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

Join in one of L.A.’s oldest traditions at the 126th annual Chinese New Year parade and festival in Chinatown. The main attraction here is the yearly Golden Dragon Parade, which follows its route (kicking off at Hill and Temple Streets, and concluding at Broadway and Temple) on Saturday, February 8, from 1 to 3:30pm. The parade coincides with a free festival in the Central Plaza, as well, which starts at noon. RECOMMENDED: Lunar New Year in Los Angeles

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. You can feast on Maine lobster from Lobsterdamus, Michoacán-style carnitas from Los Cochinitos, plant-based Mexican fare from Cena Vegan, slices from URBN Pizza, treats from Black- and Asian-owned Lei'd Cookies and much 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.

Pasadena’s Pacific Asia Museum museum rings in the Lunar New Year with a free afternoon of pan-Asian activities. You’ll find traditional performances in the museum’s courtyard (think: lion dances, martial arts demonstrations, Korean classical music, opera and storytimes), plus art activities, food trucks and, most importantly, free admission to the galleries. Don’t miss PAM’s PST ART installation, Cai Guo-Qiang: A Material Odyssey. 

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.

Scope out dozens food and craft booths while dragon dances, kung fu demonstrations, live candy sculpting and other entertainment plays out across a street festival. For those new to celebrating the holiday, the fest’s “cultural passport” experience teaches you how different regions celebrate Lunar New Year. This annual event takes place just on Alhambra’s Main Street and celebrates the diversity of the San Gabriel Valley.

Santa Monica Place is welcoming the Year of the Snake with cherry blossom wishing trees, craft kits for kids and shopping deals for adults. Though the red and gold lanterns will stay up from January 28 to February 13, stop by on February 8 (2–5pm) for a free, family-friendly event—expect Chinese lion dance performances on the hour, dough and balloon artists, live music and more.

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.

A true multi-hyphenate, Carver was a painter in addition to a pioneering agricultural scientist. CAAM will display seldom seen paintings as well as his lab equipment alongside contemporary works that were inspired by his foundational work in modern conservation—ideas that started to spread with his “Jesup Wagon,” an early 1900s moveable school.

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.