Photo from inside LACMA's new Broad Contemporary by Sundogg via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr In honor of the opening of the brand new Broad Contemporary modern galleries, LACMA is hosting a free community weekend, opening their doors to the public at no charge for the next three days. In addition to full access to the current galleries of the museum, the weekend's festivities are set to include live music; workshops; roving......

Love is in the air tonight. / Photo by lush.i.ous via flickr. Ahhh luuuurve is in the air. Need some last-minute ideas for the Hallmark-inspired holiday? Yes, tonight’s Valentine’s Day and here are a few different ideas that will beat flowers and candy any day. ART To coincide with the opening of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM) at LACMA this weekend, “Women in the City” selected to exhibit four prominent contemporary artists (Cindy......

Arts and Crafts class at the Craft and Folk Art Museum tonight. / Photo by CarbonNYC via flickr. GET CRAFTY Make your Valentine’s Day gift tonight instead of picking through the lame leftover cards in the Ralph’s card aisle tomorrow. The Craft and Folk Art Museum hosts “A Creative Valentine” and provides materials for you to let your inner artist loose. Couples are encouraged to attend to get a jump start on the Valentine’s......

Los Angeles philanthropist, Eli Broad (rhymes with road), has decided not to give his massively large and impressive private collection of art to museums, rather, keeping the collection in house under control of a private foundation according to the New York Times. One of the assumed recipients of the art was LACMA, where the new $56 million Broad Contemporary Art Museum is scheduled to open next month. However, even with Broad's name on the......

Mayor Tony V. signed an ordinance Monday allowing the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery to have free admission. The Department of Cultural Affairs hopes the freebie will encourage more Angelenos to visit the gallery, which has been serving the community since 1951. Located at Barnsdall Park in Hollywood, the museum has been a venue for Southern California artists for decades. “The arts should not be a luxury available only to those who can afford......

It's been a FleetBank tradition since 1998, as mentioned by our sister site Bostonist, but Bank of America has brought its annual "Museums on Us" promotion to Cali for the first time. Throughout the month of May, you'll be able to get into many Southland museums for free by showing your B of A ATM, check, or credit card, or MBNA credit card. So for once, the card that typically drains your bank account......

Monday: The Next Herb Wesson Unless you spent the $225 for the series that includes Al Franken and Ann Coulter tonight at The Gibson, you’re out of luck. Rather, we recommend you check out local celebrity politico Eric Garcetti at the Improv Olympic on The Blank Blank Show in Hollywood. Tuesday: "This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating." The face behind This Modern World, political cartoonist Tom Tomorrow, will present and sign his......

There's something for everybody in LA today: Sports Fans • 6:30 pm : Odalis Perez, the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher will be signing autographs, with a purchase of $35 or more from the Major League Baseball feature shop at Toys "R" Us,. 4/28/05 6:30 PM at Toys-R-Us – Los Feliz Blvd. Glendale, CA. Art/Design Fans • 6:30 pm -7:00 pm : Jeremy Strick, Visual Music co-curator and MOCA director on Visual Music exhibit at......

Here's some upcoming events happening around town: Tonight: If you haven't been able to get your hands on James Stewart's "Disney War," you should be able to buy one at the Central Library tonight when the author converses with Marty Kaplan, Director, Norman Lear Center and Associate Dean, USC Annenberg School for Communication, about dramatic, inside story of what drove America’s best-known entertainment company to civil war. During the Q&A ask the prize-winning journalist if......

We're changing things up a bit here at LAist. Because we live in such a vibrant, socially active city, there are things going on all the time. We have long wanted to be able to list events in advance (for the benefit of our wonderful readers), so starting today we have implemented a new strategy: a week's events in advance. We will still post featured events each day, but we've added a permanent sidebar......

Well, we're almost at the climax of the Christmas-Consumer Feast Days that usher in the winter season. If you are like us, you're cash poor but gift rich, and we've got to get through about 10 more days until payday. Here's some suggestions for making merry in LA on a budget: *Take part in the Las Posadas procession depicting the journey of Mary and Joseph at El Pueblo, downtown LA 7:15 p.m. on Thursday,......