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NEW YORK — It was 2023 when Laufey, the Icelandic singer-songwriter known for her neoclassical jazz-pop, decided to create a global fan event. Her second album, “Bewitched,” was soon to be released and she wanted to do something big to celebrate it. But more than that, she says, she “wanted to find a way to get my fans out of their homes, and to really follow an itinerary of my perfect idea of a day and have the music from ‘Bewitched’ follow it.”

And thus, “A Very Laufey Day” was born. Each year, the Grammy-winning singer curates itineraries for different locations across the globe for her listeners to follow. It’s “anywhere I have been and loved,” she says. It allows them to live what she refers to as “a perfect day,” but also to connect with their community offline and in person. And as she approaches its fourth edition, it has only grown larger.

“It became much bigger than I anticipated, really,” she says. She sought to inspire her audience to find “third spaces,” and explore some of her favorite locales: museums, bookstores, cafes, concerts and the like, and foster community in the process. And each year, it has only grown bigger, with fans dressing up in their favorite Laufey-themed vintage fashions to celebrate the unofficial holiday.

And Aug. 23 will mark the fourth annual “A Very Laufey Day.”

“It is a fun puzzle every year,” she says.

‘A Very Laufey Day’ 2026

This year, “A Very Laufey Day” will include experiences in 75 cities across 25 countries, centering on the theme of “A Celebration of the Arts.”

“Wherever in the world you’re spending your day, I hope you feel inspired and invigorated,” Laufey wrote in a note on her “A Very Laufey Day” website.

Fans can expect performances spanning symphony orchestras, ballet, jazz, opera and theater as well as events with libraries, bookstores, coffee shops, yogurt/ice cream shops and more. Her concert film, “A Night at the Symphony: Hollywood Bowl,” will be screened at select theaters. And she’s partnered with many museums around the world, including New York City’s Guggenheim, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, London’s Tate Modern and National Gallery, Chile’s Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Seoul’s Daelim Museum and more. At some participating businesses, fans will be able to acquire limited-edition merchandise and Laufey-themed specialty drinks.

LACMA is offering a discount code, AVLD, for museum visitors on Aug. 23. As of Aug. 16, the code took $2 off tickets. “Come spend the day enjoying something beautiful,” LACMA wrote on Instagram.

“This year it was really about focusing on the arts and culture and finding ways to bring this barrier of entry down between my audience — which is mostly Gen Z and Gen A — and these kind of so-called high cultural experiences,” she says. “Whether it’s going to see an orchestra show … museums or galleries, we really want to find ways to connect with those institutions.”

Some of these spaces can be intimidating for younger fans, and Laufey says this year was all about making these rooms, some of her favorites, inviting to her audience.

“It doesn’t have to be this scary thing. And so, I’ve kind of made it my life’s mission to make spaces like that fun and accessible,” she says.

Sherman writes for the Associated Press.

Patton Oswalt is an avid reader. When he thinks about his ideal Sunday in the Valley, where he has lived for more than a decade, bookstores come up more than a few times, particularly ones like the neighborhood staple the Iliad, which encourages patrons to sit and read for hours.

Currently, the 57-year-old comedian says he is rereading Mo Daviau’s 2016 time-travel/rock-nerd novel “Every Anxious Wave,” the plot to which he “truly can’t describe,” adding: “It’s about, especially for me, how does Gen X grow old? And how do they try to dodge growing old? It’s pretty f— brilliant. Imagine a day just killing two or three hours in the Iliad just reading it. Oh, it’s the best.”

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

Not that Oswalt always has time to sprawl out with a novel. Like any touring comedian of his caliber, he admits that his schedule is constantly in flux. Not only did he spend last summer and fall promoting his 10th stand-up hour, “Black Coffee and Ice Water” (out now on Audible), but he is constantly at work on new material. On June 9, he’s launching “Tea & Scotch” on YouTube, which delves into more observational comedy subjects such as ghost-seeing cats, AI paranoia and parenting a teenager. (Oswalt tells The Times that his daughter usually does her own thing on weekends, but sometimes they’ll journey to Burbank and hit the vintage shops on Magnolia, followed by poke for lunch.)

When he’s not earmarking time in his perfect Sunday for reading, Oswalt also delights in frequenting Valley small businesses that fully embrace the indie and oddball. “I like where the Valley’s going. I like how its residents are aging,” says Oswalt. “Because they’re aging into weirdness rather than safety, which is what I will always go for. Instead of just, ‘I want the nice, reliable chain restaurant, the nice, big book chain,’ I prefer smaller shops that take risks. They’re more quirky, an actual person works here, and the imperfections are what makes it amazing.”

Below, Oswalt shares his ideal Sunday in L.A., which sometimes begins later than he’d like it to.

7 a.m.: Enjoy a quiet breakfast at home

I try to be an early riser. Today I got up at 8:30, but a great day for me is getting up at 7, because I have that hour of quiet to have my breakfast, sip some tea, do some reading, and then start my day.

But it’s hard to have a lot of those mornings in a row, because unfortunately, I also have those nights where I’m just, like, lying awake thinking. I have those crash-out days where I’m like, “Sleep until noon today! Need it! Gotta catch up.” Anyone who says that they consistently wake up at 7 a.m., for the most part, they’re probably lying.

9 a.m.: Morning coffee with a side of people watching

What’s critical about the Valley, especially Studio City, is a lot of hipsters who have aged out of Los Feliz and Silver Lake have all moved here, and they brought the good sushi, the good bookstores and the good coffee with them. So, my perfect Sunday starts at the Studio City Farmers Market. You do this kind of roaming breakfast. Where they do the farmers market, there’s an amazing tamale stand that does these chicken and green chile tamales. You get one of those, and then you go over to Joan’s on Third, and you get yourself a really strong cup of coffee, because Joan’s is right there, part of the farmers market.

It’s almost like Joan’s is the motor on a sailboat. If you can’t find the food that you like roaming around the farmers market, you can hop into Joan’s and grab something, but that’s where the good coffee is. Then you get a thing of berries from one of the sellers, and you sit. There are musicians everywhere, and it is a really good opportunity to not start your day looking at a screen and instead actually look at beautiful and flawed and imperfect and awesome people moving around and interacting. For a comedian or writer, that is gold.

11 a.m.: Worm into a book

From there, I would go up to the Last Bookstore, which just opened a location on Lankershim Boulevard in NoHo. It’s a work in progress; you can see the beginnings of the cool building that they’re doing on the interior. It’s almost like when you watch the Talking Heads’ “Stop Making Sense” and you see them assemble the stage as the concert goes on. It’s kind of amazing. So I always drop by there and spend way too much money on a book.

1 p.m.: Catch a matinee (and a matcha)

One of my favorite things is to see a movie in the afternoon. The Laemmle NoHo 7 on Lankershim is my little ’90s throwback Sunset 5, but in the Valley. They show very cool first-run indie movies, and then they will just randomly throw in [a classic], “Oh yeah, we’re showing ‘Jules and Jim.’” I just check my Fandango, to see what they’re showing in the afternoon, then I go see a movie.

I don’t really eat lunch these days, but across the street from the NoHo 7 is a place called Horror Vibes Coffee. It’s all based around horror movies. It’s weirdly popular. All these goth kids go in there, and they make really good matchas. So I’ll go in there, I’ll get a matcha, and then take that into the movie theater, see a flick. The Laemmle NoHo 7 does make really good chicken nuggets, and they do make a really, really bad for you — but delicious — bagel dog. Listen, a bagel dog with a recent indie movie? That’s mwah. [Gestures a chef’s kiss.]

4 p.m.: Head back to the bookstore

When I’m done at the movies, I will take whatever book I’ve gotten and go back down to the Last Bookstore and just sit and read. Or if you really want to go goblin-mode reading, you go to the Iliad Bookshop on Cahuenga. They encourage you just to go in there, sit, read. There are store cats everywhere that are hanging around, and the store kitties are very friendly. The Iliad has these big, overstuffed couches and chairs with blown springs. You are encouraged to sit and lounge and read. They have no problem with you doing that. A big thing for me now is having two to three uninterrupted hours of just reading. No phone, no nothing. Don’t gotta go anywhere. Don’t do anything. [Editor’s note: The Iliad is closed Sundays.]

6 p.m.: Sit down for some sushi

I’m very spoiled living in the Valley, because I live near amazing sushi. If I really want to splurge out and have what I think is the best sushi in the Valley, then I visit Sushi Tomoki, which is on Cahuenga. I just cannot rave about this place enough. They have a black cod sushi, and the black cod is slightly seared. It’s not cold, but it’s not totally cooked. There is something about cold rice and then this slightly seared, slightly burned black cod. The flavor is so perfect, I love it.

Right now, in the Valley, I’m kind of spoiled for good restaurants. There’s OyBar on Moorpark that I could go to. I go there right at 5. Otherwise there’s a line. I go right when they open. And then there’s a place called Wood & Water, further up Ventura, kind of closer to Sherman Oaks. That place is just solid, good. Everything on the menu is great, great wine list, you know. But the word is out — it’s getting crowded. Not to be a snot rag, but I go to Wood & Water so much that they kind of know me there, and they can usually get me a table. Not that I’m a big celeb, it’s just I go there a lot because their food is so good.

Once you’re my age, when I hear, “You gotta wait in line”… like, that’s why I’ve never been to Sqirl. Because I know I can’t do that, man. If I’m gonna stand in line, I’m gonna go to All Time, but I’ll just get there when they open. I can’t do lines anymore. You can do it when you’re 20, but I just want my g— breakfast.

8 p.m.: Take an outdoor stroll, then return to your book

After dinner, if it’s summertime in the Valley, I just walk through my neighborhood. There’s really good hills and stuff to go for, like, a nice nighttime walk after dinner. Or, because I’m such a freaking bookworm, I go home and sit on my big, comfy couch and just read some more until I fall asleep. There’s nothing wrong with double-dipping — you don’t have to read just once during the day. You can go back and forth.