Concerts & Events in Duarte

Los Angeles Oktoberfest invites visitors to celebrate the changing seasons with two days of traditional Bavarian revelry. Hosted by Bob Guiney from ABC's The Bachelor, the festival invites attendees to fill their glass steins with any of the 19 available German beers and purchase hearty platefuls of bratwurst, giant pretzels, and strudel. Live bands lead traditional, sing-along drinking tunes, a Bavarian dance group performs for joyous audiences, and a strolling accordionist weaves through the crowds while playing familiar German melodies. In addition to bidding on sports memorabilia at the silent-auction table, patrons can also test their arm strength by competing in the stein-holding competition, which rewards the winners with lifetime admission to the Los Angeles Oktoberfest and a brand new pair of steel biceps to replace the old, used-up ones.

The staff members at IE Gourmet Food Trucks strives to populate Inland Empire's roads with sanitary food trucks that sell, buy, and hire locally. To do this, they give food trucks a secure parking space inside their hot-food-truck-approved commissary and inspect the vehicles to make sure they meet current health-code standards. They extend their helping hands to the chefs of the food trucks by offering them use of their commissary's prep kitchen and equipping them with amenities such as roadside assistance and unlimited ice for building snowman interns. In an effort to showcase the inspected food truck's eats, the staff members organize events throughout the year.

Each year, Boulder Creek Ranch transforms itself into a venue for the autumnal revelry known as the Harvest Festival. During the week, guests trundle about the farm on hayrides, cavort with baby goats in the petting zoo, or pick out their next jack-o'-lantern or replacement head in the pumpkin patch. At the playground and bounce house, kids can build up their cardiovascular endurance with fast-paced trick-or-treating on Halloween night.

Over the weekends, the festival kicks the fun up a notch with live music, a beer garden, and carnival games. Food vendors peddle provender to give visitors enough energy to cheer on their favorite driver during the mini-tractor race. Throughout its two-week run, the Harvest Festival hosts several special events, including a chili cook-off, a battle of the bands, a costume contest, and a Huckleberry Finn-inspired fish-off, where piscatorial hunters haul in their quarry with bamboo poles.

Azure waters lap the shores of Catalina Island, a picturesque setting a mere 22 miles from Los Angeles, but one that feels worlds away. Here, as the lights dim and the curtains retract from the silver screen, cinephiles and the stars of Tinseltown convene to revel in the magic of the movies. Now in its 100th year, the Catalina Film Festival invokes this transcendent cinematic experience with screenings of more than 75 films, ranging from animation and documentaries to student films and features. These stories light up screens across the island, including that of the historic Avalon Theatre, a 1,200-seat art-deco structure remarkable for being the world’s first sound theater and Orson Welles’ favorite place to take a nap.