Things to Do in Avocado Heights

Greek music reverberates into the open air as the rich smell of roasting lamb entices crowds walking into the annual Pasadena Greek Fest in Santa Anita Park. Lined with stalls selling Greek wares and traditional Greek food, the fest celebrates Greek culture with three days of socializing, dancing, and lightening-bolt throwing. When not munching on honey-soaked bites of fried loukoumathes or shish kebabs, families can look at the goods for sale or scale the inflatable equipment in the kids’ fun zone.

From the outside, the big, red bus looks like an open-topped relic from across the pond. Once on board, however, a rainbow oasis of streamers, flags, and tinsel reveals that this is no stodgy ride; rather, it’s the flagship vehicle of Out & About Tours—a tour company dedicated to celebrating the oft-overlooked sites associated with Los Angeles' LGBT legacy. Company CEO Jim Anzide pulls double duty as the tour’s guide, narrating historic info about the roots of the LGBT community in neighborhoods ranging from West Hollywood and downtown to Silverlake and the Sunset Strip. Lively banter punctuates each trip as Anzide and his guides quiz passengers on history and share personal anecdotes. They also lead walking tours that explore La La Land's hotels and bathhouses and curate their signature SunGay Brunch tour—a mini bus excursion that includes mimosas and bites at stops including Flying Leap Café and The Other Side, Los Angeles' last piano bar purportedly haunted by the ghost of Fats Waller’s Wurlitzer.

The 16th century comes booming back to life during The Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire, which has re-created the culture, cuisine, and history of the Elizabethan era for more than five million attendees since its inauguration in 1963. Atop 13 stages sprinkled across 20 acres of festival grounds, live performers don traditional garb to demonstrate Renaissance music, dancing, battle customs, and blogging techniques. The talented actors stay in character throughout the bash, mingling with the crowds to perform alongside artisans purveying leatherware, clothing, and perfumes.

Workshops instruct visitors on how to make period crafts, after which guests can refuel with samplings of traditional Renaissance cuisine, such as hefty turkey legs and shepherd's pies, or more modern fare such as strombolis, coffee, and sweet confections. Rides and games challenge kids to toss javelins, race turtles, and recite Shakespeare's complete works on giant swings, and interactive RenQuest exhibitions hone little ones' sword-fighting skills and trivia knowledge.

cityHunt’s urban adventures thrust participants into unfamiliar territory, daring them to explore parts of their cities previously untraversed. Held in various neighborhoods within the nation’s largest cities, each scavenger hunt challenges teams to answer trivia questions and seek out items of interest in a bid to complete the hunt as the fastest squad with the most points. Some tasks might require a keen memory or knowledge of the city's history, while others might ask camera-wielding participants to snap a photo of certain object or landmark without pausing to day dream about all the civil and municipal engineering that must have gone into creating such an awe-inspiring place. At the end of each adventure, cityHunt staff members meet with squads to discuss their strong points and areas that could use improvement, making it an off-the-beaten-path team-building exercise for corporate clients and groups of friends alike.

The Los Angeles Ballet is a group of more than two dozen dancers who prance across the stage like marionettes controlled by Santa's team of bethumbed reindeer. See this renowned company perform a holiday classic to the choreography of experienced husband and wife team Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary.

Winter-sports enthusiasts have coasted the slopes of Mt. Waterman since 1939, and today the venerated mountain sports more than 30 runs for skiers and snowboarders of all experience levels, including a sizeable number of advanced areas. Located just 45 minutes from downtown Los Angeles, the resort's three chair lifts transport visitors to runs across the 325-acre grounds, including well groomed slopes for beginners and yeti-infested wilderness for seasoned pros. Non-skiers are welcome to take advantage of the views from the lifts or lounge at the warming hut. The hut soothes exhausted skiers with a cozy fireplace and a restaurant, which serves up hot burgers, sandwiches, and poached snowmen.