Venice Buddhist Temple Obon Festival 2026

Name: Venice Buddhist Temple Obon Festival 2026
Start: 2026-07-18T16:00:00-07:00
End: 2026-07-19T21:00:00-07:00
Location: Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple, 12371 Braddock Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90066

Going? You can check in after it ends.

Sat, Jul 18 – Sun, Jul 19, 2026

Sat 4:00 PM PDT – Sun 9:00 PM PDT

Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple, 12371 Braddock Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90066

“The Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple Obon Festival takes place July…”

— @falkorcommunity

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Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple Obon Festival 2026

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About

The Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple Obon Festival takes place July 18–19, 2026 in Venice, California — one of the most atmospheric Obon settings in Southern California, held in the heart of a neighborhood with deep Japanese American history.

Venice's Obon has a particular character shaped by its Westside location and the demographic mix of the surrounding community. The Bon Odori dancing draws long-time temple families alongside newer community members and curious visitors from across Los Angeles. The dances are taught informally — you can join at any point, follow the person in front of you, and find yourself fully inside the tradition within two songs.

The festival spans two evenings. Traditional Bon Odori circles form around the yagura as dusk falls, accompanied by live Taiko drumming and recorded Obon music. Food booths run the full gamut of Japanese American festival cuisine: fresh grilled chicken, soba noodles, teriyaki, shave ice with azuki beans, and seasonal mochi.

Venice Hongwanji is located near Lincoln Blvd in Venice. Street parking in the surrounding neighborhood. The festival is free; food and booths are individually priced. Yukata rentals and lessons are sometimes available at the temple for first-time visitors who want to participate in the dancing fully dressed.

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Venice Beach Drum Circle — Every Sunday at Sunset

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Venice Beach Drum Circle — Every Sunday at Sunset

Tomorrow · Jun 14 Free Venice Beach Boardwalk, Venice, Lo…

At some point on Sunday afternoons, the drummers start arriving at the south end of the Venice Beach Boardwalk. There is no organizer. No stage. No permit for the drums. No schedule. The circle forms around whoever arrives first. By the time sunset gets close, there are usually a hundred people playing and several hundred standing around the edges. The Venice Beach Drum Circle has been happening since the early 1970s. It is not a performance — it is an invitation. Anyone who brings an instrument plays. Anyone who wants to dance, dances. The sound builds toward sunset and carries down the beach in both directions. The circle runs every Sunday regardless of weather, which in Venice means it runs every Sunday. It lasts until dark. There is no encore. The drums just gradually stop, and the crowd disperses into the evening. South end of the Venice Beach Boardwalk, Venice, Los Angeles, CA 90291. Free. Every Sunday, late afternoon through sunset.

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Abbot Kinney First Fridays — Venice

Jul 3, 2026 Free Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, Los Ang…

They believed Abbot Kinney Boulevard had enough soul to be a destination on its own — and that giving it a designated first Friday every month would let it be exactly that without further explanation. First Fridays has held that position since the neighborhood decided to make it official. The boulevard goes from a shopping street to a street festival every first Friday from 5 to 10pm. Galleries stay open late. Independent merchants put things on the sidewalk and lean into the foot traffic. Food trucks park where they make sense. Street performers show up because the crowd is there and the crowd is good. The mix changes month to month because the vendors and performers rotate, but the character of the boulevard doesn't: Venice stays Venice, and First Fridays is what it looks like when the neighborhood leans all the way into that. No tickets. No wristbands. You show up on Abbot Kinney between Dell and Broadway and spend an evening in a neighborhood that knows exactly what it is. Free. Every first Friday of the month, 5–10 PM. Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice (Los Angeles).

Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple Obon Festival 2026

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Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple Obon Festival 2026

Jul 18, 2026 ✨ New Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple, …

The Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple has been in Culver City (despite the Venice name) since the community relocated after the internment. The Obon festival it runs every summer is a direct continuation of a tradition that survived displacement. July 18 and 19. Chicken teriyaki, udon, andagi, sushi, shave ice, carnival games, silent auction. Bon odori dancing in the evening. Free to attend. The temple community runs it the way temple communities run Obon: with the assumption that the people who know about it will come, and that the people who stumble in are welcome. 12371 Braddock Dr, Culver City. A 20-minute drive from Venice Beach. Same weekend as the OC and WLA Obon festivals for people doing the full circuit.

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Venice Buddhist Temple Obon Festival 2026

Venice Beach Drum Circle — Every Sunday at Sunset

Abbot Kinney First Fridays — Venice

Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple Obon Festival 2026

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