At 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 17, the free parking around the Greek Theatre goes away because Vulfpeck plays there that night. An hour later, Griffith Observatory opens its lawn for a free public star party that runs until 9:45 p.m. Below Franklin, porches and patios will have music from late morning for the first day of Porchfest LA's Eastside weekend. On Los Feliz Boulevard, Messhall Kitchen serves its last day after 14 years.
The four events overlap, and each has its own rules for getting there. Taken together, they suggest one order for the day. Walk the porches while they play, take the DASH bus up the hill after the free parking is gone, and settle your ride back down before you go up.
Saturday, Hour by Hour
| Time | Where | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| 10 a.m. | Observatory lot, West Observatory Road, Western Canyon Road | Weekend paid parking begins |
| 11 a.m. | Eastside porches | Porchfest window opens; most Los Feliz porches start at noon |
| 1 p.m. | Greek Theatre area | Free park-and-walk parking no longer available on concert evenings |
| 2 p.m. | Observatory lawn | Public star party begins |
| 6:30 p.m. | Greek Theatre | Doors for Vulfpeck |
| 7 p.m. | Greek Lot C | Lot C parking begins |
| 8 p.m. | Greek Theatre | Vulfpeck starts |
| 9:45 p.m. | Observatory lawn | Telescope viewing ends |
| 10 p.m. | Griffith Park | Observatory building closes; inbound park gates close; paid parking ends |
| 10:06 p.m. | Observatory | Last listed southbound DASH departure |
Most of the table follows from two times. The 1 p.m. parking cutoff decides how you get up the hill. The 10 p.m. gate closure and the last bus decide how you get back down. The sections below follow the day in that order.
Noon to Five Is for the Flats
Porchfest LA is now in its third year. This fall it runs on two weekends: the Eastside on October 17 and 18, and Mar Vista and Culver City on October 24 and 25. The Eastside dates cover East Hollywood, Los Feliz and Silver Lake from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's free, and the organizers book stand-up, storytelling and clowning alongside music.
The Eastside schedule lists Saturday's Los Feliz venues in two groups. One group is three businesses on Hollywood Boulevard: Blue Rooster Art Supply at 4661, the Vermont Triangle at 4722 on the Vermont corner, and The Coffeehouse at 4972. The other is a set of private porches on residential blocks, including 4419 Russell Avenue, 4422 Franklin Avenue, 1735 N. Normandie Avenue and 1759 N. Kenmore Avenue. Sets change every half hour, and several performers play more than one venue during the day. That means you can follow an act you like instead of planning around a single porch.
Here is one afternoon built only from Saturday's posted times:
- Noon, 4419 Russell Ave. Doug Osborne opens Cynthia Freeman's porch, and Charlie Becker follows at 12:30.
- 1 p.m., 4422 Franklin Ave. Eagle Noise plays Isaac Harris's porch, then Char at 1:30 and Evolution of Trees at 2. This porch is listed as running until 5:30, later than the festival's official end.
- 2:30 p.m., Blue Rooster, 4661 Hollywood Blvd. Deirdre Moncy and the Lyric Music Studio, followed by Austin Rogers at 3.
- 3:30 p.m., Vermont Triangle, 4722 Hollywood Blvd. H. Stew, then Trinity Mei at 4.
- 4:30 p.m., 1735 N. Normandie Ave. Evolution of Trees plays its second set of the day to close JT Lawson's porch.
Not one of these stops requires a parking space near the park. Walking the porches also keeps your car out of the hillside traffic during the hours when the Greek's free parking is gone and the Greek's own lots haven't opened yet.
Messhall's Last Service Lands on the Same Day
What Now Los Angeles reported that Messhall Kitchen, at 4500 Los Feliz Boulevard, will close on October 17 after 14 years. The restaurant announced the closure on social media, thanked its team and the community, and invited customers to raise a glass during its final month. It gave no reason.
The menu is regional American comfort food plus oysters: the Mess Burger with cheddar and caramelized onions, smoked baby back ribs, catfish and grilled salmon. There's a covered patio, a bar and communal-style seating. The restaurant serves brunch, lunch and dinner, so a final visit fits before the porches, between the porches and the hill, or after the star party.
One O'Clock Is When the Hill Changes Hands
On a typical day, the Observatory's own guidance offers a free option if you can walk up to a mile uphill: park around the Greek Theatre and hike up. The same page says that parking isn't available after 1 p.m. on concert evenings. October 17 is a concert evening, and the star party starts an hour after that cutoff.
That leaves three ways to arrive by car, and each has a catch:
- Observatory paid parking. The lot and curb spaces on West Observatory Road and Western Canyon Road are paid from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. Pay stations take credit cards only, and you display the receipt on your dashboard. On West Observatory Road, the left lane leads to the lot. The right lane is for curb parking, buses and through traffic, and it doesn't connect to the lot. The page also warns that roads may close when traffic backs up.
- Greek concert parking. This is meant for concertgoers. Lot C parking begins at 7 p.m. When we checked the Greek's parking vendor for this show on October 11, Lot C and the accessible Lot G were sold out and general lots were $40.
- Neighborhood streets. The Greek tells concertgoers not to park on surrounding residential streets or block driveways, and warns that vehicles may be towed.
For concertgoers, the Greek also runs an off-site shuttle from the Pony Ride Train Lot at 4400 Crystal Springs Drive, at the northeast corner of Crystal Springs Drive and Los Feliz Boulevard. Each ticket covers one rider and includes parking. On October 11 it was listed at $10 per person.
The Bus Up Is the Easy Part
LADOT's DASH Observatory/Los Feliz route runs daily. Its schedule is marked "Effective January 2026." On weekends, northbound buses leave the Vermont/Sunset Metro station every 15 minutes from 10 a.m. through 9:45 p.m. The fare is 50 cents in cash or 35 cents with TAP. Seniors and riders with disabilities pay 25 cents in cash or 15 cents with TAP.
The Observatory's page lists stops along Hillhurst Avenue in Los Feliz Village and at the Greek, with buses every 20 to 25 minutes. LADOT's weekend timetable shows 15 minutes. Expect the longer wait on a concert night. The Observatory also says DASH runs when the Greek has a show but may be delayed by traffic, and that there is no parking at or near the Vermont/Sunset station.
After a porch afternoon in the flats, the trip up is short and costs less than a dollar. If you board in the late afternoon, you reach the lawn while the telescope lines are still short and the light is fading.
The Way Down After Ten
Leaving is the hard part. Telescope lines close early enough to finish viewing by 9:45 p.m., and the building closes at 10. The park's inbound gates also close at 10 p.m. If a rideshare driver or a friend is picking you up at the Observatory, they need to enter the park before then.
LADOT's weekend timetable lists the last southbound bus leaving the Observatory at 10:06 p.m. It reaches the Greek at 10:12 and Vermont/Sunset at 10:35. LADOT notes that times are approximate. The Greek's parking page describes a separate pattern for concert nights. It says DASH buses leave 10 minutes after the show ends, hold 60 riders each, and connect with a last Metro train from Vermont/Sunset at 11:55 p.m. No end time is posted for Vulfpeck's 8 p.m. show, and neither agency explains how its schedule fits with the other's. If you're coming down from the star party, plan on the 10:06 bus, and confirm with LADOT the day before whether that bus will still have room once it reaches the Greek.
If you're going to the concert, rideshare pickup and drop-off is in Lot C at Vermont and Commonwealth, and drivers enter from Vermont Avenue.
Sunday Has a Softer Schedule
The Eastside Porchfest runs again on Sunday, October 18, and Barnsdall Art Park at 4800 Hollywood Boulevard joins the venue list. Sets there run from noon, starting with Powder Pink & Sweet, through Madde Gruber at 4:30. Other Sunday porches include 4628 Franklin Avenue, 4428 Prospect Avenue and 4201 Holly Knoll Drive. The Griffith Park Satellites play Holly Knoll at 2:30. The weekend ends with Melee Falco at the Vermont Triangle at 5 p.m.
If you skip Saturday's star party, the next one is on Saturday, November 14, with the same 2 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. hours. The Greek has more October shows on its calendar: Jessie Ware on the 20th, Foster the People on the 23rd and "Weird Al" Yankovic on the 31st. On those nights the same 1 p.m. parking cutoff applies to anyone planning a late-afternoon hike from the Greek. Closer to home, the Los Feliz Branch Library has a Monster Mash Puppet Show on October 23 at 3:30 p.m. Event schedules and parking inventory change, so check the Porchfest schedule and the Greek's parking page the morning of the 17th.
Concert nights and park traffic affect some Los Feliz blocks more than others. If you're weighing a house in the Los Feliz hills or in the flats below, Barry Gray & Associates can walk you through how concert nights and park traffic reach a particular block. Schedule a Free Consultation.
