Things to do in L.A. this weekend
We pick out the best things to do in L.A. this weekend, including our favorite concerts, culture and cuisine
We don’t know about you, but our mind is always focused on the weekend. It can never come soon enough—which is why we’re already thinking about where to go for brunch. Whether you’re looking to spend the night at a concert or getting away completely, you’ll find plenty of things to do in L.A. this weekend.
We curate an L.A. weekend itinerary of the city’s best concerts, culture and cuisine, every week, just for you.
The 23 best things to do in L.A. this weekend
Winter dineL.A.
Take advantage of a two-week stretch of prix-fixe menus, where diners can check out some of the best restaurants at relatively affordable prices. We’ve narrowed down the dozens upon dozens of menus to just a few of our favorites.
Cirque du Soleil: ‘Volta’
In its newest show, the French Canadian megatroupe Cirque du Soleil once again delivers the spine-tingling spectacle that is its raison d’être. Strung together by a gossamer-thin plot, Volta incorporates street-style sports like BMX riding and double dutch jump rope alongside traditional circus arts.
Smorgasburg LA
Indulge your inner foodie and shopaholic at this weekly food-focused market.
“Disembodiment”
See works from six young, emerging black artists in this UTA Artist Space show curated by Mariane Ibrahim Lenhardt. Figurative works from Jarvis Boyland, Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Jerrell Gibbs, Marcus Jahmal, Clotilde Jiménez and Vaughn Spann dive into and upend narratives about race and living in a “post-racial” America.
‘Frozen’
Do you want to build a... rainy day fund to save up for tickets to a smash hit Disney-inspired Broadway musical? Good, because Frozen is coming to L.A.
Christopher Myers: Drapetomania
Myers inaugurates East Hollywood gallery Fort Ganesvoort with colorful quilted tapestries that respond to the ongoing oppression and marginalization of minorities, as well as works that reference Myers’s own personal historical inspirations, from Greek mythology and W. E. B. Du Bois to Buster Keaton and Steve McQueen.
Lunar New Year Celebration at Disney California Adventure
What better spot to mark the Lunar New Year than “the happiest place on earth”? Disney California Adventure commemorates the Year of the Rat with a month of multi-cultural celebrations. Kids can look forward to photo ops and parade processions with Mulan, Mushu, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, while exhausted adults will find a tasty reprieve with treats from China, Korea and Vietnam.
“Shirin Neshat: I Will Greet the Sun Again”
The Broad surveys 25 years of Neshat, an L.A.-by-way-of-Iran photographer and videographer whose passionate work mines the ancient and recent history of Iran and its people.
The Last Ship
This West Coast premiere and start of the national tour features music and lyrics by Sting (of the Police, for those of you living through the 1980s). And yes, Sting will star in the production, too.
Oscar Oiwa: Dreams of a Sleeping World
Find peace in chaotic dreamscapes at the premiere of this solo exhibition from Oscar Oiwa, which includes four large-scale surreal landscape paintings, plus an 800-square-foot site-specific mural. Using nothing more than a Sharpie (OK, actually about 120 of them), Oiwa and his four assistants will draw dreamy illustrations onto the side of an inflated, white nylon dome at Pasadena’s USC Pacific Asia Museum over the course of about two weeks. Once on display, visitors will be able to step inside and stare up at the dome from the comfort of a bed in the middle. Check out this video below for a taste of Oiwa’s process.
“Julie Mehretu”
This co-presentation with New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art takes a mid-career look at the Ethiopian-American’s striking large-scale abstractions, with 30 paintings and 32 works on paper. The first-ever retrospective of the artist spans two decades of pieces that examine geopolitics and displacement through abstraction, architecture, landscape, movement and figuration.
Chinese New Year Midnight Temple Ceremony
Chinatown welcomes New Year with a midnight ceremony at the Thien Hau Temple. Crowds begin to gather on the eve of the Chinese New Year to make offerings to the deities, awaken the spirits with firecrackers and burn incense for good fortune. Join lion dancers and monks starting at 10pm, and feel free to return to the temple throughout the week.
King Princess
There’s something so joyful about King Princess (otherwise known as Mikaela Straus), even when she’s writing sad songs. You can feel creative excitement shining through everything she does, whether that’s the incredibly romantic but tongue-in-cheek “Pussy is God” or the elegant heartbreak of “Talia.”
Museums Free-For-All
Got a list of L.A. museums you haven’t visited yet? Clear your calendar for Museums Free-For-All, when museums all over the region throw open the doors for free admission. Over 40 museums will drop their admission fees on Saturday, January 25. It’s the perfect opportunity to knock a couple of cultural to-dos off your list, like the Japanese American National Museum, Natural History Museum, LACMA and more. Even the still-to-open Academy Museum is joining in with an activation on the west side of its campus.
Beyond Embodiment
See works from 25 female, non-binary and trans artists who explore physicality and identity through sculpture, video, animation, photography, virtual reality and other mediums.
Lunar New Year at Santa Monica Place
Santa Monica Place marks the Lunar New Year with performances and activities in its open-air shopping center. Comedian Paul “PK” Kim hosts an afternoon that includes a Chinese lion dance, Korean fan dance, stilt walkers, traditional dough artist, balloon twister, crafts and New Year’s Wishing Trees.
The Body, The Object, The Other
L.A.’s only public showcase devoted to contemporary craft and community-based folk art mounts its second biennial focused on how artists are pushing the boundaries of works in clay. The 21 artists featured all use the human body as a means to challenge traditional ideas of representation.
Lunar New Year Festival
Pasadena’s Pacific Asia Museum museum rings in the Lunar New Year with a free afternoon of pan-Asian activities. You’ll find traditional performances in the museum’s courtyard, plus art activities, food trucks and, most importantly, free admission to the galleries.
More things to do in L.A. this weekend
Things to do on Friday
Kick back, relax and get the weekend started with the best things to do this Friday night.
Things to do on Saturday
Let the brunching commence with our guide to the best things to do this Saturday.
Things to do on Sunday
End the weekend on a high note, whether on the beach or back at the brunch table, with the best things to do this Sunday.
More weekend ideas
The best brunch restaurants in Los Angeles
If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, isn’t that reason enough to get serious about weekend brunch?
Best hikes in L.A.
Whether you’re more cityscape gawker or ocean gazer, we’ve got the trek for you.
The best beaches in Los Angeles
From Venice and Santa Monica to Manhattan Beach and Playa Vista, here are the top spots to sunbathe, surf and play.