Museums Free-for-All: Before we get to the free! free! free! part of things on this popular day, let's address the elephant in the parking lot. Stowing your car is not free at many of the museums on the no-admission list. Good? No grumbling? Now that that's done, look, with wonder, at all of the places you can go on Saturday, Jan. 25 without paying a nickel of admission. Art's on there-- hi, MOCA -- and history's included -- hello, Fire Department Museum -- and television, too -- howdy, Paley Center for Media. Can you do all 20 museums? Nope. Uh, we mean, maybe? But will you see anything? Find one or two and love the free.
dineLA Restaurant Week: There's typically one weekend plunk in the middle of LA's every-so-often restaurant week, and that weekend, or at least the wintertime version of it, is upon us. Have you heard the rumor that people tend to eat out more at the end of the week? Not a rumor. If this is you, and you want to save cash, and you want to try a new place, check it: Over 300 eateries are doing the money-saving prix fixe thing. But why no breakfast, dineLA? We're putting that request in now, for the next round. Love ya, of course, but bet the eggs aficionados out there would dig breakfasty additions.
A Day on Broadway: Are you a Broadway buff, through and through? From the Bradbury Building to Grand Central Market to Clifton's Cafeteria, which hasn't reopened yet but is deeply missed, because fishing bears are cute? Then make for one of our city's great thoroughfares on Saturday, Jan. 25 and raise a glass -- maybe literally -- to the vibrant spirit of downtown's busy heart. Ohhhh, and behind-the-scenes hard hat tours. Those shall not be resisted by any nosy lookie-loo, which, we hope, is all of us out there.
Downtown Flea: And if you're in that neck of the woods -- or, er, skyscrapers? -- the next day, on Sunday, Jan. 26, swing by this objects-of-every-kind market, which kicks off its every-Sunday flea this weekend. That's right, it used to be once a month, with the DJs and the food trucks, and now it is once a week, with the DJs and the food trucks. Admission is a few dollars, the finds are funky. And, yes, we hear this is a place to see stars now? Guess they're collecting milk glass vases, too.
Lunar New Year Zoodiac: Can you name all of the animals that fill the zodiac? Ox? Rat? Horse? It is indeed the Year of the Horse this year, which means a little time spent with actual beasties at the LA Zoo would be a nice thing, along with the big Chinatown firecracker parade celebrations. Of course, the zebra'll stand in for the horse -- equines unite -- and there shall be dances, culture, and animal learning. Animal learning=the best. It just is. We're firm on that. Jan. 25 and Jan. 26
