225 ways to Celebrate: Festivals (over 85 of them!)

In less than a month, Los Angeles will celebrate its 225th birthday. Only five years & two months younger than our nation, LA takes more than a day to celebrate. In fact, Los Angeles is known for its celebrations. So, here's the next installment of 225 Ways to Celebrate LA's 225th Birthday: The Festival Edition! What follows are the festivals, events, parades, and other occurrences you should take in fully celebrate LA. These are in addition to the those already listed in previous posts (see below): the Tofu Festival, the Lotus Festival, the Sister City Festival, & the Grand Avenue Festival. (Also, this does not include the countless Film Festivals.)


125. Take part in the Jewish culture that has a long history in Los Angeles (starting in Boyle Heights!) at the Israel Independence Festival.

126. Tap your feet and feel the rhythm at The UCLA Jazz Reggae Festival.

127. On March 17th, put on your green and take part in the City's St. Patrick's Day Parade.

128. In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, head down to South LA for LA's Kingdom Day Parade

129. Experience the Chinese New Year in L.A. at the annual Golden Dragon Parade in Chinatown, which has a history dating back to 1898.

130. Take part in the LA's Junta Hispana Celebration in Lincoln Park. This gathering of Latino heritages at one venue calls for pride in Latino Heritage Month.

131. Attend the Persian New Year Festival on the shores of Lake Balboa in the Sepulveda Basin.

132. Dance and eat at the Annual American Lebanese Festival. Sheriff Lee Baca has been spotted there in the past on the dance floor, as has Councilman Dennis Zine.

133. Attend the Southern California Indian Center's Annual Pow Pow, one of the largest on the West Coast.

134. Enjoy the sounds and history of Jazz in L.A. at the annual Central Avenue Jazz Festival.

135. Get your hipster groove on at the Sunset Junction Street Fair. This event blends all the very diverse cultures of Silver Lake.

136. Enjoy the largest concentration of small theaters in the state at the annual NoHo Theater & Arts Festival. Visual, Musical, literary and performing arts are showcased at this diverse event in the heart of NoHo.

137. Celebrate the diversity in Main Street Canoga Park (Sherman Way) at the annual Dia de Los Muertes Festival.

138. If you want to celebrate in a cemetery, check out The Day of the Dead at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Quite eerie, to say the least, as you walk through the cemetery at night viewing alters and entertainment.

139. Extra! Extra! Read all about it: The L.A. Times' Festival of Books at UCLA.

140. Celebrate the joy of horse-keeping and the equestrian lifestyle at the annual Chatsworth Day of the Horse.

141. Attend a "School Carnival," be it a Catholic school, private non-religious school, or public school. (There's one of these almost every weekend during the school year!)

142. Eat well at the Chinatown Business Improvement District'sChinese Food Festival. Though it's a pay event, it's worth it and quite delicious.

143. Celebrate the history of the Arroyo Seco with Museums of the Arroyo Day (even though some museums are in Pasadena).

144. Celebrate Watts, African American cultural contributions, and engage others at the annualWatts Summer Festival. This festival serves also as a memorial to the 34 people who perished in the Watts riots of 1965 and has 16 different components.

145. Celebrate all that is "Venice of America" at the annualAbbot Kinney Festival in September in Venice.

146. Return to the agrarian roots of the Valley by attending the San Fernando Valley Fair.

147. "Eat up" at the Annual Taste in San Pedro in August of each year.

148. Tour the largest arts live/work space as artist-residents open their studio/homes at the Brewery's semi-annual Art Walk.

149. Change your ways by attending the WorldFest Earth Day Celebration in Woodley Park in the Sepulveda Basin Recreation area - the largest Earth Day Celebration in the City.

150. Attend the 2nd Annual Art on the Waterfront Festival featuring San Pedro's growing arts community.

151. Bring the whole family out to the KTLA Kids Day in Exposition Park where it's a festival truly focused on the youth of the City.

152. Attend the County's (I know) L.A. Holiday Celebration, which has been occurring at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on December 24th since 1964. It's quite an experience to see the show (or at least catch it live on KCET).

153. Enjoy a night of "Las Posadas" at Olvera Street which harkens back to the City's roots in under Mexican rule.

154. See the reflection of lights in the Pacific at the Annual LA Harbor Holiday Afloat parade.

155. Attend the largest Dia de Los Muertos Celebration on City Streets at the Annual Festival de la Gente, which is actually on the street of the historic 6th Street Bridge, connecting Downtown & Boyle Heights.

156. Check out Los Angeles' Annual Bastille Day Festival in the Hancock Park next to the Page Museum.

157. See DWP's "Light Festival" at Griffith Park in November/December. Go early and drive it, or park remotely and walk the length. (Traffic gets pretty bad.)

158. Attend theEl Grito festival, recognizing our City's Mexican heritage.

159. Be a part of the largest Latino festival in the nation at Fiesta Broadway. Explore the 36 block event on the streets of Downtown.

160. Have fun with the family in the Valley at the annualSalute to Recreation which also features an amazing Hawaiian Village, fireworks, and an International Marketplace. (It's much more than just recreation!)

161. Celebrate the heroes among us - Firefighters - at the annual Benefit for Our Bravest. This street faire event raises money to support the local fire stations and the men & women who call that their home away from home.

162. Enjoy the Los Angeles Lithuanian Fair at St. Casimir's Church.

163. Bring out the kids for a creative day at the NoHo Children'’s Art and Poetry Festival which coincides with the observance ofCalifornia Arts Day

164. Attend TarFest at, you guessed it, the La Brea Tar Pits & surrounding Miracle Mile. (Don't get stuck!)

165. Discover the Caribbean Carnival at the Caricabela Los Angeles Carnival and Parade at Westchester Park.

166. Particpate in the Annual Marcus Garvey Day
Parade and Festival in Lemiert Park

167. Enjoy the flavors and sounds of one of the Valley's leading communities at the annual Taste of Encino. The real treat, though, is the four stages of entertainment from the California Traditional Music Society.

168. Take part in the floral celebration of the Annual Wilmington Wisteria Festival at the historic Banning House.

167. Take part in the Annual Pacific Islander Festival sponsored by the Pacific Islander Community Council in Harbor City.

170. Listen to the beat of the Cuban American Music Festival in Echo Park at Jose Marti Square.

171. Bring the little ones (under 8) to the Children's Nature Institute Annual Kids’' Nature Festival in the Palisades at the Temescal Gateway Park.

172. Attend the annual SoRo Festival, a community festival celebrating those communities "south of Robertson."

173. Attend the multicultural, LA-celebratory 4th of July celebration, Salute Los Angeles at the Fort Moore memorial.


174. Enjoy the lights of traditional Chinese lanterns a the annual Lantern Festival at the Chinese American Museum next to Olvera Street.


175. Attend the annual Malcolm X Arts, Culture, and Education Festival, the nation's largest cultural tribute to Malcolm X, at Aubobon Middle School.

176. Attend the premiere street faire in the Valley, the two-day Sherman Oaks Street Faire.

177. Take the family out to the Granada Hills Street Faire.

178. Scare up a good time at the annual Spooktacular in Northridge.

179. Hear or tell a yarn at the LA Story Telling Festival in Downtown LA.

180. Enjoy all that Los Feliz has to offer from Yucca's to Skylight Books at the annual Los Feliz Village Street Fair.

181. Attend a reading at one of the varied locations of the LA Poetry Festival, which only occurs about every other year.

182. Come rain or Shine, attend the annual Kwanzaa Heritage Festival and Parade in Lemeirt Park at the start of the new year.

183. Take in a holiday parade or open house like the Toluca Lake Holiday Open House (even though it's partially in Burbank!), the Chatsworth Holiday Parade, the Pacoima Christmas Parade, the Granada Hills Holiday Parade, the Northeast Los Angeles Holiday Parade, the Studio City Holiday Open House & Parade, the Wilmington Holiday Parade, the annual San Pedro Holiday Parade, and/or countless others.

184. Celebrate American and the only community in Los Angeles to be named an "All-American City" at the Canoga Park Memorial Day Parade.

185. Celebrate the historic culture of Garifuna at the annual Garifuna Day Street Festival.

186. Celebrate the Harvest Moon at the annual Moon Festival in Chinatown.

187. Enjoy the Los Angeles Bach Festival at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles at Commonwealth and 6th. This annual festival started in 1934, and has had 14 directors.

188. Celebrate one of the last produce-based festivals in the City at the annualSunland-Tujunga Watermelon Festival.

189. Celebrate the arts of Los Angeles at the L.A. Art Fest in the Downtown Arts District.

190. Immerse yourself in Indian culture India's Independence Day Festival in Northridge at CSUN.

191. Plug your nose and enjoy the barnyard party at the annual Farm Walk at Pierce College every spring.

192. Look up and take in all that is the Los Angeles Tall Ship Festival in the Los Angeles Harbor.

193. Check out theShakespeare Festival/LA while it's in the City Limits - the annual summer productions are truly a "festival."

194. Take in the "theatrics" at the various locations at the annual Edge of the World Theatre Festival.

195. Line the streets and scream for your favorite celebrity at the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade. Originally, it was a way of attracting holiday shoppers to the business district along Hollywood Boulevard, and now, it is an international holiday experience.

196. Attend the Salvadoran Day Festival, "the largest public gathering of Salvadorans outside El Salvador."

197. See the biggest pad Thai noodle in your life at Thai Culture Day.

198. Celebrate Songkran, one of the most important holidays in Thailand at theThai New Year Festival in Hollywood.

199. Join the largest Korean population in the US at the annualLA Korean Festival at Seoul International Park in Koreatown.

200. Celebrate aviation and its history in the Valley and Los Angeles at the Van-Nuys-Airshow-turned Van Nuys Airfest at the Van Nuys Airport.

201. What could be better then food & wine: theLA Food & Wine Festival.

202. Lots of food, entertainment, and the Pope at the annual Feast of San Gennaro at the Grove. This was started by Jimmy Kimmel in Hollywood, and has grown into a true Italian feast for the senses.

203. Feel the power of one of the largest cultural faires in the region, the African Marketplace in Exposition Park.

204. Everyone's family at the L.A. Greek Fest & the Valley Greek Fest, both sponsored by Greek Orthodox Churches.

205. Attend a neighborhood festival or blockparty. Some are elaborate and some are just in someone's yard. Go to your neighborhood's event first, or crash another LA neighborhood's event.

206. Celebrate the Japanese New Year in Little Tokyo.

207. Kick off whale-watching season by building a life size gray whale in San Pedro with the annual Whale Fiesta.

208. In car-centric L.A., don't miss out on your chance to have an advantage over other drivers at the annual Blessing of the Cars at Hansen Dam in Lake View Terrace.

209. Bring your pet to the historic Blessing of the Animals at Olvera Street, where the fauna of the City have been being blessed since 1930.

210. Attend the Annual LobsterFest in San Pedro, which is endorsed by the Maine Lobster Promotion Council as an approved Maine Lobster Festival - who knew!

211. Take part in an ancient tradition and vegetarian fare at the annual Festival of Chariots that culminates in Venice.

212. Participate in Old Fort MacArthur Days at the Fort MacArthur Museum in San Pedro, just like David Markland did.

213. Celebrate Filipino art & culture at the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture, "the largest presenter of Philippine arts and culture in Southern California presenting over 1200 artists in 9 disciplines."


"225 Ways to Celebrate..." thus far:
1-15
16-25
26-35
36-45
46-55
56-78 (Griffith Park)
79-88 (Eric Garcetti)
89-102
103-114
115-124