Don't Blow it LA: 10 Ways to Enjoy Your Sizzling Summer Nights

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Address: 550 S Flower St.
Website: spingalactic.com

Show your prowess with balls flying at your face mano-a-mano. Beer pong is cool, but the real manly competition comes with flexing your muscles Balls of Fury-style while also chilling at Downtown Los Angeles hotel and hotspot, The Standard. The place has a classy man cave vibe with three red-leather padded bars, leather couches, and a pinball competition room complete with 11 tables and dark wood. There’s a killer bar menu, blacklight ping-pong, awesome DJs, and events like the Dirty Dozen Pro Tournament where some of Los Angeles hottest ping-pong players will hold court. For ping-pong newbies that are looking for summer hobby that will help them break a sweat in an air-conditioned environ that includes beers and a membership that gives you perks like monthly free court time, half-off court fees, lesson with a SPiN LA pro, and access to the Standard’s hedonistic rooftop parties, this is the place for you.

Address: 850 S Broadway
Website: theyachtclub.org

Re-enact your middle school physical education classes this summer with grown-up strategy by joining The Yacht Club’s dodgeball team. There are leagues all over Los Angeles including Glassell Park, North Hollywood, and Venice, and they have “fun nights” where you can bring a friend to play—or you can convince your uber-cool hipster jock friend to let you tag along. The cool thing about the Yacht Club familia is that they raise money for charities. Proceeds from league registration fees go to charities like the Los Angeles Food Bank. During the 10-week season, participants are also encouraged to “shuffle their finances” for a new weekly bar tab because post-dodgeball evenings include socializing at a local bar (or three) with other dodgeball do-gooders. Long summer nights drying your ironic sweatband with a beer in hand and a few post chest-bounce bruises? Sounds like being a grown-up is awesome.

Address: 411 S Main St.
Website: downtownartwalk.org

Every second Thursday of the month, Downtown Los Angeles’ Historic Core and Old Bank Districts come alive with 20-something artist babes, food trucks galore, eclectic street performers including live jazz and rap battles, and local drink specials. While Los Angeles weather is always conducive to getting down at dusk al fresco, summer is an extra-special time to simultaneously bar hop while hitting up over 40 art galleries and exhibitions, not including a spontaneous pop-up here and there. Galleries include Row Gallery Foundation, Think Tank Gallery, and the Art Mart where you can purchase pieces from local creators. Pro-tip: take the subway to Pershing Square, take advantage of the bar specials, and walk around surrounded by in-your-face culture. Come with a group of friends and enjoy the smoggy urban sprawl of Los Angeles as it comes alive with the energy of the weird and wildin’ out Downtown residents.

Address: 1910 W Temple St.
Website: derbydolls.com

Get your summertime gawk on the same way you like your steaks pulled off the grill: rare, bloody, and badass. The LA Derby Dolls aren’t just rough-and-tumble chicks dressed in fantasy-inducing outfits—although that certainly helps fill seats. These dolls engage in hardcore girl-on-girl contact with two teams trying to block or assist their jammer. This sporty spectacle last for about an hour with a break in the middle; fans come out to get playing cards signed of their favorite member from themed teams like the Sirens, the Tough Cookies, or the Fight Crew. On summer nights, the standing room only general admission audience at the Doll Factory gets steamy with hot bodies ripping up the tracks and spectators pressing close to each other to see their favorite girl fiercely maneuver through the crowd. Scrimmages and games run all summer including a charity event for the fifth annual Twenty Wonder that helps fun the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles.

Address: 900 Exposition Blvd.
Website: nhm.org

Who says Los Angeles doesn’t have culture? During the summer, the hottest places to hit up on the cheap are our museums. The Natural History Museum has two summer night events. For a few years, First Fridays, where you can watch bands like Unknown Mortal Orchestra play to a crowd of hipsters and wooly mammoths, has gone down. The museums newest event is a lot more genre-neutral and totally free; you can just come kick it in the garden, listen to DJs, and drink beer while participating in art and science projects. The night will probably get packed, so RSVP early.

Address: All over Los Angeles
Website: midnightridazz.com

Regulators, mount up. Late-night drivers in Los Angeles have probably driven past a massive group of bike riders, sometimes wearing crazy costumes—and chances are pretty high that those riders are the Midnight Ridazz. Taking the party from Point A to Point B, the Midnight Ridazz really embrace the Los Angeles summer nightlife by literally taking back the streets. Rides include slow and easy nights like Sins and Sprockets, STREET pLAy, which demands you wear a costume and claims to throw parties for people the riders run into, and the appropriately-titled Rollin’ with the Homies ride, since it seems like everyone will be your homie by the end of the night.

Address: 415 Pacific Coast Highway
Website: annenbergbeachhouse.com

Even with tons of cold beer in hand, temps can rise pretty high during a Los Angeles summer. The beach can only cool you down during the day, but the Annenberg Community Beach House on Pacific Coast Highway can satisfy your need for a late-evening swim, live music, and watching the sunset over the ocean. This community pool is so fresh and so clean, that is looks like a movie set—but it is actually part of an old movie star’s abode. During the summer, Marion Davis’ pool is open for swimming until 8:30 p.m., so you get to enjoy an hour or two of nighttime swimming. Even if you are backstroking your way out of a long workday, the mellow old-school Hollywood jazz performances are as classy as it gets. There’s a beachside café called Back on the Beach that serves dinner and a rec room (which includes ping-pong) that is also open until 8 p.m.

Address: 10899 Wilshire Blvd.
Website: hammer.ucla.edu

Put the art in party. Celebrate Los Angeles’ sexy summer nights with a meta art experience. Made in LA is an annually-curated exhibit that takes some of the coolest local artists of Los Angeles and highlights them at Westwood’s Hammer Museum. Over 35 different artists including photographers, painters, videographers, multimedia artists, and more all vie for three awards, one of which includes the prestigious Mohn Award valued at $100,000. The exhibit is a pivotal one and the competition really heats up Los Angeles’ summer art scene. The Hammer Museum learned quickly that the young, hip art lovers aren’t creeping in during daily dawn-to-dusk hours so they created four nights that include live band performances, cash bars, DJs, and late-night museum hours.

Address: 24 E Union St.
Website: onecolorado.com

Local radio station, KCRW, has spiced up the airwaves for a sultry summer car ride home for years, but have only spent the last five dominating the scene with their killer events. Not only does KCRW have their Twilight Concert Series at the Santa Monica Pier and their Chinatown Summer Nights, they also heat-up Old Town Pasadena at One Colorado with a yupster-approved night of dancing to DJ sets in the central courtyard of the retail center. Late-evening shopping is encouraged while you listen to up-and-coming indie bands like Kan Wakan or grind it out to KCRW’s on-air DJs like Marion Hodges. This event is totally free, so showing up early to line-up is recommended. Who knows? You might meet your summer fling—or at least your summer “thing.”

Address: 6000 Santa Monica Blvd.
Website: hollywoodforever.com

Cult films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Raiders of the Lost Ark? Check. Picnic-style lounging with a plethora of snacks and coolers full of ice-cold beer? Check. A candy-colored California sunset and some palm trees to inspire a twilight make-out sesh? Every night, baby. Cinespia at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery is one of the coolest places to kick it on a relaxed Los Angeles summer night. For a mere id="mce_marker"4 bucks, you and a group of your friends can bring almost anything you feel like eating and drinking, listen to DJs spin while sprawled across the Fairbanks Lawn, and then watch a classic movie with other film nerds just like you. Movies are scheduled all summer long and past films include Crybaby, Blade Runner, American Psycho, and Dawn of the Dead. Make sure to line-up early for prime real estate on the grass, and always bring some extra beer and a blanket for the thirsty babe next to you. Body warmth when the post-sunset summer chill sets in is optional but definitely recommended.