Attending the 36th annual San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival doesn?t have to cost you an arm and a leg.

The annual music festival will honor Mozart?s 250th birthday and the 150th birthday of Shostakovich and will include a tribute to Beethoven, said a festival spokesman.

It will feature more than two dozen events in venues all around San Luis Obispo County from July 14 to 23, and there are plenty of shows and lectures for folks who are pinching their pennies.

When you?re on a budget, there is no word better than Bfree.C The organizers of the Mozart Festival say they are perfectly aware of that and have scheduled a series of free outdoor concerts as part of the Fringe Series in addition to a handful of free lectures and a rehearsal session of a classical orchestra.

BFree concerts are classically oriented and not necessarily classical groups,C said Katy McGrath, marketing director for the Mozart Festival. BThe Fringe Series of music features bands on the fringe of the classical genre. It gives people a chance to get exposed to Mozart in shows (that last) under an hour, and it?s family-friendly so kids can run around.C

For example, free is the price of admission to see B3 Leg TorsoC during opening ceremonies at noon July 14 at Mission Plaza in San Luis Obispo. This group of musicians plays classical music similar to that played in Paris salons and at tango halls in Argentina.

The group has also been known to play songs featured in Looney Tunes cartoons.

Many of the featured classical shows in the Mozart Festival have ticket prices as high as ,60, but some of the shows also offer ,19 tickets in seats farther back from the stage.

BNone of the seats are bad,C McGrath said of the cheap seats. BThey?re just in the gallery level.C

Following is a look at the free shows slated during the Mozart Festival, followed by a roundup of shows you can see for less than ,30 if you are willing to sit in the cheap seats.

Free shows

The Artists Corner lecture series will feature a stirring and free dedication Bin memory of the victims of fascism and war,C featuring the Shostakovich 8th Quartet playing BA Life in Music.C The show kicks off at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 15, in Room 218 of the Cal Poly Music Building.

Also on July 15, Banshee in the Kitchen, a trio of female Celtic musicians, will play at noon in The Village at the Oaks, 55 Broad St., San Luis Obispo. The trio will also play free shows at 6 p.m. July 17 at Atascadero Lake Park and 11 a.m. July 18 at River Oaks Golf Course in Paso Robles.

From the BOld World to the NewC will be featured at a free Artists Corner event at 11 a.m. July 17 in Room 218 of the Cal Poly Music Building.

Radio is free, so why not tune in to KVEC 920 AM from 3 to 7 p.m. July 18? Dave Congalton is scheduled to interview Mozart Festival musicians during his radio show.

Central Coast native Kent Nagano will share his insights through his career as an international maestro in music in BThe Artist Corner: A Maestro?s PerspectiveC scheduled for 2 p.m. July 19 in Room 218 of the Cal Poly Music Building.

Cypress Ridge Golf Club, 780 Cypress Ridge Parkway, will be the venue for a free show by Cafe Musique at noon July 20. The foursome will also play its contemporary waltzes, tangos and gypsy tunes at 3 p.m. July 20 at See Canyon Fruit Ranch on See Canyon Road near Avila Valley.

The Creole Syncopators, longtime members of the Central Coast jazz scene, will play at noon July 20 at Edna Valley Vineyards off Highway 227 in San Luis Obispo. The group will also be featured at noon on July 21 at the Chapman House-by-the-Sea, 1243 Ocean Blvd., Shell Beach.

On July 22, BInside the OrchestraC is a free event at 10 a.m. featuring an open rehearsal at the Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly.

Under ,30

Sure, you could spend ,125 Saturday night for a seat at the Midsummer Night Mozart at Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles. But, hey, if that?s way out of your ballpark, why not stop by the Palm Theatre in San Luis Obispo and slap down ,10 Thursday, July 14, to see BAmadeus as part of the Music at the Movies series?

Is ,20 bucks too much? If not, get yourself a cheap seat for opening night featuring the Mozart Festival Orchestra, with Scott Yoo conducting.

The show at the Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly, featuring Vladimir Feltsman on piano, will cost you ,19. And remember to bring your binoculars, because the good seats are going for ,57.

The inexpensive treats continue Saturday night with a ,22.50 ticket for BTangos and Traditions: 3 Leg TorsoC at Martin & Weyrich Winery in Paso Robles. Or catch a ,19 nosebleed seat at Grace Church, 1350 Osos St. in San Luis Obispo, for BChamber Concert: A Revolutionary Evening.C

BThe Chamber Concert: Virtuoso ShowcaseC also can be viewed for ,19 for the least expensive seats at Grace Church at 3 p.m. July 16.

BMasters of the BaroqueC will play at 7:30 p.m. July 16 at Chapel Hill in Shandon and can be watched Bon the cheapC for ,25.

At 3 p.m., July 17, BTangos and Traditions: 3 Legged TorsoC will be featured at the Chapman House-by-the-Sea. It will run you ,27.50, and it?s worth it if you?ve never been to the beautiful venue in Shell Beach.

Round out July 17 with another ,10 trip to the Palm Theatre with BThe War Symphonies: Shostakovich Against StalinC as part of Music at the Movies series.

At 8 p.m. July 18, BAll Mozart in the Mission,C featuring conductor Scott Yoo, can be attended for a cool ,25 at Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.

The Chamber Players will be featured in BAhead of Their TimesC at Grace Church. Cheap seats will run ,19 for the show slated for 8 p.m. July 19.

A ,19 ticket will also get you into BThe Director?s Circle: Scott Yoo and FriendsC playing at 8 p.m. July 20 at Grace Church in San Luis Obispo.

A benefit concert featuring the Mozart Festival Orchestra is scheduled for 8 p.m. July 21 at the Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly. Save money by sitting in the ,19 seats.

It will cost you ,25 for the least expensive seats for BA Grand EveningC featuring members of the Mozart Festival Orchestra at Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa at 8 p.m. July 22.

Wrap up your BMozart to the CheapC adventures with a ,19 ticket to BThe Grande Finale: Mozart Festival OrchestraC at 3 p.m. July 23 at the Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly.