Weekend

Chinese New Year Parade
Welcome to the Year of the Monkey! Celebrate the start of another year in the Chinese zodiac with a kick-off parade in Glendale and a month of special shopping events and deals at The Grove. Enjoy festive décor at properties until February 20th, with nightly fountain lighting events at The Grove, and lucky red envelopes filled with cash prizes and retailer gift cards through February 8th. Glendale has a New Year’s parade, including traditional lion and dragon performances to chase away bad luck, acrobats, gourmet food, calligraphy artists, and special appearances by cast members from ABC’s Fresh off The Boat. Saturday, 2-5 pm; The Americana at Brand, S Central Ave, Glendale, CA 91210

L.A. Art Show & Los Angeles Fine Art Show
New for 2016, the annual L.A. Art Show is showcasing only modern and contemporary art. Expect to see works form more than 120 galleries from 22 countries. In West Hall B, the Fine Art Show exhibits historic and traditional contemporary art. $20/One-day pass, $40/four-day pass; Through Sunday, 11 am-5 pm; West Hall, Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA; 561.822.5440

Art Los Angeles Contemporary
Contemporary art fair presents international emerging galleries, with a focus on LA galleries. A programming series features artist talks, panel discussions and film screenings. $10/Parking (cash only); Friday & Saturday, 11 am-7 pm, Sunday, 11 am-6 pm; Barker Hangar, 3021 Airport Ave., Santa Monica, CA; 323.851.7530

Free Museum Day
Once a year, all the best museums in LA are open…for free!!! Today’s that day. Over twenty museums—presenting art, cultural heritage, natural history, and science—will open their doors and invite you to attend their museums free of charge. Participating Los Angeles museums include LACMA, MOCA, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Hammer Museum, The Getty Center, Getty Villa and many more. Saturday; Participating museums here.

RIOT LA Events-The Bullshit Artists
Join in LA’s Alternative Comedy Festival and check out The Bullshit Artists. It’s a CleftClips production and features T.J. Miller, Jerrod Carmichael, Anthony Jeselnik, Kumail Nanjiani, Rory Scovel, and Andy Peters. $25; Sunday, 6 pm; The Regent, 448 S Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90013; 323.284.5727

RIOT LA Events-JFL: Jermaine Fowler Laughs Fiesta
Also featuring T.J. Miller, Jerrod Carmichael, Anthony Jeselnik, Kumail Nanjiani, Rory Scovel, Andy Peters and two secret guests, continue the night with another laugh fest! $15; Sunday, 9 pm; Five Star Bar, 267 S. Main St, Los Angeles, CA

Sunshine Millions Wine Festival
Join in the Sunshine Millions Wine Festival and let The Great Race Place show you a bevy of wine and food offerings to compliment an amazing day of racing. It’s a party in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley!$40 (includes club house admission, daily racing program, tip Sheet, acrylic wine glass, twelve 2 oz samplings, and food Samplings), VIP: $65 (includes Club House admission, daily Racing Program, tip Sheet, acrylic Wine Glass, 2 oz Samplings for each winery participating, food Samplings, fast Track Pass, food Truck Voucher ($10 value), and wine Festival Event Tee); Saturday, 12-5 pm; 285 W Huntington Dr, Arcadia, CA 91007

2016 Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux Tasting
Wally’s Wine & Spirits hosts the wine tasting event that pairs over 100 wines from the new 2013 vintage with vintage aircraft and aviation memorabilia at the Museum of Flying. All profits will benefit Food on Foot, a nonprofit organization providing the poor and homeless of Los Angeles with meals, clothing and assistance in the transition to employment and life off the streets. Friday; 3100 Airport Ave., Santa Monica, CA

Sonoko Sakai Workshop
This whole-grain activist and Japanese culinary expert is setting up shop in The Restaurant within The Standard Downtown. During a soba making workshop, Sakai will teach the ancient art of creating the perfect buckwheat soba and dashi broth. Tickets include a full soba dinner and three servings of noodles to take home. If you want to leave the cooking to the experts, beginning at 6 pm, Sakai will host a Slurp pop-up for those who prefer to learn with their taste buds. For $30 per person, the grain enthusiast behind Common Grains, a project dedicated to sharing the appreciation for whole grains and Japanese cuisine will teach you everything you need to know with your tastebuds. $125; Sunday, 4-6 pm; The Standard Downtown, 550 S Flower St, Los Angeles, CA 90071; 213.892.8080; RSVP: DowntownLARSVP@standardhotels.com.

CoffeeCon LA
CoffeeCon LA, The Consumer Coffee Festival returns for its second year. With over 40 exhibitors, you can taste LA’s finest specialty coffees, treats and the best in new and classic coffee brewing gear. Five classrooms deliver 20+ different classes (Take a turn brewing Chemex, French Press and both drip and siphon Hario units. Perfect your espresso shots and learn to do foamed milk latte art), and presentations and panel discussions including our Future of Coffee panel. CoffeeCon has more than a dozen of the region’s top specialty coffee roasters for you to sample throughout the day. Klatch Coffee, Portola Coffee Lab, Groundwork Coffee and many more. Check out brewing innovations, new products – Taste coffee brewers that aren’t even manufactured yet and join in tasting seminar to learn to taste like a pro. Plus, there will be cool prizes, food samples on the event floor and some of LA’s best food trucks. $23+; Saturday, 9 am-4 pm; The Magic Box, 1933 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA

Salt & Straw’s Collaborative February Flavors Celebrate LA Chocolatiers
Salt & Straw will be offering an “LA Chocolatiers” series all month in honor of Valentine’s Day. Head Ice Cream Maker, Tyler Malek, collaborated with five of his favorite local chocolate makers to craft the lineup. Ice cream is available by the scoop or by the pint. Indulge in flavors like Compartes’ Coney Island (vanilla and rainbow swirl ice cream dotted with caramelized waffle cones and chunks of Compartes’ bar); Ococoa’s Fig & Sesame Butter Cup (chocolate sesame ice cream speckled with chocolate butter cups and fig jam); Twenty-Four Blackbirds’ Cardamom & Candied Cocoa Nibs (sweet cream ice cream sprinkled with freshly grated black cardamom and candied, single-origin cocoa nib morsels); Bar Au Chocolat’s Date Night (roasted chocolate ice cream mixed with dates); and Chocovivo’s Olive Oil & Blood Orange Chocolate Milk Sorbet (sorbet spun with a chocolate paste made from lightly stone-ground cacao beans doused in blood oranges and olive oil). Through February 25th; 240 N Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004, 323.466.0485; 1357 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291, 310.310.8429

Coffee, Doughnuts, and Beer
Found Coffee in Eagle Rock is teaming up with neighbor Craft Beer Cellar to host a doughnut, coffee, and beer party — with the desserts being provided by Highland Park’s Donut Friend. You will get a flight of beer with four mini donuts to munch on. $15; Sunday, 11 am-2 pm; 1353 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90041

$1 Beers (and Wine) at Ashland Hill
To celebrate their first year in the game, Ashland Hill will be serving up $1 beer and wine specials all night. They will also be sending around samplers of food. It’s an all-day drinking event! Friday, 11 am-1 am; 2807 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405; 310.392.3300

Zugo’s Cafe Celebrates Grand Reopening
Zugo’s Cafe & Restaurant has been serving the city of Sierra Madre and the greater Pasadena area almost 10 years. After a small hiatus, owners of Zugo’s have brought in Chef Anthony Bar to create a fresh new menu with a seasonal approach. Chef Anthony is utilizing French techniques while staying true to the Italian flavors customers came to love at Zugo’s for many years. Dishes include Spicy Shrimp served with bell peppers, toasted ciabatta bread and mixed greens in a light vinaigrette; ham and fig panini;  Salmon Pesto Penne PESTO PENNE with a side of asparagus; The “Bar” Pork Chop with bacon served over a butternut squash puree with green beans; and 21+ Tiramisu. Zugo’s will be adding a delicious portfolio of local craft beer as well as a wine list comprised of premier California, French and Italian wines. Along with a Champagne brunch on weekends, Zugo’s will be offering parties of 10 or more that reserve a table Monday through Wednesday, a complimentary bottle of Champagne. Saturday, 11:30 am – 10 pm; 74 W Sierra Madre Blvd, Sierra Madre, CA 91024; 626.836.5700

Fritzi
Chef Neal Fraser’s restaurant that focuses on brews opens its doors adjacent to the Arts District Brewery downtown. Enjoy wood-fired rotisserie chicken dishes, steak frites, Santa Barbara white fish and house made sides like fries, tots, and potato waffles. They are all made to pair well with the brewery’s seasonal beers, Fritzi’s handcrafted cocktails and wines. Friday; 814 Traction Ave, Los Angeles, CA; 213.537.0327

Playa Amor
Chef Thomas Ortega (Ortega 120, Amor Y Tacos) opens up his third restaurant. The two-time Hell’s Kitchen guest judge for Mexican cuisine elevates the sophistication at Playa Amor with seafood dishes like Tres Mares salmon pan roast with Mexican white shrimp and bay scallops and plates inspired by his upbringing as a Chicano in L.A. like the New Mexico green hatch chile spaghetti. Plus, Ortega’s signature mole tots make the menu. 6527 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach, CA; 562.860.2667

Knead & Co. Pasta Bar + Market
The newest addition to Grand Central Market comes from Chef Bruce Kalman. He has made his perfect pastas and porchetta at Union in Pasadena. At Knead, Kalman is whipping up the handmade pasta and you can watch his team make it in the open kitchen’s “pasta lab.” Specialties include Sunday gravy spaghetti and meatballs, and spelt cavatelli with spicy fennel sausage and Koda Farms chickpeas. They also have pastries and breakfast dishes like polenta porridge with berries, figs, pistachios and a 63-degree egg (my fav). For lunch, pick up made-to-order paninis, fresh pasta salads and classic desserts like cannoli, tiramisu and zeppole. 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA

Connie and Ted’s Serves Brunch
West Hollywood’s New England-inspired restaurant from chef/owner Michael Cimarusti (Providence and forthcoming Cape Seafood and Provisions) has a new weekend brunch. The seafood-centric brunch offerings ($9-18*) created by Executive Chef Sam Baxter also include freshly baked breakfast goods ($3 each), all made in-house by Pastry Chef Melissa McFail like a Biscuit & Butter, Grilled Pullman Bread, and Cinnamon Roll with nutmeg, orange zest, and cream cheese icing. Brunch menu highlights include: Smoked Mahi Mahi Benedic; Peeky Toe Crab and Lobster Omelet with herbes beurre blanc and grilled Pullman bread; Nor’Easter Breakfast Sandwich with Nueske’s bacon, egg, clam strips, Hook’s cheddar, tartar sauce on a house made English muffin, served with home fried potatoes; House Smoked Salmon with a buckwheat blini, crème fraiche, egg, red onion, and capers; and “Biscuits and Gravy” made with Maine lobster, two sunny side eggs, and lobster nage. Cocktails include Bloody Marys (made with vodka infused in-house with celery and bay leaf), Micheladas, and Mimosas ($5 each), alongside a California-centric craft beer list. Connie and Ted’s also introduces Angelenos to a New England classic—Rhode Island Coffee Milk made with Rhode Island coffee syrup, whole milk, and nutmeg, with the option to add Selvarey cacao-infused rum ($9). Saturdays & Sundays, 10 am – 3 pm; 8171 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046; 323.848.2722

Proud Bird Brunch
The iconic aviation-themed restaurant that overlooks one of LAX’s runways is going under the knife for 10 weeks starting Monday, so they are offering its last champagne Sunday brunch before the change this weekend. Dine on crab legs, crispy bacon, waffles and omelets. Sunday, 9 am-3 pm; 11022 Aviation Blvd., Los Angeles, CA; 310.670.3093

Yoga with a View
Get to the Andaz West Hollywood’s rooftop Panorama Lounge to experience a fun, flowing workout and an extraordinary view of the Los Angeles skyline. Renowned instructor Jake Ferree leads this “Yoga with a View”. Validated parking is available for $7 and complimentary Zico Coconut Water beverages will be provided. After working up an appetite, you can enjoy 20% off a bottomless brunch at Riot House Restaurant on the first floor. Choose from a delicious spread of farm fresh eggs, farmer’s market fruit, house-made pastries, and freshly squeezed juices, or toast to a workout well done by indulging in bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys for an additional $15. Collect your Brunch Voucher at “Yoga with a View” to redeem your discount. $15; Sunday, 9:30 am; 8401 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069; 323.656.1234

Mardi Gras
The Original Farmers Market celebrates Mardi Gras every year. Revel with traditional New Orleans and Zydeco music, bead-throwing, strolling parade bands, arts and crafts and face painting for kids, authentic Cajun food, beer, and much more including the annual Mutti Gras Pet Parade (Sunday). Saturday & Sunday (February 6th & 9th); Farmers Market, 6333 W. 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA;  323.933.9211