Things to Do for Kids in Los Angeles in September 2026
Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow-N-Fire Ontario
Ontario
Saturday & Sunday, September 5 - 6, 2026
Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live returns with a new theme in 2026: Glow-N-Fire, adding a fiery theme to the monster truck competition. Fans of all ages can watch the iconic Hot Wheels monster truck toys — including Mega Wrex, Tiger Shark, HW 5-Alarm, Bone Shaker, and more — come to life in a full-size, kid-focused, immersive Hot Wheels experience. Making its live debut this season: all-new Rhinomite! Website
Bob Baker’s Hallowe'en Spooktacular
Highland Park
Starts Saturday, September 5, 2026
A beloved Bob Baker tradition returns! The Bob Baker Marionettes presents Hallowe'en Spooktacular, a family-friendly musical revue, set to haunting and jazzy holiday-themed tunes celebrating nearly every decade. Website
Long Beach Comic Con
DTLA
Saturday & Sunday, September 5 - 6, 2026
Fans can immerse themselves in the worlds of comics, graphic novels, science fiction, fantasy, video games, anime, and all things nerd culture. This two-day festival celebrates the power of storytelling and the imagination that drives it. Highlights typically include panel discussions, a cosplay contest, the Geekfest screening room, and meet-and-greet sessions with celebrities and creators. Website
Original Lobster Festival
Fountain Valley
Friday - Sunday, September 11 - 13, 2026
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. Website
Ocean Institute Maritime Festival
Dana Point
Friday - Sunday, September 11 - 13, 2026
Dana Point hosts the 42nd annual Maritime Festival! Kids can tour tall ships, experience a mermaid breakfast, meet pirates, learn about marine life, pan for gold, enjoy carnival games and bounce houses, take part in cannon battles at sea, and more. Website
Irvine Park Railroad Pumpkin Patch
Orange
Starts Saturday, September 12, 2026
Irvine Park Railroad and the Pumpkin Patch once again open for the season with the Pumpkin Train, a moon bounce, hayrides, and a haunted house. Other daily fun includes panning for gold, carnival games, John Deere races, face painting, cookie decorating, and more. This year, reservations are required on weekends in October. $20 per person includes a train ride and entrance into the Pumpkin Patch. Website
Dog Man - The Musical
Culver City
Starts Saturday, September 12, 2026
He has the head of a dog and the body of a policeman; he loves to fight crime and chew on the furniture. The Kirk Douglas Theatre presents Dog Man: The Musical, a live musical production based on Dav Pilkey’s irreverently hilarious book series. Website
Asian Mid-Autumn Moon Festival at the Bowers Museum
Santa Ana - FREE
Sunday, September 13, 2026
The Bowers celebrates the season with its annual Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. The day includes live performances of traditional music and dance, art projects, free face painting, and more. Website
Heartbeat of Mexico
Orange - FREE
Sunday, September 13, 2026
Musco Center’s Heartbeat of Mexico is a free family festival filled with performances and activities celebrating Mexican and Mexican-American culture and arts. The annual event features live performances of music and dance on two stages, community organizations, live painting, and a chalk art contest, as well as a beer garden and crafts. Website
Family Days@LA Plaza: Fiestas Patrias
DTLA - FREE
Sunday, September 13, 2026
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. Website
Americana in the Park Concert Festival 2026
Santa Monica - FREE
Sunday, September 13, 2026
Santa Monica partners with McCabe’s Guitar Shop for another edition of Americana in the Park. This year the music series is once again presented as a single day festival. Website
East LA Mexican Independence Day Parade & Festival
East LA - FREE
Sunday, September 13, 2026
The East LA Mexican Independence Day Parade is the oldest and largest Hispanic parade in the country. The family-oriented event offers the opportunity to learn about many Mexican states' cultures, enjoy traditional food, listen to cultural music, appreciate beautiful traditional dances, and interact with many fun exhibitors. Website
Exhibit: California Visionaries: The Lives and Legacies of Walt Disney and Hubert Eaton
Glendale - FREE
Starts Saturday, September 19, 2026
The latest exhibit at the Forest Lawn Museum looks at two "California visionaries": Hubert Eaton, the founder of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks, and Walt Disney (he also created a famous park or two). The exhibit looks at the friendship and working relationship between the two, and the parallels in their legacies and creations. Website
Coastal Cleanup Day 2026
Numerous Locations - FREE
Saturday, September 19, 2026
Coastal Cleanup Day organizes in-person group cleanups at coastal, inland*, and river sites throughout L.A. County. Volunteers pitch in at a variety of clean-up sites, removing the plastic bags, cigarette butts, and soda cans that sully our shores and waterways. Website
Westchester Arts & Music Block Party
Westchester - FREE
Saturday, September 19, 2026
This free, day-long, family-friendly celebration features live music and dance performances, vendors and community booths, kids' activities, garden tours, and food trucks – plus a beer and wine garden. Website
New Date: Bob Baker Day
Chinatown
Sunday, September 20, 2026
April's rain is September's gain: in 2026, Bob Baker Day is being held in September! The Annual Bob Baker Day celebrates the life and legacy of LA's iconic puppeteer. Puppetry fans gather in Los Angeles State Historic Park for an afternoon of performance stages, roaming puppets, giant puppets, a dog costume contest, arts, people who love puppets, and fun! Website
Spider Pavilion
Exposition Park
Starts Sunday, September 20, 2026
The spiders return to their favorite haunt: The Spider Pavilion at the Natural History Museum. 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. Website
2026 Orange County Children's Book Festival
Costa Mesa - FREE
Sunday, September 20, 2026
Read all about it: the Orange County Children's Book Festival unites children's books authors, illustrators and readers. Website
Opening Week: The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Exposition Park
Opens Tuesday, September 22, 2026
What a story! The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens on September 22. The new museum presents inspiring art pieces from throughout the ages, each with its own story to tell. Featured galleries explore the worlds revealed in Comics, Children's Stories, Fantasy, History, Community and more. Website
The Sound of Music Sing-a-Long at the Bowl
Hollywood Hills
Saturday, September 26, 2026
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 release your inner Julie Andrews under the stars? Website
Autry Museum Annual Block Party
Griffith Park
Saturday, September 26, 2026
The Autry celebrates its anniversary, and this year's event is a Love Letter to LA, celebrating our town and everything that makes it unique. The festivities include a carnival on the lawn with family-friendly activities such as bounce houses, a mechanical bull, a Ferris Wheel, and a mini train. For this day only, ticket prices are the same as the day the Autry Museum opened in 1988! Website
29th Annual Fall Harvest Festival at Underwood Farms
Moorpark
Starts Saturday, September 26, 2026
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. Website
The Port of Hueneme Banana Festival
Port Hueneme - FREE
Saturday, September 26, 2026
The Port of Hueneme Banana Festival returns for another year, celebrating the diverse working port. Guests can go bananas for a wide variety of delicious foods, which may include 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. Website
Baja Splash Cultural Festival
Long Beach
Saturday & Sunday, September 26 - 27, 2026
The Aquarium of the Pacific celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with the 25th Annual Baja Splash Festival. Where else can you see ancient Aztec dance performed in the shadow of a shark tank? Website
Pasadena Chalk Festival
Pasadena - FREE
Saturday & Sunday, September 26 - 27, 2026
Billed as the world's largest street painting festival, the 33rd Annual Pasadena Chalk Festival features hundreds of artists and their chalk creations. The 2026 event is being held in late September in Brookside Park, next to Kidspace Museum, and near the Rose Bowl. Website