What's your go-to site for events happening locally in the weeks and months ahead?

February 11, 2008 1:47 PM

What's the best web site out there for local events going on in your area? New examples of these types of sites pop up every day, so it's hard to keep track of the best of the best, but what are some of MeFi users' favorite sites to take a look at upcoming events of all kinds, including concerts, art exhibitions, festivals, arthouse/revival film showings, etc?

I live in Los Angeles, and a cousin of mine recently called me to say, instead of their usual family vacation spot, they would be visiting Southern California for the first time. She was wondering if I could suggest some "things to do" in So Cal during a specific time period (mid-to-late March). Of course, I know the usual things -- Disneyland, places to go shopping, the right beaches -- but I was curiously dumbfounded that, given all I use the web for, I had no "go to" site when it came to what was going on in the coming months in my neck of the woods. LAWeekly.com's calendar seems intent on making you come back again and again, parsing out info on a weekly basis -- I'm thinking of something like yelp.com that may be a combo of professional information as well as user-submitted "things to do/reviews of whether they're worth doing." And searching Google for "things to do in [your area]" seems to only give you paid-linked pages of little worth.

posted by mrkinla to sports, hobbies, & recreation (14 comments total)

Actually, Yelp does have events.
posted by vacapinta at 1:58 PM on February 11, 2008

I use upcoming.org in the bay area. Different sites may have better or worse traction in different geographical areas.
posted by aubilenon at 2:00 PM on February 11, 2008

upcoming.org is great, between that and a few email newsletters like flavorpill, i find out about most everything i want to see if they haven't already popped up on blogs i read.
posted by lia at 2:01 PM on February 11, 2008

I'm a fan of Upcoming though I can't say how useful it is in Los Angeles. Judging by the count of events (680), it's at least as popular as San Francisco (597). Upcoming is mostly tech/geek and music events so I'm not sure if that would be so interesting for out-of-towners.

In general, I suggest trying to avoid events that fall exactly in your visitor's schedules. It's stressful trying to make them work out and in most cases, you and your guests will get frustrated dealing with tickets, parking, etc. for special events. Instead seek out interesting places that don't come up in tours to visit. It's been some time since I've spent time in LA proper but a half day in Olvera Street could be interesting if they don't have much exposure to Mexican food and culture.
posted by junesix at 2:03 PM on February 11, 2008

When I moved to Cincinnati, I found myself in the same pickle. The local newspaper is about as useful as my grandparents for finding culture in the city. Eventually, I found a solution in City Beat. I usually read the free weekly print edition found at any trendy place in the 'Nati but the website is also useful. A google search reveals that you have a identically named publication there in Los Angeles. There also seems to be one in San Diego as well. I'm not sure if these are the same as the publication in Cincy, but it might be worth looking into.
posted by PlannerCarl at 2:07 PM on February 11, 2008

I really like LAist for local SoCal news and events, including lots of off-the-beaten-path ideas.
posted by platinum at 2:53 PM on February 11, 2008

I use my local public radio site a lot, they have the best calendar for classes and cultural events. KCET seems to have something similar in your area.
posted by saffry at 4:00 PM on February 11, 2008

Seconding the "-ist" sites. I use Austinist quite frequently.
posted by Espoo2 at 4:05 PM on February 11, 2008

i like the squidlist in the bay area
posted by flaneuse at 4:23 PM on February 11, 2008

also, a guide to free booze in ny, la, sf, and chicago can be found at myopenbar.com
posted by flaneuse at 4:27 PM on February 11, 2008

I'm probably destroying what little credibility I have here, but I use Metromix in Chicago. Actually I find it quite cumbersome (however, I am not young, hip, web savvy or particular active socially). Also the Chicago Reader (more user friendly, but not as comprehensive)
posted by nax at 4:46 PM on February 11, 2008

I'm confused. Do you want sites in general or just ones for California? The more inside of your question seems at odds with the overly general question on the front page but I don't see a specific question narrowing it down to location. Maybe that's your problem in the first place? Most of these websites are localised to some extent so you want one for your area (or at least your country).

I ask because I recently found an awesome site listing gigs for my area, and can tell you exactly why it works and why I like it so much. It would answer your more general question very well. But New Zealand is a long way from where you're going on holiday and I don't think it's going to be a useful answer?
posted by shelleycat at 8:31 PM on February 11, 2008

Seconding LAist and Flavorpill (Along with the related Artkrush and Earplug).
+LA Underground
+ExperienceLA
+CalendarLive (You can view by catgeory)

Some cool ideas suggested in this thread.
posted by s01110011 at 10:53 AM on February 12, 2008

I forgot about Thrillist(multi-city) and Losanjealous.
posted by s01110011 at 4:06 PM on February 12, 2008