What to Know
- Sunday, March 20
- The event begins at Dodger Stadium; the finish line is in Century City
- Special events, like the cheer stations, will dot the route
LA Marathon: It's one of the country's most esteemed, storied, and big-of-scale 26.2-milers, and thousands of participants will move from Dodger Stadium to Century City on a cool Sunday morning, and the first day of spring. As is tradition, there will be plenty of festive happenings around the finish line, and the cheer stations are a major and majorly uplifting element, too (look for the Hirshberg Foundation's Purple People Party cheer station at mile 21, where it will be raising awareness about pancreatic cancer research). For the route and all the details you need, hoof it over here.
Nowruz: Celebrate the Iranian New Year and start of springtime with music, dance, and a community celebration that is full of tradition, joy, and hope. The five-hour event, which is presented by the Farhang Foundation, starts at noon on March 20, and admission is free. Several performances are on the schedule, including an appearance by the Melieka Fathi Dance Company, The Ava Choir, and LA DAF Ensemble. Puppets, a host of family activities, craft-making opportunities, DJ tunes, student musicians, and several celebratory elements will add ebullience to the spring-sweet to-do. It all happens at UCLA's Dickson Court.
"The Art of the Ramen Bowl": Knowing and loving ramen, as you do, you can surely name a dozen delectable dishes around Southern California, the memorable meals that feature the most savory broth, the richest fish, the yummiest eggs, the perfect pork, an aromatic umami element, and tender noodles. Now ramen mavens around the region can get to know the donburi, the vivacious vessels long associated with the iconic dish, at JAPAN HOUSE. An exhibition devoted to the beautiful tableware debuts on March 18, with history about these exquisite work-of-art bowls.
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
Bloom Time: Flower fans hardly know where to go and what to sigh over first, when the middle of March arrives in Southern California. Fruit trees, at verdant venues like The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, are still impressing, the tulips and lilacs of Descanso Garden look like something out of a painting, and the orange superstars of the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve? It's not a superbloom at this point, but the last warm week has seen several wind-fluttery blossoms begin to cover the hillsides around the Lancaster-close area.
Shamrocks & Shenanigans: If you've called upon SkyPark at Santa's Village during the holiday season, you know that the quaint attraction, which is not far from Lake Arrowhead, is peopled by all sorts of fanciful characters (and not just the charming Claus family). A few of those storybook figures are enchanting visitors, each weekend in March, will all sorts of St. Patrick's Day-style shenanigans. Bites and beverages inspired by the luckiest time of year are also part of the fortunate fun. You'll want to look into advance tickets, before jigging your way to the mountaintop destination.
