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Best Things to Do in SoCal and LA This Week: February 9 - 15, 2026

Every week, I highlight a few events across the SoCal region. This week, journey through myth and the immigrant experience, party at California’s first designated "Star Park", and experience a new play about a little-known chapter of Black history.

Where dragon myths meet immigrant stories

Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry transforms the galleries at USC Pacific Asia Museum into an extensive journey through myth and the immigrant experience. Featuring nearly 100 objects from USC PAM’s vast collection alongside new media installations and artworks by more than 20 contemporary artists, the show blends ancient histories with living voices. Sweeping in scale and intimate in tone, the exhibit is an interdisciplinary experience in which visitors feel the power of myth not just as a story, but as something carried and reimagined.

Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry
USC Pacific Asia Museum
46 N Los Robles Ave
Pasadena, CA 91101
Saturday, February 14, 11:00 AM
Free

Tiny masterpieces, big goals

Fútbol Is Life: Animated Sportraits by Lyndon J. Barrois, Sr. kicks off at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art just in time for the arrival of the World Cup. Joyful and inventive, the exhibit is a celebration of the world’s most beloved game. Using materials like gum wrappers, glue, and paint, the award-winning animator crafts meticulous miniature “sportraits” and stop-motion animations that capture iconic moments from women’s and men’s soccer with humor, heart, and kinetic energy.

Fútbol Is Life: Animated Sportraits by Lyndon J. Barrois, Sr. - Opening
Resnick Exhibition Pavilion - LACMA
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles , CA 90035
Sunday, February 15, 10:00 AM - July 12
Free to $30

A true story thriller where politics, art, and survival collide onstage

Company of Angels premieres Red Harlem, a new play by Kimba Henderson and directed by Bernadette Speakes that brings a little-known chapter of Black history to life. Based on true events, the story follows four Harlemites in 1932 who flee racial violence and the Great Depression after landing roles in a Soviet-financed film backed by Joseph Stalin. What begins as a chance at freedom and artistic possibility becomes a tense fight for survival when they uncover a devastating truth about their new home. Blending political intrigue with historical reckoning, Red Harlem is bold and socially resonant storytelling.

Company of Angels Presents: "Red Harlem"
Company of Angels
1350 San Pablo St
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Saturday, February 14, 8:00 PM
$30

Gaze under the stars

Look up at Starr Party, an after-dark tradition at Caspers Wilderness Park, California’s first designated "Star Park." Hosted by OC Parks, this family-friendly evening invites visitors and space enthusiasts to explore the night sky with telescopes, hands-on activities, and expert guides who bring constellations, planets, and celestial wonders into focus. Equipment is provided, but feel free to bring binoculars and cameras to turn stargazing into an accessible and awe-inspiring experience for all ages.

Starr Party
Caspers Wilderness Park Nature Center
33401 Ortega Hwy.
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
Saturday, February 14, 6:00 PM
Free

A citywide moment to tune in and amplify connection

Attune is a first-of-its-kind public art activation that harmonizes Los Angeles County with synchronized sound and light installations across multiple parks and public spaces. Created by Carmen Zella of NOW Art, Attune features artists such as Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Beatie Wolfe, and Sarah Rara in immersive acoustic and sound-based works designed to slow us down and invite deep listening in a moment that calls for vitality in public art spaces as a vehicle to engage cultural, social, and civic conversations.

ATTUNE Poster _Banner Headshots_ACOUSTIC_NoDots.jpg
Barnsdall Art Park
4800 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Saturday, February 14, 4:00 PM
Free

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