Best things to do this week in Los Angeles and Southern California: January 26-29

While the rest of the country battles a real season with snow and freezing temps, we are deep into awards season, with Oscar noms already out and the Grammys coming up next weekend.

Since it’s Grammy Week, I’ll let our Licorice Pizza expert Lyndsey Parker give the lowdown for all the best music events:

Pull all the strings you can to get into the VIP parties and events around town, but there’s plenty of great tunes even for those without red carpet status. On Monday, everyone’s favorite indie-rock comic Fred Armisen is back at Largo, while Texas rockers Nothing More will take over the Belasco on Tuesday. On Wednesday, singer-songwriters Madison Cunningham and Mike Viola play the Bellwether, folk buzz band Lavender Diamond is at 2220 Arts + Archives and bluegrass star Molly Tuttle is at the Grammy Museum. On Thursday, Cannons play the Fonda, Lindsey Troy of Deap Vally is at Bardot for “It’s A School Night,” Inara George is at Zebulon, Grace Bowers plays the Troubadour, Robert Glasper plays the Blue Note and perhaps most exciting of all, Lizzie McGuire herself, Hilary Duff, makes her comeback at the Wiltern.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can get all the details on the newly approved Sepulveda transit route, catch up on the Oscar race’s sure things and snubs and Gab Chabrán reviews a Michelin-level breakfast pop-up in Hollywood.

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Events

L.A. Central Library Centennial Kickoff

Thursday, January 29, 11 a.m.
Mark Taper Auditorium 
L.A. Central Library
650 W. 5th Street, Downtown L.A.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Downtown L.A.'s Central Library.

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Wikimedia Commons

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The L.A. Central Library is a gem in our fair city — it hosts incredible author events and artists residencies; has a dedicated teen area and a museum; and is an architectural icon. There’s an entire prize-winning book about the 1986 fire that ripped through it (one of my favorite books ever, highly recommend). And the library is turning 100 this year, with a number of events celebrating 100 years of learning. The kickoff includes the unveiling of a time capsule that was placed in the building’s cornerstone during its original construction in 1926.

Bridgerton Ice Cream Social

Thursday, January 29, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. 
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams 
1954 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Dearest Reader,
Cool down from the steamy launch of Bridgerton season 4 with a cool Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams social. The afternoon includes a performance from Vitamin String Quartet (who do those cool orchestral covers of pop songs in the show) and free scoops of the new Queen Charlotte Sponge Cake flavor.

Remember the Varnish: Cocktail intensive

Monday, January 26,  7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
TalkTales Entertainment
555 N. Spring Street, Suite 106, Downtown L.A.
COST: $85; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Talk Tales

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Storied L.A. cocktail bar The Varnish closed in 2024 (and if you, like me, frequented it in its mid-aughts heyday, it might be time for your first colonoscopy), but you can step back behind the bar with one of its legendary mixologists, Sari Grossman, who created balanced concoctions there for eight years. This class will teach you the secrets behind three classics and provide a chance to relive the Varnish magic.

From the Upper Valley in the Foothills

Through January 31 (open Wednesday to Saturday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.)
Marta
3021 Rowena Ave., Los Feliz
COST: FREE; MORE INFO  

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Ryan Belli

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Marta

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The concept for this group show in Los Feliz centers on an element that came into singular focus following last year’s devastating Palisades and Eaton fires: wood. The exhibit is sponsored by Angel City Lumber, a “unique lumber mill that specializes in sourcing downed trees from around L.A. County for use in community projects,” and each artist chose a section of wood that was cleared from Altadena. The invitation called upon artists to “examine the regenerative potential of a single, fundamental material” and includes works from furniture to sculpture and more.

Katherine Ryan: Battleaxe

Thursday, January 29, 7 p.m. 
Wilshire Ebell Theatre
4401 W. 8th Street, Mid-Wilshire
COST: FROM $30; MORE INFO

Full disclosure, if there’s one podcast I keep up with, it’s Katherine Ryan’s Telling Everybody Everything. Part Dear Abby, part Joan Rivers, Ryan is relatable even when she’s not. Always a little too honest, she spills about raising a family, the ups and downs of a comedy career and all the guilty pleasure celeb news you’re afraid to admit you read. The Canadian comic has been living in the UK since she was in her 20s and has a unique take on England that’s more Real Housewives than Bill Bryson. She’s touring with her new special, Battleaxe.

Transgresoras: Artists Giana De Dier and Marilyn Boror Bor with Elena Shtromberg
Tuesday, January 27, 1 p.m.
California Museum of Photography, UC Riverside
3824 Main Street, Riverside 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Latina women artists used the postal service starting in the 1960s to circulate their artworks and avoid censorship. Now, that work is being shown to the public in a new exhibit at UC Riverside’s California Museum of Photography. On Tuesday, there’s a free online talk with artists Giana De Dier and Marilyn Boror Bor, both featured in the exhibition, moderated by the exhibition’s co-curator Elena Shtromberg. The discussion will explore “both artists’ interventions in narratives around public space in Panama and Guatemala within the context of their broader artistic practice.” You can stream the talk for free; it will take place in Spanish with live audio translation. The show is on at the museum until February 15.

NHM Movie Night: Cat Video Fest
Thursday, January 29, 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
Natural History Museum’s NHM Commons Theater
900 Exposition Blvd., Expo Park 
COST: $20; MORE INFO

Regular readers of this column know I can’t pass up a good cat event, and this one at the Natural History Museum might be the, um, lion of them all. The CatVideo Fest features 75 minutes of curated cat videos, plus the entire evening is cat-centric, with an opportunity to walk through the lauded Fierce Cats exhibit, check out local cat-friendly vendors and meet with museum educators.