Best Things to Do in SoCal This Week: December 29, 2025-January 4, 2026
DTLA’s biggest New Year’s Eve bash
Dance away at the biggest New Year’s Eve party on the west coast at NYELA Countdown to 2026! This celebration at Gloria Molina Grand Park brings together thousands of Angelenos for live music, interactive art installations, and local food trucks. As midnight approaches, look up for an immersive projection art show and countdown cast across Los Angeles City Hall, transforming the skyline into a dazzling canvas of light. A cultural convergence reflecting L.A.’s collective energy, NYELA is the place to welcome 2026 together.
200 N Grand Ave
Small actions, big shifts
Don’t miss the closing reception and artist talk for Laboratory for the Future: Individual Impact, Institutional Change at the Santa Monica Airport Propeller Gallery. This evening brings together artist Debra Scacco and collaborators Deville Cohen and Laura Lupton for an inside look at how small, intentional decisions can spark meaningful institutional change. Through a guided walkthrough of Laboratory for the Future, Scacco traces the real-world choices behind her Climate Impact Report while Cohen and Lupton share practical frameworks for integrating climate responsibility into arts education and cultural organizations.
3026 Airport Ave.
Discover movie magic before the movies
Join the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on opening day for the Devices of Wonder Interactive Experience. This hands-on program invites visitors to explore the roots of cinema through fascinating pre-cinematic objects and optical toys that make still images come alive. Guided by museum educators, guests will discover how early visual illusions paved the way for modern filmmaking. Free with general admission, this tactile experience is a reminder that cinema’s sense of awe and wonder began long before the silver screen.
6067 Wilshire Boulevard
Kid-friendly countdown to 12 noon!
Ring in a kid-friendly New Year early at the Noon New Year’s Party at the Lincoln Heights Branch Library. This free, all-ages celebration invites families to explore New Year traditions from around the world through crafts and dance, all leading up to a joyful countdown to 12 noon. The event blends cultural learning with hands-on fun, making it a perfect midday celebration for young revelers and caregivers alike.
2530 Workman Street
Art made with cardboard
Cardboard gets a makeover at Wönzimer Gallery with Cardboard: Infinite Possibilities, a group exhibition that transforms one of the most overlooked everyday materials into a platform for art and resilience. Curated by sculptor Ann Weber, the show brings together twelve international artists who push cardboard beyond its packaging roots. Themes of sustainability and reinvention resonate throughout, from Shigeru Ban’s humanitarian cardboard architecture to works by Los Angeles–based artists who cut, dye, and layer the material’s limits. This exhibition invites viewers to reconsider what we recycle and what we throw away.
341-B South Avenue 17