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Weekend Fun for LA Kids: Book Fair, Earth Day, and Cowboys

Listen to a great children's story at the festival. Photo courtesy of LA Times Festival of Books
Listen to a great children's story at the festival. Photo courtesy of LA Times Festival of Books
4/11/19 - By Toby B

Look, I can vamp for three paragraphs about all the amazing stuff going on this weekend, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s all Book Fair, all the time. The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books has favorite authors showing up for meet and greets, readings on the free stages, ticketed panels if you can spare two bucks, books books books, and then some more books. It's one of the few times when my kid says, “Mommy may I buy that?” and I say “Why not get two?!”

The Book Fair is mostly in the daytime hours, so if you want to attend a movie or see a show, your nighttime is totes clear. And I suppose there are a few other happenings that are worthy of your attention, such as the rootin', tootin-est Cowboy fest this side of the Mississippi, egg hunts at Kidspace, Pershing Square, and the Point Fermin Lighthouse, a Whale of a day, and a tribute to first responder heroes, a tribute to the Great Spirit and Torrance's sister city, a Jamboree, multiple egg-stravaganzas, an arty open house, and celebrations of spring time and mother Earth.

Oh, and it’s also like a day before your taxes are due so, if you haven’t done them: yikes, and er, get on it? Maybe you can find a book on taxes at the Book Fair (if you're looking for something to do).

Book it to the rest of this post to check out our book-marked events....

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

ALL WEEKEND

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

Exposition Park
Books, books, everywhere, and lots of authors, too. The LA Times Festival of Books is LA's biggest and best-known book festival. The schedule for 2024's Festival of Books features children's events with David Shannon, Blippi, Lois Lowry, Phillipa Soo, Lance Bass, Rampage and Los Angeles Rams cheerleaders, Dan Santat, Emily Arrow, Allison Holker Boss, Barney Saltzberg, Tiffany Haddish, Melissa de la Cruz, and Los Angeles Public Library Librarians -- and that's just the beginning!   READ MORE

Chumash Day Powwow and Inter-Tribal Gathering

Malibu
Native Americans will gather at Malibu Bluffs Park for a festive cultural celebration honoring Malibu’s original residents and First Americans, the Chumash. The community is encouraged to attend this two day event featuring a variety of Native American arts and crafts, Native American tribal ceremonies, dances, special guest performances, and Chumash history storytelling.   READ MORE

Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival

Santa Clarita
Saddle up for a good time at this annual Cowboy Festival. Santa Clarita’s rich Western heritage takes center stage each year at the Cowboy Festival, which features a multi-day lineup of music, food (including cowboy cobbler!), entertainment, and activities for Western enthusiasts of all ages.  READ MORE

OC Fair Imaginology

Costa Mesa
Have you ever wondered how marine mammals survive in cold water, wanted to make your own kazoo, or tried to craft a rocket using a 3D printer? OC Fair’s Imaginology can help lead the STEAMy way! READ MORE

Bunka Sai Japanese Cultural Festival

Torrance
Families can experience Japanese culture up close at the Torrance Sister City Association's Bunka Sai Festival. READ MORE

Easter on the Farm

PAW Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure

Hollywood
PAW Patrol Live! sets sail with a pirate adventure in a new live tour. It’s Pirate Day in Adventure Bay, and Ryder needs all paws on deck as he and the PAW Patrol discover a secret treasure map while on a mission to rescue Cap’n Turbot from a mysterious cavern.  READ MORE

Santa Ana Family Spring Festival

Santa Ana
Santa Ana Family Spring Festival in Cesar Chavez Park offers 3 days of rides, games, a clown show and good eats. Admission and parking are free.   On Friday, rides are $1.   READ MORE

Minefaire

Downtown
MINEFAIRE is two day festival for  Minecraft fans and their families. READ MORE

LA Spring Fair

South El Monte
It's the largest spring festival in Los Angeles County, with 12 acres of amusement rides, games, arts & crafts, and international food, as well as live entertainment on Saturdays and Sundays. READ MORE

Animal Crackers

El Segundo
Kids can get a dose of classic comedy as the Old Town Music Hall screens the Marx Brothers film Animal Crackers. READ MORE

Kiddee Matinees

Hollywood
On Saturdays and Sundays, families can catch a matinee screening of a kid-friendly movie at the New Beverly Cinema.   READ MORE
Easter Egg Hunt! Photo courtesy of Point Fermin Lighthouse
Easter Egg Hunt! Photo courtesy of Point Fermin Lighthouse

SATURDAY, APRIL 13

POSTPONED: Whale of a Day

Rancho Palos Verdes
Due to inclement weather, this event (originally on April 13, 2024) has been postponed until April 27, 2024!  Palos Verdes' annual festival celebrating the migration of the Pacific gray whale is held on the main grounds of the Point Vicente Interpretive Center and at the adjacent lighthouse.  Activities for children include inflatables, face painting, crafts, and games, along with informative exhibits and live music.  Guests can tour the Interpretive Center’s museum and the grounds of the Point Vicente Lighthouse. READ MORE

Gary Sinise Foundation Family Fun Day

Thousand Oaks
The Gary Sinise Foundation presents a free event in honor of first responders of the Borderline tragedy and Woolsey and Hill fires and those we lost.  Highlights include a free concert from Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band as well as Five For Fighting. READ MORE

Earth Day 2024 (LAC Sanitation)

Whittier
Things are looking mighty green at the Sanitation District, with over 50 green exhibitors attending this year's Earth Day celebration. Highlights of this free event include Earth-friendly arts & crafts, face painting, magic shows, and live music and dance. Guests can tour material recovery and water reclamation facilities. READ MORE

2nd Annual Orange County Jamboree

Irvine
The rich farming history of Orange County is celebrated at the 2nd annual Orange County Jamboree. This free family-friendly event features agricultural-themed crafts, pickling demos, a petting zoo, live music, a photo booth, blacksmith and antique engine displays and tours of the park.  READ MORE

Family Fashion Workshops

Santa Ana
During a series of special workshops and demonstrations, families can learn the fundamentals of fashion, sewing, design and structure, with fun take-away pieces to add to the family fashion portfolio. READ MORE

Easter Toy Egg-stravaganza(Target)

Participating Locations
Target celebrates Easter with giveaways, photo ops, and interactive toy stations featuring Hatchimals, LEGO, and LOL Surprise. READ MORE

Family Matinees at the Vista Theatre

Los Feliz
I have the map! I have the map! And the day after tomorrow... The world! A young boy joins up with a group of Time Bandits who have a map that allows them to travel to different points in time, meeting up with Robin Hood, Napoleon, and ultimately a dark Time Lord in Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits. READ MORE

Lighthouse Egg Hunt

San Pedro
Finding eggs is easier with a lighthouse to shine the way.... READ MORE

Pershing Square Free Community Egg Hunt

Downtown
The Pershing Square Mobile Youth Program hosts its annual Extravaganza Spring Egg Hunt at Pershing Square. The event includes jumpers, magic and music, egg hunts, and a visit from the Spring Bunny (bring your own camera for photos). READ MORE

Kids' Earth Day Celebration

Playa del Rey
Dockweiler Youth Center hosts its 2nd annual Earth Day celebration. The community and family-oriented event features 3rd Rock Hip Hop teaching kids about environmental awareness through hip hop music.  READ MORE

Bergamot Spring Open House

Santa Monica
The arts community at Bergamot Station hosts its annual Spring Open House event. This is a free, family-friendly event, no tickets necessary to gain admission. READ MORE

Springtime at the Adobe

Calabasas
The Gardens bloom with flowers and butterflies at the Leonis Adobe Museum's annual springtime celebration. Highlights include themed crafts, entertainment and live music.   READ MORE

Family Day: Celebrating Planet Earth

San Marino
Huntington visitors can celebrate life on planet Earth and learn what each of us can do to protect the environment during an afternoon of art and science activities for the whole family. READ MORE

Vintage Fashion Show

Montecito Heights
Heritage Square Museum hosts a trip through time via a fantastic fashion show. Guests can learn how social change was expressed through the tide of fashion -- what we wore and how we wore it! READ MORE

Cartoon Club

Hollywood
Cartoon Club celebrates the art and history of animation with Saturday morning screenings of rare cartoon gems.  October's cartoon spooktacular is a family-friendly Halloween treat!  READ MORE

Spring Easter Eggstravaganza (Del Amo)

Torrance
Del Amo Fashion Center’s kids Easter event is a fun-filled day of Easter-themed arts and crafts, bunny petting zoo, sweet treats, and lawn games. READ MORE
Photo courtesy of Pacifico Dance Company
Photo courtesy of Pacifico Dance Company

SUNDAY, APRIL 14

Family & Me - Sunday Morning Storytime

Bel Air
March's stories are themed to Purim. Note: New event starting time of 11am.  READ MORE

Free Second Sunday at USC Pacific Asia Museum

Pasadena
Pasadena's museum honoring all things Asian opens its doors for free on the second Sunday of every month. April's event is a Teen Takeover!  READ MORE

Art + Mindfulness

Westwood
This program invites guests to connect with themselves and their family through mindfulness strategies and art. Participants create art tied to themes of love and compassion, and join practitioners in the galleries to learn mindfulness techniques that can be practiced at home. READ MORE

Kids Run the Bases - Dodgers Home Game

Echo Park
Kids 5 - 14 get to run the bases after most daytime Dodger home games on Sundays.  Please note that the game originally schedule for August 20 has been rescheduled to August 19 due to the expected rain. READ MORE

Sunday Studio at MOCA: Devon Tsuno and MOCA Teens

Downtown
Visitors can work with artist Devon Tsuno and MOCA Teens to create a new large-scale, collaborative artwork. Participants learn how teens helped preserve Japanese American cultural arts and crafts while incarcerated during World War II at the Topaz detention center in Utah.  READ MORE

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Downtown
The Central Library screens Won't You Be My Neighbor?, the acclaimed documentary about the life and kindness of Fred Rogers. READ MORE

Silent Sundays at the Playhouse

San Gabriel
Ring the bells: Lon Chaney stars in the 1923 silent version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Mission Playhouse screens classic silent movies with live accompaniment on the beautiful 1924 Wurlitzer theater organ.  READ MORE

Santa Monica Symphony

Santa Monica
Santa Monica Symphony continues its 75th season with a performance of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. READ MORE

Japan Family Day 2023

Arcadia
Japan Family Day at Santa Anita Park was started as a way to introduce Japanese traditional culture and to interact with the people of Southern California. The annual event is SoCal's biggest Japanese Family Festival. READ MORE

Pacifico Dance Company

Malibu
The Los Angeles-based Pacifico Dance Company offers a unique blend of modern and traditional dance. READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Old Town Newhall, Multiple Venues
Ken Miller Recreation Center
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
American Jewish University's Burton Sperber Jewish Community Library
San Gabriel Mission Playhouse
Barnum Hall at Santa Monica High School