The Dance-Floor Calendar: Los Angeles From Thanksgiving Week to New Year’s Eve

Darlings, the holidays in Los Angeles are not a season so much as a series of doors. Some open at a waterfront, some at a convention center, and the best ones on Hollywood Boulevard. Below is our dance-floor calendar from the week before Thanksgiving to the first sunrise of 2027, built only from listings that are public today. Prices move in tiers, lineups grow and set times arrive late, so confirm on each linked page before you plan an outfit around it. Ages are as listed by the promoter or venue.

Before the turkey: Nov. 14 to 26

The warm-up weekends. Raveloop’s Los Angeles calendar lists Valentino Khan’s “Extramania,” billed as live music plus pro wrestling, at the Hollywood Palladium on Saturday, Nov. 14 (18+). The following weekend belongs to Dreamstate Southern California, the trance festival, at the Queen Mary Waterfront in Long Beach on Nov. 20 and 21 (18+).

Thanksgiving Eve and the night of. Wednesday, Nov. 25, is famously one of the biggest bar nights of the year, and our full Thanksgiving Eve guide covers the parties in detail. For the dance-floor crowd, Raveloop lists a Thanksgiving Eve birthday set by a surprise guest at Academy LA (21+). On Thanksgiving night itself, Thursday, Nov. 26, drum-and-bass pioneer Andy C plays Avalon Hollywood (21+).

The long weekend: Nov. 27 and 28

Time Warp comes west. The German techno institution brings Time Warp Los Angeles 2026 to Ace Mission Studios on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 27 and 28 (21+). The same Friday, the Gasolina reggaetón party marks its 10-year anniversary at Avalon Hollywood (21+), and on Saturday, Benny Benassi takes over Academy LA (21+).

RelatedLos Angeles Thanksgiving Eve and Friendsgiving 2026: The Parties and Tables Worth Booking Now

The Eileen Otte Ford note: the founder of Ford Models told the Toronto Star in 1988 that models “have to treat themselves as a business.” Over a four-day weekend, so do you. Pick two nights, not four, and look marvelous at both.

December: a park, a pause, a peak

Boots in the park. Deorro’s “Botas Y Rave In The Park” takes over Grand Park downtown on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5 and 6 (18+), with single-night and two-day tickets, per Raveloop. On Wednesday, Dec. 30, Svdden Death plays Avalon Hollywood (21+), the traditional night-before-the-night.

New Year’s Eve: choose your scale

The convention-center countdown. Forever Midnight returns for New Year’s Eve. HOUSE·LA’s listing puts it on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2026, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, across three stages from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m., with Tiësto, Jamie Jones and Chris Lake among the names. The festival’s own ticket page lists general admission, VIP and backstage tiers and a 21+ age limit. The official site had not posted a full 2026 lineup when we checked, so treat the names as the listing’s until the festival confirms.

The two-night drive. Insomniac’s Countdown New Year’s Eve returns to the NOS Event Center in San Bernardino on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, its first two-day edition since 2023, with a 75-artist lineup that includes Alesso, DJ Diesel, DJ Snake, Marshmello, Loud Luxury, Oliver Heldens, R3HAB, Seven Lions, Subtronics, Tchami and TOKiMONSTA, according to Insomniac’s announcement. Insomniac says on-site afterparties run until 6 a.m. Book a car or a hotel; this is an Inland Empire evening.

The Hollywood clubs. Closer to home, Raveloop lists Oliver Heldens for New Year’s Eve at Avalon Hollywood (21+), whose New Year’s presale opened Oct. 14, and RL Grime at Academy LA on Hollywood Boulevard (21+). Check each venue’s page for door times and dress code; in our view, the good boots and a real coat are always correct.

What is not on the list

Where we drew the line. Grand Park’s free N.Y.E.L.A. countdown has not been announced for 2026 as of this writing, so we have not listed it; we will update when the county does. Several hotel and lounge New Year’s pages were not live yet. If you are throwing a party and want to be considered, our tips line is below.

The superintelligence read

Scan the calendar the way a forecasting model would and the shape is clear: the season splits into a crowded Thanksgiving weekend, a quiet early December and a New Year’s Eve with three distinct scales: festival, convention hall and club. The cheapest tickets disappear first, and the smartest move is a decision made early. Eileen Otte Ford, who said, “I create a look and I create a style,” would add that the outfit is the one thing no ticket tier can sell you.

Sources

1. Raveloop: Los Angeles events calendar (Extramania, Dreamstate, Andy C, Time Warp, Gasolina, Benny Benassi, Botas Y Rave, Svdden Death, Oliver Heldens, RL Grime)
2. HOUSE·LA: Forever Midnight NYE 2026 listing
3. Forever Midnight: Tickets
4. Insomniac: Countdown reveals 75-artist lineup for 2026 edition
5. Avalon Hollywood: NYE 2026 presale
6. The Globe and Mail (AP obituary): Agency founder Eileen Otte Ford set standard for modelling industry

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