This sounds great!  I love New Town’s installations.  June 6 – 7, 2009.  Free.

From Pasadena Now:

Here are the deets.

The new Samurai exhibit at the Pacific Asia Museum is free on this night too.

Also part of [...]]]> The Pacific Asia Museum is hosting a free family day this Saturday, March 14, 2009, from 12 – 4 pm.   The exhibit is "The Samurai Re-Imagined: From Ukiyo to Anime" and features samurai, manga comics, armor, and robots.   The day includes free admission to the galleries plus crafts, performances, demonstrations, and more fun.

Also part of the exhibit are a series of related events; one about game design.

Saturday, March 21, 2-5pm
Discussion, Games People Play
Join game designer Alexei Othenin-Girard as he discusses the history and development of game design. The event is followed by a workshop on the fundamentals of game design.
  

Pacific Asia Museum

46 N. Los Robles Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91101

(626) 449-2742

www.pacificasiamuseum.org

Just take the Gold Line to Memorial Park.

"Milton Esterow, editor and publisher of ARTnews, talks about the international art scene, the art market, art journalism, art criticism, and changes in taste and fashion, followed by questions from the audience. Born in New York City, Esterow was [...]]]> What a great title!   LACMA is hosting a free lecture on looking at art.  Here’s its blurb:

"Milton Esterow, editor and publisher of ARTnews, talks about the international art scene, the art market, art journalism, art criticism, and changes in taste and fashion, followed by questions from the audience. Born in New York City, Esterow was a reporter for the New York Times and specialized in cultural affairs. He has lectured extensively both in the United States and abroad and is the author of The Art Stealers. Since he bought ARTnews from Newsweek Magazine in 1972, Esterow has guided its growth into the most widely circulated art magazine in the world. Under his direction, ARTnews has won most of the major journalism awards presented to magazines; ARTnews editors and reporters have been honored thirty-two times for excellence in reporting, criticism, and design."

Free, no reservations needed.

February 5 | 7:30 pm | Bing Theater,
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90036
tel 323 857-6000
tel 323-857-0098 (TDD)
www.lacma.org

Check here for more free talks and screenings at LACMA.  Get an art history education for free!  Some of my favorite moments in college were sitting in an art history lecture, with huge slides of art before us, and hearing the professor discuss them.

"Join us for tons of [...]]]> January 25th is the Whale Fiesta at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.  Look at the nifty whale sand sculptures on the beach.  Also admission to the aquarium is free that day.  I predict lots of youngsters will be at the event as this looks extremely family friendly.  Their website write-up is funny:

"Join us for tons of fun as we celebrate the migration of the Pacific Gray Whale past our shores and the start of the Whalewatch season at the annual Whale Fiesta on Sunday, January 25, 2009 from 10 am to 4:30 pm. Co-sponsored by CMA and the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Cetacean Society, it’s a family day filled with activities and exhibits for all. We’ll have our famous Duct Tape Whale Sculpture Contest, games, arts and crafts, puppet shows for children of all ages, talks by whale experts, food and gift vendors, marine awareness organizations and music! This year we are building a life-sized rare Cuvier’s beaked whale out of sand on our beach. Grab your shovels and come lend a hand! Admission is free and a 25-cent park and ride shuttle is available at 22nd and Miner Streets (at the end of Harbor Blvd.). For more information, please call Larry Fukuhara at (310) 548-7562 x223."

The American Cetacean Society and duct tape whale sculptures?  Who can resist that? 

By following good ol’ street signs, we wound up at the South Coast Botanic Garden, which is "one of the first gardens to be [...]]]> UnHip LA roamed around the South Bay, vowing not to use Google as a resource.  We decided to use our eyes and ears and become human Googles instead.  Look what we found:

By following good ol’ street signs, we wound up at the South Coast Botanic Garden, which is "one of the first gardens to be developed over a sanitary landfill."  That doesn’t sound too appealing, but the gardens were nice.  The day was drizzly and a tad gloomy, so the ticket taker let us in for free!  Normally it’s $7 for adults; $5 for students and seniors; $2.50 for children 5 – 12 years old; and free for kids 4 and under.  I enjoyed the small lake, pretending I was in a bayou.

If you become a member of this garden, starting at $25 for seniors, you get free admission to 15 other botanical gardens in Socal, such as Descanso Gardens, the L.A. County Arboretum in Arcadia, and a slew of UC gardens.  Unfortunately, the Huntington Gardens is not part of this hit parade.

South Coast Botanic Garden

26300 Crenshaw Blvd.

Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA 90274

(310) 544-6815

www.southcoastbotanicgarden.org