Best Activities To Do This Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend has arrived and summer is officially in swing. Not that we needed better weather to get out and explore the city, but with the summer months here, there seems to be an added energy that encourages getting out and getting involved. There are plenty of options this weekend and we ran through a few of the better ones for you. Take a look.

The Used
The Novo by Microsoft
800 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 765-7000
www.thenovodtla.com

The first of a two-night celebration marking the 15th anniversary of The Used's self -titled and In Love and Death album releases at The Novo at L.A. Live tonight, and will be ripe with nostalgic millennials all weekend. With the swelling popularity of destinations like Taking Back Tuesday at the Echo and plenty of copycats grabbing a piece of the Emo-mentum, The Used is always included in the conversation when it comes to the music of this particular scene. However, the band is less about running through the hits and going through the motions, the 15-year mark shows no signs of slowing, as Bert and the boys are still very much a combustible live experience. Score your tickets and rehash some high school highs.

City Wide Scavenger Hunt
Olvera Street
845 N. Alameda St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012-2901
(213)455-1485
www.urbanadventurequest.com

Ever watch the television show "The Amazing Race" and think, "I could totally do that." There is a national company that organizes challenges in the form of city wide scavenger hunts called Urban Adventure Quest right here in LA. For the Los Angeles installment, the three hour challenge begins at the iconic Olvera Street plaza and takes your across the city via the Metro as you hit essential Los Angeles points of interest like, Union Station, Grand Central Market, The Disney Concert Hall, and the L.A. Cathedral as you race to beat the other teams. With games designed to test your city savvy and give you a groundfloor glimpse of the place you call home, this is a very cool way to spend your weekend.
 

The Artsy Flea
Van de Kamp Bakery Building Parking Lot
2930 Fletcher Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323)383-9799
www.theoddmarket.com

From the same folks that spearheaded Odd Nights at the Autry and the Eagle Rock Odd Market at All Star lanes, The Artsy Flea is collection of vendors, artists, and collectors with their choice goods for sale. With an emphasis on local artistry and carefully selected roster of purveyors with a keen sense for the creative, the Odd Market picks unique destinations for their gatherings. Few people would set up a flea market in a bowling alley, a Americana museum, or an old bakery. However, the peculiar surroundings add to the charm of the markets and make strolling the aisles much more appealing.

Commemorating Memorial Day weekend since the early 1970's, Topanga Days began as a 10k fun run, a parade, and some live music to help raise funds for the Topanga Community Center. Since then, the festival grown to accommodate some 10,000 visitors and has developed into a bohemian music festival that has welcomed major headlining names. With a parade that is less about the formal pomp and circumstance and more encouraging of general participation, those on the route fashion homemade floats and shower onlookers with candy. A community-driven and a community patronized event, Topanga Days is a very quintessential American culture and a perfect way to kickoff the summer.
 

Brouwerij West
110 E 22nd St.
San Pedro, CA 90731
(310) 833-9330
www.brouwerijwest.com

Sometimes what you are drinking can taste a bit better depending on where you are drinking it. Southern California's latest brewery destination is actually a renovated 72–year old warehouse down by the port of Los Angeles. The result is a spacious, simply gorgeous footprint that is part production brewery and part tasting room. The beer from Brouwerij West is just as stylish as their digs, with Blackberry Saison and Grapefruit Radler anchoring some of the first batches from the San Pedro spot. With a regular rotation of food trucks that park just outside the doors, the next building housing Crafted, a major artisan marketplace, and spectacular ocean breezes, there might not be a better place to grab a pint.