Best things to do this weekend in Los Angeles and Southern California: January 30-February 1

It’s been a heavy week, so it’s impossible for me to tell you to go out and forget about the heaviness. But there are some fun events you can check out right here in L.A. this weekend and beyond that support our immigrant communities. Events like Saturday’s Irresistible Resistance party in Boyle Heights and the ongoing anti-ICE dinner series with Roads and Kingdoms support local businesses, and are also frankly delicious.

There’s also a lot of good to celebrate, like the first trail accessibility program opening in the Valley — the launch event is Saturday, but more trails for all is a great thing forever.

Licorice Pizza has your Grammy weekend music picks. Friday is a good night for punk, with Punk Rock Karaoke at the Lodge Room, or check out Black Flag with the Dickies & Angry Samoans at the Observatory. Plus, Tan Universe will be live at Licorice Pizza. If you’re lucky enough to score a ticket, you could attend the Annual MusiCares Person of the Year gala honoring Mariah Carey. On Saturday, you could go old-school and see New Edition, Boyz II Men and Toni Braxton at the Forum, or Jason Isbell at the Orpheum, Cate Le Bon at the Belasco, the Album Leaf at Zebulon, or the one-and-only Charo at Cal State Long Beach. And, of course, the Grammy Awards are on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena, airing live on CBS and Paramount+. You can root for top nominees like Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and SZA.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can keep an eye on Eaglet Watch 2026, read about the origins of L.A. punk with Red Kross and visit Whammy Analog Media, a place for VHS lovers.

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Events

Fela Kuti Celebration

Sunday, February 1, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. 
De La Playa Records & Leisure 
110 S. Ave. 56, Highland Park 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

Fela Kuti’s longtime manager, Rikki Stein, will recount stories from a life with Fela, including their time on the road with Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead and more. The party at De La Playa Records & Leisure goes all afternoon with food, drinks and music (of course).

Bier & Bavaria

Saturday, January 31, and Sunday, February 1
Lawless Brewing 
5275 Craner Ave., North Hollywood
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

There’s no snow here, but you can embrace the East Coast’s winter storm vibes at this apres-ski themed event in North Hollywood at Bier & Bavaria. There will be “real” snow in the parking lot, shotskis at the bar, raclette, live music and more. Put on your puffy coat!

Miyawaki Forest Planting 

Saturday, January 31, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Gloria Molina Grand Park
200 N. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A. 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Courtesy The Sugi Foundation

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High-density, native species are planted to create a self-sustaining urban forest in a method called the Miyawaki Forest, developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. Now, that science comes to L.A. in an historic environmental milestone as the first Miyawaki Forest is planted in Gloria Molina Grand Park. And you can be a part of it! The community will come together for a planting event to break ground and plant 200 plants within a 650-square-foot piece of land located in the park’s Block Two, between Olive Court and Hill Street, north of the Performance Lawn. The day also includes a land acknowledgement ceremony, a Legacy Workshop for students and more.

Tomat x Bad Luck Bagels

Sunday, February 1, 10 a.m. until sold out
6261 W. 87th St., Westchester  
COST: VARIES; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Tomat

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I’ve spent a lot of time in East London’s Brick Lane, and it’s famous for its beigels (that’s bagels to you) and smoked salt beef. Get a little taste of Jewish London here in L.A. at UK transplant hotspot Tomat in Westchester with their Sunday morning Bad Luck Bagels collaboration, featuring smoked trout and pastrami on homemade bagels. A portion of the proceeds will go to CHIRLA.

Irresistible Resistance, with a performance from San Cha

Saturday, January 31, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Distrito Catorce 
1837 1st St., Boyle Heights
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

The tastiest way to resistance comes from Chef Jonathan Perez, who will be bringing his inventive Mexican cuisine to this food and music event supporting immigrant communities in L.A. There will be a performance from San Cha, a queer Latine musician and performance artist who "uses 'novela' inspired performances to tell stories about colonization and heartbreak with the aims of liberation and healing."

Public Sounds

Saturday, January 31, 2 p.m.
RSVP for location
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

OK, I don’t have a lot of info on this one, but synthesizers in the park sounds like a pretty great Saturday afternoon. So whether you’re a synthesizer nerd or just an outdoor music enthusiast, the electronic musician Geller will be performing an improvised synthesizer show outdoors somewhere in L.A. (RSVP for the exact location). Geller’s latest EP, Parallel Play, is out now.

The Fire Stories Project

Saturday, January 31, 1 p.m.
Main Library Community Room
Altadena Library 
2659 Lincoln Ave., Altadena
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

A playground burns in a residential neighborhood during the Eaton fire in Pasadena, California on January 7, 2025.

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Josh Edelson

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AFP via Getty Images

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Theater is a powerful way to tell stories and create empathy. As we recently passed the first anniversary of the Eaton Fire, this event pairs theater-makers from In Other People's Shoes with therapists working with young people to script their experiences of the fires and share them back with the community. The performance is done by professional actors reading the young people’s words verbatim. It’s also the last day the Altadena Library is open before it closes temporarily for renovations; there will be two more performances held at Pacific Clinics in Pasadena on Sunday, February 1, and at Lineage Performing Arts Center in Pasadena on February 2.

Miles Davis Centennial with MEB

Friday, January 30, 8 p.m.
Carpenter Center
6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach
COST: FROM $38.75; MORE INFO

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Earl E. Gibson III

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Carpenter Center

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Jazz legend Miles Davis would be 100 this year; celebrate the great with his music and an all-star ensemble led by Grammy Award-winning producer/drummer Vince Wilburn Jr., and featuring Darryl Jones, Robert Irving III, Munyungo Jackson, Jean-Paul Bourelly, Antoine Roney, Keyon Harrold, DJ Logic and special guest musicians at the Carpenter Center.

Crash Out Queens: A Tiffany Townsend Recital

Through Sunday, February 1
Long Beach Opera
Altar Society
230 Pine Ave., Long Beach
COST: FROM $95; MORE INFO   

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Courtesy Long Beach Opera

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Opera can be notoriously hard for novices to approach, but Soprano Tiffany Townsend is out to change that with a bold new recital developed with the Long Beach Opera. The piece focuses on major stage moments of women in opera and the inner lives of these characters. The program takes the audience through opera history with a new lens on the lives of the women portrayed, who are often “pushed to their psychological and emotional limits.” Townsend embodies a number of recognizable female characters in opera, and incorporates dance, music and imagination into the work.