Open House Chicago is this weekend

In terms of marketing promotion, I am a big proponent of "Open Doors/Doors Open" events for:

• Museums
• Architecture, and 
• Historic Preservation.

They are weekend or all week events where historic sites, buildings, museums, etc., are open to the public for free, and many of the sites aren't necessary open to the public at other times of the year.

Some communities mix the participants, with museums and architecture both,  I've written in the past about such events in Toronto, New York City, and Pittsburgh, and even London for  

• Gardens, plus
• Agriculture related weekend festivals, like for Loudoun County, Virginia and the Montgomery County Agriculture Reserve.

Then there are also:

• artist studio and gallery tours, plus
• backyard chicken coop tours
• bike tours of various sorts, etc.

Commercial districts and the arts.  Not to mention the various commercial district related events like "First Fridays" and the "First Friday Art Stroll" in Ogden, Utah, "Second Thursdays," etc., usually focused around the arts, with participation by local retailers as well.

Ogden

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Membership benefits of museums participating in the North American Reciprocal Museum Association (NARM): 923 museums offer free admission

When I came up with what I thought was a great idea, a "local resident history pass" ("A proposal for a DCResidentCulturePass in DC"), John Suau, Executive Director of the Historical Society of Washington, pointed out to me that a form of that exists already, through museums and related organizations participating as members of the North American Reciprocal Museum Association (NARM).

Membership in a museum at a certain level--for the Historical Society of Washington it is $100 and above--entitles members to visit other museums and sites across North America for no additional charge.

Just within DC, it means that if you're a member of the HSW, you can also visit:

• Dumbarton House
• Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens
• International Arts & Artists/Hillyer Arts Space
• Jewish Historical Society & Lillian & Albert Small Jewish Museum
• Kreeger Museum
• National Building Museum
• Phillips Collection
• Tudor Place Historic House and Garden

for no additional charge. Additionally, some DC museums that don't charge admission are also members:

• American University Museum (Katzen Center)
• George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum

Plus, there are some participating museums nearby in Virginia and Maryland.

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Note that it turns out there is a competing organization called ROAM, the Reciprocal Organization of Museums, and some organizations are members of both. So by joining a museum or organization that is a member of both, such as the Hillyer Arts Space or Kreeger Museum, you can expand your options.

There is also the Western Reciprocal Program linking a number of museums from Minneapolis to the West Coast, and the Time Travelers Network, organized by the Missouri History Network, of history museums.

Interestingly, Philadelphia area museums put a 15 mile radius restriction on NARM participation, so that unlike in DC, you can't join one museum and visit others with no additional charge or membership fee.