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Best Things to Do in SoCal and LA: October 20-26, 2025

Every week, I highlight a few events across the SoCal region. This week, celebrate Dìa de los Muertos, visit the Brewery Artwalk and Grand Ave Arts: All Access, and learn about rebellion through ceramics.

A Celebration of Life and Love

Bring the family to celebrate life, love, and remembrance at Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Downtown Día de los Muertos! For nine colorful days, the park transforms into an open-air gallery filled with 19 altars created by artists, live music, dance performances, and hands-on art workshops. Families can stroll through the beautifully illuminated ofrendas and learn about the traditions behind Día de los Muertos. The celebration culminates with Noche de los Muertos, featuring live performances by Latin Grammy–nominated singer Lupita Infante and LA’s Boleros with Attitude (BWA). It’s a vibrant, family-friendly event where generations come together to honor loved ones and celebrate LA’s rich cultural spirit.

Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Downtown Día de los Muertos
Gloria Molina Grand Park
200 N Grand Ave
Los Angeles , CA 90012
Saturday, October 25, 11:00 AM
Free

Get All Access at Grand Ave

Spend the day exploring Los Angeles’ newly designated cultural district with a free, family-friendly festival where art, music, and imagination spill into the streets! For one inspiring afternoon, Grand Avenue’s world-class institutions (Music Center, MOCA, Colburn School, The Broad) open their doors for behind-the-scenes tours, live performances, art-making workshops, and outdoor pop-ups that bring creativity to life. This year’s event also connects with Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Downtown Día de los Muertos, adding colorful altars, performances, and community storytelling to the mix.

Grand Ave Arts: All Access
Grand Avenue
100 S. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Saturday, October 25, 11:00 AM
Free

Artists and Ideas Collide at LACMA

Join a spirited conversation among celebrated artists Patrick Martinez, Eamon Ore-Giron, Jackie Amézquita, and Beatriz Cortez as they respond to each other’s work in LACMA’s acclaimed exhibition, "Grounded." Rather than formal lectures, this event invites a dynamic exchange on land, memory, identity, and how each artist’s practice speaks to place, community, and transformation. Both Martinez and Cortez were recently featured in PBS SoCal’s Artbound episode “Arte Cósmico,” which explored their shared fascination with family, cosmology, and the politics of space and labor. "In Response" bridges gallery and studio and offers an evening of connection and creative resonance.

In Response: Artists from Grounded
LACMA
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles , CA 90036
Thursday, October 23, 7:00 PM
Free

LA’s Biggest Open-Studio Art Walk

Step inside the West Coast’s largest artist community for Brewery Artwalk, a biannual open-studio and self-guided tour that transforms the historic 16-acre Brewery Arts Complex into a buzzing creative village. Over 100 artists invite you into their studios to explore paintings, sculptures, installations, photography, jewelry, and experimental works, offering a rare chance to connect directly with the makers shaping LA’s art scene. For artists, it’s an inspiring exchange of ideas and process; for art lovers, it’s a treasure hunt through a living maze of creativity. The weekend is equal parts art fair, block party, and open house.

Brewery Artwalk
The Brewery
2100 North Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90031
Saturday, October 25, 11:00 AM
Free

Where Clay Meets Rebellion and Art Sparks Revolution

Step into a moment of rebellious history at AMOCA’s opening reception for "Fired in Revolution: Ceramics from the People’s Republic of China." This bold exhibition explores how ceramicists in China’s Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) transformed clay into quiet rebellion by crafting beauty, satire, and symbolism under the weight of political control. Featuring powerful works from Jingdezhen, China’s historic porcelain capital, the show reveals how artistry endured despite censorship, using the kiln as a site of defiance and imagination.

Fired in Revolution
American Museum of Ceramic Art
399 N Garey Ave
Pomona, CA 91767
Saturday, October 25, 4:00 PM
Free to $14

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