LA Pride: It's "the largest TLGB gathering in Southern California," it parties over three days -- Friday, June 6 through Sunday, June 8 this year -- and dance events and informational events and social happenings, and that big, big parade all add loads of flavor and fun and community-building spirit. And why shouldn't it? That's what happens when you've been coming together and speaking strong for over three decades and counting. Oh, oh, oh: And Demi Lovato is grand marshal. More celebs, more costumes, more good times await in West Hollywood...
Make Music Pasadena: We mean, just. You can't oversell the bigness of this thing, or the near-freeness, or the sheer variety. Any hyperbole? Totally justified. The quick elevator pitch: Over 100 bands and artists will play over 30 venues around Old Pasadena-ish on Saturday, June 7 and you think about maybe giving a five-dollar donation, because it is right and a good thing to do. Tennis, Saint Motel, and other alt-y, jazzy, country, pick-your-genre-y acts await. We mentioned the bigness, right?
Gilmore Auto Show: And speaking of your basic low-money, high-fun-ratio good-times-ing... Farmers Market, the original one, at Third and Fairfax, will welcome over 100 vintage cars on Saturday, June 7. People may come by and look, drool, admire, pine for, and so forth. Mustang gets the love this time, what with the 50th anniversary this year. Oh, and the "low-money" part? It's very low-money: Admission is free.
Santa Monica Pier and Ocean Festival: Even if you're not one of the participants heading out into the waves to compete paddleboard-style on Saturday, June 7, it's still pretty dang thrilling to watch. Also pretty dang thrilling? Mellowing out in the sunshine, watching hula dances, taking in surf artifacts on display, and celebrating the Big Water. You totally know it is World Oceans Day the following day, right? Paid your respects to the Pacific lately? Just saying.
Daily Penguin Walk: The comical waddlers of the avian world are endlessly fascinating to we humans. Wait, did we mean "endlessly fascinating"? Well, we did, but we also laugh a lot at penguins (not *at* them, exactly, but *with* them). The Aquarium of the Pacific penguins are strolling through the Long Beach institution's Northern Pacific gallery every day at 10 a.m. during June. That's June only, penguinists. Don't put this one off. Because laffs.
