Los Angeles has thousands of things happening every weekend.

We’re not interested in listing them all.

The 10% is Wine Stop’s weekly look at the handful that seem genuinely worth your time: food, wine, music, art, culture, markets, neighborhood festivals, and the occasional thing we can’t quite categorize.

Five picks. One splurge. One Worth the Drive.

This weekend is warm and dry, with Friday the hottest day and temperatures easing somewhat through Sunday. Santa Ana conditions also increase the fire-weather risk, so outdoor plans deserve a quick weather check before leaving. FOX Weather

1. Stones Throw Records: 30 Years of Independent Music

Friday–Sunday, October 16–18
Highland Park | $75 single day / $150 weekend

Thirty years ago, Peanut Butter Wolf founded Stones Throw Records in Los Angeles.

Since then, the label has built one of independent music’s most distinctive catalogs, moving between hip-hop, funk, soul, jazz, electronic music, psychedelia, and sounds that don’t fit particularly neatly anywhere else.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Stones Throw is bringing more than 30 artists together for a three-day outdoor festival in Highland Park.

Friday includes Automatic, Los Retros, N8NOFACE, Angela Muñoz, and special guest Sudan Archives.

Saturday brings Peanut Butter Wolf, Dâm-FunK, J Rocc, Tuxedo, and others.

Sunday includes Mild High Club, John Carroll Kirby, Egyptian Lover, Jerry Paper, and more. Stones Throw Records

Why it made The 10%: This isn’t simply another concert. It’s three decades of an independent musical point of view being celebrated in the neighborhood where the label has long operated.

Good to know: Friday begins at 6 PM; Saturday and Sunday start earlier. It’s outdoors, so the heat and Santa Ana conditions are worth considering. Buy ahead.

2. Smorgasburg Celebrates Diwali

Sunday, October 18 | 10 AM–4 PM
ROW DTLA | FREE admission

Smorgasburg is already one of Los Angeles’ better places to discover independent food businesses.

This Sunday gives us another reason to include it: Diwali.

The market will feature a special celebration of the Festival of Lights alongside its regular collection of food vendors, independent makers, and small businesses. Smorgasburg

Why it made The 10%: Food remains one of the best ways to discover another culture, and Smorgasburg works particularly well when it gives us something beyond its normal Sunday market.

Good to know: Entry is free; food and drinks are purchased individually. Go closer to opening before the warmest part of the afternoon.

3. System of a Down: 25 Years of Toxicity

Through Sunday, October 18
Beyond the Streets, 434 N. La Brea Ave. | FREE

In September 2001, System of a Down released Toxicity.

Twenty-five years later, Beyond the Streets is marking the anniversary with a six-day exhibition devoted to the album and the world surrounding it.

The show includes rare artifacts, memorabilia, ephemera, immersive installations, imagery, and material from the Toxicity era. Admission is free, and no ticket is required. BEYOND THE STREETS

Why it made The 10%: This is music history presented through objects rather than nostalgia alone—and a reminder of the enormous contribution LA’s Armenian-American community has made to the city’s culture.

Good to know: This is the final weekend. It’s also an excellent indoor option if Friday’s heat makes wandering outdoors less appealing.

4. Of This Marvellous Void: Art You Can Eat

Sunday, October 18 | 4–7 PM
Fluffy McCloud’s, Echo Park | FREE admission

This may be our favorite oddball discovery of the weekend.

Six contemporary artists have been invited to create artworks in an unusual medium:

Ice cream.

Inspired by Yves Klein’s 1958 exhibition The Void, each participating artist has developed an original ice cream flavor produced in a small batch with organic ingredients.

The artwork begins when the ice cream is served.

It ends when you eat it.

As each flavor disappears, the exhibition itself gradually disappears with it. Culture Slop

Why it made The 10%: Because someone decided contemporary art should be eaten.

That is enough for us.

Good to know: The opening reception runs from 4–7 PM, followed by an after-party at El Prado. Admission is free; expect to pay for the ice cream. Go early because the limited flavors can disappear permanently. Artwrld

5. Movies Under the Microscope: Explorers

Friday, October 16 | 7:30 PM
Natural History Museum | $25 / $20 members

Hollywood science meets actual science.

The Natural History Museum’s Movies Under the Microscope series takes classic science-fiction films and invites scientists and pop-culture experts to discuss what the filmmakers got right, wrong, or wonderfully ridiculous.

Friday’s movie is Joe Dante’s 1985 cult favorite Explorers, about three kids who build a homemade spaceship.

The evening includes a pre-screening reception and a discussion featuring physicist Clifford Johnson, among other guests. Natural History Museum.

Why it made The 10%: It turns watching an old movie into something considerably more interesting: film, science, nostalgia, and conversation in one evening.

Good to know: Doors open at 6 PM. Parking is included with the ticket.

The Splurge

Pinot Taste Off: Pizza Edition

Saturday, October 17 | 3 PM
LearnAboutWine Loft, Arts District | $125 advance

This is almost suspiciously well suited to Wine Stop readers.

Taste 18 Pinot Noirs side by side while comparing them with two very different pizza styles: New York-style thin crust from Danny Boy’s and Chicago-style deep dish from Masa.

You choose meat or mushroom, get at least two slices, and work through the wines in a comparative tasting rather than simply drinking one bottle in isolation. Learn About Wine

Why it’s the Splurge: Comparative tasting is one of the best ways to actually learn wine. Put several Pinots next to one another and differences that can seem abstract suddenly become obvious.

Adding pizza doesn’t hurt.

Good to know: Advance tickets are currently $125, with the organizer listing a substantially higher day-of price. If this sounds interesting, book early. Learn About Wine

Worth the Drive

Carmen at the Beach

Saturday, October 17 | 6 PM
Santa Monica Pier | FREE

LA Opera opens its season downtown with a new production of Bizet’s Carmen.

At the same time, that performance will be transmitted live in high definition to a giant screen at the Santa Monica Pier.

So you can watch one of opera’s most famous works under the stars beside the Pacific Ocean—for free. LA Opera

Why it’s Worth the Drive: A live performance from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, transmitted to the beach, with the Habanera and Toreador Song floating across Santa Monica Pier.

That is a very LA way to experience opera.

Good to know: Pre-show activities begin at 4 PM; the broadcast starts at 6 PM. Bring a blanket or low chair and something warm for later in the evening.

Already Sold Out — Put It on Next Year’s Radar

LA Loves Alex’s Lemonade

Saturday, October 17 | UCLA

This is precisely why we’re beginning to pay more attention to events that require planning.

LA Loves Alex’s Lemonade brings together some of the country’s leading chefs, winemakers, brewers, and mixologists for one of Los Angeles’ major annual culinary charity events supporting childhood cancer research.

By the time this week’s The 10% went together, tickets were already gone.

So don’t head to UCLA hoping to buy one.

Instead, remember the name.

This is exactly the sort of event we’ll begin flagging much earlier in our future Book Early recommendations.

If We Were Choosing Three…

Friday: Explorers at the Natural History Museum.

Saturday: Stones Throw’s 30th-anniversary celebration.

Sunday: Smorgasburg’s Diwali celebration followed by Of This Marvellous Void in Echo Park.

That Sunday combination may be the winner: discover some food in the Arts District, then go to Echo Park and eat contemporary art.

Only in LA.

Did you enjoy reading The 10%? If you attended one of our weekend picks, leave a short review in the comments—or just say hello. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks for reading!