L.A.'s Dormant Social Scene Revived by Beyonce, Liza Minnelli and Kathy Hilton
Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Kathy Hilton
After a yearlong hiatus of gatherings, some high-profile insiders emerged over the past week to celebrate birthdays, brand relaunches and even history-making Grammy moments in a way not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic began: "When I hug anybody, I still have that knee-jerk reaction of, 'Is this OK?'"
Socializing is back.
With relaxed COVID-19 restrictions sweeping across L.A. County this week — red tier guidelines, effective March 15, allow for movie theaters, gyms, museums, and indoor dining at restaurants to open doors and welcome customers with limited capacity — it seems the news has spread to the social calendar. That's the way it looked surveying the swirl of gatherings, dinner parties and post-Grammy Awards events last weekend. Upon closer examination, people are tip-toeing onto the scene with varying approaches as some parties still require testing and PPE while other groups of vaccinated individuals are gathering indoors without masks.