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The Best Things To Do In LA And SoCal This Week: Feb. 14 - 17
Happy Valentine's Day!
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Denise Cross Photography, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
)
Luurve is in the air this week, so take your date to a silent movie with live accompaniment. Challenge them over a game of Ms. Pac-Man. Listen to Anna Gunn in a new podcast. And if you want nothing to do with the hyped holiday, we have plenty for you to choose from, too.
With COVID-19 variants still out there, many in-person events are being canceled or postponed. Please check ahead of time to confirm event status and vaccine/testing requirements for entry.
REDCAT presents the onsite and virtual program "Candidates for Humanity," curated by Gavin Mottram, Jorge Ravelo, and SNEAL.
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Courtesy of SNEAL
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Monday, Feb. 14: 8:30 p.m.
Candidates for Humanity
REDCAT
631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A.
Watch a program of eclectic short films that includes obscure internet footage, institutional cartoons, experimental documentary, and music videos. Appearing in person are curators Gavin Mottram and Jorge Ravelo with artist/filmmaker Alan S. Tofighi.
COST: $5 - $12; MORE INFO
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Bruno Louchouarn and Corey Madden on their wedding day.
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Photo courtesy of The Fountain Theatre
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Monday, Feb. 14
Numbered Days
Virtual
Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) stars in a four-part podcast of playwright Corey Madden’s memoir. The real-life love story follows Madden and her beloved husband, composer Bruno Louchouarn, who use the power of music and words to sustain them through their “numbered days.” The audio production from the Fountain Theatre also stars Tony Amendola, Jeanne Sakata, and Jack Stehlin.
COST: $20; MORE INFO
Monday, Feb. 14: 7 p.m.
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans with Live Accompaniment
The Art Theatre
2025 E. 4th St., Long Beach
Watch F. W. Murnau’s 1927 classic, in which a farmer falls under the spell of a city girl who convinces him to kill his wife. The prescient silent film features romance, social realism, and seduction. The Jack Curtis Dubowsky Ensemble performs a live score.
COST: $18; MORE INFO
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Monday, Feb. 14: 5:30 - 10 p.m.
Arcade Date Night
Neon Retro Arcade
28 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena
Here’s a Valentine’s Day idea: Take your date to the arcade that features more than 40 classic games. All games are set to free play with paid admission. While walk-ins are welcome, reservations are also available.
COST: $15 - $25 admission; MORE INFO
Monday, Feb. 14: 7:30 p.m.
Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers
Ted Mann Theater at the Academy Museum
6067 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire
Watch a screening of a new print of a film directed by Robert J. Kaplan, starring Andy Warhol Factory superstar and Lou Reed muse Holly Woodlawn. The musical satire about a small-town girl (Woodlawn) trying to make it in the Big Apple was nearly lost, but was retrieved and preserved by the Academy Film Archive.
COST: $5 - $10; MORE INFO
Monday, Feb. 14: 7:30 p.m.
The Mermaid Comedy Hour
The Improv Lab
8162 Melrose Ave., Beverly Grove
Bring your friends and/or your dates to a night of comedy from some of the funniest women around. The lineup features Nori Reed, Christine Medrano, Ketra Long, Bailey Norton, Jill Kimmel, and Heather Turman. The show is produced and hosted by Valerie Tosi and Joleen Lunzer. Ages 21+.
COST: $12, plus two-item minimum; MORE INFO
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Tuesday, Feb.15 - Sunday, Feb. 20
LABFest 2022
Virtual
The Echo Theater Company presents virtual readings of seven new plays developed in the company’s Playwright’s Lab. The readings begin on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. with Mother of God by Ricardo Perez Gonzalez. When Holy Mary, Mother of God, decides to divorce the big guy — all hell breaks loose.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Wednesday, Feb. 16 – Sunday, Sept. 4
Troy Montes-Michie: Rock of Eye
California African American Museum
600 State Dr., Los Angeles
842 S. Broadway, Exposition Park
CAAM opens the artist’s first museum solo exhibition, which features collages, drawings, sculptures, and installations that draw the contours of body and place. The exhibit starts from past assemblages of magazine images of the Black male body and traces the social history and form of the Zoot suit, the garment at the center of the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots in L.A.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Tune into the special live 100th episode of 'Go Fact Yourself' with guests Faith Salie and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
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Courtesy of KPCC/LAist
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Wednesday, Feb. 16: 6 p.m.
Go Fact Yourself LIVE with guests Faith Salie and DJ Jazzy Jeff
Virtual
The podcast features celebs chatting about their true passions, peppering in trivia questions, and then bringing in actual experts in the fields. Guests for this live 100th episode celebration are regular panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me Faith Salie and legendary DJ, producer, and sitcom star DJ Jazzy Jeff. Hosts J. Keith van Straaten and Helen Hong with secret guest experts will try to stump Jeff and Salie in their self-proclaimed areas of expertise.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
For Frieze Los Angeles 2022, Night Gallery is thrilled to present new work by Tau Lewis, Daniel T. Gaitor-Lomack, Danielle Mckinney and Elaine Stocki, including (above) Mckinney's 'OCD and O’Keeffe,' 2022.
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Pierre Le Hors
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Thursday, Feb. 17 - Sunday, Feb. 20
Frieze Los Angeles 2022
9900 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills
The international art fair returns to L.A. for its third edition (after last year’s COVID hiatus), moving to a new expanded location, adjacent to The Beverly Hilton. The fair features 100 galleries from 17 countries, with works by both established and emerging artists. This year, Frieze collaborated with artist Tanya Aguiñiga, who organized BIPOC Exchange, a section that highlights 10 of L.A.’s artist-led social-impact initiatives.
COST: Adult admission starts at $75; MORE INFO
Thursday, Feb. 17 - Sunday, Feb. 20
SPRING/BREAK Art Show
Skylight Culver City
5880 Adams Blvd., Culver City
The curator-driven art fair returns for its third installment, running concurrently with Frieze. The show features more than 50 immersive installations that fall under the theme of HEARSAY:HERESY. Noteworthy exhibitions from actress and painter Alia Shawkat, first-ever artworks by art world satirist Jerry Gogosian, and works by young painter Ronan Day-Lewis.
COST: General admission starts at $30; MORE INFO
Empress Of participates in the event "Evoke LA: Central Americans, W 7th St."
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KPCC/LAist
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Thursday, Feb. 17; 12 p.m.
Evoke LA: Central Americans, W 7th St
Virtual
Watch the premiere of this event series, a collaboration between ALOUD and KPCC/LAist, that’s inspired by the Los Angeles Public Library archives. It explores the heart of the city with a photo taken in 1986 of a mother and daughter walking down 7th Street as the inspiration for the conversation. Musician Empress Of (Lorely Rodriguez) and Pitzer College Professor Suyapa Portillo Villeda join KPCC/LAist Immigrant Communities Reporter Leslie Berestein Rojas and series curator Josh Kun to talk about Honduran and Central American life, politics, and influence in Los Angeles, with a performance by Empress Of.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Thursday, Feb. 17 - Sunday, Feb. 20
Felix L.A. Art Fair
Roosevelt Hotel
7000 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood
The contemporary hotel art fair celebrates local art from 60 international galleries and exhibitors, taking over the hotel’s guest rooms on the 10th and 11th floors and the cabanas surrounding the David Hockney pool.
COST: $40 - $75; MORE INFO
Ongoing
Maize: Past, Present and Future
LA Plaza Cocina
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
555 North Spring St., downtown L.A.
The museum dedicated to Mexican food recently opened its inaugural exhibition, a tribute to the cuisine’s essential ingredient. Curated by Maite Gomez-Rejón and Ximena Martin, the exhibition also showcases the tools and processes through photographs, tools, artifacts, and cookbooks.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
TV / Streaming Pick
Ali Wong: Don Wong
Wong’s third Netflix stand-up special (following Baby Cobra and Hard Knock Wife) delves into her wildest fantasies, touching on the “challenges of monogamy and how she really feels about single people.” Don Wong drops on Netflix on Valentine’s Day.
Dine and Drink Deals
Check out the 411 on restaurant, bar, and food happenings in SoCal this week:
- Unity Bagels wraps up its pop-up at the Mondrian Los Angeles’ hotel bar lobby on Monday. Visitors and hotel guests can order from the menu available from 7 a.m.-10 a.m. Items include Bagels with Dressing and sandwiches. And if you miss the pop-up, you can always catch the bagel stand at the farmers markets in Marina Del Rey on Saturdays and Melrose Place on Sundays.
- Bring a blanket and a picnic to celebrate a chill Valentine’s Day at Grand Park on Monday night. If you don’t feel like cooking, the Cerda Vega Food Truck will be onsite from 6 to 10 p.m.
- The Wayfarer DTLA’s basement parlor Lilly Rose offers a Lover’s Lane High Tea from 2 to 6 p.m. through Feb. 27. Enjoy traditional offerings including scones, finger sandwiches, and pastries, plus the addition of chocolate-covered strawberries. Themed tea cocktails ($16 each), including the Love Me Tinder and Mint to Be, are also available.
- Tamon Sushi at the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo offers a Valentine’s Day prix fixe meal with either a sushi dinner or a 10 oz. ribeye steak dinner, paired with a glass of wine and slice of cheesecake for dessert. The dinner is $35 per person and available on Monday, Feb. 14, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. by reservation.
- To coincide with Frieze L.A., Ruinart Champagne presents a Food For Art Dinner at Bar Restaurant in Silver Lake from Feb. 17 to 27. The seafood-centric three-course pairing menu ($85) is inspired by L.A.-artist David Horovitz’s “Give Us Back Our Stars” interactive artwork on display at the restaurant. An optional Ruinart pairing is an additional $45.
- Curtis Stone’s fine-dining restaurant Maude reopens in Beverly Hills, just in time for Valentine’s Day. The tasting menu is focused on California-centric ingredients, emphasizing its produce and seafood. The nine-course menu is $195 per person with optional wine pairings ($125-$225).
Got an event in Southern California you want us to consider for one of our event roundups?
Send us the basic info — who, what, when, where, cost, URL and event description — at least a week in advance. We can't guarantee your listing will make it to publication but we'd love to read your pitch.
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