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Events

Your June in Southern California, Properly Scheduled

The outdoor concerts, the festivals, the races, the living paintings, and the events that only happen here. June is not the month to stay on the couch.

Gary Domasin

• 2 min read
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Your June in Southern California, Properly Scheduled
June in Southern California. There is always somewhere worth being.

June in Southern California has a personality. It is warm without being unreasonable. The evenings are long and forgiving. And the event calendar, as if aware of its own advantages, simply doesn't stop.

Here is what's worth your time this month.

Hollywood Bowl Opening Season — Los Angeles

There is no more Southern California experience than an evening at the Hollywood Bowl — the hillside amphitheater above Hollywood where the Los Angeles Philharmonic has been playing since 1922. This summer the Bowl and KCRW are co-presenting the KCRW Festival — a signature eclectic event that brings together the spirit of one of the world's great radio stations and one of the world's great outdoor venues. Pack a picnic. Bring a sweater. Arrive early. This is the one.

NASCAR San Diego — June 21 NASCAR screeches into San Diego for the first-ever NASCAR San Diego weekend — a race on June 21 at Naval Base Coronado, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Navy and marking the first-ever race to take place on a military base. Even if you have never considered yourself a racing person, the spectacle of this particular event — on this particular base, with that particular backdrop — is worth paying attention to.

Festival of Arts & Pageant of the Masters — Laguna Beach Opening June 26 and running through September 6, the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach is an outdoor juried fine arts festival set among eucalyptus trees — one of the most distinctive art events in California. And just steps away, the Pageant of the Masters presents its legendary living picture productions: tableaux vivant re-creations of iconic works by Michelangelo, Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, Kahlo, Rockwell and more — performed nightly under the stars. Seeing a Renaissance painting come to life in a hillside amphitheater is, genuinely, one of those things that stays with you.

Laguna Beach Sawdust Festival — Opens June 26 Running all summer through early September, this beloved outdoor arts gathering brings together local artists in a eucalyptus grove that has been host to creativity for over fifty years. Handmade jewelry, ceramics, glasswork, paintings — and the particular unhurried atmosphere of a community that has been doing this long enough to know exactly what it's doing.

Highland Springs Lavender Festival — Cherry Valley Running June 6 through July 19, 2026, Highland Springs Lavender Festival takes place at the largest organic lavender farm in Southern California — an evening event from 5 to 10 p.m. that combines entertainment, exploration, and the specific pleasure of standing in a field of lavender as the sun goes down over the Inland Empire. This is exactly the kind of thing Southern California does quietly, without announcement, for the people who are paying attention.

Pasadena Chalk Festival — June 20–21. Already covered in our pages — 500 artists, The Paseo on Colorado Boulevard, Father's Day weekend, entirely free. If you still haven't put it on the calendar, put it on the calendar.

Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Celebration — June 20–21 The 52nd edition of one of California's most joyful street celebrations. A parade, live music, a beer and wine garden at Alameda Park, and the particular Santa Barbara light that makes everything look like a painting. Free, and one of the great reasons to drive up the coast this month.

Where to Go:

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