Fresno, California is a great city with a diverse blend of people, shops and attractions. However, many visitors and people that live here don’t know that there are many things going on for free all year long. Compiled here is a diverse listing of the free goings-on in throughout the major Fresno metropolitan area.
If you are interested in the Arts, Fresno is becoming a great area to explore! The Fresno Metropolitan Museum offers Free Admission on the first Thursday and Friday of the month from 4:30pm to 8:00pm. The Fresno Art Museum offers free Admission on every Sunday, and is also Free for children 5 and under all week long. The Legion of Valor Museum, located in the Fresno Veterans Memorial Auditorium, has free admission all the time. The biggest art exhibit in Fresno, known locally as Art Hop, is contained in many different locations throughout Fresno where the local studios, galleries and museums have free showings and shoe local art. Art Hop is the first Thursday evening of every month, and more information can always be found at fresnoarts.net under the tab Arthop. You can also find many free events on fresnoarts.net under the More Events tab. The Discovery Center is a great local museum, and they do not charge admission! However, they do welcome donations.
Comcast offers Free Movies in the Park at Eaton Plaza every summer. Movies and Parking are both free, and there are a wide variety of movies to choose from.
Every summer in Fresno, Woodward Park offers Shakespeare in the Park, which is free. However, entrance to Woodward Park is $3.00 per vehicle for Fresno residents and $5.00 for non-residents and you can purchase reserved tickets to Shakespeare in the Park for $10.00, but for a free play, $3.00 for a vehicle is not a bad deal. However, you can walk into Woodward Park if you live near the area and that eliminates the $3.00 or $5.00 per vehicle fee. If you catch what I’m saying. There are also many other local parks that cost nothing to visit, which you can locate at http://www.fresno.gov/Government/DepartmentDirectory/ParksandRecreation/ParksandFacilities/FindAParkByFeature/default.htm.
Sierra Vista Mall in Clovis, which is literally inside of Fresno, frequently offers free concerts in their community mall- visit sierravistamall.com for information as to when these concerts will be.
If you’re into the History of Fresno, you can always take a stroll through Fulton Mall in Downtown Fresno. If you just want to see more of Fresno on your feet to get out of the house, you can walk in the Tower District, Old Town Clovis, Sierra Vista Mall, Fashion Fair Mall, Fig Garden, and even Manchester mall. Walking does not cost any money and more often than not, especially on Friday or Saturday nights, there is some type of event going on that is free in any of these locations.
If you love to read, visiting any of the Fresno’s local libraries is completely free- and if you want to check out a book, all you need is local residence and a library card! Visit http://fresnolibrary.org/branch/index.html to view all the locations and hours.
If you enjoy going out, many of our local bars have free cover throughout the week and free cover before a certain time on weekends- grab a phonebook and give them a call to see when and if they start charging cover.
There are so many great things to do that cost nothing in Fresno. So get out of the house, and find something to do!
