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

Everyone’s favorite NPR member station has a hand in a slew of summer concert slates at public plazas and beloved museums, and this summer’s schedule is reliably packed. Familiar KCRW DJs and local buzz bands will be providing free, open-air tunes on select nights from June through September at Union Station, CAAM, Descanso Gardens, Bowers Museum, Wende Museum, the Autry, Benny Boy Brewing, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, California Plaza and—our favorite—the party-till-midnight bashes at Chinatown Central Plaza. The details slightly differ at each spot, but you can typically expect a bunch of food trucks, beer gardens and after-hours museum admission. This year, there’s even a kid-oriented installment at the Kidspace Children’s Museum, where DJ Lance Rock of Yo Gabba Gabba is the special guest. Regardless of the location, you really can’t go wrong with any evening spent at Summer Nights. (Note: The kickoff June 7 event at Benny Boy Brewing and Aug. 29’s Descanso Gardens event are only for KCRW members).

One of L.A.’s best free live-music offerings, Jazz at LACMA has featured legit legends over its three-decade run at the museum. Seating for the program is available in the museum’s plaza on a first-come, first-served basis, though you’re welcome to picnic on the grass, too (you won’t really be able to see the show, but you’ll still hear it). You’ll find the series on Friday evenings in LACMA’s welcome plaza (just behind Urban Light) throughout the summer.

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.

Catch free outdoor movies at Burton Chace Park. Bring a low-back chair to claim a first-come, first-served space. Tickets aren’t required, but RSVPs are appreciated to stay up to date on any changes.

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.

Jackalope Arts and Pasadena’s Playhouse Village are teaming up to bring back the City of Roses’ art walk, which features over 180 hand-selected artisans. Shoppers can browse fine art, photography, fashion and jewelry design, paper goods and home decor along Green Street from Los Robles and El Molino, then refuel with food from local vendors. Adding to the fun, you’ll also find live music, face-painting and slime-making for kids, and tarot readings for the grown-ups.

While some may scoff at the idea of Grand Avenue becoming L.A.’s Champs-Élysées, we’re too busy making the most of the Downtown street’s cultural treasures to even engage in that argument. For one afternoon, more than a dozen institutions will celebrate their Bunker Hill home with free performances, exhibitions and tours. Most of the action takes place on Grand Avenue between Temple and Sixth Streets. Highlights of this year’s event on October 25 include a singing workshop and a chance to try instruments at the Colburn School; a sugar skull workshop and Halloween necklace-making at the Los Angeles Central Library; LA Opera recitals at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion; a preview of the world’s first museum of AI arts, DATALAND; and a Day of the Dead celebration at Gloria Molina Grand Park. Other participating institutions include the Broad, MOCA, REDCAT, the Music Center, Center Theatre Group, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Grand Performances and Metro, which now has a station just off of Grand Avenue atop Bunker Hill.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles is behind this trio of doggie- and beer-centric Oktoberfest events (though two are in September) at local breweries. First up is a daytime affair at Common Space Brewing in Hawthorne, which will mark the occasion with dog-friendly vendors, pet caricatures, a weiner dog race at 2pm (entry fee proceeds will benefit spcaLA) and, for humans, a stein-making pottery class at 4pm. Later on, dog-friendly Los Angeles Ale Works in Culver City will host its own version with adoptable pups (Sept 26), followed by a similar event at the Ale Works outpost in Hawthorne (Oct 17).  

Get ready for Oasis’s Rose Bowl shows by revisiting the Gallagher brothers’ early days of fame, captured through the lens of music photographer Kevin Cummins. Musichead Gallery on Sunset will have the portraits on display through October 28, but on opening night this Thursday, Cummins will be on hand, where he’ll talk about all things Oasis and the music scene in Manchester. He’ll also be signing copies of his new book about the band, which is included in the $55 opening-night ticket price.

The Getty Center’s new featured exhibition explores the transformative role photography has played in the history of the LGBTQ+ community as a tool for exploring gender, sexuality and self-expression since the mid-1800s. See examples of the homosocial, homoerotic and homosexual imagery that helped shape the world’s awareness of queer life. During your visit, be sure to check out the accompanying exhibition “$3 Bill: Evidence of Queer Lives,” a look at the contributions of LGBTQ+ artists in the last century, in the museum’s Research Institute Galleries. 

The beloved Bob Baker Marionette Theater is staging free, family-friendly performances at Barnsdall Art Park outside the Hollyhock House. Spread out a blanket and enjoy a 30-minute puppet show, followed by free art activities for all.

The Getty Villa reopens to the public five and a half months after its Palisades Fire closure with this international loan exhibition dedicated to the Greek Mycenaean civilization and the kingdom of Pylos, which Homer immortalized in the Iliad and Odyssey. It’s the first major museum show in North America devoted to the Late Bronze Age Mycenaeans. See treasures excavators unearthed from Messenia, the Palace of Nestor and burial sites including the tomb of the Griffin Warrior (1450 BCE)—think clay tablets, gold cups, ornate weapons and tiny signets and sealstones adorned with awe-inspiring amounts of detail. 

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.  

Culver City’s E Line–adjacent mixed-use development presents this free series of screenings, held on the lawn right next to the Metro stop. This summer’s slate revisits classic high school movies, including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You and Mean Girls. Tickets are free and include complimentary popcorn and two hours of parking validation.

This is one of the largest Halloween street parties in the world, and there’s really no better place to be on October 31st. Sure, the crowd is huge (like, a half-million people huge) and a bit belligerent, but the amazing display of costumes and general merry-making spirit deem it at least a worthy stop, if not your main destination for the evening. There will be dancing, drinking and many impromptu costume contests. Even if you don’t plan on entering one, it’s best to still come dressed to the nines—no one likes a party pooper in jeans and a T-shirt. Find it along Santa Monica Boulevard, between Doheny Drive and La Cienega Boulevard. See our guide to the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval.

The Hammer Museum’s excellent, ongoing series of biennial exhibitions ups the ante each year with its spotlight on emerging and under-recognized L.A. artists. Though its theme is still to come, this October’s edition—the seventh such show—will bring together works from 27 artists.

Halloween time can be a bit scary for kids—we’ve all been there—so for a less frightening affair, head to the Original Farmers Market for its children-friendly Fall Festival: Carnival games, a petting zoo, crafts and a pumpkin patch (for a small fee) are all mainstays at this annual harvest fest. Come in costume, catch a musical performance and explore the always-delicious treats at the market.