Santa Barbara, Pasadena, Newport Beach, Palm Springs, and Beyond

August is the month Southern California stops pretending it has anything else going on. The fairs are open, the festivals are running nightly, and two of the biggest one-day music events of the year land three Saturdays apart at the same Pasadena field.

Fiesta starts today in Santa Barbara. The Perseids peak next week under a new moon, which happens rarely enough to be worth planning around. Here's what's worth your weekend, region by region.

Santa Barbara

Old Spanish Days Fiesta, August 5 through 9

The 103rd Fiesta runs five days with the theme "Fiesta Forever." It opens tonight with La Fiesta Pequeña at the Old Mission, a free program of traditional song and dance that starts at 8 p.m. Blankets and chairs cannot go down before 6 a.m. that morning, and the Parks Department confiscates anything placed earlier.

The rest of the week:

• El Desfile Histórico, Friday, August 7. One of the largest equestrian parades in the country, running midday down State Street with horses, floats, and historical scenes.
• Las Noches de Ronda, Thursday through Saturday, 8 to 11 p.m. at the County Courthouse Sunken Gardens. Chairs and blankets allowed starting at 9 a.m. the day of. Nothing plastic or nylon.
• Mercados, Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. across from City Hall. Food, crafts, live entertainment all day.
• Fiesta Arts and Crafts Show, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Cabrillo Boulevard.
• Free courthouse tours, hourly between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.

Park once and walk. State Street closes in sections, and the waterfront lots fill by mid-morning on parade day.

Pasadena

Head in the Clouds, Saturday, August 8

88rising and Goldenvoice bring the festival back to Brookside at the Rose Bowl for one day. KATSEYE headlines, joined by XG, Rich Brian, UMI, LNGSHOT, KiiiKiii, Warren Hue, Tiffany Day, and Dabin.kr making his U.S. debut. Gates open at 1 p.m., curfew is 11 p.m. All ages, cashless, no re-entry. GA passes started at $179 and VIP at $329.

Rose Bowl Flea Market, Sunday, August 9

Same lot, next morning. Doors open at 5 a.m. for the early-admission buyers, which is when the dealers who know what they're doing show up. Bring cash and a folding cart.

Just Like Heaven, Saturday, August 22

The Strokes and LCD Soundsystem headline, with Chromeo, Feist, The Rapture, Twin Peaks, Matt and Kim, Dayglow, STRFKR, Whitney, and Porches on the bill. TV Girl is playing their only U.S. show of the year here. Gates at noon, curfew at 11 p.m., all ages except the 21-and-over Clubhouse tier. GA started at $209.

Levitt VIBE Pasadena continues its free outdoor concert series at Memorial Park through the summer. Ten shows, no tickets, bring a blanket.

Newport Beach

Newport Beach Art Week, August 9 through 15

The city is running its first Art Week this year, with exhibitions, performances, and classes hosted around town. It opens Sunday, August 9 with a free summer concert from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Civic Center, 100 Civic Center Drive. It closes with the 59th Annual Newport Beach Art Exhibition, a juried competition, at the same location on Saturday the 15th.

A first-year event usually means smaller crowds and easier parking than the same thing will get in three years. Worth going now.

Palm Springs

Splash House, August 7 through 9 and August 14 through 16

Two separate weekends, two completely different lineups. Pool parties run during the day across three resorts: The Saguaro, the Renaissance, and Hilton Palm Springs, which replaces the Riviera this year. After Hours parties move to the Palm Springs Air Museum, where the stage sits on the tarmac among the vintage aircraft.

Weekend one features a DJ set from Kenny Beats back to back with Fcukers, plus a rare DJ appearance from Foster the People. The event is 21 and over. Hotel packages bundle three nights, admission, and shuttle service between venues.

If you're going: it's August in the desert. Daytime highs routinely clear 105. Drink more water than you think you need and take the shuttle instead of walking between hotels.

Beyond

Ventura County Fair, through August 9. Twelve days at Seaside Park, right on the water. Gates open at noon and close at 11 p.m. Adult admission runs $20 cash or $21 by card, seniors and kids 6 to 12 are $15. New this year: an entirely different carnival operator, all-day ride wristbands available every single day, and a clear bag policy. Check the bag rules before you drive up.

Nisei Week Japanese Festival, August 15 through 23. Nine days in Little Tokyo, running since 1934. The Grand Parade takes over the streets Sunday, August 16 from 4 to 6 p.m., starting on Central Avenue before turning onto 2nd, San Pedro, and 1st. Cultural exhibits covering ikebana, bonsai, tea ceremony, and calligraphy run the first weekend at the JACCC. The Plaza Festival closes things out August 22 and 23 with food vendors, a beer garden, and taiko. Most of it is free. Take the A or E line to Little Tokyo/Arts District and skip the parking entirely.

Laguna Beach, all month. The Festival of Arts runs through September 3 with 120 juried Orange County artists, and admission is $5 to $15. Pageant of the Masters performs nightly through September 4, and this year's theme is "The Greatest of All Time." Tickets start at $42. If you'd rather graze, the $29 Passport to the Arts gets you one-time entry to the Festival of Arts, Sawdust, and Art-A-Fair, plus free parking at the Act V lot with trolley service. The Passport does not include the Pageant.

The Perseids, night of August 12 into the morning of the 13th. This is a good year. The peak falls on a new moon, so there's no moonlight washing out the fainter meteors. Rates run highest between midnight and dawn. You need distance from city light more than you need equipment, so head for Joshua Tree, Anza-Borrego, or the Angeles Crest above Mount Wilson. Give your eyes twenty minutes to adjust and don't look at your phone.

Two more are already on the calendar, covered separately: the OC Fair runs through August 16 in Costa Mesa, and Dine LA Restaurant Week takes over the city August 14 through 28 with fixed-price menus starting at $15.

Dates and times are subject to change. Confirm with the organizer before you drive.