Things to do in Los Angeles today

The masters of alfresco rooftop movie viewing have returned for another season of screenings to LEVEL in Downtown L.A. Known for excellent film choices and a steady supply of snacks and booze, Rooftop Cinema Club is your snazzy, comfortable and less stressful alternative to other outdoor movie screenings. You don’t even need to bring your own camping chair—Rooftop Cinema Club provides you with your very own comfy lawn chair (with optional blankets for purchase to up the coziness). And instead of listening to the movie over loudspeakers, you’ll get a set of wireless headphones so you never have to miss a word. Find the full schedule on their site, or in our outdoor movie calendar.

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...

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.  

Spend your day off giving back at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Each year on MLK Day, L.A. Works hosts a massive gathering of volunteers, who donate their time to help those in need—from families displaced by the wildfires to immigrant communities in danger of deportation—through hands-on service opportunities. Entry is free (though advance tickets are required), and food truck fare and merch from Black-owned businesses will be for sale.

For more than four decades, this South L.A. tradition has assembled marching bands, floats, street performers and local civic leaders as part of the world’s longest-running MLK Day celebration. You might have noticed the new name—for decades the event has been known as the “Kingdom Day Parade” and was organized by the Congress of Racial Equality of California. This year, however, due to some drama with permits, the parade is being presented by Bakewell Media and the Los Angeles Sentinel and broadcast by ABC live at 11am. The parade route kicks off on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Western Avenue, heads west to Crenshaw Boulevard and swings around Leimert Park Plaza, where you’ll find a free post-parade festival (11am–5pm). 

The recently restored historic Ojai Playhouse—which is actually a single-screen movie theater—is honoring the inimitable David Lynch a year after his death, celebrating his birthday with a week of programming. (And yes, it’s a bit of a trek to get there, but Ojai is a perfect spot for a day trip.) Each night from Thursday, January 15, to Tuesday, January 20, you can catch a free screening of one of the director’s films, including Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, The Elephant Man and more. (See the full lineup here.) Be sure to order a damn fine cup of coffee on your way in—the theater purchased Lynch’s own espresso machine from his estate and is serving up lattes using his favorite coffee beans.  And on Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm, James Franco is debuting a new work-in-progress play, Desert Films, about Robert Blake’s Mystery Man persona from Lost Highway. Tickets to that are $57. The weekend will culminate with a free group meditation on Sunday.

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 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 peeks 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. Though the exhibition is limited to a single gallery on the fourth floor, it’s packed with iconic items: 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 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.

Located just blocks from the ocean, Ice in downtown Santa Monica brings a bit of winter to the comfortable coastal city. The 8,000-square-foot outdoor rink runs daily from November to mid-January on the corner of Fifth Street and Arizona Avenue (less than a 10-minute walk from the E Line). Tickets for an hourlong slot ($24) include skate rentals, and you can book private parties and fire pits if you’re looking for something a bit more premium. Look out for cozy treats for sale, plus special events like classical Sunday afternoons and a sparkly shindig for Taylor Swift’s birthday (Dec 13). RECOMMENDED: The best places to go ice skating in Los Angeles