You See LA: March 2025
Five Things To Do in L.A., Handpicked by UCLA’s Jessica Wolf
The arts are an essential part of UCLA. They inspire dialogue, encourage creativity, and drive real lasting change, across disciplines, borders, and backgrounds. They also create opportunities for increased engagement with our surrounding communities.
Jessica Wolf, UCLA’s director of arts communications and marketing, has curated a diverse selection of things to do in Los Angeles.
There is one special place in Los Angeles that has fully wormed its way to into my heart and soul and that place is simply this—wherever my friends are. I’m one of those fortunate transplants who found their way to this weird and wonderful city and over the course of 20 years also found several weird and wonderful collections of magnificently supportive and creative friends. I’ve traversed every corner of the city largely in the context of these relationships, more concerts, live performances, comedy shows, and trips to the fabric district than I can number. Book club nights, game nights, fine dining, coffee chats, and all-night happenings that rolled on through sunrise. Hikes and brunch and beach volleyball and yoga. AirBnB photo booths and transformative festivals. Craft beer tastings, and marathon crafting sessions—including that year we turned ourselves into a flock of birds and capered along the Venice Beach shoreline. All these things and more are part of my life in the City of Angels because I found all of them, and more about myself and what matters most to me, while in this city. These are just a few of the places that bring me joy in Los Angeles.
I’ve been through several eras with this iconic venue. I have seen countless performances here, artists from all over the world, and virtually every music genre. I’ve frequented the Bowl with multiple different groups of friends and family. I’ve waved a lightsaber, danced in the aisles, picnicked on the grounds, spilled wine on myself and others—and I’ve absolutely anthropomorphized that stage. On any given night we are spending time together, she becomes a living, breathing, cycloptic creature of magic to me. We just get each other. I like how she gets all dressed up a bit differently depending on the show. “I was there” for LCD Soundsystem’s epic headlining night on Oct. 15, 2010. My friends took up the whole front row of our section. Behind us was another group of cool music lovers with whom we danced the night away. Those two cohorts immediately morphed into the biggest group of friends the world has ever seen, dancing and laughing forever. It’s great, right? (M83’s 2013 set is one of my favorite Bowl experiences). In 2018, when LCD returned to headline the Bowl once more, one of those original seat neighbors proposed to me in front of several dozen friends, representing an ever-expanding and deep-rooted network we call “The Hisskies.” My husband and I have now been married for five years, but the Bowl and I have been in a relationship since I first moved to L.A. in 2004.
10 Speed Coffee
Multiple locations
I’m not ashamed to admit I am a coffee junkie. I get very excited whenever I see a new coffee shop open in my neighborhood, or see a cute coffee shop literally anywhere. I’m also a (Rad Power) ebike commuter. If I’m traveling less than five miles in any direction, I am on my bike so the theme of this coffee shop speaks to me, and there are two locations within that radius. Even better, both of these carry vegan savory breakfast options on the regular, which is not always easy to find. I’m not a sugar for breakfast kind of person…I like looking at donuts more than eating them. Having a vegan breakfast sandwich or vegan breakfast burrito option on the menu with some truly great coffee really makes me happy.
The Sawtelle location is very dog friendly (they've turned one wall into an artistic display of dog customer polaroids) and allows me to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes, introducing myself to all the neighborhood pups. Sometimes I even remember to say hello to the humans on the other end of the leash.
Buffalo Exchange
Multiple locations
I love clothes. I love shopping for them, owning too many of them, making them, giving them away, mixing prints in unexpected ways, appreciating the impeccable stitching of a vintage jumpsuit as old as I am (and taking it home after getting the thumbs up from the friends in my fashion text thread). But I also know just how much the textile and fashion industries contribute to the climate crisis. Over the last several years, I’ve been on a majority-thrift/vintage clothing diet to satisfy my appetite. And this year, I’m part of a four-way thrifting-only pact with my sisters and niece. Also, I grew up in a family that struggled financially. We had the basics but very little luxury. I didn’t always have a lot of outfits to choose from as a kid. Thrifting became a way to feel like thriving. I sort of live by the philosophy of designer Iris Apfel: “Fashion can be bought, style you can possess.” Since most quality “fashion” has been mostly out of reach for my whole life of learning what style is to me, Buffalo Exchange has been a staple for more than three decades. I frequented the location near Arizona State University as often as possible during my college years. My L.A. thrifting life once boasted a Westwood location (also the spot of a fun early date with my now-husband) and Santa Monica (site of many tipsy post-brunch excursions) location, both of which are now closed.
The Buffalo Exchange on Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks brings me so much joy. Just stepping into the space reminds me of my misspent youth (and well-spent dollars). It’s a place that feels, sounds, smells, and looks remarkably similar to the way it existed when I first encountered it in my young adulthood. Every time I shop there, I get to try on my old self for a moment while I search for gently-worn gems, maybe a size or so larger than what that frequently self-abusive young woman wore, and that’s okay, too.
Zibby’s Bookshop
1113 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, Calif.
Second only to my appetite for clothing is my appetite for books. (Unless you count craft supplies). I devour books. There are very few genres or authors I won’t at least try, and preferably after spending several hours perusing the stock of an indie bookstore. My life in L.A. is colored by the book club I’ve been in for more than 17 years and the members of which constitute my first L.A. friends. Reading keeps me sane in a world that feels increasingly crazy. A couple of apartment moves during my time in Los Angeles has winnowed down my physical collection by several hundred tomes, and deteriorating eyesight has turned me into a voracious Kindle reader. But lately, I have been really into physical books again. This spot in Santa Monica recently refused to charge me for books I was trying to buy for one of my book club friends who lost her collection in the Eaton Fire. They have a small but eclectic and well merchandised stock and do great events, including sometimes a “walking book club” when you walk around the neighborhood with the author and other book lovers, and wind up back at the shop to hang out, connect, get an autograph, etc.
Stray Cat Alliance
3612 11th Ave., Los Angeles, Calif.
My life in Los Angeles is where I discovered what it really means to share your heart with an animal. I’ve been fostering and volunteering with a lot of animal rescue groups in Los Angeles over the last 11 years after losing the first cat I ever loved when he was just 18 months old. Stray Cat Alliance is my current go-to spot for volunteering at their Jefferson Park facility (shared with Angel City Pit Bulls and other rescue groups). Inside, time stands still. Needs are many, but moving with a sense of purpose, seizing a chance to help, even if it’s just feeding and cleaning up after a dozen cats for one meal, keeps me grounded in the present moment. Pictured above is my most-recent foster cat, Heinz, whose life the good people at Stray Cat saved twice, first when they scooped him off the street and got him life-saving surgery, and again just over a year later when that surgery failed and needed to be repaired. They didn’t bat an eye at providing him the expensive care he needed, and he’s now safe and loved with his forever family. I will miss him forever and continue to volunteer with this group and fill the gap he left in my home by pampering the rest of the felines in their compassionate charge. Since the fires, so many people from the community have come to volunteer, foster, adopt, and donate supplies. It’s been so wonderful to experience.
But kitten season is nearly upon us. That time of year when litters upon litters are born to outdoor/unfixed cats across Los Angeles, many of whom will end up on the streets or in city and county shelters that don’t have the means keep them alive. While kittens themselves are adorable beyond measure, there’s nothing cute about the potential suffering of these tiny creatures if they’re not lucky enough to be rescued by an organization like Stray Cat Alliance. And even less cute is the sheer financial and resource overwhelm that SCA and other rescues feel every year (especially during kitten season) and the heartbreak and exhaustion of their staff and volunteers who feel like they are holding back a never-ending tide.
Here’s a mantra as we go into the most difficult time of the year in Los Angeles animal rescue: If you can’t adopt, foster. If you can’t foster, volunteer. If you can’t volunteer, donate. If you can’t donate, educate and advocate. Help spread the word about animals in need of a forever home, about programs that help vulnerable families keep their pets home and healthy. If cats/kittens aren’t your jam, there are plenty of dogs and bunnies in shelters that would benefit from your compassion and advocacy, too.
Bonus
If you see a mural our street art that you love, pull over and document it. This gorgeous angel was once part of a mural on a gas station wall in my neighborhood. I loved the design, the incongruity of its theme...beautiful things of and around the earth while pumping gas. One day, I paused and made a point to take a bunch of photos—and I’m glad I did because this piece was painted over a couple of years ago. I miss my gas station angel.
Stay engaged. Use #UCLAarts to stay connected.
