36 Things to Do in L.A. This Week [2-22-2021 to 2-26-2021]

The Getty during sunset. Photo by Christina Champlin.

We used to tell you about all the things you could go out and do in Los Angeles on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Then, COVID-19 changed life for all of us, in a thousand small and massive ways. Until the pandemic is behind us, we’ll post events that adhere to Public Health’s current protocols—including plenty of at-home and online events—every Monday and Thursday. We hope they keep you busy, make you laugh, teach you something, or help you feel less alone.

This week, we’ve got a musical walk through Griffith Park, Printed Matter’s L.A. Art Book Fair, 40-cent burgers, drive-thru food fests and drive-in movies, National Margarita Day specials, and more. Have something you want to submit for next week? Hit us up: [email protected].

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In-Person Events

CAP UCLA presents Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK, a GPS-enabled work of public art that brings the natural environment of Griffith Park to life through music. Created by Pulitzer Prize-winning sound artist Ellen Reid, the experience is dictated by the listener. As they explore the park, the app triggers musical cells that harmonize with the park’s landscape. The app is free to download and will be available until 2023.

THE DRIVE-IN at Exposition Park takes place on the lawn of the iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum between the Olympic flame and the oldest palm tree in Los Angeles. Films selected celebrate the work of women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ voices. On Friday, Feb. 26, they’ll screen be Paris is Burning. Black-owned food trucks will be on the premises as well.

Paramount+ invites you on an Under the Sea Road Trip Adventure with SpongeBob at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena Feb. 26-28. The in-vehicle drive-though and drive-in screening experience will include multiple experiential environments with digital interactions, photo ops, and a first look at the new series Kamp Koral: Spongebob’s Under Years, followed by the full feature film The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run. A minimum donation of $30 per ticket is required. Heal the Bay will receive 100% of donations. 

The Cinelounge Drive-in in Hollywood’s upcoming screenings include the documentary Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, (Feb. 26 to March 4), horror film The Vigil (Feb. 26 to March 4), and drama Nomadland (Feb. 23 through March 4). Don’t forget to pre-order some of Cinelounge’s gourmet popcorn!

UNCONCEALED by Leticia Maldonado is a new art installation at FIGat7th on view now through May 15, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. In one window, find a twinkling nightscape, neon stars, and El Conejo, an etched mirrored moon. In another, find three neon roses.

The Rose Bowl is hosting a Drive-Thru Fair Foodie Fest Feb. 12-28 featuring fair foods like turkey legs, deep-fried Oreos, and doughnut cheeseburgers. Admission is free, but you’ll have to pay per item. Register online in advance to receive a free mini funnel cake.

Santa Monica Place has partnered with Rumble to offer an outdoor, full-body boxing class. No previous boxing experience is required, but you will need to wear your mask, social distance, and receive a temp check. Tickets are $32 per class or $225 for 10 classes here.

Insomniac presents Electric Mile, a drive-thru festival experience inspired by the unique worlds of signature events including EDC, Beyond Wonderland, Nocturnal Wonderland, Escape, and Countdown. The event takes place at Santa Anita Park through Feb. 28 and features music, a warehouse rave, 5 million lights, installations, and more.

Street Food Cinema has pivoted to a drive-in at the Santa Monica Airport. Friday’s slate includes The Sandlot and Step Brothers.

Hollywood Legion Theater at Post 43’s drive-in cinema is open seven days a week. Upcoming films including Chinatown and Being There. Reservations include popcorn, soda, and candy for each guest.  Tickets start at $65 for two people.

Through March 15, Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. will recognize Black History Month with a series of art installations by Black artists including Tiayrra Bradley, Shplinton, and Mira Gandy. All three pieces can be found on the Third Street Promenade. Exact addresses and more info here.  

Glendale’s Electric Dusk Drive-In will be screening Harold and Maude, Coming to America, and 10 Things I Hate About You this week.

The Marina Drive-in’s weekend (Feb. 26-27) offerings include Bill and Ted Face the Music and Black Panther. All screenings begin at 6:30 p.m. with doors an hour earlier. Tickets are $20 per car. Nearby restaurants are open for outdoor dining and takeout if you’re looking for a meal to enjoy beforehand or in your car.

Image via LA Art Book Fair – LACE, LAABF 2015 – Photo by Ruben Diaz 

At-Home & Online Events

Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair goes virtual this year Feb. 24-28 combining forces with the New York edition of the fair to feature over 400 exhibitors selling zines, artists’ books and out-of-print editions. Free programs during the fair include panels, videos, and a virtual variety show from the Bob Baker Marionette Theater.

Occidental College’s OxyArts hosts the workshop “Planetary Liberation through Activation: Mapping, Dreaming, and Creating in the Ecocene” on Feb. 25 at 5:30 p.m. Per a release: “Through darkness and movement, plant relatives and visioning we connect to the Ecocene—an imagined and emerging era where all humyns live in reciprocity with their ecosystems again. Experience a School for the Ecocene DIY PhD session with Sarita Dougherty, mbgenerator, Katuuran Lyn Pacificar & Joy Angela Anderson to map out your dreams, plans, & creative projects for planetary liberation!” More info here.

On Feb. 26 at 11 a.m., the Craft in America Center presents a virtual talk with artist Timothy Horn. Horn specializes in media including blown glass, crystalized rock sugar, and various metals. More info here.

The Getty Villa Museum presents Laurel Ollstein’s Pandora, a feminist retelling of the myth of Pandora’s box, Feb. 26 through March 19. You can register to watch the pre-recorded reading here. You’ll need to register to receive the viewing password.

The Otis College of Art and Design will release the 2021 Otis Report on the Creative Economy on Feb. 25 at 10 a.m. This annual report focuses on how California’s creative industries form an essential part of its overall economy. Watch here.

In honor of Black History Month, Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills and in-house art galley #thecoolheART are amplifying the voices of Black artists Taj and Tiffanie Anderson with a special virtual Art From the Heart discussion event on Feb. 25 via Zoom. Registration to is free.

Zocalo Public Square will host the discussion “Has California Ended Mass Incarceration?” on Feb. 24 at 1 p.m. Per a release: “How are criminal justice system reforms changing our economy, our schools, our housing markets, our health systems, and our politics? UC Berkeley professor Steven Raphael visits Zócalo to examine criminal justice reform in California and how ending mass incarceration might change our communities.” Register here.

The Norton Simon Museum presents A Trio of Treatments: Conserving Manet, three short videos about the conservation of three Édouard Manet paintings. Watch here.

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Check out LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes‘ exhibit “afroLAtinindad: mi casa, my city” virtually here. The exhibit “ explores the history and contemporary experiences of Afrolatinidad in Los Angeles through art, photographs, and personal objects.”

Long Beach’s International City Theatre opens its 36th season with a virtual presentation of Yasmina Reza’s Tony award-winning play Art. It streams on-demand Feb. 18 through March 8.

Japan House LA presents its next virtual exhibition, “NATURE/SUPERNATURE: Visions of This World and Beyond in Japanese Woodblock Prints.” The exhibit includes three sections. Woodblock Printing goes over the history and process of the art form. Nature depicts landscapes from Japan. Supernature depicts supernatural beings. View online through May 31 here.

Truth in Photography is an open-ended online forum to talk about photography and social change that launched on Feb. 19. Per a release: “This interactive project questions the singular truth of photography by presenting multiple points of view, featuring a diversity of curators, photographers, critics, and historians, integrating vernacular photography, photojournalism, and fine art photography. Truth in Photography interrogates the nature and intentions of the medium and examines the relationship between the photographers and their subjects.” The launch also includes three curated exhibitions on view for Winter of 2021.

New York-based gallery Arcade Project Curatorial‘s latest online art show California Lite brings together 26 multicultural artists living in California to present their interpretations of light and life under the California sky. Free to view. Runs Feb. 10 through March 17.

Grand Park’s Lovers Rock is a two-week digital festival this year, focused on music and food, “rooted in the Reggae sounds of the 1970s and in Caribbean nightclubs in London.” Viewers can enjoy on-demand entertainment and vegan recipes on Grand Park’s digital channels Feb. 12-28. Guests include The Wailers’ Aston Barrett., Jr., Morning Becomes Eclectic host Novena Carmél, DJ Rashida, Storm the DJ, and more. Recipes come via Angela Means Kaaya, founder of Jackfruit Cafe.

Modernism Week, Palm Springs’ premier midcentury architecture and design event, is virtual this year (Feb. 1-28) with an array of online experiences you can stream safely at home.

Margarita from Madre.

Pickup & Delivery

Casa Vega will reopen on Monday, Feb. 22, just in time for National Margarita Day. The classic Mexican restaurant—which turns 65 this year—will be slinging its signature Classic CV Margarita for $5 all day and night on Monday. This will also kick off Margarita Mondays, where diners score $5 margaritas from 4:30-7 p.m. every Monday.

On Feb. 26, Mel’s in West Hollywood will celebrate its grand re-opening with smash burgers for only 40 cents each. Available from noon to 3 p.m. only, pickup or outdoor dining, limit one per person.

Oaxacan restaurant Madre carries hundreds of mezcal bottles and on National Margarita Day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Madre will offer its regular margarita (tequila reposado, lime, house curacao, spicy salt) and a smokey margarita (mezcal, fresh lime juice, home-made chili liqueur, and agave) for $10. Available at all three locations for outdoor dining or takeout.

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Join SOL Cocina in Playa Vista for happy hour on National Margarita Day from 3-6 p.m. Sip on $7 house margaritas, $8 skinny margaritas, and $9 watermelon margaritas, along with a variety of bites including grilled corn, street tacos, ceviche, and more.

Chef Dominique Crisp’s Saso is now opening in Pasadena, featuring an extensive seafood menu available for lunch, happy hour, and dinner. Some options include the Jamon Iberico Sandwich with maple butter, jicama, and handmade white bread; Navarra-style Bone-in Wagyu Tomahawk and Alaskan Mussels with fennel, charred leek, and chistorra; Txangurro Tortas / dungeness crab cakes with queso navarra, hot peppers, avocado crema; and Pasta Saso with handmade duck egg-yolk pasta, shellfish, fin fish, prawns, and ginger. Takeout and outdoor dining available.

In honor of National Flirting Week (Feb. 14-21) Japanese delivery concept Krispy Fish has teamed up with dating platform Tinder on limited-edition combo boxes to enjoy at home or on a socially distanced date. From Feb. 12-28, order up a “Hold My Handroll” box, “Plenty Of Fish In The Sea” box, or “Soul Mate” box and receive a one-month membership to Tinder Gold on the house.

Mian, the Chongqing noodle house from chef Tony Xu (Chengdu Taste), opened a third location in Artesia last week. In partnership with local restaurateur Bill Chait, this specific location features a number of exclusive menu items including Chengdu beef jerky, thousand-year-old egg with torched chili sauce, and a Mung Bean Horchata cocktail.

Bloom and Plume Coffee in Westlake has teamed up with Community Loving to collect school supplies and monetary donations for students at 153rd Elementary School. Donate supplies through a registry, or drop items off at the coffee shop to receive a drip coffee on the house. Donations will be taking place all month long.


Need more delivery and takeout options? Check out our latest comprehensive guide here.

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