January 2026 events calendar for Los Angeles

Whether you’re a hopeless romantic or skeptic, you’re likely to get teary at the onstage version of The Notebook, which revisits Allie and Noah’s love story live. Based the Nicholas Sparks novel, here the tale is turned into a musical, with music and lyrics by singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson. Read Time Out theater critic Adam Felman’s take on the Broadway production here.

The winter edition of Dine L.A. is back from January 23 to February 6, with 375 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. This iteration spotlights the San Fernando Valley and welcomes newcomers all across the county, including the phenomenal new food hall Maydan LA and jazz supper club Somerville.

More than 100 wines, plus food trucks, live music and a classic L.A. setting—sounds like a perfect Saturday to us. Uncorked Wine Fest returns to Union Station for its 11th year in L.A.—sending wine fiends into a frenzy with some incredible varietals from around the world. General admission will allow you to sip from 6 to 9pm, while VIP ticketholders get an extra hour to imbibe starting at 5pm, as well as access to a VIP lounge, with dedicated seating and even more premium wineries. Those partaking in Dry January needn’t feel left out, though—the “zero proof lounge” serves up nonalcoholic wines, beers and mocktails. Tickets include all beverage tastings, with food sold separately.

In the face of losing federal funding, there’s never been a more crucial time to support public media—and luckily there’s a hilarious way to do your part. Host J.F. Harris is presenting a night of stand-up at the Comedy Store, featuring Robby Hoffman, Sheng Wang, Beth Stelling and Alex Falcone—plus a special guest who’s still TBA. Ticket proceeds will directly support public radio, and come with a yearlong KCRW membership. (The venue’s two-drink minimum still applies.)

What today is the Annenberg Community Beach House was originally the coastal home of silent film star and hostess extraordinaire Marion Davies. And the city of Santa Monica is celebrating her birthday this month with a free open house that will take you back to the golden age of Hollywood: Think live swing music, dance lessons, an Art Deco fashion show and tours of the still-standing Marion Davies Guest House. Vintage 1920s or 1930s attire is encouraged; RSVPs to the free event are requested.

Celebrate mankind’s most physical artform at Dance Camera West’s annual film festival, now in its 26th year. The four-day event takes place at three different venues this time around: Théâtre Raymond Kabbaz in West L.A., the Colburn school in DTLA and the Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz. The lineup is made up of a mix of shorts and documentaries that explore dance on screen. Highlights include spotlights on iconic dance filmmakers Shirley Clarke and David Roussève, as well as LA Pops Up, a program of L.A. based choreographers. Check the website for the full event schedule.

The Hillside Campus of Pasadena’s ArtCenter College of Design is hosting this morning of reflection to mark the one-year anniversary of the Palisades and Eaton fires. In an act of rebuilding and hope for the future, attendees will help plant poppies on the campus as part of the Great Altadena Poppy Project, which aims to plant 250 million California poppy seeds in areas impacted by the Eaton fire. Our state flower is known for its resilience and its ability to thrive in challenging conditions—a beautifully apt metaphor here. Note: Closed-toe shoes and long pants are recommended if you want to help plant.

The L.A. location of Upright Citizens Brigade—the comedy troupe co-founded by Amy Poehler in New York in the ’90s—is turning 20, and celebrating by teaming up with the World’s Greatest Improv School, the Pack Theater and the Groundlings for a a day-long marathon of shows, workshops, panels and more. Prices range from free (for shows at the adjoining Annex and a Simpsons trivia competition) to $50 for a beginner-friendly clowning workshop. Topping off the birthday programming will be a performance of UCB’s flagship improv show, ASSSSCAT, where improvisers turn an often-recognizable guest monologist’s suggestions into a sketch, followed by the grand finale of a “Cagematch” battle of improv teams.

Santa Monica’s Heal the Bay Aquarium is hosting a free afternoon of educational activities a year out from the wildfires. See an 18-foot-long map of the Palisades Fire’s impact, hear about post-fire water quality and learn how to protect the coast going forward. The aquarium’s aquatic residents will also be in attendance—you can touch a shark and meet new baby sunflower sea stars. DJ and environmental advocate Heidi Lawden, who was herself displaced by the fires, will be on hand for some music, movement and guided meditations.

Cure a case of the Mondays with a restorative sound bath at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center’s private Garden of the Clear Stream, an urban oasis in Little Tokyo. At the start of every week in April, you can bring a mat and enjoy an hour of healing sounds and reflection amid the garden’s lush flora and cascading waterfall. Afterward, stick around to purchase lunch and a matcha and enjoy them in the garden.

The beloved late singer, who’s ascended to music and fashion icon status since her untimely death in 1995, is the focus of a new show at the Grammy Museum. Co-curated by the singer’s sister, Suzette Quintanilla, the exhibition will peek behind the curtain of Selena’s life, artistry and career, exploring how her legacy continues as a symbol of empowerment for both young women and Latin communities. You can see the singer’s personal artifacts displayed for the first time outside of the Selena Museum in Corpus Christi, Texas, including her Grammy Award, cellphone, hand-drawn fashions and microphone, still marked with her signature red lipstick. In preparation for the opening, artist Mister Toledo recently created a mural of the singer outside the museum.

The L.A. Department of Cultural Affairs and Asian makers’ market MAUM are teaming up to present the fourth annual Lunar Block Party in North Hollywood, celebrating Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese cultures. Welcome in the new and good at the free community event, which will fill Lankershim Boulevard (between Otsego Street and Magnolia Boulevard) with arts and crafts for kids, shopping at MAUM market, cultural performances, Asian-owned food trucks and more.

Celebrate the history, diversity and wildlife of our fair city with the locally beloved Bob Baker Marionette Theater. This puppet-filled ode to L.A. first debuted in 1981 for the city’s bicentennial, and while it retains its retro charm, it’s been refreshed for 2026 with new animal puppets and updates that reflect Los Angeles today.

The rooftop of West Hollywood hot spot E.P. & L.P. wears many hats: On any given night, you’ll find a trendy rooftop bar, as well as alfresco movie screenings from Melrose Rooftop Theatre, a roller rink or, most recently, an ice skating rink, which is popping up again this January and February thanks to Aussie clothing brand Hello Molly. Tickets for an hour-long skating session include skate rental and a sweet treat—not to mention some of the best views in the city—while seasonal cocktails are available for purchase. Note: Kids are welcome on weekends from noon to 3pm, but the rink is 21+ the rest of the time.

There’s nothing Christmassy nor even wintry about this hour-long Palos Verdes trail, yet its nine stellar installations are the most cosmically mesmerizing of the budding after-dark botanical garden shows that’ve come to blanket L.A. toward the end of the year.

Astra Lumina, which debuted in 2022, returns to South Coast Botanic Garden with the same array of celestial-inspired displays. Last year’s edition was basically identical to its debut. But if you loved your first trip to Astra Lumina or haven’t been at all, we still think this is a worthwhile (albeit somewhat expensive) event—perhaps better suited for a date night than a large family affair.

While some other year-end light shows seem less focused on moment-to-moment encounters and more on the photogenic snaps you’ll walk away with, Astra Lumina feels truly experiential. You’ll venture through scenes that interpret the arrival and departure of stars in an earthly garden: Archways pulsate with light and mist, perforated lanterns spell out a stargazing journey, shooting stars chase up and down a cylindrical frame, shimmery bulbs blanket a forest floor and tranquil lanterns float among the trees. There’s plenty of wonderfully atmospheric fog along much of the trail, including in a shower of lasers so thick that you’ll swear you can touch them. (It’s also worth mentioning how lovely it is to experience a celebration of the night sky in one of the few locations in L.A. where it’s actually dark enough to see plenty of stars.)

Astra Lumina comes from Canadian entertainment company Moment Factory and replaced GLOW, which ran at South Coast in 2020 and 2021. There are more than a dozen other “Lumina Enchanted Night Walk” events that Moment Factory has produced around the globe, and that pedigree brings a clear level of polish: The lighting and sound design are absolutely beautiful, the loose celestial story is uplifting and the installations are well paced (the duration markers at each are much appreciated, as are the QR codes that lend a little background to what you’re looking at). It’s rarely flashy and often understated—maybe just slightly too inert in a few installations, if we’re splitting hairs—which makes it stand out among other light shows. If you want an overwhelming barrage of lights, kitsch and holiday tunes, know that you won’t find those here, but you will be able to soak up a truly special experience.

The show runs most nights through the end of December (if it’s like previous years, expect that to get extended), and you’ll need a timed ticket to visit. You could zip through the whole thing in less than 45 minutes, but you’re welcome to—and absolutely should—spend as much time as you’d like once inside. Base ticket prices ($33 to $41 depending on the night and time) actually fall toward the somewhat more reasonable end of these quite-expensive sorts of shows, but the parking fees are pretty disappointing: It’s $22 to park on-site ($20 if you buy online ahead of time), with the alternative of a paid shuttle from an off-site lot about two miles away on peak evenings—otherwise there’s essentially zero street parking within a reasonable walk of the very dark area surrounding the garden. Also, just a heads-up that it took us about 20 minutes just to park on opening night last year, but hopefully these traffic woes get sorted out this year.

One fateful afternoon in 1924, Lionel Sternberger contemplated the hamburger he was cooking up at Pasadena’s Rite Spot and thought it needed a little something extra. A simple slice of American cheese later and the cheeseburger was born, spawning hundreds of variations across the country and inspiring Pasadena to celebrate its prodigal son each year with a week dedicated to all things cheeseburger. Choose from 40 Pasadena restaurants to take advantage of burger deals and special beefy creations and vote in the Cheeseburger Challenge. New this year is a Route 66 Cheeseburger category and burger crawl to honor both the 100th anniversary of Route 66 and the 150th anniversary of Colorado Boulevard.

You’ve probably seen the nostalgic black-and-white photos of Los Angeles on LA Explained’s Instagram account. And now you can see historical sites in person on its new walking tours. The next immersive tour takes you through Hollywoodland, the original hillside real estate development that’s the origin of the Hollywood Sign we know and love today. Instead of your typical tourist spots, you’ll see often-overlooked landmarks, historic homes and hidden pathways and hear stories about the rise of the film industry. Meet at the Beachwood Market then head out on a two-hour walk with the group that’ll take you past site including Hollywoodland Realty, a secret staircase, Lake Hollywood and the Last House on Mulholland, where you’ll see picture-perfect views of the famed sign.

Feeling like you and your four-legged friend are attached at the hip? Spend even more quality time together during this dog-friendly series at Palos Verdes’ South Coast Botanic Garden. One Sunday a month, you can roam the gardens’ 87 acres with your fur baby. Nearly all of the paths are open to pups, except for the rose garden and a couple of other small areas. You’ll find plenty of water stations set up across the grounds, as well as an optional obedience class for purchase. You—the human—will need a reservation, while your best friend—the pup—will need to remain on their leash at all times, including in the parking lot.

Ring in the Lunar New Year in the heart of L.A.’s Chinese community at this annual two-day Monterey Park festival. This street fair takes over five blocks of downtown Monterey Park (Garvey Ave between Garfield and Alhambra) with folk art, delectable bites, live entertainment and a carnival zone. The action kicks off Saturday morning with traditional New Year dragon and lion dancers. Past fests have brought in over 100,000 people, so plan ahead; the city suggests utilizing the free parking and shuttles from Mark Keppel High School (501 E Hellman Ave) or Repetto Elementary School (650 Grandridge Ave).

When I first stepped foot inside of this exhibition of decommissioned Confederate monuments and reflective contemporary art pieces, I was taken aback by the scale of it all. I’d seen the installation photos of the side-by-side statues of Confederate generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee on horseback, but as I craned my neck up at these towering tributes, they felt awe-inspiring in the most dreadful meaning of the phrase.

Most Angelenos don’t need to be convinced of the immoralities of the Confederacy—but most likely haven’t been forced to come face-to-face with such Civil War iconography either. “Monuments,” displayed almost entirely at MOCA’s Little Tokyo warehouse with a single Kara Walker installation at the Brick in East Hollywood, presents tangible proof that these monuments removed from public view over the past decade were not simple, somber remembrances for the recently deceased, these were larger-than-life celebrations of the Confederacy forged in the Jim Crow era and often financed by folks seeking to twist its history.

Works from 19 artists respond either directly or thematically to the many statues on display, or in some cases physically alter them: Bethany Collins’s Love is dangerous chisels pieces of the granite pedestal of a Stonewall Jackson monument into Carolina rose petals. Other graffitied or paint-splattered statues speak for themselves: The Robert E. Lee monument at the center of 2017’s Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia resides here reduced to a pile of bronze ingots and a bucket of leftover slag.

The matter-of-fact wall text lends context to hauntingly-shot portraits of wicked people and beautifully-detailed busts of complicated figures. Seated in front of a colossal globe, a monument to Matthew Fontaine Maury pays homage to the father of modern oceanography—who, the wall text notes, sought to expand American slavery into Brazil. The text next to a comparatively modest statue of Josephus Daniels notes his progressive stances on women’s suffrage and trust busting—and advocacy for white supremacy.

“Monuments” is a tremendous undertaking in every sense, and easily L.A.’s most essential exhibition to see in 2025 (and 2026, as its run extends through the spring). It’s worth every cent of its $18 ticket price, though if you book far enough ahead of time, you can take advantage of free admission on the first Friday of every month.

What better spot to mark the Lunar New Year than “the happiest place on earth”? Disney California Adventure commemorates the Year of the Horse with a month of multicultural celebrations. Kids can look forward to photo ops and meet-and-greets with Mulan, Mushu, Mickey and Minnie, 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.

Learn more about different Asian cultures as you celebrate Lunar New Year at dining and shopping destination Koreatown Plaza, where you can watch a Chinese lion dance, Korean drum performances and taekwondo demonstrations, and a multicultural fashion show—all for free. You can also shop from a variety of Asian American-owned small businesses, 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, Gamja Bawi, Pao Jao, Tonkatsu House and Bosco Bakery among its vendors.

Robert Therrien’s Under the Table has long been one of the most popular pieces in the Broad’s collection (you know the one—the giant table and chairs that you ask your friend to snap a photo of as you stand underneath). Well now the museum is hosting the largest-ever solo exhibition of the artist’s work, displaying more than 120 pieces, including many that have never been shown in museums before. Expect more huge housewares and striking works, plus some intimate drawings and surprises from the late L.A.-based artist. The specially ticketed show will fill the first-floor galleries through April 5, 2026.

The Hammer Museum’s excellent, ongoing series of biennial exhibitions ups the ante with each edition of its spotlight on emerging and under-recognized L.A. artists. This October’s exhibition—the seventh such show—brings together works from 28 artists, spanning film, painting, theater, photography, sculpture and video, that engage with the city of Los Angeles.

Highlights include Kelly Wall’s penny press and wishing well, plus racks of postcards of L.A. skies fabricated out of glass; Patrick Martinez’s East L.A.–inspired cinder block wall, adorned with Mayan murals and neon trim (as well as another neon sign that reads “Agua is LIFE, NO ICE”); and re-creations and photo documentation of the late Alonzo Davis’s freeway murals from the 1984 Olympics. Before you even step inside, you’ll notice Alake Shilling’s Buggy Bear Crashes Made in L.A., which, yes, is a giant inflatable bear driving a car that’s careening toward the Glendon Avenue corner of the Westwood museum.

Anonymous feminist art collective the Guerrilla Girls—whose members gained notoriety for donning gorilla masks and fighting the patriarchy—is coming up on its 40th anniversary, and the Getty Center is marking the occasion with a behind-the-scenes look at the group. See photography, protest art and the group’s famed posters—sporting statistics, bold visuals and satirical humor—that showcase the tactics the members used to demand recognition for women and artists of color. The Guerrilla Girls have even created a newly commissioned work for the exhibition. And you can add your own mark on the “graffitti wall” installation, giving visitors a creative outlet for their complaints about the world today. 

Accompanying programming throughout the run of the show will include a conversation between the Guerrilla Girls and author Roxane Gay, a feminist Valentine’s Day mail art workshop, cocktail receptions with the exhibition curators, tours and more.

Right on the heels of the release of his new film, Mickey 17, director Bong Joon Ho steps into the spotlight at the Academy Museum’s latest “Director’s Spotlight” exhibition (past subjects have included Spike Lee and Agnès Varda). The first-ever museum show dedicated to the Oscar-winning South Korean filmmaker will trace Ho’s career, creative process and cinematic influences. See over 100 storyboards, research materials, posters, concept art, creature models, props and on-set photos from the director’s archive and personal collection. On opening day, March 23, catch screenings of Okja (2pm) and Parasite (7:30pm) in the David Geffen Theater—Ho himself will be there in person.

The Skirball’s latest pop culture exhibition takes a deep dive into the six-decade career of legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby. You might know him as the co-creator of Captain America, Black Panther, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and some of the Marvel universe’s most cosmic characters. But did you know he was also a first-generation Jewish American born to immigrant parents, World War II veteran and family man who split his time between New York and Los Angeles?

The exhibition only occupies a few small galleries, but it’s stuffed with information about Kirby’s life, as well as pristine prints of issues plus his original comic illustrations—many on view for the first time. It’s not just a Marvel showcase, either: You’ll find some of the work Kirby did for DC, plus personal collages, a drawing he gave to Paul and Linda McCartney, and a fantastic reproduction of a costume he designed for a UC Santa Cruz production of Julius Caesar.

Though not explicitly framed this way, the exhibition also presents a clear-as-day retort to any contemporary fans who decry comic book stories today as too “political”: Marvel has been political from the very start. Kirby’s cover for the first issue of Captain America features Cap punching Hitler—a full year before America would break its isolationist policies and enter WWII. The fifth issue follows Captain America in a battle against the German American Bund, a domestic Nazi organization that staged an infamous rally inside Madison Square Garden. And a concept design for Black Panther reminds visitors that the first Black superhero was born in the midst of the civil rights movement.

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.

Don’t go in the water, but do go to the Academy Museum to see the largest exhibition ever dedicated to Steven Spielberg’s original summer blockbuster, Jaws—which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The museum was already home to the last surviving model shark from filming, but now you can go behind the scenes and see some 200 original objects from the film across multiple galleries. Some highlights: a re-creation of the Orca fishing boat, the dorsal fin used both in Jaws and its sequels, costumes worn by the central trio and a room full of vintage film posters and merch promoting the film. There are interactive elements, too: You can have your own Chief Brody dolly-zoom moment (and see the lens used to film the famous shot), play the iconic John Williams two-note score and control a replica of the mechanical shark.

Japan House Los Angeles is bringing an exhibition of shokuhin sampuru—hyper-realistic food replicas that have crossed over from marketing tool to art form (think Is It Cake? but cultural)—to Los Angeles for the first time. See mouthwatering faux food representing each of Japan’s 47 prefectures, from coffee house parfaits to izakaya skewers, as well as Chinese and Western cuisine, and try your own hand at food presentation by filling a bentō box yourself.

The California Science Center is inviting kids to get in the game with a new 17,000-square-foot exhibition about the power of play and the human body in motion. Besides teaching about the science behind sports, it also offers interactive challenges and video coaching from a team of Los Angeles-based mentor athletes including dancer Debbie Allen, the Dodgers’ World Series hero Freddie Freeman, Olympic medalist softball player Rachel Garcia and more. And for the first time ever, the center has commissioned public art—all by local artists—to complement the exhibition, including a Dodgers mural by Gustavo Zermeño Jr. The free exhibition will run at the Science Center through the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.