The best things to do in Los Angeles this week

As Los Angeles starts to heal after the wildfires, many of us are wondering: What can we do to help? FireAid, a benefit concert with a jaw-dropping lineup taking place January 30 at the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome, offers one way. Proceeds from the event will go toward “rebuilding infrastructure, supporting displaced families and advancing fire prevention technologies and strategies to ensure L.A. is better prepared for fire emergencies.” We can’t think of a worthier cause. Billie Eilish and Finneas, Green Day, Joni Mitchell, Lady Gaga, Red Hot Chili Peppers and many, many more top the lineup.

Pasadena’s Pacific Asia Museum, which is reopening Wednesday after the Eaton Fire, rings in the Lunar New Year with a free afternoon of pan-Asian activities. You’ll find traditional performances in the museum’s courtyard (think: lion dances, martial arts demonstrations, Korean classical music, opera and storytimes), plus art activities, food trucks and, most importantly, free admission to the galleries. Don’t miss PAM’s PST ART installation, Cai Guo-Qiang: A Material Odyssey. 

As love continues to pour in for the inimitable David Lynch (see the roses, cigarettes and personal messages at Burbank’s Bob’s Big Boy for further proof), some of the city’s movie theaters are paying tribute, filling their schedules with screenings of the director’s films this week. American Cinematheque is leading the way with Blue Velvet (January 28–30) and Wild at Heart (January 29, 31) at the Los Feliz 3 and Inland Empire at the Aero January 31. At the Egyptian Theatre, catch a matinee of Wild at Heart on Saturday, followed by Mulholland Drive and a double bill of Lynch’s short films and Eraserhead on Sunday. Vidiots is also showing Eraserhead on January 30, and on the same night, the Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz is screening Twin Peaks: The Return, Episode 8, which blew fans’ collective minds when it first aired. And last but not least, those in the South Bay can catch a triple feature of Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway and Eraserhead at Gardena Cinema on Saturday—that’s seven straight hours of Lynch.

After shutting its doors for weeks due to the fires, the Skirball—which was in the evacuation zone for the Palisades Fire—is triumphantly reopening its doors with this free community day centered around gratitude, healing, learning and love for the natural world. Celebrate Tu B’Shevat, or Jewish New Year of the Trees, with artist-led talks, guided campus walks, panel discussions, art making, music and a TreePeople workshop where you can plant your own tree to take home. Admission to all exhibitions (except the separately ticket Noah’s Ark) is also free, so be sure to check out Diane von Furstenberg: Woman Before Fashion while you’re there.

The ultra-exclusive, A-list favorite Giorgio’s Discotheque is popping up at West Hollywood hotel nightclub Sunset at EDITION for a party celebrating the Grammys and raising money for MusiCares Disaster Relief. Proof of a $30 donation, which will support members of the music industry impacted by the L.A. fires, will get you in to dance underneath 400 disco balls and bid on celeb photographer Greg Gorman’s portraits of music luminaries including Debbie Harry, Grace Jones and David Bowie.

Just about every alt comedy icon is coming together for this Comedy Gives Back benefit at the intimate Fonda Theatre. The staggering lineup of stand-ups and improvisers includes Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Bob Odenkirk and the cast of Mr. Show (including Brian Posehn, Doug Benson, Laura Kightlinger and Mary Lynn Rajskub), with special guest Jon Hamm and more surprise guests to be announced. All ticket sales will go to the nonprofit, which provides a safety net for the comedy community in the form of mental health support and financial relief—including grants for comedians who have been impacted by the fires.

Dash around the northeast corner of Griffith Park during this pair of runs. The flat 5K makes a loop around the eastern half of the Wilson and Harding Golf Courses, while the half marathon mixes up its mostly flat route with a hilly midsection. Proceeds benefit the Los Angeles Parks Foundation.

What better place to celebrate the Lunar New Year than the Huntington Library’s beautiful Chinese Garden? Usher in the Year of the Snake with lion dancers, mask-changing performances, martial arts demonstrations, floral art and music, from Cambodian classical music to Chinese opera, during this two-day event. Look out for some sweet and savory treats just for the occasion (think sushi burritos and creamy shaved ice) from on-site food trucks. Advance ticket reservations are required.

Shop from local, Black-owned businesses at this community-centered market from racial equity nonprofit the Fifteen Percent Pledge. Dozens of brands including Diotima, Brown Girl Jane, Christopher John Rogers, L'Enchanteur, Bernard James and many more will set up shop on the Paramount backlot alongside authors signing books and DJs spinning. Black-owned food trucks will also be on hand, serving up everything from cheesesteaks to shaved ice. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to businesses impacted by the recent wildfires.

The L.A. Zoo is bringing back its themed weekends, kicking things off this month with a Lunar New Year celebration—and what better way to welcome the Year of the Snake than by hanging out with real snakes? Take a self-guided tour through the animals of the Chinese zodiac, watch a Mangshan pit viper feeding and write down your hopes for the new year on the Wall of Well Wishes. You can also catch the Asian Arts Talents Foundation’s Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese dance performances, as well as calligraphy, lantern-making and paper-cutting demos. All weekend activities are included in the price of zoo admission.

The Silverlake Lounge hosts rising Brooklyn rockers Geese on Friday night, with L.A.’s own Frank Pellegrino opening and Reverberation Radio DJing till late night. The night is the first of a run of benefits planned by Well Wishes that will donate 100% of ticket proceeds to the LAFD Foundation. The next planned show—headlined by Idles and Cat Power on Sunday, February 2—is sold out, but you can join the waitlist for tickets here.

Inspired by Taiwan’s world-famous Lantern Festival, San Gabriel’s Lunar New Year Festival is going all in on lanterns this year, bringing colorful displays to the streets of the city’s Mission District, thanks to the Taiwan Tourism Administration. The free weekend celebration will also offer festive, family-friendly activities, music and dance performances, street food vendors, artisanal craft booths and games. Kids can take home a free zodiac-animal-shaped lantern. 

Learn more about Asian culture as you celebrate Lunar New Year at dining and shopping destination Koreatown Plaza, where you can watch a Chinese lion dance, Korean drum performance and a multicultural fashion show—all for free. You can also shop from a variety of Asian American-owned small businesses and buy books at the Asian American Authors’ Corner. And don’t forget food: The first 500 people in attendance will receive $15 vouchers to use at the plaza’s food court, which counts Awoolim Kimbop, Gamja Bawi, Pao Jao, Tonkatsu House, Bosco Bakery and Cheesetella among its vendors.

Welcome the Year of the Snake amid the lush greenery of South Coast Botanic Garden every weekend this February. Enjoy an afternoon of festive Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean traditions, with hands-on activities including kite-making and puppet-making or a Zodiac Stroll through the grounds. You’ll also find storytelling, a wishing tree, live music, a 360-degree photo booth and specialty food and cocktails (available for purchase). Admission is $15, but for $8 more, you can catch a performance by lion dancers, martial artists, drummers and folk dancers (Sat, Sun at 9:30am, 12:30pm, 3:30pm).

Shop clothing, books, ceramics, fine art, zines, prints and more at this free market being held at popular street art show-turned-permanent gallery Beyond the Streets. Over 30 local creatives—including Alex Pardee, Blue Hill Studios, Born X Raised, John Doe Gallery, Juice Magazine, Kill Your Idols, Trust Records, Under The Radar Records and Big Bell Ceramics—will be on hand, selling unique and exclusive items. A portion of gift shop sales will support fire relief.

Head to Benny Boy Brewing for a free Lunar New Year concert by multilingual singer and accordionist Jessica Fichot, who channels the swing era of Shanghai with her band. Expect to hear classic Chinese New Year songs, jazz songs sung in Mandarin and Mandopop. Pair pours from the Lincoln Heights brewery and cider house with food from Zef BBQ (1–8pm) and the Dumpling Dream (6–11pm). 

Celebrate mankind’s most physical artform at Dance Camera West’s annual film festival, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The four-day event takes place at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, where you’ll find a mix of shorts and feature-length picks that explore dance on screen. There’s also a special Saturday-evening presentation at the Philosophical Research Society (3910 Los Feliz Blvd) and a five-day Co-Creation Lab, a workshop for filmmakers and dancers. In light of the fires, all tickets this year, including festival passes, are pay-what-you-can. Check the website for the full event schedule.

The winter edition of Dine L.A. is back from January 24 to February 7, with hundreds of restaurants participating in the two-week blitz of bang-for-your-buck set menus. Scattered among the prix-fixe tradition’s dizzying full list of menus are some of L.A.’s best restaurants offering their signature fare at a more budget-friendly price point. Before you make a reservation, check out our list of the best lunch and dinner deals the event has to offer. In light of the recent fires, LA Tourism is donating $5 per reservation made to the American Red Cross, which will be matched by Banc of California.

The historic theater is putting on eight distinct cultural events to mark the Lunar New Year during this multi-week festival. Highlights include a performance of Patsy, a play about the first Asian American congresswoman, on January 25; a screening of the first-known Chinese American film, The Curse of Quon Gwon, on January 31; a live lion dance performance by the East Wind Foundation and a dragon puppet-making workshop by Bob Baker Marionette Theater on February 1; and, that evening, a program of new classical works inspired by the moon called “Lunar Harmonies.” Plus, from February 14 through March 9, Master Class finds Tim Dang directing Terrence McNally’s Tony-winning play about opera icon Maria Callas. See the full lineup of events here.

Vibe Check prides itself on spotlighting the some of the country’s “youngest, freshest and chillest” comedians in showcases that have sold out in L.A., New York and Chicago. The lineup at this installment at the Lab at Hollywood Improv—Clay Horwitz, Mario Adrion, Paige Gallagher, Raye Schiller, Jeremy Scippio and Helen Shephard—is made up of up-and-comers you may recognize from late-night TV, streamers or sketches on social media. They promise “unique perspectives and inclusively clever commentary”—all for only $16.

Westfield Topanga is welcoming the Year of the Snake in style. The Valley shopping center is decked out in festive decor, and will host a lion dance performance (beginning near food hall Topanga Social) and give out lucky red envelopes to guests this Saturday. Shops including Sandro, Maje and Lego will also be selling Lunar New Year-themed items.

The beloved puppet theater’s new show is actually a throwback to its beginnings. Something to Crow About was first created in 1959 for the Laguna Beach Festival of Art and gave Bob Baker Marionette Theater its signature style before the theater officially opened in 1963. The satirical show, which has been revitalized, uses farm animal characters to tell a story about Broadway. 

What better spot to mark the Lunar New Year than “the happiest place on earth”? Disney California Adventure commemorates the Year of the Snake with a month of multicultural celebrations. Kids can look forward to photo ops and meet-and-greets with Mulan, Mushu, Mickey and Minnie, and characters from Turning Red, while adults will find a tasty reprieve with treats from China, Korea and Vietnam. If you’re sticking around into the evening, “Hurry Home – A Lunar New Year Celebration” precedes each World of Color show, while during the day Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession brings dancers, a colorful dragon puppet and a couple of costumed characters across the park.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House—centerpiece of Barnsdall Art Park and Los Angeles’ only UNESCO World Heritage Site—just might be the most stunning backdrop for an art exhibition. And, in this case, the home is the subject itself, too. L.A.-based photographer Ireland captured the intricate details of the Hollyhock House in 21 photographs on display throughout the onetime residence.

Every Sunday, you can find dozens of food vendors at this market at ROW DTLA, a Brooklyn import that boasts a mix of much-loved pop-ups and future foodie stars. Over a dozen new vendors just joined the lineup: Feast on Afro-Caribbean cuisine from withBee, Lebanese street food from Teta, ice cream tacos from Sad Girl Creamery and more.

After its fall debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall as part of PST ART, artist Doug Aitken’s multimedia collab with the L.A. Phil and L.A. Master Chorale makes the jump to the Marciano Art Foundation. The free museum mounts the multichannel video piece in its massive theater gallery, which you can see during routine opening hours (Tue–Sat 11am–6pm). But look out for separate reservations for weekly (typically on Saturdays) live performances organized by both musical ensembles.

L.A.’s star-studded lecture series returns—both virtually and in person—with a lineup of writers, artists, performers, scientists and business leaders who will graciously blow your mind. For both online and IRL events, you’ll often have the option of purchasing a signed copy of the speaker’s book, as well. This week is an evening with Monty Python’s Eric Idle.

The masters of alfresco movie viewing are keeping outdoor screening season alive with their Fireside Films series, which ensures you’ll stay cozy, with outdoor heaters and a complimentary hot beverage with each ticket. Enjoy a steady stream of modern classics (The Dark Knight, Pride & Prejudice) local favorites (La La Land, Friday) and recent releases (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) screened atop LEVEL DTLA throughout the winter months.

Forget Dorothy and her ruby slippers—head to Oz for the story of Elphaba and Glinda. Follow the Wicked cast down a different yellow brick road for a beautiful tale of friendship, love and courage. The ever “Popular” show returns to the Pantages—just weeks after the feature film’s release—to expose the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. You don’t even have to paint your skin green, just belt out “Defying Gravity” and “Something Bad” to fit in here. Wicked and its “Wonderful” set will inevitably win over your heart, and change your perspective on Emerald City “For Good.”

A collaboration with the Carnegie Observatories and the Griffith Observatory, this LACMA exhibition brings together a global collection of pieces, from the Stone Age to today, that reflect humans’ ever-evolving attempts to explain the origins of the universe. Alongside pieces of sacred artwork and architecture, you can expect some heady, scientifically minded contemporary works.

The Natural History Museum’s taxidermy dioramas turn a century old this year, and to celebrate the museum is reviving an entire hall of displays that’ve been dark for decades. Expect some fresh approaches to these assembled snapshots of the wilderness, including alebrijes made of recycled materials, a crystalline depiction of pollution and a tech-driven display of the L.A. River.

From November 18 through mid-February next year, Koreatown’s Boba Bear is transforming into Arcane’s Last Drop Bar to promote the popular Netflix show’s second season. Inside the pop-up, guests will be transported straight into the heart of Zaun, where they can imbibe Arcane-inspired soju cocktails, plus a nonalcoholic option (“Shimmers”), served in a snazzy commemorative glowing glass tube. Expect plenty of games and photo ops in the space, which is decked out in the fictional city’s gritty, steampunk aesthetic, plus build-your-own cocktail classes and cosplay contests.

There’s nothing innately wintry about this hour-long Palos Verdes trail, yet its nine stellar installations are the most cosmically mesmerizing of the budding seasonal after-dark botanical garden shows that’ve come to blanket L.A. Astra Lumina, which debuted in 2022, returns to South Coast Botanic Garden with the same array of celestial-inspired, experiential displays.

This exhibition of 21 soundstage-sized installations has floated its way into L.A. Don’t expect mere bundles of birthday balloons: Instead, these pieces range from room-filling ball pits to reflective LED tunnels to giant grabbable bubbles, all inspired by air in some way. The “Let’s Fly” edition of this touring show is a more fun experience than your run-of-the-mill made-for-Instagram attraction: Whether you’re bonking the bouncy “Ginjos,” pushing a charcoal-tipped sphere or getting swept up in a staticky whirlwind of balloons, there are some undeniably entertaining—and yes, very photogenic—hands-on scenes here.

You can’t seem to get more a stone’s throw away from a huge festive light display in Los Angeles come holiday season. Well, except for this new entry to the scene, which is making its L.A. debut all the way at Raging Waters. If you feel like making the trek out to San Dimas, though, Luminosa looks like quite the impressive display, boasting over 1,000,000 LED lights and larger-than-life lanterns through miles of illuminated trails. Adding to the experience are acrobatic performers, artisan vendors, food trucks and even some stone-carving.

Everyone’s favorite murder mystery parody of true crime podcasts makes the jump from TV to IRL with this Only Murders in the Building escape room. Part of the Westfield Century City has flipped into a faux movie set, where you’ll be tasked with tracking down a missing film reel. You can expect hidden bookcase doorways and secret passageways mixed in with easter eggs from the Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez series.

This first-floor exhibition at the Broad features hundreds of German artist Joseph Beuys’s “multiples,” editioned objects (with a focus here on environmentalism) that stretched the meaning of sculpture. But the most notable aspect of this show extends beyond the gallery walls: Inspired by Beuys’s 7000 Eichen (7000 Oaks), the concurrent Social Forest: Oaks of Tovaangar will plant 100 native trees (primarily coast live oaks) in Elysian Park and at Kuruvungna Village Springs.

“Color in Motion” features close to 150 objects—pieces of technology, costumes, props and film posters—from the 1890s to today. Broken up into six themes, the exhibition looks at the connection between color, music and movement, like in early dance and animated shorts; decades of color technologies, from Technicolor processes and Disney’s women-led Ink & Paint Department to contemporary digital tools; monochrome silent films; the narrative role of color; and experimental works.

This spectacular exhibition from the Icelandic–Danish artist brings a new series of optical installations to MOCA’s Little Tokyo location. Don’t let the reflective, colorful pieces fool you into thinking this is some run-of-the-mill “immersive” exhibit: Olafur Eliasson’s works invite you to admire the everyday miracles of physics that shape how we see the world.

More than 50 works on display at the Autry showcase how Indigenous artists have crafted visions of alternative futures in the face of enduring colonial trauma, with surreal spacescapes from Wendy Red Star, pop culture commentaries by Andy Everson and a site-specific space odyssey created by Virgil Ortiz.

A true multihyphenate, Carver was a painter in addition to a pioneering agricultural scientist. CAAM will display seldom-seen paintings as well as his lab equipment alongside contemporary works that were inspired by his foundational work in modern conservation—ideas that started to spread with his “Jesup Wagon,” an early 1900s movable school.

It’s more than just the low clearance: This exhibition at the Petersen explores the custom paint, engraving, upholstery and, of course, the gravity-defying suspension of the lowrider scene. In addition to iconic cars, the show spotlights influential artists in the Chicano lowrider art scene.

Gawk at a collection of mid-20th-century illuminated pieces from Andy Warhol, Dan Flavin, Allen Rupperberg and eight others at the Norton Simon’s display of electric art.

Study the technical and cultural background of colorful clay vessels, textiles, bark-paper pages and sculptures in the Indigenous Americas—and how their significance has been downplayed among colonialist histories—during this LACMA exhibition.