This is part of the L.A. Times 2021 gift guide. See the full guide here.
What if you gave your favorite people the gifts of access, focus and escape? What if, instead of more stuff, you gave them memberships that get them into great places for a year? These memberships might fill the bill. (Prices quoted are for individual membership.)
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
This long-awaited cinema showcase opened Sept. 30 at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Perks include priority admission, early access on member days, screening invitations and 10% off in the museum store.
$100 | 👉 Purchase here
Aquarium of the Pacific
This Long Beach waterfront fixture opened in 1998. Perks include discounted parking, guest tickets and day camp sessions, and 10% off in the aquarium store.
$89 | 👉 Purchase here
Autry Museum of the American West
The main museum in Griffith Park aims to examine all aspects of the West. Perks include admission to exhibitions, 10% discount in the shop and cafe, and discounts on ticketed events and performances.
$55 | 👉 Purchase here
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Bowers Museum
This museum in Santa Ana explores cultures worldwide through their arts. Perks include admission, early access to reservations for ticketed shows, and 10% off at the shop and the restaurant.
$50 | 👉 Purchase here
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
This aquarium, a San Pedro landmark that dates to the 1930s, covers everything from grunion to whales. Membership perks include invitations to members-only events, free parking, discounts on workshops and other public programs, and 10% off at the aquarium store.
$50 | 👉 Purchase here
California State Parks Explorer parking pass
The state parks system’s Explorer pass gets you free parking at most (but not all) state parks that charge for parking. It doesn’t affect the price you pay to camp or get you into Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation areas.
$195 | 👉 Purchase here
Catalina Island Conservancy
Friends of the conservancy get a campground discount, free access to the Wrigley Memorial and Botanic Garden, and 5% off at the Trailhead Store.
$35 | 👉 Purchase here
Center Theatre Group
Known for socially conscious programming since the 1960s, Center Theatre Group runs three stages, including the Ahmanson downtown (live shows to resume Nov. 30). Perks at the $100 friends level include access to digital events and early access to tickets for live CTG productions at preferred prices. This year’s subscriptions (seven shows) start at $245.
Prices vary | 👉 Purchase here
Craft Contemporary Museum
The museum, on Wilshire Boulevard’s Miracle Mile in various forms since 1965, focuses on contemporary art “made from craft media and processes.” Members get admission, invitations to openings and special events, a 10% discount in the museum’s shop, a 10% discount at local Artist & Craftsman Art Supply locations, and a subscription to a quarterly newsletter.
$60 | 👉 Purchase here
Descanso Gardens
This green retreat in La Cañada Flintridge covers 150 acres. Perks include admission, early entrance, discounts on special events, 10% off at the cafe and the gift shop, access to member-only classes and events, and reciprocal privileges at other gardens.
$70 | 👉 Purchase here
Friends of Griffith Park
This group works to preserve and improve the 4,310 acres of Griffith Park. Perks include a member newsletter, invitations to public programs and volunteer opportunities. (Park admission is free to all.)
$25 | 👉 Purchase here
Grammy Museum
This downtown shrine to music has been open since 2008. Perks include admission, early access to tickets and discounts on many museum events, 10% off at the museum store, and discounts at many neighboring L.A. Live businesses.
$75 | 👉 Purchase here
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
At this 207-acre San Marino compound, once a private estate, perks include admission, 10% store discounts, invitations to events, and savings on some lectures and classes.
$159 | 👉 Purchase here
Japanese American National Museum
For 30 years, this Little Tokyo landmark has been telling stories of the Japanese American community. Perks include admission, free or discounted admission to programs and workshops, invitations to museum events, discounts from some neighboring businesses and 10% off at the museum store.
$60 | 👉 Purchase here
Kidspace Children’s Museum
Perks at this Rose Bowl-adjacent space in Pasadena include admission for a child and adult, access to members-only events and early registrations, and discounts on camps, classes and store purchases.
$90 | 👉 Purchase here
Los Angeles County Arboretum
This 127-acre preserve in Arcadia goes back to the 1940s. Perks include member-only hours from 7:30 to 9 a.m. most days and admission to the Arboretum Summer Nights concert series, which is scheduled to return in 2022.
$70 | 👉 Purchase here
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
LACMA, the largest art museum in the American West, stands on Wilshire Boulevard’s Miracle Mile, partially open while its sleek new main building is taking shape, with completion due in 2024. Perks include admission, members-only access hours and events, and 10% to 20% off at the store.
$80 | 👉 Purchase here
Los Angeles Philharmonic
At the Prelude level, perks from one of the world’s foremost orchestras include 10% off at the L.A. Phil and Hollywood Bowl stores and Hollywood Bowl seat-cushion vouchers.
$75 | 👉 Purchase here
Los Angeles Times
We’re all about Southern California and we never stop gathering news at the Los Angeles Times. The price below is for a web-only subscription. Subscription gift cards don’t expire and are nontransferable.
$98 for a year | 👉 Purchase here
The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens
Perks at this Palm Desert collection of plants and animals include admission, 10% off on food and gift shop items, discounts on programs and guest passes, and free or reduced admission to scores of zoos and other institutions nationwide.
$89.95 | 👉 Purchase here
Los Angeles Zoo
Perks at this Griffith Park institution include daytime admission, access without reservations and 10% off in shops and restaurants.
$60 | 👉 Purchase here
Museum of Contemporary Art
This downtown museum’s membership perks include admission, discounted parking, access to opening receptions and members-only hours, priority entry into programs, and 10% off at store and restaurant.
$79 | 👉 Purchase here
Museum of Latin American Art
This Long Beach museum goes back to 1996. Perks include admission, 10% off at the store, and discounts at local restaurants and retailers.
$60 | 👉 Purchase here
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Perks include free access to the museum in Exposition Park (including traveling exhibitions and the butterfly and spider pavilions), as well as the La Brea Tar Pits on the Miracle Mile and the William S. Hart Museum in Newhall.
$99 | 👉 Purchase here
Palm Springs Art Museum
Perks include admission, guest passes, 10% discounts are shop and restaurant, priority entry for museums, and a digital magazine.
$65 | 👉 Purchase here
Theodore Payne Foundation
The Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers & Native Plants has a 22-acre nursery in Sun Valley. Perks include 10% off on plants, seeds and gear, up to 25% off on classes and a newsletter subscription.
$60 | 👉 Purchase here
Petersen Automotive Museum
You can’t miss this Wilshire Boulevard shrine to the car — it’s wrapped in stainless steel ribbons. Perks include guest admission, 10% off at the museum store, early access to some programming and reciprocal privileges at similar museums.
$85 | 👉 Purchase here
Sherman Library & Gardens
This Corona del Mar institution includes a library specializing in the history of the Pacific Southwest. Perks include access to the gardens, 15% off in garden shop and reciprocal privileges at scores of other American Horticultural Society gardens nationwide.
$60 | 👉 Purchase here
Norton Simon Museum
This Pasadena institution is rich in European Impressionists and Asian works. Perks include admission, audio tours, preview invitations, 20% off on classes and museum store purchases, and 10% off in the cafe.
$85 | 👉 Purchase here
South Coast Botanic Garden
At this green space on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, perks include admission, discounts on special exhibits and programs, reciprocal privileges in gardens beyond Southern California, and discounts at some local nurseries. Also, members can visit without reservations Monday through Friday.
$45 | 👉 Purchase here
USC Pacific Asia Museum
Devoted to the art, history and culture of Pacific Asia, this Pasadena institution has been partnered with USC since 2013. Perks include admission, invitations to members-only previews, a newsletter subscription and discounts of 10% (occasionally more) at shop.
$41 | 👉 Purchase here
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