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MLK Weekend 2024 in Los Angeles: 17 Best Things To Do With Kids

Celebrate the life of MLK at the MLK Kingdom Parade. Photo courtesy of Metro Los Angeles via Flickr
Celebrate the life of MLK at the MLK Kingdom Parade. Photo courtesy of Metro Los Angeles via Flickr
1/10/24 - By Toby B

Looking for the best things to do in Los Angeles during MLK weekend? Here are some events and activities to add to your list for the holiday weekend.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is 'What are you doing for others?'" Families can answer that question by participating in the National MLK Day of Service this weekend. A day spent giving back is just one way to honor Dr. King's memory, and LA Works will have an MLK National Day of Service event. More annual traditions returning to LA this year are Long Beach's MLK Peace and Unity Parade Celebration and the Kingdom Day Parade along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Exposition Park. 

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Step inside Bluey's house at CAMP in Century City. Photo courtesy of CAMP
Step inside Bluey's house at CAMP in Century City. Photo courtesy of CAMP

Best Things To Do MLK Weekend in Los Angeles with Kids

T-Rex Tea Party

Santa Clarita - FREE
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Enjoy tea and treats with a real life (inflatable costumed) T-Rex! Kids will learn about manners and sharing, enjoy a storytime, and eat their treats with preshistoric friends. This event will be separated into two time slots, with the first 65 attendees arriving at 3:30pm and the next group of 65 at 4:00pm.  READ MORE

Preschool Dance Party at the Library - Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills - FREE
Friday, January 12, 2024
Wiggle and giggle with friends at this hoppin' dance party at the Beverly Hills Public Library. Make sure to bring your dancing shoes for a moving and grooving good time.  READ MORE

MLK Peace and Unity Parade Celebration

Long Beach - FREE
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Long Beach's Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade and Celebration returns for its 36th year. The annual event celebrates the life and legacy of a visionary who changed the world by promoting equality, justice, and peace. READ MORE

Early Childhood Open House

DTLA - FREE
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Parents can introduce their little ones to the benefits of the performing arts with the Early Childhood Creative Arts Program at the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers from 7 months to 6 years can sing, move, and play through a specially designed curriculum which helps support key developmental milestones, builds confidence, and sets them on a pathway to study performing arts.  READ MORE

Santa Monica Symphony: Annual Martin Luther King Day Concert

Santa Monica - FREE
Saturday, January 13, 2024
The Santa Monica Symphony's Annual Martin Luther King Day Concert is free; pre-registration is strongly recommended for concerts as seating is first come, first serve. The annual concert commemorates the legacy of Dr. King  READ MORE

OCSA Connects Community Arts Festival

Santa Ana - FREE
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Arts-minded children can enjoy a full day of play at the OCSA Connects Community Arts Festival, a free community event, hosted on the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) campus. Kids and their families are invited to come and enjoy live performances by OCSA’s talented students while engaging in arts activities, interactive play areas, and creative games. READ MORE

Ina Buckner-Barnette: The Sunshine Storyteller

West LA - FREE
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Ina, The Sunshine Storyteller visits Children's Book World to share some sweet and courageous tales from Black History. READ MORE

Drop-In Workshops for Families: Stop-Motion

Mid-Wilshire
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Stop what you're doing -- and make it move! The Academy Museum hosts drop-in workshops on the art of stop-motion animation. READ MORE

17th Annual Southern California Slack Key Festival

Redondo Beach
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Hawaiian music comes to the mainland at the 2024 Southern California Slack Key Festival.  Taking its name from a finger-picking style of guitar playing indigenous to Hawaii, the Slack Key Festival brings the art of ki ho'alu guitar to Redondo Beach. READ MORE

20th Annual Long Beach Jewish Film Festival - Free Kids Screenings

Long Beach - FREE
Sunday, January 14, 2024
The 20th Annual Long Beach Jewish Film Festival starts off with two free screenings for younger audiences. First up, the free teen movie night features You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah. (But don't worry, you are invited, and it's free) Then the following Sunday is Free Family Movie Day, with An American Tail. READ MORE

Kingdom Day Parade

Exposition Park - FREE
Monday, January 15, 2024
The Kingdom Day Parade, one of the nation's largest events celebrating the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., is back. This year's theme is "Can't Stop, Won't Stop, Going to the Promised Land." READ MORE

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity Walk

Santa Clarita - FREE
Monday, January 15, 2024
The community can come together for a Unity Walk in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at Santa Clarita's Central Park. The event kicks off with a brief program focusing on Dr. King’s legacy and contributions to our Nation, all centered around this year’s theme – “It Starts with Me: Shifting the Cultural Climate Through the Study and Practice of Kingian Nonviolence.” READ MORE

LA Works MLK Day of Service 2024

Exposition Park - FREE
Monday, January 15, 2024
The spirit of Martin Luther King's dream of lives on! LA Works holds a Day of Service Volunteer Festival in honor of MLK Day. Held at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the event features hands-on activities for volunteers. Areas of need addressed include Homelessness, Education Equity, Food Insecurity, and Economic Opportunity. READ MORE

MLK Day at the Skirball

Brentwood - FREE
Monday, January 15, 2024
In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and in honor of the legacy of Dr. King, the Skirball is opening its doors and offering free admission to This Light of Ours: Activist Photographers of the Civil Rights Movement. The exhibition showcases rarely-seen photos of Dr. King alongside more than 150 photographs taken by Movement insiders who chronicled the fight for civil rights. READ MORE

Free Entrance Days in the National Parks

Multiple Locations - FREE
Monday, January 15, 2024
On select days throughout the year, all national parks are open to the public with no admission fee. Veterans Day marks the last freebie for 2024.  READ MORE

Big Sunday's 12th Annual MLK Day Clothing Drive & Community Breakfast

Leimert Park - FREE
Monday, January 15, 2024
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Big Sunday once again hosts an in-person event for volunteers, friends, and community members to help sort, count, and pack donated clothing to prepare it for nonprofit recipients. READ MORE

EXTENDED Bluey X CAMP Immersive Experience

Century City
Daily through Sunday, April 14, 2024
Hooray! Bluey fans can step into an episode of Bluey - for real life! Fans of the animated show can laugh, play, and pretend with Bluey, Bingo, Mum, and Dad, everyone’s favorite Blue Heeler family. At Bluey x CAMP, gurests step inside Bluey’s house for an immersive adventure that ends with a meet-and-greet with Bluey and Bingo!   READ MORE

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