on Highland, or catch the free Hollywood Bowl shuttle at the station.) Ticket prices vary.
- Metallica + Mariachi = Metalachi, the first band in the known universe to blend heavy metal and mariachi. Catch them this Saturday at 7 p.m. for free at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Olvera Street. (Metro Gold, Red/Purple or Silver Line to Union Station or various Metro Buses serving Patsaouras Plaza or Alameda Street.)
- The Silversun Pickups play the Hollywood Cemetery this Sunday through Wednesday at 8 p.m. each night. (Metro Red Line to Hollywood/Vine, then walk 20 minutes south on Vine and east on Santa Monica Boulevard.) All tickets $35.
If none of the above appeals to you, here are a few more suggestions for transit-adjacent weekend fun:
- Like classic cars? Duarte’s 20th Annual Route 66 Parade is Saturday at 10 a.m. (Foothill Transit Line 187 to Huntington Dr/Buena Vista Street.)
- The Los Angeles Chocolate Salon is taking place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Pasadena Convention Center. #Iwanttogotothere.
- If you’re headed to the L.A. Beer Festival at Los Angeles Center Studios this Saturday, and plan on “making the most of it,” remember to grab an Uber or Lyft home, or better yet, Go Metro. (Metro Red Line to 7th Street/Metro Center then walk 12 minutes east on Figueroa and north on 6th Street.)
- Eat well for a cause this Sunday at FoodisLove, an evening hosted by Grand Central Market and the Saint Vincent de Paul society.
Need help planning your trip? We’ve got you covered:
- Metro trip planner
- Google Maps transit directions
- All Metro bus and rail maps and timetables
- Metro system map
- Metro Rail and transitway interactive map
- Fares and TAP card info
- How to Ride
- Nextrip real-time bus and train arrival information
Categories: Go Metro