Free things to do in Los Angeles this month

LA Pride may have moved out of West Hollywood, but that hasn’t stopped the city from holding its own colorful Pride celebration. The bulk of events will take place June 5 through 7 in and around West Hollywood Park. There’s an all-weekend music fest dubbed OUTLOUD (more on that below), which coincides with the free WeHo Pride Street Fair along Santa Monica Boulevard on Saturday and Sunday (noon–10pm). In addition, you’ll find the Women’s Freedom Festival (noon) and Dyke March (6pm) on Saturday, June 6. Then, on Sunday, June 7, WeHo Pride will hold a parade that starts at Santa Monica Boulevard and Crescent Heights Boulevard at noon and heads west to San Vicente Boulevard.

Affectionately dubbed LITLIT, this free fair hosted by the Los Angeles Review of Books is a celebration of indie booksellers, presses and literary arts organizations along the West Coast. Head over to SCI-Arc in the Arts District to peruse tomes and chat with local publishers. The lineup of over 50 vendors includes A Good Used Book, Heavy Manners Library and Angel City Press at Los Angeles Public Library. The weekend is also chock-full of expert-led panels, covering topics like West Coast publishing and archiving Los Angeles. Oh, and did we mention it’s all free?

An evolution of the long-running Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk, the newly dubbed DTLA Artnight finds dozens of Downtown businesses opening their doors to art lovers on the first Thursday of every month, when over 25 galleries will debut new exhibitions. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure kind of experience, but if you start at Emerging Gallery (125 E 4th St), you can pick up a map of all the participating spots. MOCA is even joining the fun this time around as the cultural event expands from the Historic Core to Grand Avenue. Head to the museum for a free exhibition tour at 5pm.

Check nearly 80 American classic cars, from hot rods to trucks, at this annual auto show at the Original Farmers Market. This year’s event celebrates the centennial of Route 66 with a tribute to cars of the 1960s, but anyone who drives a car older from before the year 2000 is welcome to register their ride. Otherwise, you can just browse the stalls and cars all afternoon for free.

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 will be providing free, open-air tunes on select nights from June through September at Maydan Market, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, La Brea Tar Pits, CAAM, ASU FIDM Museum, the Kidspace Children’s Museum, Hauser & Wirth, MOLAA, California Plaza, LACMA, Wende Museum, Union Station, downtown Long Beach, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, Bowers Museum, the Autry and the NoHo Arts District. The details slightly differ at each spot, but you can typically expect a bunch of food trucks, beer gardens and after-hours museum admission. Regardless of the location, you really can’t go wrong with any evening spent at Summer Nights.

This epic (and free) outdoor concert series—now in its 40th season—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 on Saturday nights (and a few Friday Nights) from June 6 through August 22. Highlights this year include a season kickoff with Grupo Soñador and Wachiwara, tributes to Stevie Wonder, Ritchie Valens and Roy Ayers, and an edition of KCRW Summer Nights headlined by Mariachi El Bronx and the Tijuana Panthers. Just be sure to RSVP ahead of time to reserve a spot.

’Tis the season for a bunch of fun TV-themed events designed to woo Emmy voters. And we get to enjoy the spoils. Case in point: this pop-up immersive museum that lets you step into the world of Prime Video’s The Boys. Revisit moments from all five seasons of the satirical superhero series—which just wrapped in May—at the Hollywood Legion Post 43 Theater. See original Supes costumes and setpieces, discover Easter eggs and artifacts, and shop exclusive merch amid fellow fans.

It’s official: Los Angeles has soccer (football?) fever. The city is hosting eight FIFA World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium between June 12 and July 10. Don’t have the cash to score tickets? You’re in luck. While it won’t be quite the same as having a seat right on the pitch, there will be a rotating slate of fan zones across L.A. County, with official watch parties held from Venice to Downtown L.A. to Burbank to Pomona. Some of these events are free, while others are charging a nominal fee. In any case, you’ll get to enjoy live match viewing and immersive fan experiences closer to home and still be part of the global moment. One highlight from the lineup: “The Heart of the City” Fan Zone at Union Station from June 25 to 28, which will offer four days of free, all-ages programming at the transit hub, screening the matches both in the historic Ticket Concourse and outside.

This week marks Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday. Back in Hollywood’s golden age, she’d sit at the Formosa Cafe, drinking Piper-Heidsieck champagne cocktails. Now the champers brand and Chinese restaurant are teaming up for a weeklong celebration of their famous customer with five nights of programming. On Monday night, there will be a tribute concert (8pm); on Tuesday, a short film screening on the rooftop and Marilyn trivia (8pm); on Wednesday, “old Hollywood close-up magic and Marilyn-inspired mentalism” (8pm); a free rooftop screening of The Seven Year Itch on Friday (8pm); and, finally, a costume contest on Sunday (9pm). 

One of L.A.’s best free live-music offerings, Jazz at LACMA has featured legit legends over its 35-year 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. We’re betting it’ll be even more popular than usual this year, with the new David Geffen Galleries in the background.

The World Cup will turn Los Angeles into one giant watch party, but this free Griffith Park screening (held at the Autry Museum) feels like a special treat. Presented by Councilmember Nithya Raman, the Consulate General of Paraguay in Los Angeles, L.A. Parks Foundation and Street Food Cinema, Fútbol for the People pairs the USA vs. Paraguay match with food trucks, lawn seating, family-friendly games and the kind of communal sports energy Angelenos rarely get enough of. Expect a lively, multicultural crowd, plenty of cerveza-fueled cheering and a surprisingly wholesome night under the stars on June 12. Doors open at 4pm.

If you really want to immerse yourself in local theater, you can’t miss the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Since 2010, this fest has specialized in productions from emerging writers and performers, and it now boasts hundreds of different shows—most are around $15 a ticket or less, but a good handful cost absolutely nothing. Expect one-person shows, new musicals, comedies and edgy dramas to descend on Hollywood once again from June 4 through 28 (technically the start date is June 11, but many shows are starting their runs earlier). See the full list of shows here.

Why not pair your World Cup watch party with some world-class art and one-of-a-kind views? The Getty will be screening pretty much every match that occurs during the museum’s operating hours (including some extended Friday evenings) throughout the run of the World Cup. You can catch them on TV at the Trellis Bar & Lounge (when you get off the tram, to the right of the entry stairs) and the Garden Terrace Café (the expansive patio between the museum courtyard and gardens). As usual, you’ll need a free timed ticket to the museum, but as a World Cup bonus, the usually-paid parking will be free after 5pm from June 11 to July 19.

North Hollywood has spent years trying to convince the rest of Los Angeles that it’s more than parking lots and rehearsal spaces, and this sprawling soccer street fest makes a surprisingly persuasive argument. NoHo Futbol Fest will turn 11136 Magnolia Blvd into an all-day community watch party with giant match screenings, DJs, beer gardens, local food vendors and enough family-friendly activities to keep even non-sports fans entertained. Mostly, though, it feels like an excuse for the Valley to throw itself a massive block party—which, frankly, is reason enough to go (plus the free parking). Doors open at 11:30am, while the event runs from noon until 11:59pm.

Soccer and cinema have always shared a flair for melodrama, and the Academy Museum leans fully into that connection with this sprawling free day devoted to “the beautiful game.” The programming mixes family activities, food and 35mm screenings of soccer favorites, including Bend It Like Beckham, Shaolin Soccer and Offside, turning Wilshire’s sleek movie museum into something closer to a community block party on Sunday, June 14. Even better: Admission is free all day, making this one of the rare Academy Museum events that feels genuinely accessible to everyone (even if you’re not into soccer).

One of the biggest pride events in the country, LA Pride attracts thousands to a what had typically been a two-day fest and parade in West Hollywood but is now located a bit to the east. The parade portion—featuring celebrity grand marshal and Emmy winner Jeff Hiller—will step off in Hollywood, where it’ll be accompanied by LA Pride Village, which will take over Hollywood Boulevard from Vine to Gower. The free street festival has taken the place of music fest L.A. Pride in the Park, formerly in Chinatown. Expect live music, food, drinks and shopping, plus celeb appearances and an LA Pride Ball presented by the iconic House of Ninja. The atmosphere is good-natured and raucous; local color is provided by divas, drag queens and DJs.

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to LA Pride

The Original Farmers Market is host to a plethora of fun, family-friendly outdoor events, and its Thursday-night concerts during its Summer Music Series are some of its best. Take a load off near the end of the work week and stop by the Market Plaza from 7 to 9pm to hear a genre-spanning mix of live music, from Hawaiian radio to Sinatra–style swing to Texas blues.

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 on Granada Beach.

Award-winning dancer and choreographer Debbie Allen’s Dance Academy is hosting its annual community block party, a day full of free carnival rides and games, arts and crafts, free dance classes, performances, a marketplace from diverse business owners and a breakdance competition. It’ll all go down in and around the dancing school, near West Adams (1850 S Manhattan Pl).

Something wicked this way comes… 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 a touring production of Macbeth 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 to South Pasadena to Encino to Beverly Hills.

Climate-change art can sometimes feel like homework, but Heidi Duckler Dance’s annual Ebb & Flow festival works because it lets the landscape take part in the storytelling. This year’s edition, subtitled Scorched, unfolds across Vista Hermosa Natural Park with interdisciplinary performances responding to drought, rising temperatures and environmental instability. Expect dance, music and site-specific installations that use the outdoors as both stage and warning sign. Even with its heavy themes, the evening promises the kind of reflective, communal atmosphere that the Los Angeles art scene increasingly does very well.

See murals and installations sprout up across Long Beach during this city-wide art festival. The event coincides with the return of Art Renzei, a multimedia showcase along the coast. Together, the two have spent 11 years transforming the city’s streets into canvases. This year’s “New Decade Celebration” features seven murals by renowned and emerging artists. You’ll also find live painting, artist talks, a bike tour, night market and more—and all events are free and open to the public.

The worlds of surfing, music, food and skating will come together at this two-day fest full of ocean sports and beach vibes at the Santa Monica Pier. Get competitive with paddleboard races, lifeguard challenges, ocean swims, beach volleyball, tandem surf contests, skate lessons and even a skateboard tricks contest, set to an all-day lineup of live music.

Rodeo Drive fills with rare cars and motorcycles both new and old during this free Father’s Day tradition. This year’s event celebrates the 50th anniversary of Rodeo Drive, the 100th anniversary of Route 66 and the 250th birthday of America all in one by spotlighting American car culture. You’ll also find interactive exhibits, family-friendly attractions and gourmet food trucks, all set amid the luxury shopping of the car show’s 90210 setting.

The beachside city has been hosting this Juneteenth celebration for 34 years—three decades before it was recognized as a federal holiday. The theme of this year’s family-friendly event—“A Legacy of Liberation: Honoring our Resistance and Resilience”—represents the past and ongoing fight for equity and justice. Expect a free day of live music, fun activities, inspiring stories, delicious food and an interactive West African drumming workshop. The evening before, on June 19 itself, Santa Monica Cultural Affairs is hosting an inaugural Juneteenth Gathering, centered around wellness and community, complete with a free film screening, sound immersion, art workshop and DJ sets at Christine Emerson Reed Park and the Miles Memorial Playhouse.

The City of Roses celebrates Juneteenth at the beautiful Pasadena City Hall with an afternoon of free family-friendly activities, arts and crafts by Armory Center for the Arts, a live DJ and community resources. It’s also hosting the NAACP 5th Annual Roller Jam—you can rent a pair of skates for free and take a spin.

See a free salsa concert on one Friday each month during this summer series at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. This year’s lineup includes El Presidente de la Salsa, La Verdad, Rush Hour Orquesta and Conjunto Oye—all featuring Super DJ Robby. Each night kicks off with a free salsa dance class at 6pm, courtesy of Dancing 101 with Roberto. Bring chairs, blankets and your dancing shoes.

Who says no to free outdoor concerts? We don’t, and neither should you. This 23nd annual all-ages celebration of live music and art will hit Pan Pacific Park (not the La Brea Tar Pits themselves anymore) on June 27. And this year, the event is going all out in honor of America’s 250th birthday. Listen to live music and DJ sets, explore your creativity with DIY activities, shop handcrafted goods at the curated artisan marketplace, walk amid light art installations, and grab a bite at one of the many gourmet food trucks. 

The Music Center offers a free, joyous mash-up of music and dancing all summer long at this series, with different themes (salsa, Bollywood, cumbia and disco among them) and free dance lessons, plus live DJ sets so you can show off your new moves. Head to the Music Center’s Jerry Moss Plaza and join in the fun—no dance experience required. This year’s season begins with a combination kickoff event and World Cup watch party on June 26. Catch the Spain vs. Uruguay game live on the plaza’s big screens, get creative with soccer-themed art activities, then dance to a global mix of melodies after the match.

Take a seat under the arch at the former Hollywood & Highland for this free series of movie screenings, held on the last Friday of the month from May through September. RSVP ahead of time, then pick up a cozy blanket from the Ovation Hollywood booth, as well as free popcorn and discounted treats from the TCL Chinese Theatre concessions stand.

Bergamot Station’s inclusive comedy club, the Crow, hosts a handful of family-friendly Pride shows filled with music, stand-up and storytelling. While shows at the venue are ticketed, “Fierce Fables” at the Santa Monica Pier—a free event with drag queen and king storytelling, face painting, dancing, poetry and family-friendly vendors—is free. 

Each year, Santa Monica illuminates the Third Street Promenade with a canopy of rainbow lights as part of this citywide LGBTQ+ celebration. Look out for a daytime party along the expanse of the Promenade on June 13 with a drag brunch, community booths, games, Rainbow Storytime and more. Afterward, Santa Monica Block Fest keeps the party going with a free, family-friendly Pride and World Cup-themed music festival in the Entertainment Zone, complete with a night market and pop-up bars. 

Just ahead of the dog days of summer, celebrate this dog day: a pup-friendly party and “yappy hour” at the Los Angeles Central Library’s Maguire Gardens with dog-friendly vendors selling everything from gourmet dog food to CBD pet products to handcrafted bandanas. You and your four-legged friend will also find pet portraits, treats, activities, community dog walks, photo ops and live music. Drinks from on-site Italian restaurant Settecento will be available for purchase.

Each summer, Bard fanatics watch their favorite works come to life at the historic Old Zoo in Griffith Park. For 16 years running, Independent Shakespeare Co. has put on a series of lively productions each week, inviting audiences to take a seat on the grass (bring a picnic blanket) and enjoy performances like this season’s headliner, Shakespeare political thriller Coriolanus, which will be followed by the self-explanatory The Comedy of Errors. With construction of a permanent stage still in process on the main lawn, this summer’s shows will again be held in the dell at the top of the Old Zoo—meaning available space is smaller, and although performances are still free, reservations are required.

The Los Angeles LGBT Center hosts this annual celebration of the TGNBI+ community—the longest-running of its kind. First up is a free festival where you’ll find live entertainment, family-friendly activities, workshops, local queer vendors, resource tables and even some free food. Afterward, keep the fun going with a sunset dance party.

Downtown L.A. has become surprisingly good at public gatherings that feel genuinely communal, and the Music Center’s World Cup watch party should lean into that strength beautifully. The Spain vs. Uruguay match will screen for free on Jerry Moss Plaza, with food vendors and enough fútbol energy to turn Grand Avenue into a European town square. The smart twist comes afterward, when the match seamlessly gives way to the season kickoff of Dance DTLA, transforming post-game adrenaline into a massive outdoor dance party. Even neutral fans may find themselves staying all night.

The birthplace of Los Angeles will now be home to the Queer Mercado, a first-of-its-kind queer Latino cultural celebration that will bring drag, DJs, live music, cocktails, taquitos and more to Olvera Street on the third Saturday of each month. The community-run marketplace will host cultural activations including live art, a fashion showcase and 40 curated vendors, from local painters to queer designers to ceramicists.

A veritable L.A. institution, the Bob Baker Marionette Theater is stopping by the Academy Museum on two Saturdays during Pride Month to perform a musical puppet show that celebrates love, self-acceptance and community. The characters will serenade guests with medleys from LGBTQ+ icons and queer history—and did we mention it’s free? Performances will take place in the Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby; it’s up to you if you want to buy a ticket and visit the museum as well. 

Comic Con, but make it Pride—this West Hollywood convention produced by Prism Comics celebrates LGBTQ+ comics with a day of creator meet-and-greets, diversity-affirming comics and graphic novels, and plenty of cosplay opportunities. New this year are mentoring sessions for comic creators and artists. And the entire event is free.

Hilltop sunset views and rising bands join forces 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 includes Hunx and His Punx (June 13), LEENALCHI (July 11), Horse Lords (July 25) and Laurel Halo (Aug 22). Tip: Avoid the traffic and the crowds and arrive early, preferably after 3pm when the parking price drops to $15 (though it’s actually free if you wait until the show starts, after 6pm). You’ll get to visit the exhibits, which stay open until 9pm on Saturdays, and beat the dinner rush.

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 welcomes bikes, tricycles, skateboards, strollers and basically anything else without an engine to ride a rotating cast of car-free routes. June’s edition features a 3.6-mile route that connects Leimert Park and Expo Park (see the map here). Shop owners and restaurants along the CicLAvia route tend to host specials. And it goes without saying that you should bike or take the Metro to your desired spot along the route.

L.A. native and artist Gary Baseman is bringing his unmistakable style to “Off the Menu,” his first solo exhibition in the city in over a dozen years. The show is a love letter to L.A. dining, featuring 40 of the artist’s “action” drawings that he’s doodled on menus while dining at local restaurants, from Musso and Frank to Canter’s. And it couldn’t be held in a more fitting place: the iconic Johnie’s Coffee Shop, right across from the Academy Museum. The classic diner hasn’t been open to the public in over 25 years, so don’t miss your chance to step inside.

Catch free outdoor movies at the Dockweiler Youth Center. 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.

Sports exhibitions often struggle to justify themselves beyond “athletes are visually dynamic (and hot),” but “Champions!” at the Torrance Art Museum takes a more interesting route. This sprawling contemporary art survey treats sports as a way in to discussing nationalism, celebrity, masculinity, race and collective identity. The artist roster (including Christine Sun Kim, Hank Willis Thomas and Gary Simmons) is impressive, and the work ranges from photography to video installations. Even viewers who couldn’t care less about actual athletics may find themselves unexpectedly engaged by the show’s larger questions about spectacle and belonging.

The multisensory nature of art is explored in this exhibition, which looks at the intertwined relationship between contemporary art and living materials through large-scale installations, painting, mixed-media sculpture, video and sound. Over 20 artists from North, Central and South America have employed mediums like stones, avocado, cacao, achiote, cochineal and clay in their works, inviting visitors to engage their senses of touch, smell and hearing when interacting with the art. On Saturday, April 4, get an after-hours sneak peek of “Several Eternities,” plus three more new spring exhibitions, complemented by sets by Chulita Vinyl Club DJs in the courtyard, a photobooth and a cyanotype art-making activity—all free.

This show aims to give Black queer culture in California—particularly in Los Angeles—the credit it’s due as a part of the decades-long fight for LGBTQ+ rights and recognition. Through historical materials, photographs, film and vintage newspapers, the exhibition recovers a history that’s been largely excluded from the record, introducing visitors to sites, protagonists and allies who played a role in the fight for democracy and free expression. 

The reopened Getty Villa will descend into the underworld with this exhibition, which looks at the ritual spells and religious writings ancient Egyptians employed to garner favor with Re and Osiris in the afterlife. See the Getty’s collection of rare Book of the Dead rare hieroglyphics-adorned and illustrated manuscripts, dating back to around 1000 BCE, which were last displayed in 2023. The show should dovetail nicely with the museum’s “Sculpted Portraits From Ancient Egypt,” which runs through January 2027.

Step back into the era of grunge, supermodels and the dawn of the internet at this free exhibition at the ASU FIDM Museum in DTLA. This retrospective explores the decade’s spirit of rebellion and experimentation, featuring high-fashion couture from icons like Vivienne Westwood and Gianni Versace alongside the flannel shirts, slip dresses and bold prints that defined everyday style. Through a curated mix of garments, vintage magazines and video footage, visitors can trace how 1990s innovation continues to shape contemporary trends.