Free Seattle Symphony concert, Apr. 27.

It's been a while since we had a cultural event freebie, but the dry spell is over: Seattle Symphony is holding a free concert on Friday, April 27, at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center.

They just completed a renovation of the nearly-century-old venue, so now is your chance to check it out and hear some free music!

Seattle: Free Day of Music, Sep. 18 at Benaroya Hall.

Whether you like rock, hip-hop, jazz, world or classical music, Benaroya Hall is offering a Free Day of Music on September 18, from noon to 6 pm! Over 40 acts will be performing, all for FREE. Looks like there will be some theater and dance performances, too. Check out the full listing and plan your day of music!

Sat. 9/25 is National Free Museum Day!

Yep, you read that right... hundreds of museums around the country will be offering FREE admission this Saturday, September 25.  And all you have to do is pre-print your admission ticket using this site right here.  It's brought to you by the Smithsonian, but there are plenty of museum options nationwide.

Seattleites can pick from many cool museums, including the EMP/Sci-Fi Museum, the Bellevue Arts Museum, the Henry Art Gallery at the UW, Tacoma's Museum of Glass, the Museum of Doll Art, and good ol' SAM.

To get your ticket (good for two people), fill out the form and your ticket will be emailed to you. You must have a pre-printed ticket to get in free, so don't just sashay into your favorite museum on Saturday or you'll get the Paris-Hilton-in-Tokyo treatment.

Seattle: Friends of the Library book sale, Sep. 24-26.

It's that time again - time for the Seattle Friends of the Library's HUGE semi-annual book sale!  Over 200,000 books, CDs, DVDs, art prints, and other items will be available for your deal-nabbing pleasure. Friday is members-only, but the inventory will be replenished all weekend, and Sunday is super-bargain half-off day!

When:   Friday, Sept. 24, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m (Member Preview -- members may buy up to 25 items each)

Saturday, Sept. 25, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.


Sunday, Sept. 26, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.


Where: Magnuson Park, Hangar in Building #30, 7400 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, 98115. The park may be reached by Metro bus routes 30, 74, and 75. Free parking is available.

Seattle: Free concert Aug. 16 at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley.

Jazz composer and piano player Amina Figarova plays a free show with her sextet at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 16 at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley. Reservations are required through 206-441-9729 or www.jazzalley.com/reservations.asp.

The Azerbaijan-born and Rotterdam-based Figarova cites Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock as influences, but adds a world flavor to her contemporary music. For a listen, go to www.aminafigarova.com.

(Courtesy of Seattle Times)

Seattle: Ballard Sidewalk Sale this weekend.

Seattleites, when was the last time you went to Ballard? Maybe you should stop by this weekend, when they'll be having their big downtown sidewalk sale (now through Sunday). While it does make parking even more annoying, it's fun to wander up and down the sidewalk, checking out the sale tables that each store puts out. And this "$20 shoe tub" sounds mighty intriguing...

The last time I went, I picked up a super-soft sweater marked down from $70 to $10, so I promise there are deals to be had. If the weather's nice, make a day of it and have a picnic at the locks, too!

Seattle: Free Capitol Hill Block Party kickoff concert tonight.

Looking for something to do this evening, Seattleites? Check out the Crocodile's Capitol Hill Block Party kickoff show tonight for free. The lineup includes Holy F!, Obits, and the Unnatural Helpers. Doors open at 8 p.m. Thursday for the 21-and-over party at The Crocodile, at 2200 Second Ave., in Seattle.

Just RSVP here and click on the Capitol Hill Kick Off flyer.

Seattle: Free roast pig potluck tonight in Chinatown.

Here is one of the stranger free events I've seen in my time at the HTN: an overnight pig roast in Chinatown.

"The feast starts at 8 p.m. Friday and goes overnight until 2 p.m. Saturday. Bring some food and drinks to share. A local and sustainably raised pig will be roasting overnight."

I'm a little bummed that I won't be able to make this, because it actually sounds pretty interesting. But it does save me the trouble of trying to figure out what sort of side dish goes with park-roasted pig. Jello salad? Deviled eggs? S'mores?

Seattle: U-Village sidewalk sale June 17-20.

Seattle shoppers, the University Village is having its annual sidewalk sale this weekend. Dozens of stores set up outside tables or special sale areas in their stores where patient browsers can score some deals. Says NW Source: "You'll find a huge variety of merchandise at this sale. It can be current-season or off-season goods, discontinued merchandise, display models or slightly damaged items. Some of the major retailers ship products in from other locations to off-load merchandise and start making room for fall stock."

The sale will be held during regular U Village hours of 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m on Sunday. And Fisher Scones will be there, selling their famous jam-filled fair scones! Check out a full list of participating stores and plan your shopping route.

Reminder: Capitol Hill Garage Sale June 5, 10 am to 3 pm.

Okay, this is the last time I'm going to bug you about this one, I promise. I'm just really excited about the Capitol Hill Garage Sale tomorrow and I want to make sure everyone knows about it too.

The Capitol Hill Blog has a list of sale highlights, plus a link to the comprehensive map of sellers. There will be food, music, and happenings at the Belmont & Pine parking lot, and you can also bring your own donations to the lot if you're inspired to do some spring cleaning.

Let's hope for some good garage-sale weather! Good luck, bargain hunters!

Seattle: Top Chef Tour Bus pays us a visit.

I'm pretty out of the loop when it comes to TV, but I hear this "Top Chef" show is kind of a thing, and apparently their tour bus is quite popular, too. If you're a fan, you'll be pleased to hear that the bus is coming to Seattle this weekend.

Season 6 contestants Ash Fulk and Eli Kirshtein will offer cooking tips, dish on the behind-the-scenes stuff and answer fan questions about host Padma and whatever else is on your mind. Fans get to sample food and compete in a Quickfire Challenge, one of the show's popular contests. The tour bus will stop in the parking lot of QFC Bella Bottega, 8867 161st Ave. N.E. in Redmond, on Saturday and in Seattle at University Village on Sunday. The demo times for both days: 10:30 a.m., noon and 1:30 p.m. Tickets are free on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the event.

(Thanks, Chicka!)

Seattle: Free admission to the Japanese Garden, Sunday 6/4.

This Sunday, the Seattle Japanese Garden celebrates its 50th anniversary with a commemorative ceremony and free admission to all. Formal ceremonies include speeches by Seattle and Japanese dignitaries at 11 a.m. at the Garden Gatehouse, followed by traditional entertainment and displays of history and culture, noon-3 p.m. Admission to the garden is free during the event (regularly $3-$5).

As Japanese gardens go, Seattle's isn't bad... it's not very big, but it's picturesque and has lots of koi and all that. If you haven't been, you may as well check it out this weekend for free and help them celebrate their milestone.

Seattle: Capitol Hill Garage Sale, June 5.

Don't forget, the Capitol Hill community garage sale is coming up this Saturday, June 5. Sales start at 10 am, or whenever those hipsters can shake off their hangovers and set out their tiny clothes and kitschy vintage lamps.

They'll be releasing an official map any second now, so you can plan your shopping strategy. The best stuff always goes in the first hour, so set your alarms - I bet there will be some fabulous items on offer.

Seattle: Local Yarn Store Tour = free patterns, sales, prizes.

Knittin' kittens of Seattle, take note: the Local Yarn Store Tour is happening now through May 23. FOUR DAYS OF FIBER FUN! At each one of the 25 participating shops (extended hours for all four days!), you'll get a different free one-skein pattern and 10% off that yarn. Plus, you can win $50 prize drawings: one per shop per day. That's a lot of prizes!

Visit every one of the 25 shops to fill your "passport," and you'll be eligible to win any one of eight gift certificates for grand prizes totaling $1,500. Or just see the map of participating locations to drop by one in your area.

This just might inspire me to return to my own huge, dust-coated stash...

Seattle: Capitol Hill Garage Sale, June 5.

Seattleites, did you have fun at the 200-house West Seattle Garage Sale last weekend? Or did you miss out and wish you'd gone? Here's a second chance: on June 5, Capitol Hill is having its own neighborhood-wide community garage sale.

It's free to add your house to the official, downloadable map, and for a registration fee of $20 you can rent a table in the main parking-lot community sale at Pine & Belmont (space is limited). Bands, food vendors, and crafters will also be there. If you just want to donate some of your old junk to get rid of it, the Northwest Center will be accepting donations at the Pine & Belmont lot from 3:00 to 6:00 pm.

My favorite part about this sale is that it doesn't start until 10:00 am. Apparently it's simply too much to ask hipsters to keep regular garage-sale hours.

Seattle: West Seattle 200-house mega-garage-sale!

Are you ready for this? No. You are not ready. Tomorrow is the West Seattle Community Garage Sale, featuring TWO HUNDRED participating houses in one giant super-ultra bargain blowout! They will have maps available on Saturday at these locations, but they encourage you to print your own out at home (12-page PDF includes guide to each seller's wares) to reduce production costs.

The event goes from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, but you can bet your bottom dollar that the garage-sale nuts will be out in force from the crack of dawn, so set your alarms for DEAL O'CLOCK!

May 1 is Free Comic Book Day.

This is a new one on me, but apparently it's been going on for a while for those who are more in the know. Saturday, May 1, is Free Comic Book Day, where comic book shops around the world will be having giveaways and signing events.

Seattle's portion of this event takes place at Fantagraphics down in Georgetown, but there's stuff happening all over, so find a participating store near you.

Seattle: Bellevue Goodwill Designer Labels sale, 4/30-5/1.

Seattleites, if you love Goodwill's annual Glitter Sale, then you might want to check out the Designer Label Event this Friday and Saturday, Apr. 30 and May 1, at the Bellevue Goodwill. It's a two-day sale — from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. — of about 4,400 gently worn pieces from such brands as Ferragamo, Prada, 7 For All Mankind, Narcisco Rodriguez, Jimmy Choo, and Christian Louboutin.

Unlike the Glitter Sale, which is mostly for the ladies, this event will have more stuff for men and kids — but it's all designer labels, so while things may be marked up to 90% off, they still won't be, like, $2. However, the shelves will be continuously stocked both days, so there will be things to see no matter when you go.

I can't say I'm particularly fetishy about designer labels, but a bargain's a bargain, so this one could be fun to check out.

Seattle: Bumbershoot 2010 to offer "lite" $22 recession tickets.

If you avoid Bumbershoot like the plague because it's too expensive, too crowded, and the main acts suck anyway, here's a solution for you: this year, Bumbershoot is offering $22 "economy" tickets that give you admission to everything except the mainstage headlining shows. (They'll be $30 at the door.) The standard ticket for all events including mainstage shows will be $40 advance ($5 more than 2009) and $50 at the door (same as 2009).

So what does your $22 get you? Admission to the grounds, art exhibits, music, comedy shows, literary panels and discussions, and other performances. If you hate paying a premium to subsidize a big-name band you're not interested in anyway, this is a cost-effective way to see the sights and get the experience, while still having some cash left over for $8 beers and $10 hot dogs.

Seattle: Capitol Hill throws an Elliott Bay Books party, 4/15.

This isn't really a tax-day freebie, although it is happening on April 15. Elliott Bay Book Co. just recently moved from downtown Seattle to Capitol Hill (10th & Pike), and Capitol Hill is throwing them a welcome-to-the-neighborhood bash on April 15 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm.

Word on the street is that there will be live music, a beer garden, and snacks courtesy of Via Tribunali, Café Vita, Pike Street Fish Fry, and Quinn's. Should be a fun event, weather permitting, so if you're in the neighborhood or just reeling from sending in your taxes, stop by!