St. Patrick's Day is this Saturday, commemorating Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, and these days celebrating Irish heritage and culture in general. Irish Americans have a rich history here in the states, and we've been feasting annually on these shores since before the American Revolution. Much like other de facto national heritage holidays (think Cinco de Mayo), there is much drinking and partying to do, and everyone, whether you have an Irish bone in your body or not, is encouraged to join in on the fun. Los Angeles and surrounding cities have their fair share of St. Paddy's day fun, and much of it fits your budget. Wear green and read on for free and cheap events this weekend all over So Cal, as featured on the BrokeLA.com calendar! Erin go bragh!

Nope, it doesn't. There's no Frisbee ban. You've likely read the news report that LA passed a law slapping a $1,000 fine on playing Frisbee at the beach. Then other news outlets picked up on it, announcing throwing a Frisbee "will cost you a cool $1,000 thanks to a new ordinance passed by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday." The only thing is it isn't true. A little digging revealed that the fine has been greatly exaggerated, and that it's not a new ordinance at all!

William Shakespeare is very dead, though you wouldn't know it from all the performances of his plays happening around Los Angeles this summer. New York City has a huge Shakespeare in the Park show every year, but we're better than that here in Southern California. We have Shakespeare in lots of parks. And they're all FREE. So whether you don't have the money to see a play at Music Center, or just prefer the theatre to a free concert, show the Bard some love and go to a show. Wherefore art all these shows? Probably very close to you!

One of the best things about summer in Los Angeles is that all around the city, nearly every day of the week, someone is treating you to awesome live music in the great outdoors for FREE. From local indie bands to big acts, world music to jazz to Latin to country/Americana, there is definitely something you'll like at a price you can afford: FREE. Did we say FREE? Yeah, all these concerts are FREE. Check the BrokeLA.com calendar to see what's going on today. Now go listen!

Remember when you wanted to catch some good stand-up comedy, so you went to the comedy club, paid $15 to get in, then had a 2 drink minimum on top of that? Luckily, in LA there are a lot of people dedicated to making you chuckle, chortle, and pee in your pants, and they don't want you going broke just to see them. Just ask Elliot Steingart, who started a monthly FREE comedy night called Melgard Mondays for just that reason (more on that below). And people all over town have the same idea. Here are LA's funniest (or at least fun-est) nights of free stand-up comedy.

You may be finding yourself with some downtime these days if you're one of the many without steady work. Or if you're stuck working somewhere you hate, you may need an outlet. A blog could fill this void, give you something to focus on that you enjoy, and bonus — it could even help you get a new and better job. Showing people what you can do is an essential part of the job search process, and a blog can be tailored to do just that. We know this isn't 2007, the days when "blogging" was the pastime of the hip and the term was used un-ironically. Think about it instead as an activity in discipline, articulation, and marketing. Here are some ways to use a blog to suit your needs, and hopefully get some good returns.

We send out a newsletter every week, sharing new and relevant articles, upcoming events, and freebies with you every Thursday. Sign up here or in the box at right to get this e-package of awesome in your inbox every week. You can always unsubscribe via a link at the bottom of the newsletter when you get it in your email, though we can't imagine why you'd want to.

The events we choose to feature are events we think are extra special. If you'd like to sponsor a listing, contact us for more details.

Probably the coolest part of the newsletter is our Freebie of the Week. This freebie is generally one or a bunch of free mp3 tracks from a musician or band playing a gig in the near future, available for your downloading pleasure. Pretty often, we have these tracks exclusively, meaning you should get our newsletter because you can't get this stuff anywhere else. If you're a musician and want to bring your music to the world, contact us and we'll make it happen! See the bands we've featured with free downloads in each newsletter below.

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