Last updated 2/7/2020
One of We Like L.A.’s primary goals is to help Los Angeles locals find fun things to do in their city on a budget. To do this we maintain an internal spreadsheet of upcoming free to-dos for consideration that may or may not end up on our daily/weekly/monthly to-do list. So why not clean the sheet up and make it public? Well, that’s what we did.
Below is a list of free and (hopefully!) fun things to do in the greater L.A. area for your enjoyment. We’ll make regular, weekly updates to the list, deleting past events and adding new dates, trying to make the post as useful and actionable as possible. In addition to the 30-day outlook, we’ve also compiled a small list of ongoing and ‘evergreen’ you can try out on your own time. We’ll update that every few weeks as well.
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To best use the info here, we recommend either bookmarking this page and checking back frequently, or sign up for our email newsletter where we’ll send out monthly rundowns of the next 30 days of freebies. However you choose to utilize the info, we hope you find it helpful and fruitful in planning your next L.A. adventure.
Free Things to Do in L.A. for the Next 30 Days
Tuesday, Feb. 4: Free admission at Natural History Museum (also note that L.A. County residents receive free Museum admission Monday through Friday from 3 to 5 pm. Bring a valid ID or utility bill the day of your visit)
Tuesday, Feb. 4: Free admission at La Brea Tarpits Museum (also note that L.A. County residents receive free Museum admission Monday through Friday from 3 to 5 pm. Bring a valid ID or utility bill the day of your visit)
Tuesday, Feb. 4: Free Family Night at Kidspace Children’s Museum (from 4 to 8 p.m.)
Thursday, Feb. 6: West FX Inc.’s is hosting a Be My Bloody Valentine open house event where guests can watch live makeup demonstrations, learn about West FX Inc. classes, and discover more about makeup artistry. Admission is free. Live demonstrations begin at 7 p.m. Complimentary champagne and treats provided during the first hour, limit 2 drinks per attendee (Pico Union)
Thursday, Feb. 6: Bright Swords: The Story of Ira AldridgeSolemn Mockeries: Shakespearean Frauds and Cons, a lecture and staged reading will be presented as part of the Independent Shakespeare Co.’s iambic lab 2020: Shakespearean Curious & Treasures. The festival runs Feb. 6-15 with both free and paid events featuring readings, classes, and lectures. Advance reservations (including for the free performances) are recommend, available here (Atwater Village)
Thursday, Feb. 6: Free admission at Skirball Cultural Center from noon to 5 p.m. (Sepulveda Pass)
Thursday, Feb. 6: Free admission at USC Pacific Asian Museum from 5 to 8 p.m. (Pasadena)
Thursday, Feb. 6: Free admission to Long Beach Museum of Art from 3 to 8 p.m. (Long Beach)
Thursday, Feb. 6: Free admission at Japanese American National Museum from 5 to 8 p.m. (Little Tokyo)
Friday, Feb. 7: On the first Friday of every month the Griffith Observatory presents All Space Considered. This live event series features the Observatory’s curatorial staff discussing the latest news in space science and diving deep into popular subjects in astronomy (Griffith Park)
Friday, Feb. 7: The Bixby Knolls First Fridays art walk series (in Long Beach) brings back its annual Mardi Gras Celebration and Parade on Feb. 7. The event includes special storefront art displays, DJ-spun music, artist meet-and-greets, and LOTS of beads. The parade starts from Georgie’s Place on Atlantic Ave. at 7 p.m. (Bixby Knolls)
Friday, Feb. 7: Bright Swords: The Story of Ira Aldridge, a lecture and staged reading will be presented as part of the Independent Shakespeare Co.’s iambic lab 2020: Shakespearean Curious & Treasures. The festival runs Feb. 6-15 with both free and paid events featuring readings, classes, and lectures. Advance reservations (including for the free performances) are recommend, available here (Atwater Village)
Friday, Feb. 7: Norton Simon Museum offers free admission on the first Friday of every month from 5 to 8 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 8: Vanity Fair: Hollywood Calling debuts at the Annenberg Space for Photography. The exhibition features multimedia installations and photographs including more than 50 photographers who shot for the magazine including portraitists Annie Leibovitz, as well as Jonathan Becker, Harry Benson, Cass Bird, Ethan James Green, Horst P. Horst, Helmut Newton, Michael O’Neill, Herb Ritts, Collier Schorr, Firooz Zahedi, and more. The exhibition runs through Jul. 26 (Century City)
Saturday, Feb. 8: Arden of Faversham, staged reading will be presented as part of the Independent Shakespeare Co.’s iambic lab 2020: Shakespearean Curious & Treasures. The festival runs Feb. 6-15 with both free and paid events featuring readings, classes, and lectures. Advance reservations (including for the free performances) are recommend, available here (Atwater Village)
Sunday, Feb 9: Free admission at USC Pacific Asian Museum every second Sunday of each month (Pasadena)
Sunday, Feb. 9: The East LA Art Walk is a free community based monthly event that takes place on the 3500 block of East 1st. St every second Sunday of the month.
Sunday, Feb. 9: Metro Art offers a free docent-led tour of Union Station’s art and architecture every second Sunday of the month. Starts at 10:30 a.m. and runs about two hours (Downtown)
Sunday, Feb. 2: Barnsdall Art Park Foundation offers free family art workshops every Sunday morning from 10 a.m. to noon. All ages, including children, are welcome. Themes change each each, and the current schedule runs through Feb. 23 (East Hollywood)
Thursday, Feb. 13: Metro Art Los Angeles is hosting a Rush Hour Concert inspired by Valentine’s Day. The event takes place 4 to 6 p.m. in the Waiting Room area, free and open to the public (Downtown)
Thursday, Feb. 13: Helen & Mia: A New Play will be presented as a staged reading at the Independent Shakespeare Co.’s iambic lab 2020: Shakespearean Curious & Treasures. The festival runs Feb. 6-15 with both free and paid events featuring readings, classes, and lectures. Advance reservations (including for the free performances) are recommend, available here (Atwater Village)
Thursday, Feb. 13: Free admission at Skirball Cultural Center from noon to 5 p.m. (Sepulveda Pass)
Thursday, Feb. 13: Free admission at USC Pacific Asian Museum from 5 to 8 p.m. (Pasadena)
Thursday, Feb. 13: Free admission to Long Beach Museum of Art from 3 to 8 p.m. (Long Beach)
Thursday, Feb. 13: Free admission at Japanese American National Museum from 5 to 8 p.m. (Little Tokyo)
Friday, Feb. 14: Lovers Rock transforms Grand Park into Valentine’s Day haven, perfect for couples who want to do the romantic holiday on a budget. The park will be adorned with mood lighting while curated music sets the ambience (Downtown)
Friday, Feb. 14: The California African American Museum celebrates Valentines’s Day Palentine’s Day with a night of performance and poetry featuring poet Danez Smith. There will be a DJ set and and libations to follow at the after-party (Exposition Park)
Friday, Feb. 14: Barry Jenkins’s Academy Award–winning film Moonlight screens at The Hammer. Free tickets are required and available at the Box Office one hour before the program.
Saturday, Feb. 15 to Sunday, Feb. 16: Oakland-based MC, rapper, and spoken word artist Ruby Ibarra comes to the Sounds of L.A. series at The Getty for two days of performances. Free advanced online ticket required (Brentwood)
Tuesday, Feb. 18: Free admission to the Los Angeles County Arboretum. Note that advance tickets for the free day are now required. These are available online starting on the first of the month. Also note the tram does not run on the free day (Arcadia)
Tuesday, Feb. 18: Free admission to South Coast Botanic Garden (Palos Verdes Peninsula)
Tuesday, Feb. 18: Free admission to Descanso Gardens. Note that advance online reservations are now required for Descanso Gardens free admission day (La Canada Flintridge)
Wednesday, Feb. 19: Comedian Brian Posehn has new metal album (yes, a comedian made a metal album) called Grandpa Metal and it’s due out on Feb. 14. To celebrate the album’s release Posehn will team up with Anthrax’s Scott Ian to play songs and discuss their collaboration at Amoeba Hollywood on Feb. 19. The show is free/all-ages but if you want to attend the signing after the performance, you’ll have to purchase the album in-store (Hollywood)
Thursday, Feb. 20: The Hammer’s Constitution Happy Hour series offers guided, topical conversations about the US Constitution and its role in our democracy. Also… drinks! The conversation is free, with snacks and beverages available for purchase (Westwood)
Thursday, Feb. 20: Free admission at Skirball Cultural Center from noon to 5 p.m. (Sepulveda Pass)
Thursday, Feb. 20: Free admission at USC Pacific Asian Museum from 5 to 8 p.m. (Pasadena)
Thursday, Feb. 20: Free admission to Long Beach Museum of Art from 3 to 8 p.m. (Long Beach)
Thursday, Feb. 20: Free admission at Japanese American National Museum (Little Tokyo)
Friday, Feb. 21: La Plaza de Cultura y Artes celebrates El día de la lengua maternal (Mother Language Day) through a unique panel highlighting the resilience of indigenous community through language and identity. Panelists will discuss the future of indigenous languages and the challenged to language revitalization. Free to attend (Chinatown)
Sunday, Feb. 23: The Debbie Allen Dance Academy DADA Ensemble comes to the California African American Museum for a dance performance inspired by the exhibit Cross Colours: Black Fashion in the 20th Century. (South Los Angeles)
Sunday, Feb. 23: The Museum of Latina American Art in Long Beach will host an Afro-Lantix Festival on Feb. 23 showcasing African influence in Latin America through music, dance, food, and martial arts. Festival attendees can experience art workshops, face painting, and live performances. Free admission. Parking at MOLAA is $10 (Long Beach)
Sunday, Feb. 29: Spend 2020’s extra day in Santa Monica with a three-hour celebration featuring silent disco dancing, dueling DJs, free treats and Carlo’s Bakery cupcakes for all the leap day babies (Santa Monica)
Tuesday, March 3: The Hammer’s Super Tuesday Bash 2020 puts the primary season’s big day on the big screen as the results roll in. Free admission with a cash bar and snacks available (Westwood)
Friday, March 6: On the first Friday of every month the Griffith Observatory presents All Space Considered. This live event series features the Observatory’s curatorial staff discussing the latest news in space science and diving deep into popular subjects in astronomy (Griffith Park)
More Free Things to do in Los Angeles
Here are few ongoing and/or evergreen free to-dos for your social calendar:
The Museum of Contemporary Art is now open to the public free of charge year-round. Check out either their Grand Ave. or Geffen Contemporary locations (Downtown)
The Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College is free to enter year-round. Right now they have an excellent career retrospective of photographer George Rodriquez showcasing everything from the Chicano civil rights movement to celebrity headshots and everyday scenes of urban Los Angeles. George Rodriquez: Double Vision will be on view through Feb. 29 (Monterey Park)
If you’ve never visited the Observation Deck at Los Angeles City Hall, the weather after a good rain would make for a great view. Just maybe don’t go when it’s actually raining. (Downtown)
The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach offers free Shark Lagoon Nights on most Fridays from 6 to 9 p.m. Be sure to check the schedule here to see to make sure the Friday you plan to go will feature the event (Long Beach)
Any errors in the listings? Got a suggestion or tip? Hit us up at [email protected] to let us know what free events or activities we should add to the list.
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