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

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. Thirteen new vendors are joining the lineup this year: Feast on burgers and orange chicken sandwiches from Terrible Burger, Viennese street food from Franzl’s Franks, Neapolitan-meets-Persian pies from Mamani Pizza, plant-based corn dogs from Stick Talk 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.

The Hammer Museum’s excellent, ongoing series of biennial exhibitions ups the ante with each edition of its spotlight on emerging and under-recognized L.A. artists. This October’s exhibition—the seventh such show—brings together works from 28 artists, spanning film, painting, theater, photography, sculpture and video, that engage with the city of Los Angeles. Highlights include Kelly Wall’s penny press and wishing well, plus racks of postcards of L.A. skies fabricated out of glass; Patrick Martinez’s East L.A.–inspired cinder block wall, adorned with Mayan murals and neon trim (as well as another neon sign that reads “Agua is LIFE, NO ICE”); and re-creations and photo documentation of the late Alonzo Davis’s freeway murals from the 1984 Olympics. Before you even step inside, you’ll notice Alake Shilling’s Buggy Bear Crashes Made in L.A., which, yes, is a giant inflatable bear driving a car that’s careening toward the Glendon Avenue corner of the Westwood museum.

Japan House Los Angeles is bringing an exhibition of shokuhin sampuru—hyper-realistic food replicas that have crossed over from marketing tool to art form (think Is It Cake? but cultural)—to Los Angeles for the first time. See mouthwatering faux food representing each of Japan’s 47 prefectures, from coffee house parfaits to izakaya skewers, as well as Chinese and Western cuisine, and try your own hand at food presentation by filling a bentō box yourself.  

The L.A. Department of Cultural Affairs and Asian makers’ market MAUM are teaming up to present the fourth annual Lunar Block Party in North Hollywood, celebrating Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese cultures. Welcome in the new and good at the free community event, which will fill Lankershim Boulevard (between Otsego Street and Magnolia Boulevard) with arts and crafts for kids, shopping at MAUM market, cultural performances, Asian-owned food trucks and more.

Anonymous feminist art collective the Guerrilla Girls—whose members gained notoriety for donning gorilla masks and fighting the patriarchy—is coming up on its 40th anniversary, and the Getty Center is marking the occasion with a behind-the-scenes look at the group. See photography, protest art and the group’s famed posters—sporting statistics, bold visuals and satirical humor—that showcase the tactics the members used to demand recognition for women and artists of color. The Guerrilla Girls have even created a newly commissioned work for the exhibition. And you can add your own mark on the “graffitti wall” installation, giving visitors a creative outlet for their complaints about the world today.  Accompanying programming throughout the run of the show will include a conversation between the Guerrilla Girls and author Roxane Gay, a feminist Valentine’s Day mail art workshop, cocktail receptions with the exhibition curators, tours and more.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is hosting a Lunar New Year edition of its free Saturday-morning Family Fests. Welcome the year of the horse with activities the entire family can get in on, from trying the art of origami to eating traditional foods to watching lion and dragon dance performances or improv by Asian American comedy troupe Cold Tofu.

“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. 

The California Science Center is inviting kids to get in the game with a new 17,000-square-foot exhibition about the power of play and the human body in motion. Besides teaching about the science behind sports, it also offers interactive challenges and video coaching from a team of Los Angeles-based mentor athletes including dancer Debbie Allen, the Dodgers’ World Series hero Freddie Freeman, Olympic medalist softball player Rachel Garcia and more. And for the first time ever, the center has commissioned public art—all by local artists—to complement the exhibition, including a Dodgers mural by Gustavo Zermeño Jr. The free exhibition will run at the Science Center through the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

For more than four decades, this South L.A. tradition has assembled marching bands, floats, street performers and local civic leaders as part of the world’s longest-running MLK Day celebration. You might have noticed the new name—for decades the event has been known as the “Kingdom Day Parade” and was organized by the Congress of Racial Equality of California. This year, however, due to some drama with permits, the parade is being presented by Bakewell Media and the Los Angeles Sentinel and broadcast by ABC live at 11am. The parade route kicks off on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Western Avenue, heads west to Crenshaw Boulevard and swings around Leimert Park Plaza, where you’ll find a free post-parade festival (11am–5pm). 

This display of film and video art, billed as “a sweeping odyssey into the depths of human experience,” will take over all six stories of the abandoned, historic Variety Arts Theater in Downtown L.A. (the theater served as the setting for this past Halloween’s immersive haunt Delusion, and the expansive space was as impressive as the production itself). Over a century of visual storytelling will be explored, blurring the line between visual art and cinema. The contemporary video works by artists including Marina Abramović, Doug Aitken, Chris Burden, Cyprien Gaillard, Arthur Jafa and Precious Okoyomon—juxtaposed with cinematic works by the likes of Walt Disney and Georges Méliès—come from the time-based art collection of the Germany-based Julia Stoschek Foundation.

Join in one of L.A.’s oldest traditions at the 127th annual Golden Dragon Parade. The colorful procession of lion dancers, dance troupes, music groups and more will make its way through Chinatown (kicking off at Hill Street at Temple, traveling toward Bernard, then right onto Broadway then back to Broadway & Temple) on Saturday, February 21, 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

Pasadena’s USC Pacific Asia Museum museum rings in the Lunar New Year with a free afternoon of pan-Asian activities—and a grand reopening. In addition to traditional performances in the museum’s courtyard (think: lion dances, martial arts demonstrations, Korean classical music and storytimes) plus art activities and food trucks, you’ll also be able to visit the museum’s galleries for free. Check out the brand-new immersive new exhibition “Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry,” which takes visitors on an interactive journey through the immigrant experience.

Spend your day off giving back at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Each year on MLK Day, L.A. Works hosts a massive gathering of volunteers, who donate their time to help those in need—from families displaced by the wildfires to immigrant communities in danger of deportation—through hands-on service opportunities. Entry is free (though advance tickets are required), and food truck fare and merch from Black-owned businesses will be for sale.

Learn more about different Asian cultures as you celebrate Lunar New Year at dining and shopping destination Koreatown Plaza, where you can watch a Chinese lion dance, Korean drum performances and taekwondo demonstrations, and a multicultural fashion show—all for free. You can also shop from a variety of Asian American-owned small businesses, and don’t forget food: The first 500 people in attendance will receive $15 vouchers to use at the plaza’s food court, which counts Awoolim, Gamja Bawi, Pao Jao, Tonkatsu House and Bosco Bakery among its vendors.

Listen to and discuss one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s landmark speeches, listen to a concert by the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, and make your own faux stained glass inspired by Dr. King’s vision of the “Beloved Community” during this annual MLK tribute at the California African American Museum. Entry is free, but donations of new or gently used children’s books for a book drive are encouraged.

The Chinese Club of San Marino hosts its annual Lunar New Year Festival in idyllic Lacy Park, which will be filled with cultural performances and displays, games and food vendors serving up savory and sweet treats. The free community event aims to channel good fortune and unite people in the San Gabriel Valley. 

Ring in the Lunar New Year in the heart of L.A.’s Chinese community at this annual two-day Monterey Park festival. This street fair takes over five blocks of downtown Monterey Park (Garvey Ave between Garfield and Alhambra) with folk art, delectable bites, live entertainment and a carnival zone. The action kicks off Saturday morning with traditional New Year dragon and lion dancers. Past fests have brought in over 100,000 people, so plan ahead; the city suggests utilizing the free parking and shuttles from Mark Keppel High School (501 E Hellman Ave) or Repetto Elementary School (650 Grandridge Ave). RECOMMENDED: Chinese New Year in Los Angeles

Participate in a 5K or 10K run/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 centered in the heart of historic Chinatown. All courses start and end at Chinatown Central Plaza, which will host a concurrent, free family-friendly festival with a beer garden, kids’ activities 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 recently restored historic Ojai Playhouse—which is actually a single-screen movie theater—is honoring the inimitable David Lynch a year after his death, celebrating his birthday with a week of programming. (And yes, it’s a bit of a trek to get there, but Ojai is a perfect spot for a day trip.) Each night from Thursday, January 15, to Tuesday, January 20, you can catch a free screening of one of the director’s films, including Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, The Elephant Man and more. (See the full lineup here.) Be sure to order a damn fine cup of coffee on your way in—the theater purchased Lynch’s own espresso machine from his estate and is serving up lattes using his favorite coffee beans.  And on Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm, James Franco is debuting a new work-in-progress play, Desert Films, about Robert Blake’s Mystery Man persona from Lost Highway. Tickets to that are $57. The weekend will culminate with a free group meditation on Sunday.

This South Bay Lunar New Year celebration offers live entertainment, dancers, arts and crafts, food trucks and more at Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles. The free, family-friendly event typically boasts a petting zoo, too, where visitors can get close to roosters, sheep, goats and pigs—maybe even horses in honor of the Year of the Horse. Parking is also free; head to 22nd and Miner streets to park and catch a free ride to the event from the San Pedro Downtown Trolley.