Weekend: LA Cookie Con

Treat pros'll be out in floury force, at the LA Convention Center.

LA Cookie Con and Sweets Show: We're somewhere in the valley between the holidays and Valentine's Day, but that doesn't mean our lives need to be entirely treat-free. The baker-brimful, chef-filled festivity is called "The West Coast's Biggest Baking, Decorating and Pastry Convention," and both home cooks, and those who simply like to snack in the finest of sugar-creamy confections, will be out in samply force. It's weekend-big -- Saturday, Feb. 6 and Sunday, Feb. 7 are the dates -- and it's icing-up the Los Angeles Convention Center.

First Fridays: It's a science-smart, DJ-cool, social-happy happening that only happens over the first half of the year, and only on the first Friday of the month. And it is revving up again for another run, at the place with the gigantatron dinosaur bones and really, really old rocks: The Natural History Museum. The talk themes for the first First Friday of 2016, which falls on Friday, Feb. 5? It's taking on the theme of the season: the "intersection of fiction and science." So is "Jurassic Park" sorta real, or what? 

Chinese New Year: The Golden Dragon Parade through Chinatown is still a week or so out, but you can welcome the Year of the Monkey at a Family Day at the Norton Simon Museum on Feb. 6, a Midnight Temple Ceremony in Chinatown on Feb. 7, and a Lunar New Year celebration at the Downtown Harbor in San Pedro. Near the Citadel Outlets? Join the Chinese New Year party on Saturday, Feb. 6. Can't wait for the mondo, firecracker-sparkly fest and parade in Chinatown? Feb. 13 is the date.

Museum of Neon Art Opens: The glow-amazing institution left its downtown home a few years back for a fresh start in Glendale, right across from The Americana at Brand. Is your anticipation as buzzy as a vintage neon tube? The grand opening party is on Saturday, Feb. 6. If you can't make the soiree, there are open hours, though they're limited to Fridays and Saturday, for the time being. Follow the light and read all.

"Sleepless" at the Music Center: Does magic spring up around the very magical Music Center Plaza after much of the city is tucked up in bed? Find out at this free, multi-part bash at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Yep, we said "free," but here's the next thing to say: You need to RSVP. As for the "multi-part" bit? There are DJs and video installations and the building of "a shadow puppet city-scape" and other cultural treats. The hours? Nap if you can: It starts at 11:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 5, and wraps at 3 o'clock in the morning. 

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