Use your day off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day to immerse yourself and your family in art — all for free at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. LACMA admission is free for all on Monday, Jan. 16 as part of a Target Free Holiday Monday sponsorship. The L.A. art museum opens at Noon and closes at 8PM.

The free admission day includes a host of special free activities including bilingual tours. Be sure to check out LACMA’s exhibition Contested Visions in the Spanish Colonial World, where you’ll discover the importance of indigenous art forms from the Aztec and Inca during the colonial period. On Monday, the Peruvian Ensemble, representing the Inca, performs live music from the Andes on the museum’s plaza at 12:30PM and 2:45PM.

While admission is free, you must reserve a general admission ticket. Call 323-857-6010 or reserve the ticket online.

On free admission days, LACMA’s Boone Children’s Gallery is one of the most popular and therefore congested parts of the museum. So tickets to the gallery are separate, timed and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Pick up your free timed ticket in the Boone Children’s Gallery on Monday. Timed tickets only allow for a 30-minute minute visit.

Thank you to Twitter follower @elisebee for reminding us of this free fun opportunity!

Joy to the free!

*Disclosure: No compensation was received in exchange for this post. The post may contain affiliate links.

This Sunday and Monday, January 15 – 16, 2012, celebrate the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday with free birthday cake and more at the California African American Museum (CAAM) in Los Angeles.

Located in Exposition Park, museum admission is always free but during this 2-day celebration there are extra fun and family-friendly free workshops, film screenings and birthday cake!

The free fun begins at 1PM Sunday Jan. 15 (museum opens at 11AM) with a Target Sunday sponsored progam. View screenings of MLK’s famous speeches and watch diverse performances on the main stage. Meet Chandra Wilson and Jeffrey Anderson Gunter of the TV show Grey’s Anatomy, listen to the inNate Praise Choir, and watch the moves of the Jung Im Lee Korean Dance Academy.

Kids and adults can participate in several free workshops focused on the museum’s African American historical and cultural exhibits, thanks to the Target Sunday sponsorship.

On Monday, Jan. 16, the official national holiday honoring Dr. King, join CAAM at the annual Kingdom Day Parade, kicking off at 9AM in Leimert Park. Afterwards, head to the museum of a free slice of birthday cake while they last, courtesy of the Nooks and Grannies bakery. Free program activities include a screening of the documentary, King: Man of Peace in a Time of War and storytelling in the Gallery.

The only hitch to the free is that museum parking at 39th & Figueroa costs $10. So carpool, or try to nab metered street parking or take the bus.

*Disclosure: No compensation was received in exchange for this post. The post may contain affiliate links.

Rock the arts in 2012 with the FREE Los Angeles Arts District Winterfest in Downtown L.A. Jan. 5 to Jan. 8. This 2nd annual free four-day celebration of the arts features free large scale street art, nightly play readings from Padua Playwrights and live music all in Lot 613 in the 52-block Downtown Arts District.

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View an exhibition of new paintings by artist Richard Kessler; an interactive video installation by Michael French; and collaborative large-scale works by street artists Cryptik, Chor Boogie, Vyal, Slick, and Defer 5PM to midnight Thursday to Saturday and 4 to 11:30PM Sunday. Watch Paul Mackley’s critically acclaimed
performance of Wallace Shawn’s award-winning “The Fever” and listen to live music by Tawny Ellis, Eddie Reed Swing Quartet, Brad Culver and Andrew Gilbert of Poor Dog Group, The Wulf, and composer Drew Lesso. For details about the nightly line-up of live performance, see the Arts District Website.

You won’t go hungry or thirsty with L.A.’s gourmet food trucks on site and a no-host bar. Parking available on surrounding streets and nearby parking lots.

Joy to the free!

*Disclosure: No compensation was received in exchange for this post.

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is welcoming 2012 with a frugal fun promo: $1 for a 12oz caramel cream tea latte or caramel latte (hot or iced) from 4 to 7PM Wednesday, Jan. 4. I love these frugal promotions as they give me a chance try one of Coffee Bean’s new fun flavors for just a buck, although substitutions like soy milk are extra.

Click Here to find the nearest Coffee Bean location.

*Disclosure: No compensation was received in exchange for this post.

The Los Angeles Kings are heating up the ice, so why not take advantage of this hot deal for a couple of free tickets to see the L.A. Kings play at Staples Center? Even if you’re not a hockey fan — gasp! — it’s still a great way to do something fun for free in downtown L.A.!

So what’s the catch? You just have to submit an online quote for car or homeowner’s insurance to Mercury Insurance. Enter the promo code: KINGS. In return for the free quote, they’ll send you a voucher for two tickets to the 2011/2012 season. That’s it!

If you do decide to go with Mercury for your insurance, you’ll get an extra freebie! A brand new Kings jersey for free!

Let’s Go Kings!

*Disclosure: No compensation was received in exchange for this post.

Who wouldn’t want to get free tickets to see movies at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live? Well here’s you chance to win two tickets every week for year! Just fill out the form and you’re entered. Contest ends Saturday, Dec. 31.

Looking for a sweet Regal Cinemas deal now? Click HERE to get a coupon for $2 popcorn, $2 soda valid through Sunday, Jan. 1.

Joy to the free!

*Disclosure: No compensation was received in exchange for this post.

Free festive holiday afternoon for kids and families in Downtown L.A. Saturday, Dec. 11! Swing by Grand Central Market for a free picture with Santa plus free gifts for all kids! The fun starts at 11AM.

Built in 1917, Grand Central is the oldest and largest open-air market in Los Angeles. Lots of free fun things to see!

I simply LOVE the daily, nationally syndicated La Cucaracha comic strip that runs in the Los Angeles Times. So when I saw the cover of the new 2012 Doomsday Cartoon Calendar created by La Cucaracha’s artist, Lalo Alacaraz, I knew we had to do a Free Fun L.A. giveaway! We had a contest for the 2011 calendar last year, and it was a hit with La Cucaracha and Free Fun L.A. fans.

If you don’t win, or if you’re looking for a unique holiday gift, consider buying a copy of this cool cartoon calendar. The cover alone is worth the price. It’s only $20 — a frugal deal for great art by a local artist.

How do you enter for a chance to win a free Lalo Alcaraz Doomsday Cartoon Calendar? Just answer this question: Who is your favorite La Cucaracha character?

Where do you answer? You will earn an entry for each of these:
1. Tweet us at @FreeFunLA with “I want to win the 2012 Lalo Alcaraz Doomsday Cartoon Calendar from @FreeFunLA. #lalo” Be sure to include the hashtag #lalo. You must follow @FreeFunLA to win. You may tweet once a day.
2. Post the answer here on our blog.
3. Post on our Facebook fan page. Be sure to “Like” Free Fun L.A. for a chance to win!

Contest ends at Noon PT Wednesday Dec. 14.

Winner chosen from all the entries using random.org.

Winner: Email us asap so Lalo can autograph and add anything else you’d like to say on the calendar. We’ll need your address so Lalo can mail it to you and we can mail you a copy of the hip pocket travel guide, Free Fun L.A., too!

*Disclosure: No compensation was received in exchange for this post or for the giveaway prize.

LEGO stores latest free mini-build workshop is tonight! Kids ages 6 to 14 can build a fun and free nutcracker LEGO model today, Dec. 6. The only catch is you have to have to go to a LEGO store to do it. Workshop starts at 5pm.

Every first Tuesday in the U.S., LEGO stores offer a free special model workshop with a mini-kit often tied into a holiday. Kids get to build and take the LEGOs home, for free. Quantities are limited and offer is good while supplies last only. Unfortunately, the kits are not available for sale, so kids must be present to participate.

You can also pick up a Free LEGO monthly calendar in the store. See an example HERE. Each calendar comes with fun ideas, a list of the store’s events and coupons! Want to see what’s in the calendar before you go? You can download a copy for free from each LEGO store’s site.

Only in Malibu can you have a free Winter Wonderland by the beach! With reindeer included! The Malibu Country Mart is creating a merry and magical experience for the Christmas season for the next three Saturdays, including a visit with Santa’s reindeer on Saturday, Dec. 17 and its all for free!

Every Saturday is a new holiday happening. Check out the free fun schedule below:

Saturday, December 3

’Tis the Season! Come to the Cookie Decorating Party: 1 – 4PM
Tree Lighting Ceremony: 5PM

Saturday, December 10

Photos with Santa: Noon – 3PM
Strolling Carolers: 1 – 3PM
Stocking and Dreidel Decorating Party: 1 – 3PM

Saturday, December 17

Photos with Santa: Noon – 3PM
Strolling Carolers: 1 – 3PM
Santa’s Reindeer: Noon – 4PM

*No compensation was received in exchange for this post.