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The Spider Pavilion creeps back into town in September. Photo courtesy of The Natural History Museum
The Spider Pavilion creeps back into town in September. Photo courtesy of The Natural History Museum
8/28/22 - By Toby B

September kicks off with loads of long Labor Day weekend events and keeps it going with some early Halloween activities plus so many more things to do in Los Angeles with kids!

September starts with Labor Day weekend, marking the end of summer, last summer visits to the beach ... aaaand now it's Halloween. Okay, it's not quite that fast, but LA's favorite venues are kicking off the spooky, harvesty fall activities in Los Angeles this month, and we can't wait to visit favorites like Underwood Farms and Irvine Park Railroad. There is also a wagon load of incredible Fall Festivals coming to Los Angeles this September, including a host of Dino and Lobster celebrations and the Maritime Festival in Dana Point.

These are just a few of our favorite things to do in September—we're adding more events to the Los Angeles Family Activity Calendar every day. Keep reading for the very best things to do in Los Angeles this September, and don't forget to check back weekly for our picks for the best things to do in Los Angeles each weekend.

 

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Watch the tall ships come in, and then play with pirates and eat with mermaids! Photo courtesy of the Maritime Festival
Watch the tall ships come in, and then play with pirates and eat with mermaids! Photo courtesy of the Maritime Festival

Best Things To Do in LA with Kids in September 2022

Orange International Street Festival

Orange - Friday - Sunday, September 1 -3, 2023
Free
Head down to Old Town Orange to try out a wide range of international cuisines. The event promotes diversity with 15 ethnic streets to peruse and enjoy, allowing guests to get a taste of Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, Thailand, and more. READ MORE

Annual Malibu Chili Cook-Off

Malibu - Friday - Monday, September 1-4, 2023
The Malibu Chili Cook-Off, a much-loved Malibu Labor Day Weekend community tradition, returns for another year. If your family really loves chili (or you just like a night off from making dinner!), this fest is for you. READ MORE

San Fransokyo Square

Anaheim - opens August 31, 2023
Please state the nature of your (theme park) emergency... Disney California Adventure cures your ills with the addition of San Fransokyo Square. READ MORE

Long Beach Comic Con

Long Beach - September 2 - 3, 2023
Long Beach Comic Con returns, giving San Diego a run for its money with its very own Comic Con. Fans of comics, animation, and all forms of pop culture can enjoy educational and entertaining programs, a costume contest, guest signings, and meet & greet sessions with celebrities at this two day festival. READ MORE

Long Beach Greek Festival By the Sea

Long Beach - Saturday - Monday, September 2-4, 2023
The Long Beach Greek Festival and Cultural Event is a community celebration of Greek culture as the grounds of Assumption Church transform into a Grecian Village packed with activities for the whole family. READ MORE

Huntington Beach Civil War Days

Huntington Beach - Saturday & Sunday, September 2-3, 2023
Free
The Huntington Beach Historical Society commemorates the anniversary of the Civil War with a weekend-long living history re-enactment of the War Between the States. READ MORE

Americana in the Park Concert Series 2023

Santa Monica - September 3 - 24, 2023
Free
Santa Monica partners with McCabe’s Guitar Shop for another season of this concert series in Gandara Park. The Americana in the Park series explores the arc of Americana music from its roots in traditional African, Appalachian, roots, blues, bluegrass, and folk to the modern forms of folk and country music. READ MORE

Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party

Anaheim - Sept 5 - October 31, 2023
Trick-or-treating at Disneyland - what could be better? This year's spooooookiest Halloween celebration is a villainous bash at Disney California Adventure Park. READ MORE

A Goofy Movie at the El Capitan

Hollywood - September 1 - 7, 2023
A Goofy Movie is presented as a special engagement at the El Capitan READ MORE

Family Days@LA Plaza: Fiestas Patrias

DTLA - Sunday, September 10, 2023
Free
September 16 marks the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence. LA Plaza visitors can learn more about the day with activities for the entire family at this festival celebrating Mexican Independence. READ MORE

Maritime Festival (Formerly the Tall Ships Festival)

Dana Point - Friday - Sunday, September 9 - 11
The Ocean Institute on Dana Point hosts the annual Maritime Festival (you probably used to know it by the name Tall Ships Festival!). Kids can tour tall ships, experience a mermaid breakfast, meet pirates, hear sea chantey concerts (and other live music), take part in cannon battles at sea, and more. READ MORE

Original Lobster Festival

Fountain Valley - Friday - Sunday, September 8 - 10, 2023
Everyone’s favorite crustacean is celebrated this weekend at the Original Lobster Festival. A master chef steams up live Maine lobsters flown in daily for the event. READ MORE

Moompetam: Celebrating Coastal Native Americans

Long Beach - Saturday & Sunday, September 9 - 10, 2023
Aquarium of the Pacific hosts its 19th annual Moompetam Festival, celebrating the indigenous California maritime cultures, includingTongva, Chumash, Acjachemen, Costanoan, Luiseno, and Kumeyaay. READ MORE

24th Street Theatre’s Saturday Explorer Series

University Park - September 9 - 30, 2023
24th Street Theatre’s “Saturday Explorer Series” for young audiences  features professional storytellers who share tales from around the globe. READ MORE

The Sound of Music Sing-a-Long at the Bowl

Hollywood - Saturday, September 16, 2023
These are a few of my favorite things: raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, and the Sound of Music Sing-a-Long at the Hollywood Bowl. Where else do you get to work your inner Julie Andrews under the stars? READ MORE

Irvine Park Railroad Pumpkin Patch

Orange - September 16 - October 31, 2023
Irvine Park Railroad and the Pumpkin Patch once again open for the season with the Pumpkin Train, a moon bounce, hayrides, and haunted house.  Other daily fun includes panning for gold, carnival games, face painting, cookie decorating, and more.  READ MORE

Bob Baker’s Halloween Spooktacular

Highland Park - September 16 - November 5, 2023
A beloved Bob Baker tradition returns! The Bob Baker Marionettes presents Halloween Spooktacular, a family-friendly musical revue, set to haunting and jazzy holiday-themed tunes celebrating nearly every decade. READ MORE

Brick or Treat

Carlsbad - September 16 - October 29, 2023
Legoland offers a festive kid-centric Halloween celebration on select weekends this fall. The fun includes tons of candy, an all-new show lineup, never-before-seen exclusive Lego characters, and more. READ MORE

Coaster Campout

Buena Park - September 16, 2023
Families can camp out for a night at Knott’s Berry Farm. The Coaster Campout package includes parking, two-day admission for each camper to enjoy both Knott’s Berry Farm and Knott’s Soak City Waterpark on September 16 and 17, a camp spot for a tent*, parking for one vehicle, and a continental breakfast on September 17. Each campsite can accommodate up to 4 people. READ MORE

Spider Pavilion

Exposition Park - September 17 - November 26, 2023
The spiders return to The Natural History Museum, in the improved Spider Pavilion that debuted a few years ago. Guests have the rare opportunity to immerse themselves in the spiders’ habitat and witness the day-to-day lives of these often misunderstood, but uniquely talented creatures. READ MORE

Tiny Tot Olympics

Malibu - Sunday, September 17, 2023
Free
It's never too early to go for the gold! Kids as young as two can participate in this fun-filled event. Opening ceremonies are followed by the running of the torch and a group stretch. Little athletes can then participate in a variety of athletic events. READ MORE

Dino Fest

Exposition Park - Sunday, September 24, 2023
Who ya callin' extinct? Dino Fest comes roaring back to the Natural History Museum. The Natural History Museum hosts a festival celebrating dinosaurs, their prehistoric past, and the science that brings their world back to life.  READ MORE

Sea Otter Awareness Week

San Pedro - September 24 - 30, 2023
Free
During Sea Otter Awareness Week, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium offers visitors a chance to get an inside look at this amazing marine mammal.   READ MORE

Zoo Train Days at the Santa Barbara Zoo

Santa Barbara - September 23 -24, 2023
The Santa Barbara Zoo celebrates the Zoo Train all weekend long. Model trains are on view in the Zoo’s Discovery Pavilion. Rides on the Zoo’s C.P. Huntington Train are available for an additional fee.   READ MORE

Baja Splash Cultural Festival

Long Beach -Saturday & Sunday, September 23 -24, 2023
The Aquarium  of the Pacific celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with the 21st  Annual Baja Splash Festival. Where else can you see ancient Aztec dance performed in the shadow of a shark tank? READ MORE

Coastal Cleanup Day

Multiple Locations - September 23, 2023
Coastal Cleanup Day organizes in-person group cleanups at more than 35 coastal, inland, and river sites. Volunteers pitch in at a variety of clean-up sites, removing the plastic bags, cigarette butts, and soda cans that sully our shores. READ MORE

Abbot Kinney Festival

Venice - September 24, 2023
Vendors line both sides of Abbot Kinney at the annual Abbot Kinney Festival - many with a decidedly green edge (this is Venice, after all).  An eclectic range of musicians is scheduled to perform on multiple stages along the 3/4 mile stretch, and food trucks aplenty satisfy every gastronomical whim. READ MORE

Knott's Spooky Farm

Buena Park - Saturday - Monday, September 28 - October 31, 2023
Knott's Berry Farm invites kids to a non-scare Halloween celebration that's about cheer, not fear. Kids can dress in all their Halloween finery to go trick-or-treating around the town of Calico’s shops and buildings. READ MORE

Boney Island

Exposition Park - September 28 - October 31, 2023
Boney Island is back this Halloween season! One of the LA area's most popular family-friendly haunts for decades, the former lawn haunt from Sherman Oaks has joined forces with the Natural History Museum to stage a spookily exciting comeback. READ MORE

Pacific Airshow

Huntington Beach - Friday - Sunday, September 29- October 1, 2023
Free
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane ... it's a Thunderbird! The annual show flies into Huntington Beach. Featured flyers include the US Air Force Thunderbirds, Canadian Forces Snowbirds, and F-22 Raptor Demonstration team, with more to be announced. READ MORE

Autry 35th Anniversary Celebration

Griffith Park - September 30, 2023
Git along little dogies - to the Autry's 35th anniversary celebration! The full day of fun offers activities for families and kids of all ages, including food trucks, live music, carnival games, Native Voices Performances, a special PBS character meet and greet inside the museum, and more. READ MORE

26th Annual Fall Harvest Festival

Moorpark - September 30 - October 31, 2023
Underwood Family Farms' annual Fall Harvest Festival features pig races, animal shows, a corn maze and gourd tunnel, a combine slide, tractor rides, Farmer Craig’s Chicken Show, hay pyramids, and animals to feed, as well as a gigantic pumpkin patch. READ MORE

The Port of Hueneme Banana Festival

Port Hueneme - September 30, 2023
Free
The Port of Hueneme Banana Festival is back and going bananas at the annual Port of Hueneme Banana Festival. Guests can enjoy a variety of delicious foods, including banana empanadas, banana splits, banana funnel cakes, banana lumpia, banana cream pie melts, banana Italian ice, banana popcorn, banana cupcakes and chocolate covered bananas. Both parking and admission are free. READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Disney California Adventure Park
Long Beach Convention Center
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Boney Island at the Natural History Museum