L.A. PRIDE

#1 Festival & Fair
The annual fair celebrated its 125th anniversary last summer, drawing more than 1.3 million attendees for the festivities. That figure just edged out the numbers for its neighboring counterpart, the Los Angeles County Fair. The action included 23 days of food, rides, shopping, exhibits, and animals. A new "Fairenheit 32 Degrees" section saw more than 10,500 fairgoers lace up skates on an actual ice rink, and nearly 150,000 cooled off in an ice museum filled with 90,000 pounds of ice sculpted by six carvers in six days. Next: July 15-August 14, 2016

#2 Festival & Fair
When the first county fair opened in 1922, it drew less than 50,000 visitors at 50 cents apiece. It has since grown exponentially. Last year’s event draw nearly 1.28 million visitors over its 19-day run and offered new attractions like “Popnology: From Science Fiction to Science Fact” and returning favorite exhibits such as the “Luminasia” lantern festival. The program opens Labor Day weekend each year. Next: September 2-25, 2016

#3 Festival & Fair
According to Forbes, the music and arts festival pulled in $84 million in ticket sales last year, earning it the spot of top-grossing music festival. Goldenvoice produces the festival in the Southern California desert of Indio, and tickets promptly sell out annually. Parties hosted by brands take over the whole region, typically on the festival’s buzzier first weekend. Next: April 15-17 and April 22-24, 2016

#4 Festival & Fair
In 2015, the Los Angeles Times-hosted program attracted 156,600 attendees—a new record. The free and open to the public festival includes screenings, food, and music in addition to books and authors. The event takes place annually on the campus of the University of Southern California. This year’s program will include Ideas Exchange, the ticketed event series that debuted to a sold-out crowd at last year’s festival. Local artists will also have a big presence in 2016, with several large-scale street-art-style installations throughout the festival. Next: April 9-10, 2016

#5 Festival & Fair
The event now takes over the L.A. Sports Arena & Exposition Park downtown with about 30,000 fans. It’s a huge leap from the festival’s modest start as a small live music event in Echo Park. Produced in association with Goldenvoice, the festival includes indoor and outdoor stages; Savages, Kanye West, and the Jesus and Mary Chain were among last year’s performers. Next: August 27-28, 2016

#6 Festival & Fair
The festival is now in its 31st year, taking over a mile-long stretch of Venice’s laid-back Abbot Kinney Boulevard. The street’s boutiques, restaurants, and art galleries mix with vendors and street food at the event for about 120,000 densely packed participants. Next: September 25, 2016

#1 Trade Show & Convention (up from #2)
In the past several years, under a new leadership team, the 108-year-old automotive show has seen significant growth, especially where it concerns press and trade programming and attendance. Last year the Connected Car Expo moved to the JW Marriott, having outgrown its presence within the Los Angeles Convention Center; it doubled in real estate in the new location. In total, the show drew more than 21,000 members of the press and trade in 2015, compared to 12,000 in 2012. An estimated one million members of the public turned out. Next: November 18-27, 2016

#2 Trade Show & Convention
The buzzy convention attracts major attention around the country—well beyond the boundaries of San Diego, where it long ago outgrew the convention center. The event now draws about 130,000 attendees and takes over additional venues all over the city for captivating stunts, parties, suites, and more. Next: July 21-24, 2016

#3 Trade Show & Convention
More popularly known as E3, the show takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center each year in June. The Entertainment Software Association-owned event draws more than 52,000 trade-only attendees from all over the world—109 countries last year. The 2015 expo featured 1,600 products from 300 exhibitors with over-the-top booths. Next: June 14-16, 2016

#4 Trade Show & Convention
The National Association of Music Merchants’ enormous show is considered one of the biggest and most important events showing music products in the world; it dates back more than a century. The 2016 show at the Anaheim Convention Center, where it will remain through at least 2018, saw 5,000 brands debuting products through the four-day event. Next: January 19-22, 2017

#5 Trade Show & Convention
Having separated from The Wall Street Journal, D: All Things Digital co-creators Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher retooled their conference—and it immediately sold out. The invitation-only event at the Terranea Resort, where industry influencers come together for conversations about digital technology, is now in its third year. Next: May 31-June 2, 2016

#6 Trade Show & Convention
Produced by New Hope Natural Media at the Anaheim Convention Center and Anaheim Hilton, the giant show for the natural, organic, and healthy food sector has seen significant growth. Last year, it drew 71,000 industry professionals, more than 2,700 exhibiting companies, and 634 first-time exhibitors over 350,000 net square feet of space. Next: March 9-12, 2017

#7 Trade Show & Convention
Those in the business of independent motion picture production and distribution annually meet at the event in Santa Monica. More than 8,000 industry leaders gather for eight days of deal-making, screenings, seminars, networking, and parties. The attendees from more than 80 countries seal more than $1 billion in deals. Next: November 2-9, 2016

#8 Trade Show & Convention
Currently in its 11th year, the show is billed as the largest consumer travel event in the country. This year’s show, situated strategically in Long Beach between Los Angeles and San Diego, drew 3,000 experts and 500-plus exhibitors for the program, which included seminars in a 1,000-seat main theater. Next: February 2017

#9 Trade Show & Convention
At nearly six decades old, the Progressive Insurance-sponsored event is among the longest-running shows in the country. The four-day event takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center and in the water at Marina del Rey, showcasing hundreds of vessels from family cruisers to million-dollar yachts. There’s also a kids’ zone, educational seminars from industry experts, and on-the-water boating lessons. Next: February 2017

#10 Trade Show & Convention
Formerly known as the California Gift Show, the trade show runs twice a year, once in the winter and once in the summer. Urban Expositions rebranded and reorganized the show under the new name—the first incarnation in the new format took place in January—and the transformation includes a new show floor layout, a new Saturday through Tuesday schedule, and new product categories. The most recent event brought nearly 100 first-time exhibiting companies to the expanded Los Angeles Convention Center South Hall; previously, the show was located in two separate halls on two different floors. Next: July 22-25, 2016

#11 Trade Show & Convention
Roth Capital Partners’ financial conference, held in Orange County, is one of the largest of its kind in the country. The 28th annual event in 2016 brought nearly 550 participating companies and more than 4,000 attendees for presentations from public and private companies in a variety of sectors—as well as flashy parties. Next: March 2017

#1 Sports Event
About 25,000 runners take part in the destination marathon with a relatively new sightseeing-friendly course known as “Stadium to the Sea.” This year, the race fell on Valentine’s Day—having moved up to correspond with the Olympic team trials for men’s and women’s marathons—and Skechers came in as the new title sponsor. Next: March 2017

#2 Sports Event
The highly attended tennis tournament drew more than 456,000 to the event, which was previously known as the Pacific Life Open. The tournament happens each year in Indian Wells, with a 16,100-seat main stadium. Next: March 6-19, 2017

#3 Sports Event
The 42nd iteration of the Toyota-sponsored race is set for the spring and covers nearly two miles of closed streets in downtown Long Beach. A crowd of about 180,000 spectators comes out over three days, making it one of the region’s biggest paid spectator events. The event also includes about 10 hours of televised action. Next: April 15-17, 2016

#4 Sports Event
Last year, the University of Southern California lost to Wisconsin in the annual Christmastime event, which drew nearly 56,000. The post-season college football game is televised each year from its home in San Diego (which also hosts the smaller-scale Poinsettia Bowl match-up). Next: December 2016

#5 Sports Event
The route for this year’s Amgen-sponsored road race will include a challenging course across nearly 800 miles of California's most scenic terrain. The world’s top cyclists compete for the overall title at the annual Tour de France-style road race, created and presented by AEG. Next: May 15-22, 2016

#6 Sports Event
The event is billed as the world's largest surf competition and lifestyle festival. Each summer, it draws about half a million people over the course of nine days to watch the world’s top surfers compete for one of the largest prize purses in the industry. In addition to surfing, events in recent years have included skateboarding and BMX competitions, live music, movie premieres, fashion shows, and product demos. Next: July 24-31, 2016

#7 Sports Event
The event is among the longest-running tournaments on the P.G.A. Tour. It dates back to its 1926 debut at Los Angeles Country Club and has taken place at various locations throughout the area before permanently settling at the Riviera Country Club in 1973. City of Hope was named the official charity of the event beginning in 2013, and the following year the open generated a record $2.1 million to benefit that institution and other nonprofits in area; the charitable total is now $58 million. Next: February 2017

#8 Sports Event
Offering a view of the Pacific Ocean, the scenic race starts in downtown Long Beach and heads toward the Queen Mary and through Shoreline Village. Related festivities include a half-marathon, run/walk, bike tour, health and fitness expo, and finish line festival. Next: October 9, 2016

#9 Sports Event (up from #11)
The sports network hosts its award show every summer at the Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live. Last year’s show aired for the first time on sister station ABC instead of ESPN and scored in the ratings, attracting ABC’s biggest summertime audience for the night since 2005. The show saw a 250 percent increase in total viewers on ESPN—7.7 million versus 2.2 million—and was the most-watched and highest-rated ESPYs ever. Next: July 13, 2016

#10 Sports Event
The annual gala has raised $25 million for doctors, the Medical Genetics Institute, and the new Sports Spectacular Diabetes & Obesity Wellness & Research Center since its inception in 1986. The event, which will this year move to the W Hotel Los Angeles—West Beverly Hills, brings together big names in sports and entertainment and raises more than $1 million each time. Next: Spring 2017

#11 Sports Event
The significant P.G.A. Tour tournament in La Quinta, which has seen four Presidents play while in office, was previously known as the Bob Hope Classic and sponsored by Humana. Desert Classic Charities, the charitable entity that organizes the event in partnership with the Clinton Foundation, has contributed more than $56 million to a range of Coachella Valley charitable organizations and the Eisenhower Medical Center. Next: January 20, 2017

#1 Fashion & Retail Event
Although Los Angeles‘s fashion week doesn’t command the same power and influence as others around the world—like New York or Paris—the event has continued to grow. Last fall, an official L.A. Fashion Week entity looked to centralize the event at Union Station and got a signed proclamation by Mayor Eric Garcetti. In March this year, shows took place at the new Columbia Square development in Hollywood. But as always, many other overlapping industry events occur during the course of fashion week, which happens twice each year, in March and October. Next: October 2017

#2 Fashion & Retail Event
The event, co-sponsored by the City of Beverly Hills and the Rodeo Drive Committee and honoring big names in fashion, hits on sporadic dates (sometimes twice a year, or occasionally with a calendar year in between). The last honoree was Burberry in November 2014; the event took a hiatus in 2015. Next: Fall 2016

#3 Fashion & Retail Event
Each year, the black-tie gala presents what is billed as the city’s largest runway show, with more than 70 professional models in more than 175 designs by Otis students. Approximately 800 guests from the fashion and entertainment worlds turn out for the event, which raises money for student scholarships. Next: May 7, 2016

#4 Fashion & Retail Event
The event includes a Saturday-night sit-down dinner with a fashion show and is a scholarship fund-raiser benefitting the F.I.D.M. Scholarship Foundation, a nonprofit that assists students with their education. More than 100 garments and other design projects are presented in a runway show that spotlights student work. Next: April 2, 2016

#2 Entertainment Industry Event (up from #3)
The biggest event in the music industry (in fact, it’s nicknamed “Music’s Biggest Night”) descends on downtown’s Staples Center each year. The televised show includes massive stars for performances in multiple genres. The Recording Academy’s Branden Chapman and team head up the official after-party, known as the Grammy Celebration at the Los Angeles Convention Center, for thousands of guests. Brands and labels host parties and suites all over town during the course of the celebratory week. This year’s awards aired live on the West Coast for the first time; ratings held steady at about 25 million viewers. Next: February 2017

#3 Entertainment Industry Event
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s dinner ceremony takes over the Beverly Hilton’s International Ballroom each January, the first major show in Los Angeles’s annual wintertime award season. Ricky Gervais returned to host the 2016 show, which marked a small ratings decline; still, 18.5 million viewers tuned in. Next: January 15, 2017

#4 Entertainment Industry Event
The awards are the biggest and splashiest among the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honors for TV stars and players. (Other shows include the Creative Arts honors, which will expand this year into a two-show format.) The academy’s Governors Ball hosts about 4,000 guests for a seated dinner and is billed as the largest formal dinner in the country. Next: September 18, 2016

#5 Entertainment Industry Event
SAG-Aftra’s 22nd annual event drew praise this year for its diverse honorees. Stars came out to the Shrine Exposition Center for the show, followed by an annual bash hosted by People magazine and the Entertainment Industry Foundation; this year the party, which had a 1920s Golden Age of Hollywood theme, moved from an adjacent lot to the Shrine stage. Next: January 2017

#8 Entertainment Industry Event (up from #12)
The 2016 incarnation of the 27-year-old festival screened 180 films from 60 countries, including 40 of the 80 foreign language entries for this year’s Academy Awards. Although it’s a couple of hours east of Hollywood by car, the program draws 135,000 attendees each year. It also has a black-tie award gala, which pulls big celebrity names. Next: January 2017

#9 Entertainment Industry Event
The American Film Institute’s long-running annual honor is now in its 44th year, having debuted in 1973. In 2016 the prestigious prize will go to John Williams; last year, Steve Martin took home the honor. Dustin Hoffman, Gene Kelly, Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, and Gregory Peck are among past winners. Next: June 9, 2016

#10 Entertainment Industry Event
The Environmental Media Association’s show celebrated a 25th anniversary milestone in 2015. The event annually honors people, organizations, movies, and TV programming for their work to raise public awareness of environmental issues. Following the ceremony, there’s an after-party and auction with an environmentally conscious production. Next: Fall 2016

#11 Entertainment Industry Event
Though not as big as the Grammys, the awards still command a strong TV viewership; ratings for last year’s show dipped slightly, but marked a solid performance for ABC. The event takes over L.A. Live every year around Thanksgiving. Next: November 2016

#12 Entertainment Industry Event
The American Film Institute’s annual fall festival is unique in that tickets are free to the public; it’s the only festival of its caliber to make that offering. The festival, originally launched in 1971 under the name Filmex, includes screenings and red carpet galas each year in the fall. It’s billed as the longest- running international film festival; Audi is the program’s presenting sponsor. Next: November 10-17, 2016

#13 Entertainment Industry Event
The two-decade-old festival, produced by Film Independent, is looking at a change for this summer’s iteration: It will have a major new partnership with ArcLight Cinemas and take place at theaters around the city including ArcLight Hollywood and the new ArcLight Santa Monica. The 22nd annual festival headquarters will be at ArcLight Culver City. Next: June 1-9, 2016

#14 Entertainment Industry Event
Now in its 33rd year, Hollywood’s major TV festival is hosted by the Paley Center for Media. The event celebrates television’s most acclaimed series and gives fans access to special screenings, conversations, and behind-the-scenes info from the stars and creative minds behind popular shows. The festival, which takes place at the Dolby Theatre and hosts more than 100 stars and industry players, benefits the Paley Center’s preservation and archival digitization efforts. Next: Spring 2017

#15 Entertainment Industry Event
The event relies on fans for millions of votes and is propelled by major social engagement: the 2016 show, broadcast on CBS, quickly generated nearly 25 million organic video views on the awards’ Facebook channel. Procter & Gamble owns the 42-year-old show, which is produced by United Artist Media Group. Next: January 2017

#16 Entertainment Industry Event
The 27th incarnation of the show is gearing up with presenting sponsorship from Delta Air Lines, Hilton, and Ketel One vodka. The Los Angeles event takes place in the springtime, with a corresponding event in New York. The advocacy group celebrates outstanding images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in the media at the biggest event of its kind in the United States. Next: April 2, 2016

#17 Entertainment Industry Event
The 22nd annual honors from the women’s fashion magazine went to honorees like Ava DuVernay, Salma Hayek, Dakota Johnson, Amy Schumer, and Kate Winslet last year. The intimate and A-list award show takes place at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills each autumn. Past sponsors include Calvin Klein Collection, L’Oréal Paris, and David Yurman. Next: October 2016

#18 Entertainment Industry Event (new to the list)
The awards were first introduced in 1967—at the height of the civil rights movement—to honor achievements and performances of people of color in the arts. This year’s winners were announced in February during the live broadcast from Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Anthony Anderson hosted the two-hour special, which drew 1.7 million viewers and ranked among the Nielsen Twitter TV top 10 for the week. Next: February 2017

#19 Entertainment Industry Event
The awards are Bafta Los Angeles’s highest honor; the prizes celebrate achievements of individuals and companies from the United States, the United Kingdom, and around the globe. Last year, Harrison Ford, Orlando Bloom, Meryl Streep, and Amy Schumer were among those honored. The event is produced through a partnership between Bafta Los Angeles and Done & Dusted. Next: October 28, 2016

#20 Entertainment Industry Event
Each year, the show honors women’s accomplishments in a male-dominated industry; the program dates back to 1977. Last year’s honorees included Nicole Kidman, Jill Soloway, Ava DuVernay, Kate Mara, Sue Kroll, and Toni Howard. The 2016 event will move from the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, which closed in March for redevelopment, to the Beverly Hilton. Next: June 15, 2016

#1 Food, Wine & Hospitality Industry Event
The festival is produced by Coastal Luxury Management and presented with founding partners Food & Wine and Lexus. In 2015, the growing event attracted nearly 15,000 attendees throughout the course of the late-summer weekend. It celebrated its fifth anniversary last year with master sommeliers, local chefs, and other big names from the food world coming together for the three-night and four-day program. Next: August 2016

#2 Food, Wine & Hospitality Industry Event
The Los Angeles Times hosts the culinary festival each year on Labor Day; it comprises five distinct events over three days, all celebrating the Southern California food scene. The event takes over the Paramount Pictures Studios and this year will be the festival’s seventh iteration. Next: September 2-4, 2016

#3 Food, Wine & Hospitality Industry Event
The festival is billed as the largest food and wine celebration on the West Coast. The event features 60 San Diego restaurants and 150 wineries, breweries, and spirits purveyors and brings in 10,000 wine and food fans from around the country. Next: November 13-19, 2016

#4 Food, Wine & Hospitality Industry Event
The restaurant week program is actually two weeks long: The 14-day culinary event that takes place in more than 300 restaurants throughout Los Angeles County and points to the area’s dining diversity. The programming happens twice each year, in summer and winter, with restaurants offering prix-fixe lunch and dinner menus. Next: July 2016

#5 Food, Wine & Hospitality Industry Event
The expo includes menu trends, design and decor, and business education for the restaurant and food service industry. It draws 500 manufacturers and 8,000 participants for the summer show at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Next: August 28-30, 2016

#6 Food, Wine & Hospitality Industry Event
The culinary event, developed by Lucy Lean and Krissy Lefebvre in partnership with AEG, is newer on the scene and brings together some of the world’s top chefs for four days in mid-March. Each event within the program allows guests to get up close and personal with the chefs, who come together to cook in the Chefs Tasting Arena and Restaurant Stadium, a venue with stadium seating, lights, cameras, and LED screens. Next: March 2017

#7 Food, Wine & Hospitality Industry Event
Taste of the Nation for No Kid Hungry draws top chefs and mixologists who donate their time and efforts to end childhood hunger in America. The event, now held at Media Park in Culver City, includes tastes from more than 50 restaurants, breweries, wineries, and mixologists with host chef Bruce Kalman. The family-friendly affair also includes games and activities. Next: June 5, 2016

#8 Food, Wine & Hospitality Industry Event
At just six years old, last year’s version of the event pulled in $1 million for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, breaking the previous year’s record by $300,000.The event at the University of California, Los Angeles attracted 2,000 people, including more than 100 chefs, mixologists, and vintners. A live auction that raised more than $300,000 included a women's chef dinner with Suzanne Goin, April Bloomfield, Giada De Laurentiis, Nancy Oakes, and Sherry Yard, bringing in $150,000. Next: September 10, 2016

#9 Food, Wine & Hospitality Industry Event
Last year’s 20th annual Taste for a Cure fund-raiser benefitting the University of California, Los Angeles’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center took place in May at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, raising more than $1 million—a record for the event. Since its inception, the benefit has taken in more than $10 million for highest-priority cancer research. Next: April 28, 2016

#10 Food, Wine & Hospitality Industry Event
The event consistently ranks among Wine Spectator’s top 10 charity wine auctions. The benefit brings 50 international chefs and 75 California wineries to Warner Brothers Studios and has raised nearly $29 million in support of the mission of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Next: May 14, 2016

#11 Food, Wine & Hospitality Industry Event (new to the list)
Planned Parenthood’s culinary event marked its 37th anniversary in 2016. This year’s event also raised $900,000—the most in its history. The fund-raiser features gourmet food and drink samples from more than 100 Los Angeles purveyors. The event began in 1979 with a cooking demonstration by Julia Child and has grown to become one of the city’s long-established food events. Next: March 2017

#1 Parade, Walk & Holiday Event
The New Year’s Day parade is one of the oldest events around, dating back to 1893. The nationally televised parade draws about 700,000 spectators to view intricate floats. The Rose Bowl football game, which is coming up on 103 years old, draws about 100,000. Next: January 2, 2017