Happy New Year! Is one of your new year’s resolutions to get out more and take advantage of what your city has to offer and to experience something new? January offers many such opportunities for folks in Los Angeles. Popular recurring events continue, such as the weekly family art workshops at Barnsdall Art Park, monthly walking tours of Chinatown, and the annual Scandinavian Film Festival (which is already marked on my calendar, I plan to see the much anticipated Norwegian film The Wave). There are also special events such as the exhibition A Path Appears: Actions for a Better World at the Skirball and Toyota Symphonies for Youth at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. There’s a variety of activities from which to choose. What will you attempt?

* WEEKEND OF JANUARY 2 & 3 *

The Undiscovered Chinatown Walking Tour, Chinatown, Downtown, Saturday 1/2, 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (Offered every first Saturday of the month). Visit a temple, an herbal shop, art galleries, antique stores, and more when guided to the unique treasures–not to mention great bargains–to be found in Chinatown. Wear comfortable walking shoes and be prepared to wind your way through a myriad of alleyways, plaza stalls, and classical courtyards to discover the charm of L.A.’s Chinatown.

Oshogatsu Family Festival – Year of the Monkey, Japanese American National Museum, Downtown, Sunday 1/3, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Ring in the New Year and the Year of the Monkey with fun arts ‘n crafts, food, exciting cultural activities, and performances.

A Path Appears: Actions for a Better World, Skirball Cultural Center, ongoing until February 21. Inspired by the bestselling book A Path Appears by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, the exhibition is both a gallery installation and a community engagement project—a place where every visitor can take practical, results-driven steps to bring about social change. Get inspired inside innovatively designed pavilions exploring four critical humanitarian issues: education, health, good jobs, and empowerment. Tap into the power of grassroots action as you learn of organizations—both local and around the globe—that are developing workable solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. Then join in building a better world as you engage with ActionLab, a mobile-friendly tool that uses storytelling to promote social change and spark a commitment to human rights.

* WEEKEND OF JANUARY 9 & 10 *

Scandinavian Film Festival, Writers Guild Theater, Beverly Hills, Saturday 1/9 & Sunday 1/10 (also weekend of 1/23 & 1/24). This is a yearly showcase of films from northern Europe and its Baltic neighbors. During the course of two weekends, the festival screens not only films submitted by Nordic countries to the Academy for consideration in the “Best Foreign Language Film” category, but also other Nordic feature films, short movies, and documentaries. During the first weekend is the screening of Norwegian disaster film Bølgen (“The Wave“) followed by the Opening Gala and Ceremonies. See website for schedule and ticket information.

Ancient Rome: Lares Altar (Family Art Workshop), Junior Arts Center at Barnsdall Art Park, Hollywood/Los Feliz, Sunday 1/10, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Join instructor Quan Trang for a free family art workshop in a real art studio. All materials are provided. Each Sunday a different culture and media are featured.

Kwanzaa Festival, Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, Sunday 1/10, 11:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Celebrate the beauty and excitement of the African American cultural experience in America with a Kwanzaa ceremony, spoken word, drumming and dancing, and 3rd Degree Blues Band.

Free Second Sunday: Thailand, USC Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, Sunday 1/10. The museum is one of a few U.S. institutions dedicated to the arts and culture of Asia and the Pacific Islands. Join them this Sunday as they celebrate the arts and culture of Thailand. Activities include Silk Road Story Time, an art activity, Spotlight Tours, and a music/dance/art demo by Thai Community Arts & Cultural Center. See website for schedule. In addition, visitors can peruse permanent and special exhibitions and explore a special interactive family-friendly exhibition called Journeys: The Silk Road which takes guests along the legendary trade route that linked Europe and Asia for more than a thousand years. Admission to the galleries and the day’s programming are free all day.

* MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WEEKEND OF JANUARY 16 & 17 & 18 *

USA: MLK Day Posters, “I Have a Dream” Painting (Family Art Workshop), Junior Arts Center at Barnsdall Art Park, Hollywood/Los Feliz, Sunday 1/17, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Join instructor Quan Trang for a free family art workshop in a real art studio. All materials are provided. Each Sunday a different culture and media are featured.

CAAM’s Annual “Cake for King” Community Celebration, California African American Museum, Exposition Park, Monday 1/18, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. CAAM invites the entire LA community to join them for their annual recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and his life’s work as a charismatic and dedicated leader of the modern civil rights movement. CAAM will offer an art workshop, documentaries, face painting, story time, and slices of homemade birthday cake (while supplies last).

* WEEKEND OF JANUARY 23 & 24 *

Toyota Symphonies for Youth: City of Light: Debussy’s La Mer, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Downtown, Saturday 1/23 & 1/30 at 11:00 a.m. The LA Phil’s pioneering Symphonies for Youth mix music with fun and fantasy for children ages 5 to 11 (children under two not admitted). Tour the colorful and rich orchestral music of France with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in celebration of the LA Phil’s French festival. Come for the chance to experience a live orchestra through the fantasy of theater. Each performance is preceded by a choice of art workshops, including an instrumental petting zoo, dance, and more starting at 10am. Buy tickets in advance.

Scandinavian Film Festival, Writers Guild Theater, Beverly Hills, Saturday 1/23 & Sunday 1/24. During the second and last weekend of this yearly showcase of films from northern Europe and its Baltic neighbors, you can view a children’s animated movie from Finland, Moomins On The Riviera, based on popular Finnish comic strips, among many other films. See website for schedule and ticket information.

Bali: Shadow Puppets (Family Art Workshop), Junior Arts Center at Barnsdall Art Park, Hollywood/Los Feliz, Sunday 1/24, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Join instructor Sarah Hage for a free family art workshop in a real art studio. All materials are provided. Each Sunday a different culture and media are featured.

* WEEKEND OF JANUARY 30 & 31 *

Toyota Symphonies for Youth: City of Light: Debussy’s La Mer, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Downtown, Saturday 1/30 at 11:00 a.m. The LA Phil’s pioneering Symphonies for Youth mix music with fun and fantasy for children ages 5 to 11 (children under two not admitted). Tour the colorful and rich orchestral music of France with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in celebration of the LA Phil’s French festival. Come for the chance to experience a live orchestra through the fantasy of theater. Each performance is preceded by a choice of art workshops, including an instrumental petting zoo, dance, and more starting at 10am. Buy tickets in advance.

Italy: Marionettes (Family Art Workshop), Junior Arts Center at Barnsdall Art Park, Hollywood/Los Feliz, Sunday 1/31, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Join instructor Sarah Hage for a free family art workshop in a real art studio. All materials are provided. Each Sunday a different culture and media are featured.