The Cheapest Way to Go : Feeling Spent? Many Orange County arts and entertainment venues offer discounts and freebies throughout the year.

VISUAL ARTS

Orange County Museum of Art, 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach. (714) 759-1122. South Coast Plaza satellite gallery, 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa. (714) 662-3366.

The museum waives its admission fee and offers free hands-on workshops quarterly on its Family Arts Day, held from noon to 4 p.m. at the Newport Beach site. The next freebie falls on Feb. 8; for subsequent dates, call the museum.

The main site’s weekly Tuesday Talks at Noon, in which artists, curators and historians discuss current exhibitions and other topics, are also free.

Admission to the satellite, which also holds free Saturday morning hands-on children’s workshops, is always free.

Huntington Beach Art Center, 538 Main St., Huntington Beach. (714) 374-1650. The center hosts a free guided gallery tour monthly, usually

at noon Friday. For dates, call

themuseum. Admission to the small-scale exhibits in the center’s gallery store, which showcase emerging and local artists, is always free. Store hours: Tuesday-Wednesday and Friday-Saturday, noon-6 p.m.; Thursday, noon-8 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.

Fullerton Museum Center, 301 N. Pomona Ave., Fullerton. (714) 738-6545. General admission is $1 every Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. On Wednesdays, senior admission is $2.

Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana. (714) 567-3600. The museum, along with its Kidseum, intermittently waives admission, usually on a Sunday. Call for dates.

Others:

Admission to art galleries in local universities and community colleges is almost always free.

MUSIC AND DANCE

Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. (714) 556-2122. The venue offers $10 tickets (single seats in the last three rows of each section only) for its International Classic Dance Season programs. Three-concert subscriptions, with seats in the same area, cost $28.

For the forthcoming musical “big,” on Feb. 10-15, a free child’s (18 and under) ticket comes with every paid adult admission.

The center’s volunteer ushers, who work every performance, get to see the shows if they’re posted inside the auditorium. Call (714) 556-2122, ext. 278, for information.

Pacific Chorale, at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. (714) 662-2345. Student and senior tickets are reduced to $8 an hour before performances.

Pacific Symphony, at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. (714) 755-5788. Fifty or more people from one workplace can hear a concert for free through the “Get to Know Your Symphony” program. Announcements of occasional discount coupons appear on the orchestra’s Web page: https://www.pso.org

Philharmonic Society of Orange County, at the Orange County Performing Arts Center and the Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. (714) 553-2422. Society volunteers, whose responsibilities range from fund-raising to educational outreach, receive any available free tickets.

Ballet Pacifica, at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. (714) 851-9930. The company sells tickets for $8 to students and seniors two hours before each performance in its Dance Concert Series, usually in October, March and May.

Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. (562) 916-8510. “Side view” box seats, which have partly obstructed views, for some music and theater events go for roughly half price.

William Hall Master Chorale, at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. (714) 556-6262. Student and senior tickets are reduced to $9 an hour before performances.

POP/ROCK/FOLK/JAZZ

San Juan Capistrano Multicultural Arts Series, San Juan Capistrano

Regional Library, 31495 El Camino

Real, San Juan Capistrano. (714) 248-7469. Always economically priced at $6 per concert ($3 for children ages 12 and under), this world music series brings well-known artists from around the globe to its courtyard. Programs range from Celtic-influenced progressive jazz to traditional Native American flute.

Huntington Beach Art Center, 538 Main St., Huntington Beach. (714) 374-1650. The center’s “Playing in the Band” is an eclectic music series, featuring local bands and musicians, with $4 concerts on intermittent Fridays at 8 p.m. Call for dates.

Others:

Clubs that specialize in showcasing local bands rarely charge more than $8. They include:

Linda’s Doll Hut (roots and alternative rock), 107 S. Adams St., Anaheim. (714) 879-8699.

Club 369 (roots and alternative rock), 1641 N. Placentia Ave., Fullerton. (714) 572-1781.

Lookers (blues, ska, reggae, alternative rock, funk), 24921 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point. (714) 488-3106.

Tickets to local acts of various descriptions rarely exceed $10 at the following venues:

Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. (714) 496-8930

Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. (714) 957-1133

Hop City Blues & Brew, 1929 S. State College Blvd., Anaheim, (714) 978-3700)

THEATER

South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. (714) 957-2602. SCR’s “pay what you will” deal, which applies to the first matinee only of most productions on both stages, always generates a line outside the theater by 10 a.m. A $5 minimum is suggested, but patrons may set their own price, subject to ticket availability.

In addition, the theater sells

half-price tickets for that day’s

performance until one hour before curtain. Full-time high school or college students may also purchase $8 tickets 30 minutes before curtain.

SCR volunteer ushers get to see the performances they work, though they may have to sit on the steps. For more information, call house manager Agustina Luna.

The Laguna Playhouse, Moulton Theater, 606 Laguna Canyon Drive, Laguna Beach. (714) 497-2787. The group occasionally offers $15 standing-room-only tickets to sold-out productions.

Grove Theatre Center, 12852 Main St., Garden Grove. (714) 741-9550. GTC subscribers get $5 off every additional ticket they purchase.

Others:

Tickets to productions staged by university and community college theater departments rarely exceed $10.

FILM

Orange County Museum of Art, 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach. (714) 759-1122. The museum’s Friday night film series explores the history of American filmmaking. (An El Nino theme begins Jan. 16 with “Rain,” starring Joan Crawford.) Discussion and dessert follow every 6:30 p.m. show. Tickets are $3 for museum members, students and seniors, $5 for others.

Chapman University, 333 N Glassell St., Orange. (714) 744-7018. The school offers at least two film series each semester, and all of the 7 p.m. screenings, usually held in the Argyros Forum, are free. A new Wednesday night classics series and a new Thursday night Entertainment Arts Forum (featuring an array of movies) are scheduled to start in February.

Super Saver Cinema 7, Rossmoor Center, 12343 Seal Beach Blvd., Seal Beach. (562) 594-9411. This seven-screen complex, a last hurrah for new films on their way to cable movie channels and video, charges everyone $2 every day.

Edwards Cinemas, throughout Orange County. (See Movie Guide on F3 for phone numbers and addresses.) In addition to $3.75 matinees (up to 6 p.m.) at all theaters daily, the county’s largest theater chain offers $3.50 tickets at most theaters on Tuesday nights, though the discount may not apply to newly released blockbusters.

Century Cinedome 11, Value Cinemas, Chapman Avenue at the Santa Ana Freeway, Orange. (714) 634-2553. Matinee admission, Monday through Friday before 2 p.m. and weekends before 6 p.m., is $2.50. Other times, it’s $3.50, regardless of age.

KIDS

Imagination Celebration. This annual 10-day arts festival for youths includes exhibits, performances, workshops and other activities held at more than 50 sites throughout the county. Most events are free, but admission never exceeds $6. Held during April or May. Coordinated by the Orange County Performing Arts Center: (714) 556-2122.

Launch Pad, Crystal Court, 3333 Bear St. Costa Mesa. (714) 546-2061. Adults accompanied by a paying ($5) child are always admitted free to the store-front facility featuring dozens of hands-on exhibits that explore scientific principles.

Others:

Most public libraries regularly host free story-time programs.

COMEDY

Brea Improv, 945 Birch St., Suite A, Brea. (714) 529-7878.

Irvine Improv, 4255 Campus Drive, Irvine. (714) 854-5455.

Admission to the Brea Improv is free on Wednesdays to patrons who wear or purchase an Improv T-shirt for $12. (For others, the cover charge is $10.) The Irvine location offers the same arrangement on Thursdays. In addition, students get in for $5 every Wednesday at both sites.

NIGHT LIFE

Most dance clubs rarely charge a cover before about 9 p.m.

MISCELLANEOUS

The Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, 2695 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. (714) 550-4636. The venue offers “Treatseats” discount coupons, available at all Southern California Target stores, to some family shows and sporting events.

--Compiled by Zan Dubin