Things to do in L.A. this weekend: Jan 30–Feb 1

Spend your Sunday morning dashing through Griffith Park for a good cause. This pair of runs are open to all skill levels: The half marathon will take you on all the main trails of the park and past the merry-go-round and the Autry Museum, while the shorter 5K is shady, scenic and flat. For the first time this year, you can register your dog to run alongside you in the 5K. After you finish your route, check out sampling booths and refuel with food truck fare. Proceeds from registration benefit the Los Angeles Parks Foundation.

Think men could do a bit of a better job listening when it comes to dating? This Bachelorette-style game show runs with that conceit as its one rule: The four men competing for a date can’t speak. Instead, they’ll nod and doodle while host Allison Goldberg searches their phones and dials their moms. You can usually find Love Isn’t Blind staged monthly (and you can even apply to participate in it).

Get all your Valentine’s (or Galentine’s) gifting done early and support local makers at the same time at Santa Monica Place. Dozens of artisans will be selling their handcrafted goods, one-of-a-kind vintage finds and homemade treats at this family-friendly and pet-friendly market in the Center Plaza. You can also commission a “bad portrait” of yourself or a loved one, paint your own plant pot or make perfume at hands-on workshops.

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, jazz supper club Somerville and Korean gastropub Yi Cha.

Get your hands dirty at Gloria Molina Grand Park this weekend and help plant the city’s first urban Miyawaki forest. The Japanese-pioneered ecosystem, which promotes biodiversity and grows 10 times faster than traditional forests, prioritizes planting native trees in dense areas. Starting Saturday, the park’s Block Two (between Olive Court and Hill St) will become home to 200 new plants. The morning will begin with an opening ceremony and land blessing from Aztec dance troupe Yankuititl. An on-site partner village will offer free planting demos, native plant giveaways and a seedball-making workshop from Friends of the L.A. River, and DJ Hello Stranger will provide the soundtrack.

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).

RECOMMENDED: Chinese New Year in Los Angeles

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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. 

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.

Dealing with a difficult subject head-on, the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA’s new show, “Monuments”—co-presented by the museum and nonprofit the Brick (formerly LAXART)—juxtaposes both intact and vandalized Confederate monuments with contemporary artwork. The show looks at the recent wave of monument removals from a historic perspective and encourages discourse about challenging topics amid an ongoing national debate about the role of these statues and what they represent. Tickets for the special exhibition are $18, though if you book far enough ahead of time, you can take advantage of free admission on the first Friday of every month.

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.

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? Learn about his life and see Kirby’s original comic illustrations, as well as other works—many on view for the first time.

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 new exhibition. 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, posters, concept art, creature models, props and on-set photos from the director’s archive and personal collection. On Sundays, the museum’s on-site restaurant, Fanny’s, is offering an accompanying Korean Sunday Supper series with dishes like bibimbap and galbi jjim. You can reserve a spot here.

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.

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.

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.

Jodie Foster defies expectations in a French-language murder-mystery full of hidden depths.