Happy 100th, Beverly Hills: Pop culture may frequently tweak a certain 90210-y city for occupying some rare air, but when a major historic milestone rolls along, Beverly Hills wants to let loose, family carnival-style, like anywhere else. Sure, the Centennial Block Party'll be on Rodeo Drive -- okay, that's some pretty rare air -- but two Ferris wheels and a 15,000-slice cake lend the proceedings a party-sweet atmos. Plus? A performance by the great Martha Reeves. Date? Sunday, April 27. Price? Free. Warm stirring words? Lookin' good at 100, BH.
Annenberg Beach House Bash: The pointy paper birthday hats'll be worn all over SoCal -- proverbially, of course -- in honor of some storied majors. The splashy Santa Monica play place once owned by starlet Marion Davies celebrates its fifth birthday with a free weekend of beach yoga, old-timey games like sack races, and some Aqualillies-style swimming. Can summer be faraway? (Spoiler alert: No.) Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27
LA Heritage Day: Okay, as long as we're delving into free things that deal with our city's past, and do so without charging attendees a time, let's alight upon this goodie. It's the annual gathering of oodles -- "oodles" = 70 or so -- of historic groups that focus on different parts, eras, and themes of our region. Juicy stories, tales of heroics, the building of SoCal? Yes times three. It's the Pico House, near Olvera Street, on Sunday, April 27.
Cowboy Festival: We never like to put the words "stress" and "cowboy" together, what with the open range and blue skies and all that, but we cannot stress this enough: If you're headed for the yearly yippee ki yay gathering in Santa Clarita, the one at Melody Ranch on April 26 and 27, wear your ten-gallon, your chaps, your whole get-up. It is Cowboy Central, from performances to activities. Seriously. No foolin'. Ten-gallon up, cowpokes and aspiring cowpokes.
Stagecoach Festival: It isn't all "-chella" all the time when it comes to the huge music events that pop up around Southern California in the springtime. Sometimes a "-coach" shows as well, as in this ginormous everything-country-music-and-beyond spectacular that's in Indio from Friday, April 25 through Sunday, April 27. Asleep at the Wheel, Crystal Gayle, and Wanda Jackson are part of the three-day, stellar-strummin' line-up.