Free things to do in Los Angeles this month

Each summer, Bard fanatics watch their favorite works come to life at the historic Old Zoo in Griffith Park. Independent Shakespeare Co. puts on a series of lively productions each week, inviting audiences to take a seat on the grass (read: bring a picnic blanket) and enjoy performances like this season’s headliner: As You Like It. With construction resuming on the main lawn, this summer’s show will move back to the dell at the top of the Old Zoo—meaning available space is smaller and reservations are required.

The best things in life really are free—love, happiness and an evening spent watching movies on a giant inflatable screen at the beach. On select dates from June until August, pack up your folding chairs, grab your kids and head to Long Beach for this unique outdoor screening. Thanks to Alfredo’s Beach Club, you can give your babysitter the night off while you and the fam enjoy a host of kid-friendly flicks. Bring your own picnic, or munch on eats from the nearby snack stand. You’ll find the event hitting Granada Beach, as well as inland at Long Beach City College’s LAC campus.

Swing by Redondo Beach’s Fisherman’s Wharf on Thursday and Saturday evenings in the summer for a free series of concerts. Held on the west end of the pier, you can expect tribute shows on Thursdays and local contemporary acts on Saturdays.

Expand your mind on breezy summer nights by listening to the words of the Bard for free. The program, founded in 1998, will put on two plays—Cardenio and Henry IV—with the help of talented local actors. “By the Sea” is a bit misleading; though some of the locations are ocean adjacent, and largely in the South Bay and Long Beach, the troupe takes the plays on tour all across Los Angeles, performing for audiences from Pasadena to Beverly Hills while promoting literacy.

Dozens of teams in elaborately decorated boats hit the water every year at the biggest and most famous dragon boat festival in the region. Between races, see performances by Chinese acrobats and dancers, plus demonstrations of traditional crafts and martial arts. 

Part happy hourt, part conversation, this series at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion’s swanky Founders Room mixes drinks with a featured artist or culture maker who’ll post an open question in the name of sparking a conversation about L.A. (or, in the case of quite a few of the events, about the impact of AI).

Two documentarians of Chicano culture—iconic black-and-white photographer Estevan Oriol and the former Teen Angels magazine—put the spotlight on L.A.’s art, lowrider and tattoo culture in this Beyond the Streets exhibition.

See exploratory pencil-drawn line illustrations from the famous French fashion designer’s archive at this OCMA exhibition.

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 particularly packed. Familiar KCRW DJs and local buzz bands will be providing free, open-air tunes on select nights through September. Remaining locations include at Union Station, CAAM, Descanso Gardens, Bowers Museum, Century Park, the Autry and KCRW’s Santa Monica headquarters.

This epic (and free) outdoor concert series features live performances by artists from around the world at the totally overhauled California Plaza stage in DTLA, where the shallow water separating the stage from the audience has been replaced by a proper event lawn. Don’t miss a diverse and highly intriguing mix of bands, DJ sets and dance parties.

Hilltop sunset views and rising bands combine to make this Getty tradition a worthy destination for Angelenos on both sides of the 405. This year’s lineup of free Saturday night shows continues with Helado Negro (July 20), Julia Holter (July 27) and Woods (Aug 24). Tip: Avoid the traffic and the crowds and arrive early, preferably after 3pm when the parking price drops to $15 (though it’s $10 if you wait until the show starts). You’ll get to visit the exhibits, which stay open until 8pm on Saturdays, and beat the dinner rush.

The Music Center offers a free, joyous mash-up of music and dancing all summer long, with different themes (samba, Bollywood and reggaetón, among them) and free dance lessons plus live DJ sets. Head to the Music Center plaza and join in the fun—no dance experience required.

Best known for her rhinestone-studded paintings of Black women, collages of old Jet Magazine spreads and revisions of historic paintings, Thomas’s large-scale works (80 of them from the past two decades) are on display at the Broad. Though the Downtown museum’s transportive exhibition usually costs $22, you can swing by on Thursday evenings for free entry.

Move through a suite of sci-fi installations that depict a world overcome by rising seas and unchecked capitalism in this exhibition from Josh Kline. The MOCA Grand Avenue show includes a mix of sculpture, photography, moving images and ephemeral materials.

You know it’s summer in L.A. when the live outdoor music starts swelling all over the city, including at MacArthur Park’s Levitt Pavilion. The Westlake concert series returns this summer with free shows almost every Saturday. Expect a genre-spanning mix of local acts that range from cumbia to ska to EDM.

He cocreated Captain America, Black Panther, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and some of the Marvel universe’s most cosmic characters. Corey Helford Gallery and the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center pay homage to the legendary comic book artist with this tribute show near Boyle Heights, which features comic-inspired pieces from over 70 artists, as well as original Kirby artworks.

The Original Farmers Market is host to a plethora of fun, family-friendly outdoor events, and its summer music series are some of its best. Take a load off near the end of the work week and stop by the West Patio on Thursday nights from 6:30 to 8:30pm to hear a genre-spanning mix of live music.

Culver City’s staircase-dominated plaza screens free, family-friendly flicks on Fridays in June and July. Complimentary popcorn will be provided while supplies last. Each screening starts at sunset.

Summer’s just heating up, but thanks to a returning summer event series it’s set to be scorching: Beginning June 6, Santa Monica mainstay the Bungalow will host its night market every Thursday just a block from the beach. Over the summer, expect food from the likes of Tacos 1986, the Boiling Crab and the Lonely Oyster, plus celebrity guests.

Watch a movie inside Pasadena’s charming One Colorado shopping plaza during this free summer series. If you happened to have spent at least $50 per person cumulatively at the shopping center’s vendors earlier in the day, you’ll nab free VIP seating, which includes popcorn, candy and a beverage, plus a free ticket to the IPIC.

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) starting in April.

See a free salsa concert every second Friday of the summer during this series at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. This year’s lineup includes Rumbankete, Gabrielito y La Verdad, Son Mayor, Son Miron and Club Mambi—all featuring Super DJ Robby.

Take a seat under the arch at the former Hollywood & Highland for this free series of movie screenings, typically held on the last Friday of the month. Stop by the Ovation Hollywood booth for free popcorn and discounted treats from the TCL Chinese Theatre concessions stand.

Catch a slate of free family-friendly movies at Santa Clarita’s William S. Hart Park during this free summertime series.

Let the wild rumpus start at this celebration of beloved children’s author and illustrator Maurice Sendak. The Skirball Cultural Center is displaying more than 150 sketches, storyboards and paintings from the Where the Wild Things Are creator—and it’s completely free to visit on Thursdays.

David Zwirner has only had an L.A. gallery for about a year—plus a new flagship that opens with this show—but the gallerist’s history stretches back three decades elsewhere around the globe. To celebrate, you’ll find works by all of the gallery’s artists across its three L.A. buildings, including Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Josef Alberts, Diane Arbus, Ruth Asawa, R. Crumb, Dan Flavin, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Donald Judd, Toba Khedoori, Paul Klee, Barbara Kruger, Yayoi Kusama, Gerhard Richter, Richard Serra and more.

Hollywood’s Japan House has tapped artist Sebastian Masuda to dive into the roots of all things cute and colorful with this exhibition on Japanese kawaii culture. The free show includes multiple pieces and installations from Masuda.

See works from seven contemporary artists (Eliseo Art Silva, Allison Hueman, Anthony Francisco, Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza, Christine Morla, Maria Villote and Junn Roca) who address issues related to Filipino culture and the Filipino-American experience during this exhibition at the Forest Lawn Museum.