49 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Friday, August 11, 2017
All events are free unless otherwise noted.
Bleachers is a New York City-based band. It is the official stage name of songwriter and record producer ...
more >> Jack Antonoff, who is also part of the bands Steel Train and Fun. Bleachers' pop music was heavily influenced by the late '80s, early '90s and the high school-based films of John Hughes while still using modern production techniques. Their first single, "I Wanna Get Better", was released February 18, 2014.
7:00 am
free, no reservation required
Lifehouse comprises Jason Wade (lead vocals, guitar), Bryce Soderberg (bass, vocals) and Rick Woolstenhulme, ...
more >> Jr. (drums, percussion). The band came to mainstream prominence in 2001 with the hit single "Hanging by a Moment" from their debut studio album, No Name Face. The song was number one for three weeks on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and the single won a Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Single of the Year, having spent twenty weeks in the top 10 and more than a year on the charts.
7:00 am
free, no reservation required
This is a 3-hour tour that begins with a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, an icon of New York City for ...
more >> over 125 years, with spectacular views of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The tour then moves on to a stroll of Brooklyn Heights, America’s and New York City’s first suburb. The tour then explores the neighborhood DUMBO before ending at the Fulton Ferry landing.
The 3-hour walking and subway tour covers the Financial District including Wall Street and the World ...
more >> Trade Center, SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown. These are neighborhoods that simply can’t be fully appreciated from a bus. There will be one or two opportunities to sample tasty treats.
It is here, as much as anywhere, where American history started. It's where the first US Congress assembled ...
more >> and produced the Bill of Rights and where President George Washington took his first oath of office. It's here where the world's most important stock exchange and one of the most famous bridges stand. And it is here where an unspeakable tragedy took place and where a rebirth is underway.
Join a Manhattan Street Art Tour and experience the Lower East Side - SoHo, NoHo, Nolita and Little Italy. ...
more >> The Lower East Side of Manhattan is a playground for street artists, Soho is known to be one of NYC first permit Joint Live-Work Quarters for artists and the area received landmark designation in 1973. Noho and Nolita’s street art is either hidden in courtyards or on the more prominent street art facades. Learn about the history of the art of many famous and unknown artist.
Are you a Bridge buff? Put your game face on and show off your best plays. Join the fun and meet new ...
more >> friends! All players welcome!
10:00 am
free, no reservation required
It is easy to forget that you are in a crowded city while walking through this spectacular park! The ...
more >> original plan for the City of New York, laid out by the City Commissioners in 1811 did not include the park. But as the city grew rapidly in size, we needed a place for New Yorkers to get a breath of fresh air! Central Park, with its 843 acres of meadows, lawns, ponds, lakes and more, was the solution. Today it is one of the best-known parks in the world and is enjoyed by millions-both locals and tourists alike.
New York City-based choreographer and dancer Netta Yerushalmy will use the park as a site for creation ...
more >> and experimentation in dance. Offering a dynamic schedule of performances, Danspace Project‘s Yerushalmy will use the outdoor space to express the limits of her craft by spending entire days dancing in the park.
10:00 am
free, no reservation required
Don't have enough time to take all of the tours? Prefer to experience Manhattan with a smaller group, ...
more >> but a private booking is out of reach? Then consider our All-in-One New York Tour. This tour utilizes your feet and the New York City Subway to transport you from Lower Manhattan, the birthplace of New York, through Wall St and the Financial District, the World Trade Center, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Chinatown, Little Italy, Chelsea Market and the Highline Park.
A fitness dance party with upbeat Latin music of Salsa, Merengue, Hip-Hop and more. Enthusiastic Instruction ...
more >> creates fun community of dancers who learn new dance steps each week. Bring your friends.
10:30 am
free, no reservation required
11:00 am
free, no reservation required
Visit the park’s apiary, enjoy a honey tasting, and learn about the lives of honeybees from the New ...
more >> York City Beekeepers Association.
12:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Test your coordination and dexterity with free juggling lessons in the park. All skill levels are welcome ...
more >> to join in the fun. Equipment is provided.
12:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Dan Manjovi's song “Somethin’s Comin’ My Way” is featured on the acclaimed Oscar-winning Lionsgate ...
more >> film and Geffen Records soundtrack Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire. Manjovi wrote, arranged and produced the track at the request of the film’s director, Lee Daniels.
12:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Discover architecture and social history of Grand Central neighborhood; learn secrets of Whispering Gallery ...
more >> in Grand Central Terminal; gaze upon hubcaps and roadsters on side of Chrysler Building; discover favorite Midtown Manhattan hangout of Mercury, Hercules, and Minerva; learn why Pershing Square isn’t really square; visit original Lincoln Memorial by Daniel Chester French. Award-winning tour led by urban explorer, historian, and storyteller Justin Ferate. This tour takes place every Friday.
12:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Learn about central banking functions that Federal Reserve System performs and see Bank's vault of international ...
more >> monetary gold on bedrock of Manhattan Island, five stories below street level. Learn why Federal Reserve has "Federal" in its name, while it's a private bank, not Federal at all. Tour times: 1:00pm, 2:00pm. This tour takes place Mondays through Fridays, except bank holidays.
Stars: Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, Christopher Plummer. A playwright uses self-hypnosis to travel ...
more >> back in time and meet the actress whose vintage portrait hangs in a grand hotel. 103 min.
1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Stars: Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, Steve Lantz. Based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz ...
more >> and Efraim Diveroli, who won a $300 million contract from the Pentagon to arm America's allies in Afghanistan. 114 min.
1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
New York City is a mecca for graffiti and street art, making it a very attractive playground for artists ...
more >> from around the world. Bushwick, in a working class district on the north side of Brooklyn adjacent to Williamsburg, has been attracting artists for some time now. The neighborhood has a fair collection of art studios and galleries, but it’s Bushwick’s industrial landscape that’s attracting the street artist. If you came looking for 1960′s Greenwich Village, you’ll find something brewing in Bushwick. Tour takes place Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Greenwich Village is among Manhattan's most desirable and expensive residential neighborhoods. It's history, ...
more >> however, betrays it's monied status. The Village, with it's quiet, shaded streets, lined with lovely brick and brownstone townhouses, was once the incubating ground of artistic, social and political movements that have helped shape US history. From the Beats to the Folk Movement, from workers rights to gay rights, the Village has often been the center of it all.
Although world famous, Harlem may be New York's best kept secret with some of the city's best architecture, ...
more >> food, music and people. Harlem's history is also one of the city's most dramatic, having gone through many ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic changes over the past roughly 400 years, which have resulted in a diverse array of places of worship, theaters, homes and eating establishments.
Stars: Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander. The CIA's most dangerous former operative is drawn ...
more >> out of hiding to uncover more explosive truths about his past. 123 min.
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Rockefeller Center is one of the most popular public spaces and tourist attractions in New York City. ...
more >> This depression-era commercial complex takes up over three full city blocks and is rich with history, public art, and art-deco architecture. Built by business mogul John D. Rockefeller Jr. with his own money, he instructed his team of designers and architects to build the most beautiful commercial complex of it’s kind in the world. That vision resulted in what is still one of NYC’s greatest treasures and gave rise to some of NYC’s favorite traditions including the Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the famous dance team the Rockettes and the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
Stars: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Jean Reno. A murder inside the Louvre and clues in Da Vinci paintings ...
more >> lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years -- which could shake the foundations of Christianity. 149 min.
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
You've seen the iconic skyscrapers, attended a Broadway show, visited Lady Liberty and relaxed in Central ...
more >> Park. Looking for a little more of the Big Apple? Maybe it's time to visit some of Manhattan's oldest and most enchanting historic districts. Take a relaxing stroll through SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown.
Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr. A struggling actor disguises himself as a woman in order ...
more >> to get a role on a trashy hospital soap. 116 min.
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
New York City-based choreographer and dancer Netta Yerushalmy and dancers Emily Rose Cannon, Marc Crousillat, ...
more >> Brittany Engel-Adams, Stanley Gambucci, and Maddie Schimmel continue constructing a group dance that draws from movement vocabularies of Alvin Ailey, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, and Vaslav Nijinsky with a nod to the modernist gestures of McElheny's sculptures and to the park as architecture.
5:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Every Friday on the lawn, the park has a free picnic, featuring over 100 free blankets to borrow, lawn ...
more >> games, entertainment, and food vendors from the Hester Street Fair, with wine and beer also for purchase from ARK Restaurants. Each week, the park will bring to the picnic a theater, music, or dance production. Every Friday from May 12 to September 1, 2017. Bryant Park Lawn in Bryant Park Manhattan Directions to this location Cost Free Event Organizer Bryant Park Corp. Related Links Bryant Park Website Categories Accessible, Concerts, Dance, Art, Festivals, Games, Theater, Free Summer Concerts, Free Summer Theater, Food Additional Media
5:00 pm
free, no reservation required
5:30 pm Atoosa Grey - Lyrical folk 6:05 pm Ben R. Mackie - Australian folk crooner 6:40 pm Joshua Garcia ...
more >> (pictured) - Folk singer/songwriter
5:30 pm
free, no reservation required
5:30 pm Atoosa Grey (pictured) - Lyrical folk 6:05 pm Ben R. Mackie - Australian folk crooner 6:40 ...
more >> pm Joshua Garcia - Folk singer/songwriter
5:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Andrés “Andy” Montañez is a native of the Tras Talleres area of Santurce, San Juan. Spanning many ...
more >> decades of exuberant salsa joyfulness, he’s internationally known by the sobriquets “El Godfather de la Salsa” and “El Niño De Trastalleres.” He first gained fame as a member of the globally successful El Gran Combo group. Montañez then enjoyed considerable success on with his own orchestra, repeatedly touring Latin America and the United States. Dance Workshop 6pm, All-Ages in association with the Museum of the City of New York with Jimmy Anton and Team Rhythm & Power teaching a culturally grounded dance workshop that is about community, family and bringing people together.
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Learn a new strategy game and discuss tactics at socials focused on tactical games like King of Tokyo, ...
more >> Shadows over Camelot, Forbidden Island, Alhambra, and more.
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
The Hudson Warehouse presents Shakespeare's history play, directed by Nicholas Martin-Smith. July 27 ...
more >> – Aug 20, Thursday through Sunday nights.
6:30 pm
Pay-what-you-can admission policy
Rhythm and grooves fill the air at this Friday evening program. Follow the lead of professional drummers ...
more >> as they guide you through the pulsating beats of traditional African drumming techniques and methods. Drums provided, dancing welcome!
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Following his father's early death and the loss of possessions in France young Henry VI comes to the ...
more >> throne, under the protection of the duke of Gloucester. July 27-August 12, 2017, Thursdays through Saturdays.
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Whitney burst into indie stardom with one of 2016's most acclaimed debuts, Light Upon the Lake, and they'll ...
more >> come to the bandshell along with Moses Sumney and Weyes Blood.
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
A longtime member of the P-funk family and an integral 21st-century voice of its legacy, Kendra Foster ...
more >> also co-wrote eight songs on D’Angelo’s Grammy Award–winning album Black Messiah. In the past few years she’s stepped into the spotlight as a solo artist of magnetic power. With smoky vocals, jazz-cut melodies, and high-end, neo-soul production, Foster wields a vast musical vocabulary, spanning jazz, funk, soul, R&B, hip-hop, rock, and electronica, with singular sophistication. “Foster's music brings fresh nuances to the funk and soul of the Seventies.” – Rolling Stone
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Historic children's records and learning tools going back decades...this is an informal, nostalgic listening ...
more >> salon, featuring treasured and unusual records, tapes, and digital files from the NYPL archives. The Library's Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound are the second largest sound collection in America. Captured on disks, tapes, and hard drives, a vast universe of sound is safely stored in stacks deep underneath the Lincoln Center campus. To raise awareness for these treasured, vulnerable recordings, the Library presents a festival of casual, café listening events.
The Bard's tragedy of power and treacherous ambition comes to life in a panormic outdoor professional ...
more >> production.
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Featuring: Dave Lester (SIRIUS XM) Liz Miele (The Daily Show With Jon Stewart) Megan Sass (NY Funny ...
more >> Songs Festival) Dash Kwiatkowski (web series Neighborhood Watchmen) and illusionist Lee Aan Barrett
The Afro-Reggae AllStars an all-cast crew hailing from Africa, Jamaica, U.S, and Dominica. They bring ...
more >> to you purely conscious roots reggae with spice of Africa.
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Over 60 musicians of the Asian Cultural Symphony of the USA perform a free concert, followed by a performance ...
more >> by Shoko Nagai’s TOKALA. Affiliated with the Asian Cultural Center, the Asian Cultural Symphony of the USA is composed of music professionals and lovers in the Greater New York Area. Most members of the orchestra are trained in higher education institutions of music, of which more than half of them graduated from The Julliard School. The orchestra has performed throughout the United States, including concerts at landmarks Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, New York’s City Hall, the United Nations Headquarters, and The United States Capitol. Shoko Nagai’s TOKALA explores the ancient connection between Japan and the Middle East via the silk road where cultural exchange left an imprint that is integral to Japanese culture.
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Strike, punch, kick and kata your way through calories to superior cardio fitness with this martial arts-inspired ...
more >> workout. Your instructor will lead you through a workout which combines upper and lower body moves using power training, muay thai and karate. Fridays at 7 pm, July 7 - August 11
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
This Dodge YMCA class gets your heart pumping with Hip-Hop music and hot step-by-step dance moves. Fridays ...
more >> at 7 pm, July 7 - August 11
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
The ghosts of Greenwich Village are too numerous and interesting to meet in just one evening! Due to ...
more >> popular demand, they are offering a new tour, “Ghosts of the East Village,” as a companion tour to one of their biggest crowd-pleasers, Ghosts of the West Village.
7:30 pm
Free plus subway...
Editor's Pick
Natalia Lafourcade is a Mexican music star with expansive musical roots. Musas, her follow-up to her ...
more >> Grammy-winning 2015 album Hasta La Raíz, blends original songs and inventive covers into an “emotional and graceful homage to Latin American music and songwriters” (Billboard). Vagabon, the project of Cameroon-born New Yorker Lætitia Tamko, is “an indie rock game changer” (Pitchfork). While they come from different worlds, they both create lucid magic, with disarmingly candid lyrics folded into expertly crafted cadences that know exactly when to build and recede. “Casts a spell with deep feeling, and melodies and lyrics that linger in the mind.” – Village Voice on Natalia Lafourcade “One of indie rock's rising stars…in full possession of the infinity that comes from introspection.” – NPR on Vagabon
7:30 pm
free, no reservation required
The theater will transform into the most enchanted forest in all of theater in Shakespeare’s beloved ...
more >> comedy. When the merry sprite Puck meddles with a magical love potion, young lovers lost in the woods mysteriously find themselves infatuated with the wrong person in this hilarious, fairytale fantasia that proves the course of true love never did run smooth. Lear deBessonet, founder of The Public Theater’s groundbreaking Public Works program and Resident Director, brings her electric theatrical vision to the classic romance about the supernatural nature of love. July 11-15; July 17-22; July 24-29; July 31-August 6; August 8-13.
8:00 pm
Free tickets required
Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol. The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in ...
more >> New York's secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school. 133 min. Free Popcorn. Beverages and snacks available for purchase. Movie begins at dusk (around 8:30pm).
8:15 pm
free, no reservation required