There are lots of interesting things happening in Los Angeles this month. The year always starts with a bang, featuring one of the biggest and most famous festivals in the U.S., the Rose Parade, and things don’t let up after Christmas and the New Year, with the pace really picking up in January. There are cultural celebrations, art exhibitions, comedy shows, a Sunday food and history tour… Hell, there’s even outdoor ice-skating (in sunny LA, imagine!). Here’s our list of the 10 best things to do in LA in January. Enjoy!

Events & Activities in Los Angeles This Month

1. THE ROSE PARADE & ROSE BOWL GAME (JANUARY 1)

One of the most famous holiday events in California, known and beloved throughout the U.S. (the parade is always shown live on Network Television – which a lot of Americans still watch, believe it or not). The Tournament of Roses procession starts at the Rose Bowl, near where the 1937 Robin Hood filmed its archery scenes, and wends its way through Old Town Pasadena, before heading east along Colorado Boulevard.

Like many cultural events in the U.S. multi-national corporations and brands have made an attempt to hijack it – but they haven’t totally succeeded yet. If you’re able to get up early on New Year’s Day to see this you won’t regret it.

Insider tip: if you haven’t already reserved seats head to the eastern end of the route. Spaces on the bleachers are much easier to find there, but you’re seeing exactly the same parade.

More information here.

2. MONUMENTS AT MOCA (ALL MONTH)

The Monuments exhibition at MOCA (at the Little Tokyo warehouse of the Museum of Contemporary Arts, in downtown) brings together a bunch of decommissioned Confederate monuments as contemporary reflective art pieces.

MONUMENTS marks the recent wave of monument removals as a historic moment. The exhibition reflects on the histories and legacies of post-Civil War America as they continue to resonate today, bringing together a selection of decommissioned monuments, many of which are Confederate, with contemporary artworks borrowed and newly created for the occasion. 

More information here.

3. LUNAR NEW YEAR FESTIVAL (JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 1)

There are several concentrations of people of Chinese descent in the LA area, the biggest are in Chinatown, near Dodger Stadium, and in the San Gabriel Valley, to the east. Over the last few years the one in Monterey Park, in the San Gabriel Valley, has become the biggest celebration of the Lunar New Year, with a great atmosphere.

Nearby Alhambra has some of the best Chinese food in Southern California too, so it’s also well-worth checking out. Its Lunar New Year Festival is on February 28 (more info here)

4. LA: FOOD + HISTORY + DESIGN TOUR (EVERY SUNDAY)

Southern California has some of the best food in the world – in fact 40% of the food Americans eat comes from our state – and Los Angeles is a beneficiary of that fact. Our LA: Food + History + Design tour celebrates it with a selection of the best of the best – the French Dip Sandwich, a locally-invented dish, street tacos on Olvera Street, birthplace of Los Angeles, and a visit to Grand Central Market. 

In between courses we show guests the best of LA design and tell them the fascinating story of the city, from its beginning in 1781 to today. It makes for a great day: a bit of learning, some great food and some light exercise.

Tour starts at Union Station. More information here.

5. VISIT AN ENCHANTED FOREST (TO JANUARY 4)

Definitely one of the best things to do in LA in January, this interactive, after dark, experience is well worth going to before it closes in January. The Enchanted Forest features a magical one-mile walk through unique lighting experiences, at Descanso Gardens (which is always worth visiting anyway). More information here.

The Los Angeles Zoo is also creating a light show, the “Animals Aglow” project, with a colorful, charming trail that celebrates the zoo’s natural inhabitants. Plentiful and vibrant, these lantern versions of wildlife, birds, butterflies and insects come to life with playful movements and animation. More information here.

Another option is Grand Illuminations, at Cal Plaza, at the top of Bunker Hill by Angel Flights’ upper station. More information here.

6. VISIT MUSEUM ROW ON THE MIRACLE MILE (ALL MONTH)

The Academy Museum opened during the pandemic, and you might have missed that, so why not give it some love. The new kid on the block joins a stellar list of institutions at Museum Row on Wilshire Boulevard’s Miracle Mile: the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the La Brea Tar Pits Museum and the Petersen Automotive Museum. Why not start the year with a visit?

IgniTours has a lovely walking tour of the neighborhood, The Fast & the Fossilized, so you learn its fascinating history and don’t miss any hidden gems. More information here.

7. GO TO A COMEDY SHOW (ALL MONTH)

Who couldn’t do with a good laugh? Los Angeles has a thriving comedy scene, as you might expect, and shows often feature lineups of both household names and up-and-coming stand-ups. 

Hollywood Improv has a full slate of shows and The Comedy Store is open almost nightly. Don’t Tell Comedy is an underground series of “secret” standup shows offering pop-up shows at outdoor venues, including parking lots and rooftops. 

The Groundlings and the Upright Citizens Brigade are also well-established and, usually, really good. Finally, there’s the Laugh Factory, a very well-established stand-up comedy club.

8. ROSE BOWL FLEA MARKET (JANUARY 2)

This monthly open-air market gives you another reason to visit Pasadena, and the Rose Bowl. It’s the biggest and the best known such event in Southern California, with over two thousand vendors, selling everything from perfume to antiques, electrical goods, clothes and everything in-between. You you may pick up a bargain (and who couldn’t do with one of those nowadays?).

More information here.

9. THE NOTEBOOK, AT THE HOLLYWOOD PANTAGES (ALL MONTH)

If you don’t know, The Notebook was a big hit romantic movie in the 2000’s, starring one Ryan Gosling. The stage musical is playing at the Hollywood Pantages

THE NOTEBOOK tells the story of Allie and Noah, both from different worlds, who share a lifetime of love despite the forces that threaten to pull them apart. “Full of butterfly-inducing highs and beautiful songs” (Entertainment Weekly), THE NOTEBOOK is a deeply moving portrait of the enduring power of love.

Broadway in Hollywood

What could be more seasonal than a show about the power of love? More information here.

10. GO OPEN-AIR ICE-SKATING (VARIOUS DATES)

A lot of visitors are surprised when they see an open-air ice-rink in Los Angeles. It doesn’t fit the image they have of LA, with palm trees swaying in the warm Pacific breeze under a cloudless, deep-blue, sky. Ice skating is for places like Chicago and New York, they think. However, surprisingly perhaps, our weather does allow for open-air rinks in the cold winter months.

The best open air ice-skating rinks are at Pershing Square (to January 11), Santa Monica (to January 19) and the LA Kings (to January 10).

Pasadena is an indoor rink and is open year round.

If you have any feedback on the 10 Best Things to Do in LA in January please email us or reach out on social media, we’d love to hear from you.

– By Damien Blackshaw. (Twitter)