Toby B

Toby is our uber-busy events editor for Mommy Poppins LA. Feel free to email Toby about events for our LA area calendar.

Latest posts by Toby

Labor Day Weekend 2025 in Los Angeles: Festivals, Blippi, and More Things to Do with Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Wed, 08/27/2025 - 9:29am

End the summer with gelato. Photo courtesy Gelato Festival World Masters

Looking for things to do this Labor Day Weekend 2025? Add these fun things to your list of what to do with kids in Los Angeles this Labor Day weekend.

Labor Day weekend marks the end of a jam-packed Los Angeles summer. This weekend brings some summer favorites to a close, such as the 2025 Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, the OC Parks Sunset Cinema Movie Series, and the Rescue Exhibition at Discovery Cube LA. Crank up the volume on Labor Day weekend with festivals like the Gelato Festival World Masters, the Long Beach Greek Festival, and the Orange International Street Festival.

There's still time for summer fun, so head to the best beaches in Los Angeles over the long Labor Day weekend or take a family road trip from Los Angeles. Make those end-of-summer memories with ideas from our Ultimate Los Angeles Kids Summer Vacation Guide.

21 Best Things to Do in Los Angeles August 2025 with Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Sun, 07/27/2025 - 9:15am

Enjoy free music at Getty Garden Concerts for Kids. Photo courtesy of the event.

Summer is not over yet, and there are so many things to do in a Los Angeles August! It's a great time to enjoy outdoor movies & concerts, summer festivals, and the best beach days.

A Los Angeles August is that crazy time of year when the height of heat and summer fun collides with back-to-school, and parents need to turn the dial up on the end-of-summer fun. Luckily, the events and outings in Los Angeles this month do not disappoint, and there are loads of amazing activities to do before the school bell rings, and many of them are free.

Monster trucks zoom into August at Monster Jam at Crypto.com Arena and the Hot Wheels Trucks Live Glow Party. Culver City's annual Fiesta La Ballona returns for some end-of-summer fun. And it's no trick: this year's August celebrations include Halloween, as both Midsummer Scream and Disney's Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party get the spooky season off to an early start.

These are just a few of our favorite things to do in August—there's so much more! When the heat is too much to grin and bear, we've got Places to Beat the Heat in LA. When your credit card says to take it easy, we've got Free Things To Do In Los Angeles This Summer with Kids. And don't forget to check back weekly for our picks for the best things to do in Los Angeles each weekend.

25 Things To Do in Los Angeles Before School Starts

Submitted by Toby B on Sun, 07/20/2025 - 8:39am

Kidspace is packed with summer essentials. Kidspace Campout photo by Jamie Pham.

Quick: It’s time to shoehorn all these last favorite things to do in Los Angeles before school starts up!

Is it me, or did this summer go by extra fast? I feel like we didn’t get to do half of our usual summer traditions, and now school is about to start. Hopefully, you at least got in a few day trips, visited a few beach towns, and got to go swimming in a lake or two.

But perhaps you haven’t made it on as many outings this summer? Well, there's still time to check out some really cool museum exhibits (like Discovery Cube LA's Rescue Exhibition) and shows for kids (such as Roswell That Ends Well, The Actor’s Gang out there take on Shakespeare) that truly should not be missed—they won’t be here when the next school vacation rolls around and are easy to squeeze in between your Target run for notebooks, and last-minute doctor’s appointments...

Check out more end-of-summer fun in our Summer Activities Guide for Los Angeles Kids. And if school is starting soon for your family, our Back-to-School Guide has pretty much everything you need.

4th of July Weekend in Los Angeles: Fireworks, Parades, and More Things To Do With Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Wed, 07/02/2025 - 10:12am

The Pacific Park Ferris Wheel, photo by alexc43, courtesy of the Santa Monica Boardwalk.

4th of July weekend in Los Angeles is alight with fireworks, fun runs, parades, and more family-friendly events to add to your list for this weekend.

4th of July festivities will be everywhere this week in Los Angeles! Take in the red, white, and boom of fireworks over water, sporting arenas, and theme parks. Watch 4th of July parades marching by, go to carnivals, and more. The LA Convention Center gets animated with Anime Expo, and Pageant of the Masters turns its players into living works of art. The makings are here for a spectacular red, white, and blue weekend.

For a complete list of all the dazzling 4th of July fireworks in Los Angeles, check out where to see 4th of July fireworks in Los Angeles and the best 4th of July activities that aren't fireworks if you choose to have a more low-key celebration. We wish you a Happy Independence Day, LA!

Please note, several local Independence Day events have been canceled or postponed, among them the annual celebration in Gloria Molina Grand Park.

Best Things to Do in Los Angeles July 2025 with Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Sun, 06/29/2025 - 7:25am

Burst into fun at Bubble Bash. Event photo courtesy of Long Beach Towne Center.

Bring on all the things to do in Los Angeles in July with kids. Kicking off with 4th of July fireworks galore, this month never slows down, so you can enjoy every minute of summer fun.

July will be dynamite! Things to do in Los Angeles are aplenty this month, starting with all the 4th of July events in Los Angeles Independence Day fireworks in LA that'll light up the sky. And this is only the beginning, as summer favorites such as Echo Park's Lotus Festival, the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival, and the Orange County Fair return. Kids and teens can immerse themselves in their favorite fandoms at Anime Expo and the road-trip-worthy San Diego Comic-Con. New this summer, NexGen members can get a sneak peek of the David Geffen Galleries at LACMA or prowl around NHM's purr-fect new exhibit Fierce! The Story of Cats.

These are just a few of our favorite things to do in July, but there's so much more! As the month heats up, the best splash pads in Los Angeles will help cool the kiddos down. Enjoy free concerts and outdoor movies, and soak in summer with our Ultimate Los Angeles Kids Summer Vacation Guide.

Father's Day Weekend 2025 Things To Do in Los Angeles: Plus, Honoring Juneteenth and More

Submitted by Toby B on Wed, 06/11/2025 - 7:36am

Paddle into Father's Day with the Cardboard Yacht Regatta. Photo courtesy of santamonica.gov

Looking for the best Father's Day weekend activities in Los Angeles? Here are some events to add to your list for this weekend in June.

Father's Day weekend is upon us, and there are so many ways to celebrate in Los Angeles. Let the father figure in your life choose how to spend their day from sunup to sundown: watch a Dodgers game and get a new hat, indulge in pop-up mini golf in El Segundo, check out the cars at the Rodeo Drive Concours d’Elegance, or even attend a yachting regatta—of the cardboard variety. For music lovers, numerous outdoor summer concert series begin this weekend.

Keep the mood silly with a few dad jokes, and forward these parenting tips for soon-to-be fathers. Sit back, enjoy time with Dad, and splash into summer fun with our Ultimate Los Angeles Kids Summer Vacation Guide.

Los Angeles's Free Concerts and Outdoor Music Festivals for Families Summer 2025

Submitted by Toby B on Sun, 06/08/2025 - 12:53pm

Saturdays Off the 405 at the Getty Center. Photo by Cassia Davis. © 2022 J. Paul Getty Trust

Free concerts throughout Los Angeles in the summertime, where parents can pack up both a picnic and restless tots and spend an evening under the stars, is beautiful music to our ears.

They say music soothes the savage beast, but it's also pretty good at entertaining the easily bored child. Lucky for us, free outdoor concert series fill Los Angeles and OC parks and open spaces all summer long. So the odds are you won't have to travel far to find an open-air event. Throw down a blanket, spread out the snacks, uncork the wine, and watch the kids boogie the evening away as you sway to breezy melodies.

Looking for more entertainment in the great outdoors? Our roundup of the best free outdoor movies in Los Angeles this summer will help you find your favorite films, and there's plenty more summer fun in our Ultimate Los Angeles Kids Summer Vacation Guide.

21 Best Things To Do in Los Angeles With Kids June 2025

Submitted by Toby B on Fri, 05/30/2025 - 8:56am

Surf into June. Photo credit: The Santa Monica Pier Corporation

Get ready for Los Angeles June summer activities! A Los Angeles June brings festivals for Pride, Juneteenth, Father's Day, and maybe even some early fireworks.

When deciding what to do with kids in and around Los Angeles in June, be sure to put epic Pride celebrations like the 2025 LA Pride Parade on your list. Other exciting family events include preschool favorite Blippi in the Blippi Join the Band Tour in both Long Beach and Thousand Oaks, and Dad gets his day mid-month—may we suggest a a day among the cars at the Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive Concours d’Elegance.

You can always find more great happenings this June on our event calendar. Check out summer festivals and fairs in Los Angeles for families, and explore our Summer Fun Guide for Los Angeles Families. Subscribe to our newsletters to get event picks by week, month, and more delivered directly to your inbox.

Toby B

Latest posts by Toby

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