Los Angeles

Museum Free-For-All in Los Angeles January 31, 2015

Museum Free-For-All in Los Angeles January 31, 2015
Open House at 20 Los Angeles Museums

Twenty Los Angeles area museums open their doors to the public on Saturday January 31, 2015 for the tenth annual Museum Free-for-All.

The list of participating venues includes diverse art, cultural heritage, natural history, and science museums.

There are a number of top attractions participating — such as the Los Angeles Museum of Art and the California Science Center, but if I had my druthers I would head over the the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits.

Kids love dinosaurs and what could be better than an active excavation site for dinosaur fossils?   We spent half a day at the Tar Pits when we last visited LA with our then school-aged daughter.  Regular admission is $15 per adult and $8 per child, so free admission is a really great deal for families!

 Los Angeles Museums Participating in 2015 Free-for-All

Here are links to the museums that are participating in this year’s open houses.  The Jan. 31 offer is good for general  admission only and does not apply to specially ticketed exhibitions.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 
Annenberg Space for Photography 
Armory Center for the Arts 
California African American Museum 
California Science Center
Chinese American Museum 
Craft Folk & Art Museum 
Fowler Museum at UCLA 
The Getty Center 
The Getty Villa (Timed tickets required)
Hammer Museum 
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles Fire Department Museum and Memorial
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) 
Museum of Latin American Art 
Museum of Tolerance (Feb. 1)
The Paley Center for Media 
The Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits 
Pasadena Museum of California Art
Santa Monica Museum of Art 
Skirball Cultural Center
The Torrance Art Museum 
USC Pacific Asia Museum 
William S. Hart Museum 
Zimmer Children’s Museum (Feb. 1)

Weekly/Monthly Free Admission Days in Los Angeles and Other Major Cities

If you can’t make it this coming weekend, plan to take advantage of the regularly scheduled free admission days at Los Angeles area museums.

FreeMuseumDay.org publishes a calendar of free museums and free museum days for LA and for these major cities:

Check it out!

Los Angeles Union Station 75th Anniversary Celebration

Union Station 74th Anniversary CelebrationHistoric Union Station in Los Angeles is hosting a 75th birthday celebration in honor of the iconic art deco train station, which has been restored as a multi-modal transit center.

If I lived in Los Angeles, I’d head over to Union Station on May 3, 2014, for this free family event!

The celebration, sponsored by Metro, in partnership with National Train Day, Amtrak and Metrolink will commemorate all things rail on Saturday, May 3, 10 am to 4 pm.

Los Angeles Union Station
Los Angeles Union Station

There will be dozens of exhibitors at the station, tours, entertainment on four stages, as well as free Metrolink rides, a guided bike tour, and discounts at museums, restaurants, and theaters in half a dozen nearby neighborhoods.

Events at Union Station

Events at the station will include:

  • Official ceremony to rededicate of the historic ticket concourse
  • Step aboard one-of-a-kind rail cars
  • Tour the Amtrak Exhibit Train
  • Self-guided architectural tours of Union Station’s architecture, embellishments and artworks
  • Watch model trains in action
  • Play in the Chuggington Kids Depot (a preschool television series)
Los Angeles Union Station
Los Angeles Union Station

Entertainment on Four Stages

There will be more than a dozen acts, from music to dance and children’s theater, performed on four stages throughout the station.  
Highlights include:

  • Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, an all-female mariachi ensemble
  • Las Cafeteras, Afro-Mexican Son Jarocho, Hip Hop, Folk and Native American sounds
  • Big Jay McNeely & The Hollywood Combo, a Rhythm & Blues band
  • The Ladd McIntosh Big Band plays Swing, Two-Beat, Latin, Funk
  • Dr. Pinch and the Pinchtones perform WWII-era swing music
  • Cava, sounds of Afro-Cuban Son, Cumbia, Ska, Salsa and Funk
  • East Wind Lion Dance Troupe performing a traditional Chinese lion dance
  • Choo Choo Bob, railroad-themed music
  • Los Angeles Muses, a cappella harmonies from groups like the Andrews Sisters
  • Vocalist Jennifer Keith leads a quintet in jazz, American roots and pop music

Free Metrolink Rides and Neighborhood Discounts

Step outside the station for fun-filled activities in all directions.  See the full listing of rides and discounts online.

 

Priceless Cities: MasterCard’s World of Discounts

Priceless Africa from MasterCard

If you currently hold a MasterCard you may have heard about the Priceless Cities program, which offers cardholders unique opportunities and discounts in several U.S. cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York.  

Registering for the program gives you access to exclusive offers.

For instance, in researching our upcoming trip to New York, I found special offers for early entry or evening tickets to the fabulous holiday train show at the New York Botanical Gardens, as well as discounted tickets for standard admissions.

There were also some club, hotel, entertainment and restaurant discounts, and a special venue for viewing the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

But did you know that Priceless Cities is actually an international program?

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