Lawn Events & Car Shows

Lawn Events are the car shows the Larz Anderson Auto Museum holds on its lawn in Larz Anderson Park nearly every weekend from May through October. Spectators pay $15 (adults) or $10 (seniors, students, military and children 6 to 12) at the front gate on the day; children under 6 are free, and the ticket also gets you into the museum. Each show is built around one theme — a country, a make or an era — and the museum says spectator tickets never sell out, so you can drop in any time during the show.

What a Lawn Event Is

The museum traces the tradition back to the Andersons: they would open the Carriage House doors on Sunday afternoons so the public could see their cars, and the museum says the building has been the setting for lawn events since 1927. Today the season runs through every kind of car and bike. The museum lists Italian, German, British and American cars, custom and tuner cars, alternative-fuel vehicles, trucks, hot rods and European motorcycles, each getting its own weekend at some point in the season.

Events the museum named on its 2026 calendar include Cars + Coffee, Corvette Day, German Car Day, British Car Day, Porsche Day, Tutto Italiano and BMW Day, and the fall run ends with Studebaker Packard Day (October 18) and Extinct + Vintage Car Day (October 25). Dates move from year to year, so check the museum's full schedule before planning around one.

Spectator Tickets

• Adults: $15
• Seniors, students, military with ID and children 6–12: $10
• Children under 6 and museum members: free
• NARM and ROAM participants: free

Spectator tickets are not sold in advance. You pay at the front gate on the day, get a wristband, and you are in for the show and the museum. Everyone enters through the Newton Street entrance. The museum is a nonprofit and asks every attendee to pay; walking onto the lawn without a ticket is not allowed. Regular museum prices and hours are on our auto museum page.

Showing Your Car

Show cars register through each event's page on the museum's site; some shows take day-of registration, some are online-only. Registering online does not guarantee a space on the lawn, so the museum says to arrive early — but not more than an hour before the posted start, because staff need the time to set up. Larger shows may stagger entry. 'For Sale' signs and dealer placards are not allowed on show cars, and excessive noise, revving, burnouts or speeding gets a driver banned from future events. Questions go to the Lawn Event Manager at 617-522-6547 x13 or through the lawn events page.

If you trailer a car in, the museum's rule is strict: there is no trailer parking anywhere in Larz Anderson Park. You may unload behind the museum and must then move the trailer out to Newton Street; unauthorized trailers are paged and then towed. There is no overnight parking.

Parking on Show Days

Parking is the hard part. The museum describes very limited parking at the museum, in the park and in the neighborhood on show days and recommends carpooling, a rideshare or arriving by bike. If you do drive, don't park in the show fields, in no-parking areas, between cones or across a neighbor's driveway; ask a staff member if you are unsure. The Town's own rules allow parking only in designated areas, never on grass. Our parking guide explains the park road and lots.

Food, Picnics and Alcohol

The museum says food and drinks are sold at shows by Putterham Grille, cash only. You are welcome to bring your own food and picnic on the lawn, but alcohol is not allowed at any lawn event, per the Town of Brookline and the Brookline Police, and staff may check coolers. Brookline's park rules ban alcohol in every Town park anyway. If you want a grill and a table for your group, book one of the Town's BBQ sites in advance.

Dogs, Drones and Smoking

• Dogs are welcome at lawn events on a leash at all times; clean up after them. No dogs inside the museum except service dogs. See the park's dog rules.
• No drones at lawn events or anywhere in Larz Anderson Park.
• No smoking, vaping, tobacco or marijuana on museum grounds or at events.
• By attending, you agree the museum may photograph or film you and your car for its publications; tell a staff member if you object.

Weather and Refunds

Shows may end early for weather or other reasons. Show-car registrations are not refunded unless the museum cancels or postpones and you can't make the new date, and the museum says all event ticket sales are final.

Other Events in the Park

Not everything at Larz is a car show. The museum also hosts evening talks; its fall 2026 calendar listed four, from October 22 to November 19. The Town's outdoor rink hosts public skating, hockey and lessons in winter. Private gatherings in the park — a birthday at a grill site, a wedding ceremony at the Temple of Love — are booked through Brookline Recreation; the Town requires a permit for any gathering of 15 or more. See weddings and picnic permits.