Things to do this weekend: Anime Expo

Anime Expo: Happy AX Weekend to the hundreds of thousands of fans who will alight upon the Los Angeles Convention Center for mondo cosplay events, starry industry panels, manga-focused fun, music, art, and shopping, and a whole massive universe of anime joy. As is the way with this mega-popular convention, tickets are now sold out. Are you going? Get quick info now before donning your incredible outfit.

626 Night Market: This fantastic food festival, which is also a lots-more-than-food festival, is now gracing spots far beyond Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, but plenty of fans know it from its early days in the San Gabriel Valley. This is the first of four 2024 weekends — July 5-7 are the coming-up dates, with July 12-14 to immediately follow — and all sorts of goodies are on the menu, from boba to ramen.

The Amerigo Vespucci: The chance to admire “the most beautiful ship in the world” in person doesn’t come around too often, but an eye-catching work of floating art is calling upon Southern California over the next several days. Head to the Port of Los Angeles to tour the ship, “an Italian navy training vessel,” through July 8.

Pageant of the Masters opens: Laguna Beach has been in the cultural spotlight over the last week; well, the creative-minded seaside burg always is, but with the opening of the Sawdust Art Festival, and now this stand-still spectacular, things are even artier. The history of fashion is the 2024 theme and the first night of the on-stage extravaganza’s nearly-two-month run is July 6.

Friday Night Wine Tastings: The Barnsdall Art Park Foundation sunset events have proven to be extremely popular this season — they did just return after a few years away — which means tickets have been selling out ahead of time. If you’d like to be at the July 5 hilltop gathering, best book your spot soon. It’s open to guests who are 21 and older, Silverlake Wines is pouring, and different food trucks stop by, too.