Free Stuff To Do in Austin

On the last Saturday of every month as well as Mondays through Thursdays during the summer months, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on South Lamar screens free kids movies. Films include 1950s science fiction movies and family classics like Swiss Family Robinson as well as more recent features. These films are sponsored by the Austin Chronicle, Ain't It Cool News and Big Brothers Big Sisters. The Free Kids Club at Alamo Drafthouse was started more than ten years ago at the original downtown location by Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News and he continues to fund the series with a birthday party benefit each year.

The Austin City Limits studio doors are open to the public for official, organized tours every Friday beginning at 10:30 AM. Admission is free. Bring a camera and have your picture snapped in front of the famous Austin City Limits skyline backdrop.

Austin Convention and Visitors Center offers two free guided walking tours of historical homes and places in downtown Austin. Both tours require 24 hour advance reservations and reservations may be made through the Austin Convention and Vistors Center website. The Historic Congress Avenue and Sixth Street tour times are 9 AM Thursday through Saturday and 2 PM on Sunday and include 19th century buildings such as the Old Bakery, the Driskill Hotel and St. Mary's Cathedral. The Bremond Block Historic District tour examines a collection of homes belonging to members of the John Bremond family built during the Victorian era and tour times are at 11 AM on Saturday and Sunday. The departure point for both tours is the South entrance of the Capitol building at 1100 Congress Avenue.

Austin Recovery offers free Recovery Enrichment Workshops on the second Saturday of each month that are open to all members of the Austin community. National and local speakers present on topics related to addiction and recovery. Refer to the Austin Recovery website for the schedule of speakers and topics.

Every summer for seven years the Austin Symphony has featured different ensemble concerts on Sunday afternoons. This year these free ensemble concerts featuring music from jazz and light classical to pops selections and film scores have moved to the new Hartman Concert Park in front of the Long Center City Terrace. The concerts start at 7:30 PM. Blankets and picnics are encouraged. Free parking is available at One Texas Center located on Barton Springs Road and South First Street. Paid parking is for $7 is available at the Palmer Garage with garage entrances on both Barton Springs Road and Riverside Drive.

Every morning between 5 AM and 9 AM and every evening between 9 PM and 10 PM there is no charge for swimming at Barton Springs Swimming Pool at Zilker Park. There is no lifeguard on duty between 5 AM and 8 AM. For the evening swim, the best time to get to the swimming pool and find a convenient parking spot is about 8:30 to 8:45 PM. When the lights at the entrance flash on at 9 PM that is the sign that pool admittance is now free. During the summer, there is usually local music on the night of the full moon and the pool area is full of Austinites howling at the moon during free swim between 9 PM and 10 PM.

Home to the world's largest urban bat colony, the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge is one of three bridges linking the downtown area to South Austin across the Colorado River or what is usually referred to as Town Lake, but recently renamed Lake Lady Bird. Each night from mid-March to November, approximately a million or more Mexican free-tail bats emerge from under the bridge at dusk to blanket the sky as they head out to forage for food. The bats generally emerge before dark, but may fly late as the time of year and weather conditions affect bat emergence times. July and August are the best times to see the most dramatic flights when new born pups first begin to forage with their mothers. It is possible to view the bats from the bridge, but the bridge itself is a high traffic throughfare. The best way to see the bats is to bring a blanket or lawn chairs to the Bat Observation Center located at the Austin American Statesman offices at 305 South Congress Avenue on the southeast side of the bridge where there is a viewing area and an educational kiosk. If parking is not available at the Austin American Statesman, additional parking after 6 PM is located at Texas Department of Transportation offices located around the corner off Riverside Drive. Bat Conservation International Bat Interpreters are present Thursday through Sunday nights in the months of June, July and August. Please remember to look, but DON'T TOUCH THE BATS. Bats are wild animals and like all wild animals, they may bite in self-defense if handled.

Thursdays are free to the public at the Blanton Museum of Art. The Blanton Museum of Art is the largest art museum in Austin and features a substantial permanent collection of important works of art as well as traveling collections from around the world.

Free two hour guided hikes on the second Saturdays and Sundays of the month at Bright Leaf Preserve. Bright Leaf is a natural area over 200 acres in size within the Austin city limits.

Blues on the Green is a free summer concert series presented by KGSR radio. This year Blues on the Green has moved from Zilker Park to a new location at Waterloo Park. The shows take place on Wednesday nights from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM. The featured performers for Summer 2009 include Ruthie Foster, Cyril Neville, Jimmie Vaughan, Marcia Ball, Carolyn Wonderland and Papa Mali. Concert goers can bring their own food or purchase food or soft drinks from vendors on site. It is a good idea to bring chairs or blankets. Dogs on leashes are also allowed. Glass containers and alcohol are not permitted in City of Austin parks. Free parking is available on the streets surrounding Waterloo Park as well as in the State parking garages along Trinity Street.

The Free Day of Yoga in Austin is every Labor Day and has been held every year in Austin, Texas since 1999. There are over 100 free yoga classes in the greater Austin vicinity on this day held from dawn to dusk at locations all over the city of Austin.

Keeping Austin Free is a blog style website that updates daily with current free events and activities in the Austin area.

The Moonlight Prowl at the University of Texas is a free night time campus tour of UT illustrated with stories of student life, history and UT lore. Moonlight Prowls are held several times a month and you must register on the Moonlight Prowl website to participate. All Prowls start at 8 PM and last 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Austin Parks Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to building partnerships, advocacy and action for parks. In conjunction with Alamo Draft House, the Austin Parks Foundation sponsors outdoor movies in downtown Austin at Republic Square Park. Dogs, picnics and lawn chairs are welcome. Alcoholic beverages are not permitted in the park. Republic Square Park is located at 5th Street and Guadalupe Street. There is free parking on surrounding streets. Movies begin at dusk which is usually around 8:30 and there is pre-show entertainment starting at 7 PM. Check the Movies in the Park website for a schedule of upcoming movies.

Admission to the Ransom Center at the University of Texas is free and open to the public. The major focus of the Ransom Center is the study of the literature and culture of the United States, Great Britain, and France. Exhibits at the center include manuscripts, rare books, photographs, works of art and major collections in theater and movie memorabilia including the David O. Selznick and Gloria Swanson archives. The Harry Ransom Center also offers a number of free special events including poetry readings, lectures and movies.

REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.) a national retail cooperative selling outdoor gear and clothing, offers a variety of free classes, clinics and events for both children and adults including rock climbing, guided hikes, attracting outdoor birds and map and compass basics. Refer to the REI website for specific dates and details.

Ruta Maya Ruta Maya Coffee House presents free kids shows featuring quality children's entertainment and children's music every Sunday at 10:30 AM. Past performers have included Joe McDermott, Darren Peterson and Circus Chicken Dog, Magical Mystical Michael and Mr. Steve's Drumming Extravaganza.

Ruta Maya Coffee House in South Austin offers a wide variety of community classes that are free with any purchase from the coffee house including Qi Gong, Medical Terminology, Latin Tutorial and English Word Power with Professor George Doig and Tai Chi with Guy Forsyth and Angel Quesada.

Ruta Maya Coffee House in South Austin offers free yoga classes with any purchase from the cafe every day of the week except Sunday including Happy Hour Yoga at 5:30 PM on Monday and Wednesday and Family Yoga for Kids at 10 AM on Saturday mornings. All classes welcome all levels of students and use a unique approach which addresses each person at their own level of flexability. It is highly recommended that you bring a yoga mat, however a limited number are available at the cafe.

The Astronomy Department at the University of Texas hosts free viewing on the Painter Hall Telescope every Friday and Saturday night while UT is in session. Painter Hall is located at the corner of 24th street and Inner Campus Drive just to the north of the UT Tower. At Painter Hall take the elevator to the 5th floor and exit to the left. Follow the 5th floor hallway to the end and take the staircase through the double doors on the left. At the sixth floor go to the right and follow the signs up to the telescope. Parking is available at nearby UT parking garages for $3 after 6 PM. Viewing times change throughout the year so check the website first or call (512) 471-5007 for current times. If the weather seems questionable call (512) 232-4265 approximately 30-45 minutes before the scheduled start time to find out if the viewing is cancelled. The Painter Hall telescope has been in place at Painter Hall since the 1930's and the lens in the telescope was ground at the turn of the century.

The Astronomy Department at the University of Texas sponsors free public star parties on the top roof of Robert Lee Moore Hall at the southeast corner of Dean Keeton and Speedway every Wednesday night while UT is in session. Take the elevators at Robert Lee Moore Hall to the 17th floor and then follow the signs to the stairs up to 16 inch telescope used for teaching undergraduate astronomy majors and for graduate student projects. Parking is available at nearby UT parking garages for $3 after 6 PM. Viewing times change throughout the year so check the website first or call (512) 471-5007 for current times. If the weather seems questionable call (512) 232-4265 approximately thirty to fortyfive minutes before the scheduled start time to find out if the viewing is cancelled. A typical night will include a planet or two, binary stars, star clusters and some of the brighter nebulae.

Located five miles southwest of downtown Austin, Sunset Valley is a small community of less than two miles square located close to the intersection of West Gate Boulevard and Highway 290. The Sunset Valley Arts Commission sponsors a series of summer concerts that take place once a month in the the backyard of Sunset Valley City Hall at 7 PM on Sunday nights.

Admission to the Texas Memorial Museum is always free and it is a great place to spend the time with kids of all ages. Located on the University of Texas campus, exhibits at the museum include dinosaurs and fossils, Texas wildlife, and gems and minerals. There is alwo a working Paleontology Lab where visitors can ask questions as scientists research dinosaur bones and other fossil finds and the Virtual Science exhibit, the first immersive 3-D museum exhibit in the country.

Unplugged at the Grove is a free, all ages Austin outdoor music series that runs each Thursday night from April to September at Shady Grove restaurant on Barton Springs Road adjacent to Zilker Park. Sponsored by KGSR Radio for over fifteen years. Unplugged at the Grove has presented some of Texas most accomplished musicians including Shawn Colvin, Dave Alvin, Joe Ely, the Dixie Chicks, Nickel Creek, Guy Clark, The Gourds, Alejandro Escovedo, Guy Forsyth, Bruce Robinson, Jim Lauderdale, Bob Schneider, Del Castillo, Ray Wylie Hubbard and more. The featured performers for Summer 2009 include Jimmy LaFave, Del Castillo, Seth Walker, Twang Twang Shock-a-Boom with David Garza and Fastball. Tables fill up fast, but it is allowed to bring folding chairs and blankets to sit on the lawn. Parking available in the Shady Grove parking lot, but do not park in the nearby neighborhoods. It's always a good idea to get there early for a good parking spot and a good seat.

Independent music retailer Waterloo Records has been part of the Austin music scene since since 1982 and has won the Austin Chronicle “Best Record Store” almost every years since it opened. Besides being a great place to buy music, Waterloo Records regularly presents free live appearances and performances by both local and nationally-known artists. Most performances and CD autograph signings begin at 5:00pm and feature free refreshments courtesy of Shiner Beer. No flash photography is allowed during the in-store performances and the use of recording devices is prohibited.

Zilker Hillside Theatre is located in Zilker Park across the parking lot from Barton Springs swimming pool. The stage is located in a natural amphitheater under a stand of 100 year old pecan trees and features numerous locally produced musical and dance oriented events including the Austin Symphony, Shakespeare in the Park and the annual Zilker Summer Musical. This year's Zilker Summer Musical is “The Music Man” and runs from July 3 through August 15, 2009 on Thursdays through Sundays (no performance July 4). Admission to events at the Zilker Hillside Theatre is always free but there is a $3.00 fee to park in the Zilker Park parking lots. Most events start at 8 PM and blankets can be placed on the hillside after 6 PM. Theatre goers may bring a picnic or other refreshments, but alcohol is not permitted in the park.