Thanks to the annual Smithsonian Museum Day, Free Fun LA has something to look forward to every last Saturday in September! But it also means LA museum lovers have to make some tough choices — which Los Angeles-area museum to see for FREE!
Smithsonian Magazine created Museum Day as a way to share the spirit of the Smithsonian museums, which offer free admission every day. Through the magazine’s sponsorship, hundreds of museums across the U.S. are opening their doors for free to anyone who shows a Museum Day Ticket. Its easy to get the Museum Day Ticket, which admits two people to a participating museum. First Sign Up Here for the free ticket. The ticket is emailed to you and then you have to print it out.
A pretty simple way of getting into one of LA’s top museums for FREE!
(Not a museum type? Check out the Free Admission to National Parks and Public Lands on the same day, Saturday, Sept. 24!)
So which LA area museums are participating? Check our list below. It includes museums in Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Riverside and San Bernardino counties as well.
American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona
Autry National Center
Bowers Museum, Santa Ana
California Science Center (Always Free)
Carnegie Art Museum, Oxnard
Chinese American Museum
Craft and Folk Art Museum
El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park, Santa Barbara
Fowler Museum at UCLA
Hammer Museum
Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum
Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach
Living Desert Zoo & Botanical Gardens, Palm Springs (Summer Hours 8am to 1:30pm; last admission at 1pm)
Los Angeles Art Association
Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach
Museum of Ventura County, Ventura
Palos Verdes Art Center, Rancho Palos Verdes
Pasadena Museum of California Art
Santa Monica Museum of Art
The Dr. Willela Howe-Waffle House and Medical Museum in Santa Ana
The Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art, San Bernardino
Watts Towers Arts Center, Los Angeles
Zimmer Children’s Museum, Los Angeles (free Sept 25)
Love hockey? We do! Experience crunching body-checks, lightning-fast skating, and the thrill of goal scoring as you watch your Los Angeles Kings take on the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center on Wednesday Sept. 21 in pre-season action. For Free!
So how do you get to see the L.A. Kings in awesome high-end $100 seats? For free? By entering our contest of course! We have two tickets in section 114 to give away, and here’s how to get ‘em:
1. You get 1 entry for every tweet with hashtag #FreeFunLAKings. We suggest you copy & paste the following: “Tweet to #win two high-end tix to see @LAKings Sept. 21 #FreeFunLAKings” and you MUST follow @FreeFunLA.
2. You get 1 entry for Liking Free Fun LA on Facebook and leaving a comment about our post/or answering our trivia question.
3. You get 1 entry for commenting on our post and answering our trivia question.
4. No Ducks fans.
Speaking of trivia questions…here it is! Who scored the winning goal in “The Miracle on Manchester”?
Contest ends Saturday Sept. 17 at 11:59PM PT. Tickets will be sent via FedEx.
Alright Kings Fans…that about does it. So spread the word, and Go Kings Go!
Winner chosen by Random.org. No compensation was exchanged for this post.
Feast on FREE in-person Farmer-Chef cooking demonstrations at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market 30th Anniversary Celebration Kick-Off on Wednesday, Sept 14. Line up to get books signed by local farmer-chefs, including Amelia Saltzman, author of the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market Cookbook. The SaMo cookbook is a fave of Free Fun L.A.!
Suzanne Goin of Lucques starts the event with opening remarks at 10AM. The free fun food event concludes at 1PM. Click Here for a full schedule of events.
Woof! FTW!
Looking for a free fun outing with fido? Dog parks are the way to go! Finding the perfect dog park for man’s best friend can be tough, since there are dozens to choose from in the L.A. area. So we did the research for you. Here are five Los Angeles dog parks that stand out, all with fantastic amenities and great dog-friendly atmospheres:
Address: 1850 West Silverlake Dr., L.A. 90026
Hours: 6am to 10pm, Thu. – Tue.; 8:30am to 10pm, Wed.
Amenities:
2 dedicated sections for small and large dogs
Plastic doggie pool
Gazebos for shade
2. Sepulveda Basin Off-Leash Dog Park
Address: 17494 Victory Blvd, Encino 91436
Phone: 818.756.7667
Hours: dawn to dusk, Sat – Thu; 11 a.m. to dusk, Fri
Amenities:
5 acres of off-leash park
0.5 acres dedicated to small dogs
3. Hermon Dog Park
Address: 6276 Pine Crest Dr., L.A. 90042
Hours: Dawn to dusk daily
Amenities:
Two dedicated fenced areas based on size
Water dispensers for dogs
Eco-friendly biodegradable dog waste bag dispensers
Trees and benches
Special events for dogs
Address: North Zoo Dr., L.A. 90027 (located at the North end of the John Ferraro Soccer Field)
Hours: 5am to 10:30pm daily,
Phone number: 323.913.4688
Amenities:
1.6 acres
Separate area for small dogs
Drinking fountain
Portable restrooms
Dog troughs
5. The Boneyard (Culver City Dog Park)
Address: Jefferson and Duguesne, Culver City 90232
Hours: Dawn through Dusk, Daily
Phone: 310.390.9114
*For Culver City licensed dogs only
Amenities:
All dirt and gravel park
Separate park for large and small dogs
Water Fountains for dogs and humans
Complimentary tennis balls
Basic Los Angeles Dog Park Rules:
spayed/ neutered (female dogs cannot be in heat)
have had their shots and have no communicable diseases
For more information on general rules, visit LA Parks.
Have Smurfing Free Fun!
UPDATE: Almost as soon as this posted the tix were snapped up!
Free fun for kids and their parents when you sign up to see the Smurfs movie in 3-D for free on Saturday, July 30, at Rave The Bridge, Los Angeles. The free film is courtesy of the Mocha Moms, a support group for stay-at-home mothers of color.
Click here to RSVP. You must sign up by Wednesday, July 27.
And there’s more than a free movie. The Mocha Moms will have free family-friendly fun activities for the family before the screening.
What nicer place could you have a Farmer's Market at?
If you find yourself with free time Friday morning, sample some locally grown organic fare at the new Farmer’s Market at The Lakes in Thousand Oaks. The new open-air market debuts Friday, July 22, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Admission is free, and like most Farmer’s markets there is sure to be some free samples of farm-raised fruits and veggies.
Fresh Peppers © Alistair Williamson
Open every Friday, the market features dozens of vendors including those offering dairy products, fresh-caught seafood, and fresh cut flowers.
Crack open a pistachio at Santa Barbara Pistachios, savor a strawberry at Finley Farm, or wonder at the tropical plants at Liquid Landscapes. Stop by Hayground Organic Gardening for unique organic seedlings of fruit and vegetable plants or pick up a fresh catch-of-the-day at Anjin II’s fish stall. Other vendors include Etheridge Farm, Spring Hill Cheese of Petaluma, Ace Ranch, McGrath Farm, Munak Ranch, and Tom Shepherd-Shepherd Salad.
Photo by Randy Robertson
We will soon have posts about free fun things to do in Ventura! If you have any suggestions or know of some awesome events, venues, or places be sure to send us an email through our contact page.
Where can you find free fun on the Fourth of July in Los Angeles? Right here! Check out our rundown for Monday, July 4:
4th of July Fireworks Extravaganza @ LA Memorial Coliseum
Free 60-minutes of fireworks bursting in air! Launched near the Coliseum, not inside, the pyrotechnic show can be viewed from areas around Exposition Park. Try Christmas Tree Land or the South Lawn near the Natural History Museum. lawn. Bring blankets or lawn chairs to enjoy the show. Show begins about 8:45pm or dusk. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Besides fireworks, there will be free live entertainment and children’s games starting at noon. Parking at 39th & Figueroa St.; Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. & Hoover St.; and at USC.
Long Beach Kids’ July 4th Bike Parade
It’s family-friendly free fun before the big fireworks Monday evening. Kids and adults can decorate their bicycles (or tricycles) and themselves for these annual parade wheels down the beach bike path in Long Beach. Register by 9:15 a.m. Parade at 10 a.m. Free parking in Granada Beach Lot for the event.
Mr & Mrs Muscle Beach Bodybuilding and Figure Championships @ Venice Beach
Worship the golden rays of the sun as this annual event crowns its champions. Pumping up for competition, glistening, sinewy, limber contestants abound over a comprehensive contest that spans over 24 classes – from teens to ultra-masters age 60 +. Pre-judging 10 am, finals at 1 pm. Watch as eight-time Champion of the Ms. Olympia title – Lenda Murray is inducted into the Muscle Beach Venice Hall of Fame. This honor includes the unveiling of a barbell monument for the inductee on the Walk of Fame which surrounds the foundation of the “weight pen” and includes such Venice Beach notables as Cory Everson, Mickey Hargitay and Rachel McLish.
Warner Center July 4th Fireworks & Concert
Have a blast at the biggest FREE 4th of July extravaganza in the San Fernando Valley. Part of Warner Park’s summer-long Concerts in the Park series, the evening begins at 6pm. Listen to the James Taylor Tribute band “Taylor Made” and a patriotic set by the 100-piece Los Angeles Pierce Symphonic Winds. Plenty of shade under the trees where visitors can stretch out and enjoy the FREE music before the evening finishes off in the grand tradition with an incredible 26-minute fireworks show that starts just after 9PM. The downside? Nearby parking is $15 to $20 so carpool!
A Food Festival? On the cheap?! I’m there! Come check out the Frugal Festival Food! The fest is hosted by BargainBabe.com founder Julia Scott and sponsored by Albertson’s. Swing on by this Saturday at Canoga Park High School, 6850 Topanga Canyon Blvd, LA 91303, from 11 A.M. to 2 P.M. Tickets are $5-$10 and can be purchased here. You can get a $5 discount when you bring a canned food item for the LA Food Bank. In addition $1 from every ticket is donated to the LA Food Bank.
Free Fun LA is helping to sponsor Frugal Festival Food! and have also included 50 free copies in the VIP bags. Those tickets may have sold out, but you can still get Free LA for a special Festival price of $8 including shipping through PayPal. Just check out the sidebar to your right!
The first 500 people to enter the festival receive a FREE Envirosax swag bag worth $16 (empty they sell for $9) . Everyone also receives a free raffle ticket that could win them awesome prizes (like a $300 gift card to Albertson’s!) There’s also going to be tons of free demos and samples from places like The Stand, Yozen Frogurt, and Libertine.
Want to get in the festival for FREE? Bring a homemade food item (jam, bread, whatever is tasty!) for the food swap and get in for free! You can also send in a recipe for the Frugal Festival Food! cookbook and get a copy of the $9.95 eBook for free!
Love music? This Saturday, June 18th, is your chance to experience a wild variety of styles at California’s largest free music festival, Make Music Pasadena. There will be more than 100 concerts throughout the city, many of them in unconventional locations.
Get ready for a sonically good time, as there will be a wide array of talent showcased on six stages, ranging from well known acts such as Best Coast, to international musicians like Ben L’oncle Soul, and even local acts and DJs from KCRW. For a complete lineup click here.
The festival runs from 11 A.M. to 11 P.M. There will be plenty of parking available, and be sure to take advantage of going Metro, as the Metro Gold Line has stops located within walking distance of every main stage. By going Metro you can also receive a free ticket to the Keren Ann show at the Luckman Theatre.
