Los Angeles Reveals Seven Free Weekend Activities You Can Do Now

The mercury will hit 86 degrees Saturday in downtown L.A., and the marine layer is predicted to burn off by noon, prime conditions for the 43rd annual Kite Festival at Dockweiler State Beach. The event, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., requires no ticket, no RSVP, and not even a kite: the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks will hand out free paper kites to the first 500 kids who show up.

This weekend’s slate of free things-to-do arrives as many Angelenos are watching their budgets. A new report from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation found that the region’s consumer confidence index dropped 4.2 percent in June, the steepest monthly decline since April 2020. Meanwhile, average rent in L.A. County crossed $2,300 for a one-bedroom apartment for the first time in June, according to Apartment List. Free outdoor programming, much of it supported by city arts grants and nonprofit partners, offers an antidote.

Beach, bluffs and a ballet free-for-all

Beyond the kite festival, Dockweiler Beach will host live music from the L.A.-based mariachi group Los Galleros de Jalisco at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The bands are part of the county’s "Summer Sounds" series, which this year is funded by a $1.5 million allocation from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. Parking in the lot costs $12, but the Imperial Highway lot and the sand itself are free to walk onto from the public access path at Vista Del Mar.

Four miles north, in Playa Vista, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is staging a free outdoor ballet workshop Saturday at 10 a.m. on the Concert Park lawn at 8820 Washington Boulevard. No experience is required, and the center provides yoga mats. The class is led by faculty from the American Contemporary Ballet, whose performances at the Music Center typically start at $49 per ticket.

In Echo Park, the Los Angeles Public Library’s Edendale Branch, 2111 West Sunset Boulevard, hosts a free zine-making workshop Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. All materials, including paper, markers, scissors and staplers, are provided. The workshop is part of the library’s "Summer of Discovery" program, which served 18,000 children and teens last year across 72 branches.

In the San Fernando Valley, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) will offer free general admission all day Sunday. The museum’s "Nexus" exhibition, featuring works by 23 contemporary Los Angeles artists, opened June 25 and requires no timed ticket for the free-admission days. LACMA’s free Sundays are supported by a grant from the Girard Foundation and typically draw more than 8,000 visitors per Sunday during summer.

A modernist house, open to all (for one afternoon)

For architecture buffs, the Schindler House at 835 North Kings Road in West Hollywood will open its courtyard and gallery for free Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The 1922 structure, designed by R.M. Schindler, is one of the earliest examples of the modern movement in Southern California. Normally, entry costs $12 for adults, but the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, which operates the house, offers free admission on the second Sunday of each month. This Sunday’s program includes a self-guided audio tour accessible by scanning a QR code at the entrance.

The free-outing options close Sunday evening with a screening of Selena at dusk in the courtyard of the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park, part of the museum’s "Summer Nights in the Garden" series. The gates open at 6 p.m., and the film starts at 7:30 p.m. Blankets and low-back chairs are allowed. The museum's café will sell popcorn and paletas for $4 each, but no one checks for a ticket. The series runs through August 30.

Getting around, of course, can eat into a budget. Metro’s A Line (formerly the Blue Line) runs from downtown to the Willowbrook station near the Natural History Museum for $1.75 each way. The J Line express bus from downtown’s Union Station to the El Segundo station, a 10-minute walk to Dockweiler Beach, costs the same. For a full list of free weekend events, the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs publishes an updated calendar at culturela.org/free-events.