Memorial Day BBQ & Carnival in Los Angeles

Smorgasburg Los Angeles and Santa Anita Park are staging a Memorial Day weekend event in the Santa Anita Park infield that combines barbecue vendors, carnival rides, games and horse racing, according to event pages published by both organizers. The event runs Saturday through Monday, May 23 to May 25, 2026, in Arcadia, east of Los Angeles, with free parking offered through Gate 6 off Colorado Place. Adult infield admission is listed at $5, while children 17 and under are admitted free, Santa Anita says. Smorgasburg says the program also includes music, racing and a People’s Choice Award for participating barbecue vendors. ### Where is the event actually being held? Santa Anita Park lists the location as its infield in Arcadia, not central Los Angeles, though the event is being promoted in Los Angeles-area weekend guides. The racetrack’s event page says guests should enter through Gate 6 off Colorado Place for free parking. Smorgasburg’s event page uses the same location details and says gates open at 11 a.m., with event hours from noon to 7 p.m. on each of the three days. (la.smorgasburg.com) The site describes the weekend as a “3-day BBQ bonanza” in the Santa Anita Park infield. ### What does the $5 ticket cover? Santa Anita says the $5 price is entry to the infield for adults and does not include unlimited rides. (santaanita.com) The park lists separate pricing for an unlimited ride wristband at $35.44, fees included, and says walk-up pricing for the wristband is $35 without admission. The park also lists a Family Four Pack at $181.39, including four unlimited ride wristbands, four hot dogs, four chips, four drinks, two adult admissions and two racing programs. (la.smorgasburg.com) Carnival games and some other attractions require separate tickets, with game pricing starting at $5 for five tickets and ride tickets priced from $4 to $7 per ride. (santaanita.com) ### What kind of food and entertainment are on offer? Smorgasburg Los Angeles says it curated a lineup of Southern California barbecue vendors for the invitational and that one part of the weekend competition is a People’s Choice Award. A Los Angeles weekend guide from Rodeo Realty described the food lineup as including Texas-style brisket and Filipino, Japanese, Cambodian and Cuban-inspired barbecue. (santaanita.com) Santa Anita says the carnival side includes inflatable jumpers, carnival games and rides. The ride list on the park’s page includes a Ferris wheel, Yo-Yo, Zipper, Super Slide, Round Up, Kite Flyer, Spin the Apple, Tornado and a caterpillar roller coaster, along with height requirements for each attraction. ### How does horse racing fit into the weekend? (la.smorgasburg.com) Santa Anita lists a 1 p.m. first post for the Memorial Weekend Carnival dates and says racing takes place alongside the infield attractions. Smorgasburg’s page also says the event includes racing as part of the program. Mommy Poppins, which also listed the event on Saturday, said the weekend at Santa Anita includes Smorgasburg’s three-day barbecue event in the infield and noted that corgi racing returns during the Summer Nationals. (santaanita.com) Santa Anita’s main carnival page, however, centers on the infield carnival and standard race-day schedule. ### What should families know before going? (la.smorgasburg.com) Santa Anita says children 17 and under are free and that an adult accompanying a child on a ride must also have a wristband or ride tickets. The event page says online sales close 30 minutes before the start of each day’s program. The park’s posted schedule lists carnival hours of 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on May 23, May 24 and May 25. (mommypoppins.com) Smorgasburg separately lists its barbecue event hours as noon to 7 p.m., creating a distinction between the broader carnival operating window and the barbecue programming inside the infield. Monday, May 25, is the final day listed for both the Smorgasburg BBQ Invitational and Santa Anita’s Memorial Weekend Carnival. (santaanita.com) Ticket packages and event details remain available through the organizers’ event pages for Santa Anita Park in Arcadia. (la.smorgasburg.com)