It’s back…Bank of America is paying the admission fee to over 100 museums, zoos, and botanical gardens nationwide for Bank of America members. The Museums on Us program is offered the first weekend of every month. This was offered last year as well. Enjoy the free museum days all you Bank of America members.

Microsoft Developer Network

Developers, you’re in luck. Go to the Microsoft Developer Network MSDN event for free. The MSDN event is taking place nationwide in specific cities on particular days. You’ll need to register, but other then that it’s completely free. The seminar will discuss Windows Azure and cloud computing and the evangelist developer gurus will be there to speak. Hurry and get your seats while there are still seats to sit on!

Microsoft Silverlight Design Days

Microsoft presents Silverlight Design Days taking place from January to May in various cities. According to the site “Silverlight Design Day is [the] opportunity to learn about Silverlight and Expression Blend from a design and interface developer perspective.” This is a great opportunity for designers and developers alike to get their feet wet in Silverlight, an alternative from Adobe Flash. To learn more about what Silverlight is check out the Wikipedia. Go learn something new and get swag (only if you stay the entire time that is).

Free Admission to Museums

Hello All! After a long hiatus I am back! Bet ya know what my new’ year’s resolution is

Let’s see what new freebies and bargains are in the horizon. Free Museum days! Yay! If you reside or plan to visit the following cities, then you’re in luck. These various locations are offering free museum admissions.

Chicago is offering free museum days throughout the year.

San Francisco is also offering free museum days, which run from January 16, 2010 to January 18, 2010 at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. No, not too many free museum days however on the first Tuesday of each month admission is free as well.

Seattle offers free admission to plenty of museums on the first Thursday of every month.

Last but not least is Los Angeles that offers free museum admissions on different days of the month depending on the museum itself.

Seafood for the Future

Restaurants spanning from San Diego to Los Angeles have worked jointly with the Long Beach Aquarium to offer Free admission to the Long Beach Aquarium for ordering fish with the logo Seafood for the Future beside the menu item. These fishes are regarded as sustainable seafood. The Seafood of the Future program works to protect the wild fish and at the same time sustain seafood where demand is currently surpassing supply. According to the LA Times, the following are the right fishes to order – “wild cod, halibut, Alaskan salmon, Arctic char, anchovies, herring, sardines and mackerel; farmed clams, mussels and Pacific oysters; and U.S.-farmed freshwater fish such as American catfish, striped bass and trout.” The participating restaurants include – “Providence Restaurant Hollywood; Lucques Restaurant in Los Angeles; Nook Bistro in Santa Monica; Walt’s Wharf in Seal Beach; Nino’s Italian Restaurant, Parker’s Lighthouse, Renaissance Long Beach and McKenna’s on the Bay, all in Long Beach; Spark Woodfire Grill in Huntington Beach, Studio City and Beverly Hills; and Sea Rocket Bistro in San Diego.”

Some stats worth mentioning from the article that is alarming, to me at least.

*Seafood consumption in LA county is twice the national average.
*Two-thirds of the world’s wild fish stocks are fished at or above their sustainable levels
*It is predicted that the entire wild seafood industry could collapse in 50 years unless alternative solutions are sought.

So the next time you’re out at a seafood joint, think twice about what to order.

Free Night of Theater

Free Night of Theater is here, well it was here for me last week which was when a friend of mine told me about this free event. Free live theater is coming to you from over 120 cities across the country. There are some tickets that are already sold out and some that are not open just yet. This is the 5th anniversary of the Free Night of Theater program sponsored by the Theater Communications Group. Catch a free theater performance at your local participating playhouse today.

Thanks for the info Tran!

National Public Lands Day

National Public Lands Day, a day for volunteers to get out there and make a difference whether it be picking up trash or planting some trees, September 26, 2009 is a special day dedicated just for this act of environmental consciousness. So come join in on the 16th annual National Public Lands Day.

Also, admission to 391 national parks are Free on National Public Lands Day so enjoy this day in the breathtaking great outdoors. To top that off several national parks will be showing a preview of Ken Burn’s The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. The film is a 6 part, 12 hour documentary that takes you on an adventure to the beauty that is the national parks. It will air on Sunday, September 27, 2009 on PBS.

Artist: Chen Qiulin

Twenty four museums in Orange County, CA and Los Angeles, CA will be offering free admission on the weekend of October 3-4, 2009. Check out MuseumsLA for a full list of participating venues.

Museum Day 2009 - Smithsonian Magazine

Museum Day, a one day event where you get to attend museums for Free, takes place nationwide this Saturday, September 26, 2009. This event is sponsored by Smithsonian Magazine which has been running the event for five consecutive years now. You will need to present your Museum Day Admission Card, which is good for two people, to enter museums participating in this free event. Below is a list of a few participating free museums, but for a place in your locale check out Smithsonian Magazine’s site for more locations.

New York, NY
New Museum
Rubin Museum of Art

Boston, MA
Museum of Fine Arts

Los Angeles, CA
Santa Monica Museum of Art
California Science Center
Skirball Cultural Center

New Orleans, LA
National World War II Museum
American Italian Museum & Research Library
Contemporary Arts Center
House of Broel’s Victorian Mansion and Dollhouse Museum
Longue Vue House and Gardens
Louisiana Children’s Museum
New Orleans Pharmacy Museum
Ogden Museum of Southern Art
Historic New Orleans Collection

California Academy of Sciences

The California Academy of Sciences, a science and research institution that houses an aquarium, planetarium, natural history museum, and rainforest all under one roof, is giving its San Francisco, CA residents free entry in the months of September to November 2009. Free entry occurs on three consecutive days and is based on your neighborhood location. For instance, September 11-13, 2009 will kick off the Neighborhood Free Days promotion which will apply to Sunset, Parkside, Stonestown, Lakeshore, and St. Francis Wood residents. Check out the San Francisco Examiner for details on when the free days in your neighborhood will apply.

Also worth noting, on the third Wednesday of every month, admission to the California Academy of Sciences is free. Make sure you come by 4pm because that is the final entry time on free days.