Free events in LA: The best free things to do in the city

Got a list of L.A. museums you haven’t visited yet? Clear your calendar for Museums Free-for-All, when museums all over the region throw open the doors for free admission. Over 30 museums will drop their admission fees on Sunday, March 16. It’s the perfect opportunity to knock a couple of cultural to-dos off your list, like the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, LACMA, the Autry, Grammy Museum, the La Brea Tar Pits, Craft Contemporary, the Skirball and more. You’ll still have to pay to see any exhibitions that require a special ticket and for parking, but we can’t say no to free admission. Make sure to scope out the full list of participating museums. (We’d suggest skipping any of L.A.’s always-free museums, though, as you can visit those admission-free on any other weekend.)

Every Sunday, you can find dozens of food vendors at this market at ROW DTLA, a Brooklyn import that boasts a mix of much-loved pop-ups and future foodie stars. Over a dozen new vendors joined the lineup this year: Feast on Afro-Caribbean cuisine from withBee, Lebanese street food from Teta, ice cream tacos from Sad Girl Creamery and more. Wash it all down at the family-friendly beer garden. You’ll also find shopping stalls selling everything from framed vintage ads to jewelry made locally with ethically sourced gemstones. Entry and the first two hours of parking are free.

This beautiful, free festival celebrates the history and whimsy of the kite. Watch as hundreds take to the sky—you can buy a kite on the pier or bring your own. There will be contests for biggest kite, longest kite, best handmade kite, youngest kite flyer and youngest at heart. The fest culminates with a group kite-flying session on the sand. There’s also a slew of non-kite-related activities on the pier all day, including a hot-dog-on-a-stick-eating contest, a dance performance, martial arts demo, face painting and live music.

Pasadena’s underrated collection of museums and performance spaces open up their doors for free at this biannual arts and culture open house. Take advantage of the free shuttle buses or hoof it between local institutions such as the Gamble House, Art Center, Norton Simon Museum and more, many of which will be offering special programming and performances. And, of course, no arts fest would be complete without food trucks, which often include pop-ups from local bricks-and-mortar.

The desert-spanning biennial is back, with premieres of site-specific works from about a dozen artists. For its fifth iteration, Desert X will once again stage outdoor installations across about 40 miles of the Coachella Valley from March 8 to May 11, 2025.

It’s no Emerald Isle, but Hermosa Beach is full of Irish spirit during its annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. For the 29th year, bagpipers, marching bands, Irish dancers and classic cars decked out in green will all make their way along the coastal city’s parade route. The procession kicks off near City Hall on Valley Drive, heads west on Pier Avenue and ends at the corner of Hermosa Avenue and 8th Street. The free festivities also include live music nearby at Pier Plaza.

After its fall debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall as part of PST ART, artist Doug Aitken’s multimedia collab with the L.A. Phil and L.A. Master Chorale makes the jump to the Marciano Art Foundation. The free museum mounts the multi-channel video piece in its massive theater gallery, which you can see during routine opening hours (Tue–Sat 11am–6pm). But look out for separate reservations for weekly (typically on Saturdays) live performances organized by both musical ensembles.

Join in one of L.A.’s oldest traditions at the 126th annual Golden Dragon Parade (rescheduled from February). The colorful procession of lion dancers, dance troupes, music groups and more will make its way through Chinatown (kicking off at Ord and Hill Streets, and concluding at Broadway and Cesar E Chavez Avenue) on Saturday, March 22, from 1 to 4pm. The parade historically coincides with a free Lunar New Year festival in the Central Plaza as well. RECOMMENDED: Lunar New Year in Los Angeles

Spend an afternoon underneath Torrance’s cherry blossoms as dancers and Japanese folk musicians perform at this annual Pan-Asian celebration. Amid the pink and white blooms, you’ll also find a craft fair with everything from ceramics to intricate textiles handcrafted by local artisans, plus food from South Bay vendors.

Participate in a 5K or 10K run or walk, a 2K dog walk, a kiddie run or a 20- or 50-mile bike ride that will take you along the L.A. River and through Griffith Park during this weekend-long Lunar New Year tradition in the heart of historic Chinatown (rescheduled from February). All courses start and end at Chinatown Central Plaza, which will host a concurrent, free family-friendly festival with a beer garden and live entertainment, if you want to celebrate without breaking a sweat. Don’t miss the weekend opening ceremony, with lion dancers and the traditional lighting of 100,000 firecrackers. Check the website for a detailed schedule of events.

The Los Angeles–based conceptual artist and now-retired CalArts educator is back with his first L.A. solo exhibition since 2019, debuting new works from his Numbers and Trees series. The colorful and complex works combine Plexiglas, watercolors and his signature numeric grid systems to depict the baobab trees Gaines photographed on a recent trip to Tanzania. The show opens February 19 with a conversation between the artist and LACMA’s Naima J. Keith, followed by an opening reception (6–8pm). The event is free, but reservations are recommended.

Mark the annual gray whale migration from the shore with this festival, now in its 54th year, which offers a full weekend of marine-themed activities, educational exhibits, family-friendly entertainment, whale-watching excursions, marine conservation talks and a cardboard-boat-building contest and Dinghy Dash in Dana Point. Things kick off Friday with a sunset welcoming ceremony by members of the local Acjachemen Nation, followed by a reception with live music and food trucks. This year, instead of the traditional Festival of Whales Parade, there will be an inaugural Festival of Whales Carnival, complete with carnival rides, games, food and a beer garden with an ocean view. Park at Dana Hills High School (33333 Golden Lantern) and take a free shuttle to Lantern Bay Park.

Shop local at this celebration of small businesses, held not in Venice but in downtown Mar Vista, along Venice Boulevard. The arts and music festival brings together over 300 local brands and artists three times a year, attracting some 100,000 shoppers. You’ll also find food, live music, art installations and games on Venice between Centinela Avenue and Inglewood Boulevard. The fest is free and pet-friendly.

In partnership with the Firecracker Run’s Paw’er Dog Walk, this second annual Lunar New Year celebration specifically caters to dogs and their owners. The Blossom Plaza event includes Year of the Snake–themed pet photography sessions and portraits, plus shopping, cultural activities and pet adoptions thanks to the Lovejoy Foundation. Entry is free, but if you opt for a PASS (Pawsitive Action Supporting Shelters), you get a swag bag and can help support local animal rescues.

Ring in Nowruz (Iranian New Year and the arrival of spring, or literally “new day”) with the Farhang Foundation with a day of free authentic cultural performances, music and activities for children. The 15th annual outdoor program in UCLA’s Dickson Court (near Royce Hall) includes a drum ensemble, storytelling, dancing, a puppet show, a tea house and a traditional Haft-sin table display. It’s one of the largest Nowruz celebrations in the world—last year’s event drew 25,000 people. Look out for a ticketed concert at Royce Hall later that evening, as well.

The term CicLAvia stems from a similar Spanish word for “bike way,” and in L.A. it’s become a shorthand for the temporary, festival-like closing of L.A.’s streets. The event (inspired by the first Ciclovías in Bogotá, Colombia) welcomes bikes, tricycles, skateboards, strollers and basically anything else without an engine to ride a rotating cast of car-free routes. You’ll inevitably always find a route each year around Downtown, but past events have taken it anywhere from the harbor to the San Gabriel Valley. Expect music, street performances and food trucks, as well as general whimsy and shenanigans along the way. Shop owners and restaurants along the CicLAvia route also tend to host specials. It goes without saying that you should bike or take the Metro to your desired spot along the route.

This first-floor exhibition at the Broad features hundreds of German artist Joseph Beuys’s “multiples,” editioned objects (with a focus here on environmentalism) that stretched the meaning of sculpture. But the most notable aspect of this show extends beyond the gallery walls: Inspired by Beuys’s 7000 Eichen (7000 Oaks), the concurrent Social Forest: Oaks of Tovaangar will plant 100 native trees (primarily coast live oaks) in Elysian Park and at Kuruvungna Village Springs.

Bibliophiles flock to the USC campus each spring for this annual two-day event. The outdoor book fair of sorts features stalls from a variety of booksellers, as well as author readings, signings and culinary demos. The sheer variety and quality of talent the festival attracts is impressive and legendary, with past appearances by anyone from Dave Eggers and Batman comic book writers to Margaret Atwood and the late Ray Bradbury. Bring the kids and spend the weekend discovering new titles, watching screenings and enjoying live music and cultural entertainment. Entry and tickets to conversations are free, while a limited number of speaker-series events are ticketed, ranging in price but often starting as low as $10. Before the weekend kicks off, the 45th annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes awards the year’s best in literature on Friday (tickets are $22–$83).

Is it the stumpy legs? The size-too-big ears? The woolly rump? Whatever the cause, we love corgis, and so do the devoted dog owners at So Cal Corgi Nation. This free, semiannual meetup invades the Huntington Dog Beach, just north of the southern entrance by Tower 22, welcoming all dogs and their humans for a day of corgi contests, shopping at a pet-centric marketplace, food trucks, photo ops, goodie bags and even a corgi kissing booth. RECOMMENDED: The cutest corgis at Corg-A-Palooza

In celebration of the late Bob Baker’s legacy, his namesake puppet theater hosts this annual celebration at Los Angeles State Historic Park. The free fest and outdoor carnival, which runs from 10am to 5pm, features puppet performances throughout the day, plus an assortment of crafts and activities that typically includes everything from bubbles to balloons to music. In the wake of the fires, this year’s theme is “Recovery Through the Arts,” so expect an uplifting and community-building event. Stay tuned for the lineup of special guests.

This International Women's Day, head to South Bay shopping center Manhattan Village for alfresco yoga, self-care and pop-up shops in the outdoor plaza. All of the afternoon’s activations are free if you register here. Work up a sweat during a yoga, sculpt or dance class, then indulge with a mini facial or chair massage in the Beauty & Wellness Zone. Plus, if you show up in pink, you’ll be entered to win a gift basket of goodies.

“Let’s hang out at the Pier” is something Santa Monica locals probably say next to never, but this monthly series is trying to change that. Every third Thursday from September to May, you’ll find everything from live music to storytelling to a classic car show on the Santa Monica Pier, all free to attend.