Things to Do in Los Angeles with Kids — Family Events & Weekend Planner
907 family events from official Los Angeles library, park, and museum calendars, plus 1499 kid-friendly spots and ready-made weekend plans.
FamHop tracks 1499 kid-friendly spots and 907 upcoming family events across 40 Los Angeles cities and towns. Most events come straight from official library, parks, and museum calendars like LA County Library, Long Beach Public Library, Pasadena Public Library — real dates, times, and official links, refreshed every week. Biggest coverage: Los Angeles (807 spots · 317 events), Pasadena (41 spots · 211 events), Long Beach (23 spots · 209 events). Pick a few stops, build a 3-stop weekend plan, and share a link so co-parents and friends can vote.
Nisei Week Japanese Festival — August, Little Tokyo. Little Tokyo's nine-day celebration of Japanese American culture each mid-August, running since 1934. The Grand Parade and the closing Plaza Festival are the two big free family anchors, alongside taiko, dance, exhibits, and food throughout the district.
JANM Natsumatsuri Family Festival — August, Terasaki Budokan. The Japanese American National Museum's free annual summer family festival at Terasaki Budokan in Little Tokyo: taiko, bon odori dancing, crafts, and kids' activities, mid-August.
Getty Center Garden Concerts for Kids — August, Getty Center Central Garden. The Getty Center's free Saturday-Sunday children's concert series on the Central Garden lawn each August: family music on a picnic blanket with free advance reservations.
Los Rios Rancho Apple Picking — September, Los Rios Rancho. Apple picking at this Oak Glen ranch runs from Labor Day weekend through Thanksgiving weekend, with early picking sometimes starting in August. Many of the apple trees are more than 80 years old; apples are sold by the pound and baskets and picking implements are provided. The rest of the property fills a full day with a petting zoo and miniature farm, tractor rides, a corn maze, pumpkin picking, nature trails, horse-drawn wagon tours, and live music on weekends.
Riley's Farm Apple Picking — September, Riley's Farm. A working apple orchard and living history farm in Oak Glen with pick-your-own fruit, where apples come in from September through the end of harvest. Riley's grows over 30 varieties and specializes in heirloom apples, ones bred for flavor rather than shelf life. Costumed living history adventures covering the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Gold Rush, and colonial farm life run alongside the picking.
Underwood Family Farms Fall Harvest Festival — September, Underwood Family Farms. Underwood Family Farms turns its 50-acre Moorpark site over to the Fall Harvest Festival from late September through Halloween, with a pumpkin patch, pick-your-own fruit, vegetables and flowers, and tractor-drawn wagon rides. Kids get a corn maze, hay climbing pyramids, cotton harvester and combine slides, a fun hill with tunnels and a wooden firetruck, an Animal Center, and Farmer Craig's Chicken Show. Five themed weekends — Friends of the Farm, Farm Country, Antique Tractor, Wild West, and All About Pumpkins — add live bands and roaming entertainers.
Watts Towers Day of the Drum Festival — September, Watts Towers Arts Center Campus. A free day of percussion at the foot of the Watts Towers, with Latin, African, Japanese, jazz, and Native American drumming traditions sharing one outdoor stage. Free tours of Simon Rodia's landmark towers run all day. Paired each year with the Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival the following day.
Abbot Kinney Festival — September, Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Venice's signature street festival takes over Abbot Kinney Boulevard with music stages, a long run of artisan and food vendors, and a kids' zone. Run by a nonprofit that grants the day's proceeds back to Venice youth and arts organizations.
Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch — October, Tanaka Farms. Tanaka Farms, a multi-generational family farm on University Drive in Irvine, opens its pumpkin patch each fall so visitors can pick pumpkins straight from the vine. The farm pairs the patch with hayrides, photo stops, and its Barnyard animal exhibit, and sells Irvine-grown pumpkins in a range of sizes and colors for carving, decorating, and cooking. The Tanaka Grill serves burgers, fries, shave ice, and lemonade on site.
L.A. Zoo Lights: Animals Aglow — December, Los Angeles Zoo. L.A.'s wildest holiday tradition: a mile of glowing animal lanterns, light tunnels, a walk-in kaleidoscope, and Santa photos at the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park from mid-November through December.
Enchanted Forest of Light — December, Descanso Gardens. Descanso Gardens' annual one-mile illuminated evening walk through glowing tulips, luminous stained-glass houses, and sculptural light art, running from mid-November through early January.
Canoga Park Memorial Day Parade — May, Sherman Way. The West San Fernando Valley's long-running Memorial Day parade along Sherman Way in Canoga Park, with marching bands, veterans' groups, and community floats.
Alondra Park Ho'olaule'a — July, Alondra Park. California's largest free Hawaiian festival: live hula, island music, traditional food, and cultural booths filling Alondra Park each summer.
Recurring & returning programs in Los Angeles
Canoga Park Memorial Day Parade — Sherman Way, last held May 2026. The West San Fernando Valley's long-running Memorial Day parade along Sherman Way in Canoga Park, with marching bands, veterans' groups, and community floats.
Los Angeles National Cemetery Memorial Day Ceremony — Los Angeles National Cemetery, last held May 2026. The annual Memorial Day observance at Los Angeles National Cemetery in West LA — a flag-placing and remembrance ceremony honoring the veterans interred there.
Brand Summer Music Series — Brand Library & Art Center, last held July 2026. The Brand Library's free summer concert series in Glendale — family-friendly music at the Brand Library Art Center.
Dino West Adventure — Carson Library, last held July 2026. A dinosaur-themed adventure program for kids hosted at the Carson Library.
Sharks and Wrecks — Manhattan Beach Library, last held July 2026. Sharks and Wrecks — a recurring family program at Manhattan Beach Library in Manhattan Beach.
Skirball Cultural Center Program — Skirball Cultural Center, last held July 2026. Skirball Cultural Center Program — a special family program at Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.