New Year's Race 2018: So you didn't get to partake in a Polar Plunge or Polar Swim or a classic get-active New Year's Day tradition? There's another year-starting event jogging this way, and it is wearing reflective sneakers. It's the New Year's Race, which'll run through downtown, after the sun sets, on Sunday, Jan. 7. Well, the 5K begins at 5 p.m., so just around sundown, while the 10K hoofs it at 6:30. Tunes, a beer garden, food trucks, and art exhibits will fill out the start area before the races. The hub? Why it's that oh-so-hub-tastic spot, Grand Park.
No Pants Subway Ride: Happening that same day, as in Sunday, Jan. 7, is another event that has a way of making a memorable cameo around the start of the new year, but this one is all about riding trains while keeping one's legs bare to the elements. It started in New York City, and has clocked some 17 years there, and while Improv Everywhere is behind it, you don't need to be an improver to join in. Your SoCal meet-up details, including place and time? Start here.
Pageant of the Masters Tryouts: Ever thought that you could hold still, as in perfectly, don't-move-a-hair still, on stage in Laguna Beach during the summer? Then you've longed to play a part in this yearly on-stage spectacular, which features real people posing inside realistic-looking paintings. The people behind the celebrated pageant will be searching for volunteers to play painting-ready roles from Jan. 5 through 7, 2018 at the annual tryouts. Hold still, but first, look at this page for details.
Oshogatsu Family Festival: The Year of the Dog is trotting this way, and the Japanese American National Museum is ready to honor it with a day-long festivity full of kid-cute crafts and performances aplenty. Create a "decorate daruma" to assist with your 2018 goal-planning, fashion a hat "...that looks like a dog," or stop by the Nerdbot Photo Booth for a snapshot. The fest is free, free, free, which is a joyful and auspicious way to begin the new year. And the date? Sunday, Jan. 7.
Cheeseburger Week Sizzles: Cheeseburgerians know the lore, the trivia, and the history of their favorite food, which means they know that Pasadena places a prominent role in the hallowed halls of cheeseburger creation. The rib-sticking creation got its meaty start in Pasadena in the mid-1920s, and it still wears a culinary crown in the Crown City. That same city will honor it for several days, beginning on Sunday, Jan. 7, through a host of deals and specially created cheeseburgers. There's a Cheeseburger Challenge, too, oh yeah. Throw another melt-ready slice on the patty and bone up on your need-to-knows now.
