Do It. Summer events at Americana at Brand.

Taking the drive up to Glendale can seem like a hassle most of the time, especially just for a shopping trip, but Americana at Brand is giving you a good (and free!) excuse.

The outdoors shopping center from Rick Caruso (of The Grove fame) has set up a couple fun activities for the coming summer weekdays. There's the summer concert series on Wednesdays at 6pm, which will feature free live performances on The Green--look out for Natasha Bedingfield next week, and Paula Cole later in the month. And then there's the summer movie series on Thursdays at 8pm, which has The Devil Wears Prada screening tonight for free ($3 suggested donation), then Avatar and High School Musical 3 in the coming weeks.

What's even better about the movie series is that it happens to coincide perfectly with Americana's Happy Hour, which occurs Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5pm-9pm. That means you can hop on the Americana trolley and enjoy happy hour specials at the center's restaurants like Katsuya and the Cheesecake Factory, and then head on over to the outdoors screening afterward. Who knew a mall could still be fun as an adult?

For more info, check out the website. Americana at Brand is located at 889 Americana Way in Glendale.

-- Chau Tu