Free Admission

Washington, Jefferson and Madison will be chatting with guests at Colonial Williamsburg this Presidents Day weekend when presidents of all stripes -- PTA, student council, book club, etc. -- get free admission to the re-created 18th century Virginia attraction. The deal: Williamsburg visitors have a chance to hobnob with the Founding Fathers (well, actors playing them) and take in special programs, including a fife-and-drum salute to the presidents and Q&As with some of them.

National Park Week offers free admission at parklands nationwide, making this month a good time to plan an outdoor getaway. Here's an idea: Mark J ohn M uir 's birthday on April 21 with a visit to the park he loved to roam ( Yosemite National Park ) and his California home ( John Muir National Historic Site near Martinez). The deal: Not all of the 397 national parks, monuments and historical sites run by the National Park Service charge an entry fee, but those that do will waive the cost during the special week.

Here's a good excuse to visit Sacramento next month and cash in on a little culture in the capital. The city's museums will open their doors for free in honor of the annual Sacramento Museum Day. The deal: Twenty-six museums will offer free admission 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 4. Two other locations--the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town--will feature half-off admission tickets on the same day. To take optimum advantage of Museum Day, you need to...

The end of Pacific Standard Time — the Getty's region-wide survey on the history of art in Southern California — will be celebrated with free admission at 19 local museums on March 31. Among the participating institutions will be the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Pasadena Museum of California Art, the Fisher Museum of Art and the American Museum of Ceramic Art. Pacific Standard Time explored the history of art in Southern California...

I have run into an unusual problem. Last summer I took a tour of the Warner Bros. studios. The guides forgot to collect my $27 fee. Recently, I attempted to mail in the fee with a letter of explanation. However, the envelope came back unopened with a postal stamp saying that delivery was refused. Oh, my dear conscience. Stop criticizing me. I tried with all my might to pay, but that is impossible in a paradise like the Greater Los Angeles area, where people simply refuse to accept money.

The O.C. Fair in Costa Mesa starts Friday with an offer of free admission and free parking for visitors who come during a one-hour period on opening day. It's a good way to sample the fair -- and save money too. The deal: The O.C. Fair will run through Aug. 14 from noon to midnight Wednesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to midnight Saturdays and Sundays. Arrive between noon and 1 p.m. on opening day and receive free admission and free parking. The savings can add up, depending on how many people you bring.

Queen Mary, meet Queen Victoria . That's pretty much how the introduction would go if these two Cunard ships -- one docked in Long Beach, one on its way to the Panama Canal -- could speak. Instead, the ships  will exchange a whistle salute amid fireworks when they "meet"  Thursday in Long Beach Harbor. Admission to the Queen Mary, usually $24.95 plus tax for adults, will be free to mark what Cunard calls a "royal rendezvous. " Queen Victoria is expected to sail into Long Beach Harbor between 5:30 and 6:15 p.m. and rendezvous with its sister ship between 6:15 and 6:45 p.m. The ship opens to visitors for free at 10 a.m.; guided tours and dining, however, are not free.

In a bid to boost attendance by young adults, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is now offering free admission to anyone 25 or younger. Previously, free admission was limited to 12 and younger. "We recognize that young adults often have limited disposable income," museum Director Hugh Davies said, "and through Qualcomm's generosity, we are able to eliminate any challenges this group may have with admission."

The Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum offers educators free admission today to give teachers the opportunity to visit the galleries, talk to the educators on the museum's staff and find out how to book free guided tours for schoolchildren. Preregistration is required. To reserve a spot, call (213) 667-0988.

Free admission will be offered at the Fullerton Museum Center on Oct. 21 as part of the North County YWCA Week Without Violence campaign. The campaign is part of a national effort to stop violence. The local YWCA also will have its Community Response to Family Wellness Day Festival on Oct. 21. The Fullerton Museum Center is at 301 N. Pomona Ave. It will feature "Whirligigs and Weathervanos--Contemporary Sculpture," a modern look at an ancient folk art form. Information: (714) 738-6545.

One of the first decisions of Santa Anita's new chief executive, Mark Verge, was to reinstate Free Fridays at the Arcadia track, so starting this Friday and through the end of the 72-day winter-spring meeting on April 22, general admission will be free on Fridays. "This is a Southern California jewel," Verge said of Santa Anita. "We want people to rediscover horse racing. " Along with the free admission on Fridays, beers, hot dogs and sodas will cost $2. The free admission proved to be popular in drawing fans when it was used at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park.

Club Mud is the longtime nickname given to Glen Ivy Hot Springs . The indoor-outdoor day spa in Corona known for its natural clay mud has a sweet birthday treat: Book a spa treatment on your birthday and get free admission for the day. The deal: The offer requires a 50-minute or longer spa treatment, such as massages (different types to choose from) that start at $99. Admission with a treatment usually costs $39 Mondays-Thursdays and $52 on weekends and holidays, so that's the savings in the birthday special.

If you go Pinball Hall of Fame, 1610 E. Tropicana Blvd., Las Vegas; http://www.pinballhall.org . Open 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Closed major holidays. Free admission.

Whether Edgar Allan Poe made you fear ravens or Charles M. Schulz's Snoopy made you want a beagle, a new show at the Morgan Library & Museum may help you reconnect with your favorite beasts. “In the Company of Animals: Art, Literature, and Music at the Morgan” runs through May 20. The special exhibition explores how animals have appeared as symbols, muses, moral teachers, talking creatures, and beloved companions in 80 works of art in the Morgan's collections. Artists represented include Albrecht Dürer, T.S. Eliot, David Hockney, George Orwell, Sergei Prokofiev, E.B. White and Virginia Woolf.

Washington, Jefferson and Madison will be chatting with guests at Colonial Williamsburg this Presidents Day weekend when presidents of all stripes -- PTA, student council, book club, etc. -- get free admission to the re-created 18th century Virginia attraction. The deal: Williamsburg visitors have a chance to hobnob with the Founding Fathers (well, actors playing them) and take in special programs, including a fife-and-drum salute to the presidents and Q&As with some of them.

Here's a good excuse to visit Sacramento next month and cash in on a little culture in the capital. The city's museums will open their doors for free in honor of the annual Sacramento Museum Day. The deal: Twenty-six museums will offer free admission 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 4. Two other locations -- the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town -- will feature half-off admission tickets on the same day. To take advantage of Museum Day, you really...

Throughout the Del Mar racing season, the track designates free community admission days for area residents. With proof of residency, such as a driver's license, residents of the specified community are given free admission to the infield, grandstand and paddock areas. Patrons in these areas are invited to bring beach chairs, coolers and food but no glass containers. Otherwise, grandstand reserved seats are $3.50 and general admission is $2.50.

Mickey Mouse and Pluto were among the first on Monday to salute the army of people who swarmed into Disneyland at 7 p.m. sharp. In honor of those stationed in the Persian Gulf, the amusement park offered free admission to children, spouses and other family members of military service people assigned to Operation Desert Shield. The park will offer family members free admission again tonight.

Here's a good excuse to visit Sacramento next month and cash in on a little culture in the capital. The city's museums will open their doors for free in honor of the annual Sacramento Museum Day. The deal: Twenty-six museums will offer free admission 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 4. Two other locations--the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town--will feature half-off admission tickets on the same day. To take optimum advantage of Museum Day, you need to...

If you have free time during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, here's a perfect match: things to see and do that are free. Freebie 1: The holiday weekend means free admission to national parks and national forests from Friday-Monday. Not all parks and forests charge fees, but those that do (for example, $20 a car at Yosemite and $15 a car at Joshua Tree national parks as well as $5 Adventure Pass day fee in the Angeles National Forest) will waive costs on those days.  Freebie 2: Before you go anywhere, grab a guide.