Free things to do in Los Angeles this month

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.

Every spring and fall since 1973, artists have descended upon the Beverly Gardens Park to showcase their work to browsers and buyers at this festival (once called the Affaire in the Gardens). This year will feature 235 artists exhibiting paintings, sculptures, watercolors, photography and much more. Set on four blocks along the grassy Santa Monica Boulevard between Rodeo and Rexford Drives, the event will include something for everyone, with free kids’ activities, food trucks, and beer and wine gardens with live music.

Santa Monica will host crafts, performances and larger-than-life art installations during this Day of the Dead event at Third Street Promenade. Look out for paper mache sculptures by local artist Ricardo Soltero, who’s created pieces especially for Santa Monica. You’ll also find community altars, a Latinx pop-up market, free face painting for kids, and ballet folklórico and Aztec dancers.

Every year, Haunted Little Tokyo turns the area into a ghoulish maze of Halloween-themed pop-ups, walking tours and performances. Through October 19, video game Silent Hill f has taken over the neighborhood with photo ops and themed treats and drinks from participating businesses. On October 18, you can explore the haunted history of 1st Street on a ghoulish ghost tour (4:30–6pm, tickets $25). The next Saturday, a full-day Halloween celebration kicks off at Terasaki Budokan with a free, family-friendly scavenger hunt (1–5pm). Then dance the evening away at a 21+ block party with music, a costume contest and full bar (6pm–midnight). RSVP online for the secret Little Tokyo location.

South Pasadena’s Rialto Theatre is turning 100. You’ve definitely seen its storied marquee—which was recently restored—on screen: It’s where Mia and Sebastian had their movie date in La La Land, and it’s also made appearances in Scream 2 and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video. To mark the occasion, Friends of the Rialto are hosting a free celebration feting the theater, starting with the charming town’s Fall Arts Crawl at 3pm, with artisan booths, food and drinks, free activities and displays about the Rialto. When the sun sets, settle in on the lawn outside the South Pasadena Historical Museum for live organ accompaniment to silent movies, a 1920s vaudeville puppet show from Bob Baker Marionette Theater, ukelele music, a talk with La La Land’s production designer and set decorator, and live “Thriller” and Time Warp dances.

Do the monster mash, get your face painted and collect some treats during this sixth annual Halloween pop-up at Union Station. The free come-in-costume event for kids takes place on the train station’s newly restored South Patio, which will transform into a Halloween village complete with balloon artists, face painting, “scaricature” drawings, trick-or-treating, dancing, a costume contest, crafts, candy and more. No tickets are required, just show up and join the festivities. 

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.

Head to Gloria Molina Grand Park for a two-week display of 19 altars created by professional artists and community organizations. This year, in light of the recent ICE raids, the ofrendas will not only honor deceased loved ones but also L.A.’s immigrant communities. The displays officially kick off on October 25, during Grand Ave Arts: All Access, complemented by an afternoon of face painting, printmaking and sugar-skull crafting, plus live mariachi music (11am–4pm). On November 2, the event closes with the illuminating Noche de los Muertos, which will feature an Aztec ceremonial dance, local artisans selling goods at a mercado, and activities including lantern-making. Latin Grammy nominee Lupita Infante will wrap up the celebration with a candlelight set (3–7pm). All of the festivities are free.

Peruse altars in the plaza of El Pueblo at this Day of the Dead celebration, which incorporates pre-Columbian, Aztec, Mayan and Catholic traditions. Expect plenty of festive wares from the merchants on Olvera Street, along with altars that go on display each morning and a candlelight procession every night for nine nights. Stop by during weekends for face painting (for a fee) and theatrical performances. And on Día de los Muertos itself, November 1, there’ll be a 5K race through the area, which you can register for here.

Stroll the streets of Downtown San Pedro during this Day of the Dead celebration to the sounds of both traditional and contemporary takes on Mexican folklore music. Snack on regional Mexican fare, sip on suds in the beer garden, shop for artisan crafts and let the kiddos run around, make crafts and get their faces painted. Make sure to stop by the ceremonial altars—you can enter your own in a free competition—in addition to a community-wide altar of remembrance. The event will take place at the intersection of 6th and Mesa Streets.

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 month.

Explore the historical and cultural significance of Day of the Dead traditions with music, dance and food during this free celebration at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. See traditional Oaxacan dance and ballet folklórico performances, as well as sketches inspired by the skeletal La Catrina. The whole family can get creative with hands-on art, garden and culinary workshops, or learn about L.A.’s history on a free museum tour.

Plenty of Angelenos take their dogs to street fairs, but what about an event specifically for your furry friend? Enter the Day of the Dog, a free fest on Main Street in Santa Monica (between Ocean Park Boulevard and Strand Avenue) that features over 100 pet-centric vendors and lots of dog-friendly attractions, including a ball pit, a foam party, doggie brunch, a surf machine, a pool party and a Halloween costume contest, plus photo ops, races, a puppuccino bar and 18 tons of snow for dogs to play in.

Sure, it doesn’t look so glamorous now, but give it a few years, a billion or so dollars and some steady rain, and the L.A. River will be a point of civic pride for Angelenos. Do your part in the meantime at the Friends of the Los Angeles River’s 35th annual cleanup, which is expanding to two weekends this year. Rather than focusing on one spot, the events will tackle multiple locations on October 11 and 18: the Willow Street Bridge in Long Beach, Bond Park in Atwater Village, the Sepulveda Basin in the Valley, and Compton Creek just steps from the Metro A Line.

Following a successful first outing, this Sunset Strip vinyl fair is back with a spooky twist. Once again, you’ll find a vinyl and music memorabilia market in the Pink Dot parking lot, as well as some Halloween-inspired activations. Mix and mingle among booths from an expanded lineup of more than 50 local record stores and vintage vendors. Tickets are free, but reservations are encouraged and can be made here. The fair also kicks off the first-ever Sunset Strip Costume Bar Crawl, which will run through November 2 with food and drink specials, DJ sets, live music, parties and trick-or-treat stops.

Exercise your support for L.A.’s fine artists at the biannual Brewery ArtWalk. Totally free to attend (and park), this open studio weekend takes place at the roomy Lincoln Heights arts complex, where around 100 resident artists show off their new works for purchase or simply the admiration of art loving locals. Chat with midcentury-inspired ceramicists and multimedia sculptors before dining at the Brewery’s on-site restaurant or some food trucks. You’ll return home buzzed on culture, and potentially the proud owner of a one-of-a-kind oil painting.

Long Beach’s Museum of Latin American Art is observing Day of the Dead with an afternoon of food, performances, shopping from local artisans, and all sorts of festive touches. This year’s theme is “Resilience,” celebrating the community and our capacity to overcome hardship and difficulties in light of the challenging year L.A. has had. The free family-friendly festival will also host an art workshop, face painting and sugar-skull painting for kids, plus a catrina contest for those who come in costume.

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.

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 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.

Billing itself as “Orange County’s biggest party since 1977,” the Old World Oktoberfest promises enough beers, brats and bands to make you feel like you’re in Munich—albeit with better ocean views. Every Wednesday through Sunday between September 7 and November 9, this re-created Bavarian village will offer a sausage-filled menu, oompah and German bands, a biergarten, dancing and more. While Old World’s Oktoberfest is 21-plus with a cover charge on Friday and Saturday evenings, it’s open to families and revelers of all ages on Saturday afternoons and other nights. (Entry is free on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights, as well as Saturday afternoons, just book ahead online.)

Held in the so-called Alps of Southern California, Lake Arrowhead’s all-ages Oktoberfest runs every weekend from September 20 to October 26 this year, hosting live German American oompah bands, stein-holding and dance contests, children’s games and a daily sausage toss. Although there’s no entry fee, attendees are advised to book picnic (for up to eight people, $100–$150 on Saturdays, $50–$100 on Sundays) or pub tables (for up to four, $50–$100 on Saturdays, $25–$50 on Sundays) to secure seats closer to the stage. This year, the event is being held in a new venue, the picturesque Waterfront Park.

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.

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. 

The Skirball’s latest pop culture exhibition takes a deep dive into the six-decade career of legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby. You might know him as the co-creator of 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. But did you know he was also a first-generation Jewish American born to immigrant parents, World War II veteran and family man who split his time between New York and Los Angeles? Learn about his life and see Kirby’s original comic illustrations, as well as other works—many on view for the first time. Tickets to the Skirball will cost you $18—except on Thursdays, when entry is free with a reservation.