The Best Los Angeles Festivals & Fairs this Spring

Los Angeles has always been a hub of creativity and its contributions to the performing arts are world renowned. When it comes to dance, the city boasts a particularly rich heritage – one that endures to this day. Many members of Los Angeles’ local dance communities spend much of the year touring the world, but for four days each April they return home to put on an eye-catching show. Award winning choreographers and dancers assemble in downtown LA at the Brewery Arts Complex to stage contemporary performances showing off the diversity and elegance of dance as an art form, while the festival programme also offers dance classes for guests of all abilities. (Photo: Denise Leitner)

It has been said that Californians are relaxed about everything except wine, which they treat with the upmost seriousness. If there’s one exception to this rule, then it’s at the LA Wine Fest, a two-day celebration of fine wine, as well as artisan beer and gourmet food. More than 5,000 revellers descend on the historic Raleigh Studios in Hollywood for the annual event, which offers guests the chance to get up close and personal with a diverse range of artisan boutiques and wine-related accessories. Wine lovers also have the opportunity to taste exclusive small-batch pours from boutique wineries for an additional fee, while this year will also see the festival’s private area expanded to include a total of 25 wineries. (Photo: LA Wine Fest)

Such has been the growth of the internet as a platform for creativity that it has even spurred the creation of its own ‘film’ festival. Geared towards digital series, the Hollyweb Festival is one of several such events that now take place across the world, allowing digital filmmakers, artists and actors to showcase their work. First held in 2012, Hollyweb is at the forefront of this trend, with screenings taking place in the Charlie Chaplin Theatre at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. Proceedings traditionally close with a lavish finale party at the fashionable Avalon Club in Hollywood, where an awards ceremony is held to honour the best online offerings shown at the festival. (Photo: Hollyweb Festival)

Set against the ocean and with no shortage of booze to liberate the senses, beach parties are one of those rare events that are loved by everyone. Less than an hour’s drive from Los Angeles, the seaside city of Newport Beach plays host to one of the region’s finest beach parties that also serves as a platform for southern California’s finest craft breweries. Guests are invited to sample over 150 craft beers, wines, and spirits, while live bands and DJ’s do their best to get the crowd on their feet. New additions to the 2016 Beerfest include a tasting village with over 20 food trucks offering a variety of cuisines, and an extended VIP area featuring 12 additional breweries and an exclusive DJ/dance floor. (Photo: Newport Beach Beerfest)

A monthly night time flea market, Odd Nights at the Autry will be taking place throughout Spring at the The Autry National Center in Griffith Park, serving as a platform for selected artisans, craftsman, designers and DIY experts to showcase their creations – including handcrafted jewellery, fashionable garb, home goods, antiques, collectibles and artwork – and share their secrets in front of a crowd of revellers. It’s been compared to a dance party-cum-shopping extravaganza, and that’s pretty much the square of it. Live local bands, 20 gourmet food trucks, beer gardens, cocktail lounges and a full bar help create a buzzing atmosphere, while Bouncy Zone Rides and kid’s face painting make it a family friendly affair. (Photo: The Odd Market)

When it comes to entertainment, Los Angeles is better known for its A-List stars than those on the periphery of things. One exception to this rule comes to town every June in the shape of Hollywood Fringe, an event that gives lesser known names a chance to showcase their talents. Its origins are rooted in Edinburgh, Scotland, where in 1947 some inventive types launched a ‘Fringe’ festival for performers not selected for the city’s official International Festival. The idea eventually spread across the world and the Los Angeles version, founded in 2010, has grown to become one of the biggest of them all. Hundreds of shows are put on across dozens of venues during two-and-a-half weeks that have been described – with only a dash of hyperbole – as “Hollywood’s longest party of the year”. (Photo: Kyle Brown)

The enduring popularity of the desert rock music genre has its roots in the ‘generator’ party craze that swept across low desert towns in California in the late 80s and early 90s. An amalgam of psychedelia, blues, alternative rock, heavy metal and hardcore punk, this golden era will be celebrated at a one-day concert at Pappy + Harriet’s Pioneertown Saloon in Yucca Valley this April. A total of five live bands will be belting out tunes from sunset into the early hours, offering a nostalgic trip down memory lane, as well as a contemporary glimpse into Californian rock culture, for a dedicated fan-base of music lovers. The festival will also feature a custom vintage van show and an all-night campout. (Photo: Adam Cohen)

Sport and the silver screen have a long and rich history and each year the All Sports La Film Festival celebrates their symbiotic relationship. Now into its seventh year, the festival goes far beyond merely honouring the classic sports movies we all know and love, and instead invites screenwriters and filmmakers to showcase works focussing on a diverse range of sports-themed topics. Indeed, so broad are the entry requirements that participants are able to include any subject matter that deals with “mental and physical competition for the sake of winning a prize”. A judging panel comprising film industry experts are on hand to offer their verdicts on screenings and dish out prizes. (Photo: All Sports LA Film Festival)

Another beer-fuelled festival, this year will see over 200 beers, food trucks, DJs and live music attract fans of the amber nectar to the LA Center Studio for the one-day festival. A popular feature of the event will also be returning – a duelling piano bar, an American craze that involves two grand pianos positioned end to end with two pianists taking requests to work together on jazzy harmonies. Additional entertainment this year will come courtesy of party band ’90s with Attitude’ and indie rockers ‘Black Crystal Wolf Kids’. Canine lovers will be pleased to know that proceeds from the festival will go to a charity committed to finding permanent homes for rescued pets. Cheers to that! (Photo: Christopher Briles Photography)