California Kimchi Day 2026 at LA County Arboretum

California Kimchi Day is listing its 2026 festival for Saturday, November 21, at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia. The kimchi program is free with regular Arboretum admission: $18 adults, $14 seniors 62 and up, $14 students, $8 children ages 3 to 12, free for ages 2 and under and for Arboretum members. The day includes Korean business and vendor booths, live performances, cultural learning, and a hands-on kimjang-making workshop. A $75 kimchi-making ticket bundles Arboretum admission, the chef-led class, kimchi to take home, and a swag bag. Workshop space is limited; reserve ahead on cakimchifest.com.

Arcadia sits against the San Gabriel Mountains, a garden campus rather than a Koreatown street. Wear shoes you can dirty if you booked kimjang. Bring a bag for take-home kimchi and vendor finds. Arrive when the garden opens if you want calmer booth lines before the stage fills. Confirm the day's performance clock on the festival page the morning of; outdoor garden programming can shift for weather. The kimjang ticket is the only path that bundles admission and class; do not buy a separate garden ticket if you already hold the $75 workshop pass. Members enter the garden free for the fest floor without the workshop.

The same weekend, Aquarium of the Pacific Autumn Festival runs Saturday and Sunday in Long Beach with Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Filipino cultural programming inside aquarium admission. Crossing from Arcadia to Long Beach mid-afternoon is a long 605 and 710 problem, so pick one corridor. Asian World Film Festival closes midweek before this Saturday. Happy Night Market was the prior weekend in San Gabriel. Kimchi Day is the SGV Korean food-and-making card if you want kimjang in a botanic garden.

Kimjang is communal and messy on purpose. Wear clothes you can wash, tie hair back, and follow chef instructions on salt and timing so your take-home jar is safe. If you only want to taste and shop, skip the $75 class and enter on garden admission alone.

Who this is for: San Gabriel Valley families and Korean food people who want vendors, stage sets, and an optional kimjang class. Happy Night Market already covered the free street-night mood the prior weekend. If you wanted a multi-country aquarium culture weekend instead, Long Beach covers that the same dates.

Buy Arboretum or workshop tickets before you drive. Baldwin Avenue parking fills on festival Saturdays; use the garden's posted lots rather than neighborhood street hunts. Pack water and sun cover; Arcadia garden paths stay exposed even in late November if the marine layer burns off.

When: November 21, 2026 (Arboretum hours; kimchi fest free with garden admission)
Where: Los Angeles County Arboretum, 301 N Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007

Details at cakimchifest.com.