67 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Saturday, April 21, 2018
All events are free unless otherwise noted.
One hour of walking, stretching, and strengthening exercises. For a breath of fresh air, take your workouts ...
more >> outdoors. Parks are becoming a logical alternative environment for those who want to add variety to their workouts, or who just don't like the gym. And, it's an affordable way to increase physical activity opportunities, because there's nothing special to build. Exercise with a view, in natural sunlight, with green scenery all around bestows health benefits that can’t be found indoors. Scientific studies have shown that the pleasure of being outdoors for example gives your brain, psyche, and immune system an extra boost. Led by trained professionals, and suitable for all levels. Wear comfortable clothing and bring water.
New York City, NY; NYC
8:30 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.
New York City, NY; NYC
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.
New York City, NY; NYC
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.
New York City, NY; NYC
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.
New York City, NY; NYC
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.
New York City, NY; NYC
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.
New York City, NY; NYC
Urban forests are critical links for migratory birds during their arduous thousand-mile journey along ...
more >> the Atlantic Flyway. Gabriel Willow, expert naturalist, teaches about birds that visit the park—including the warblers, vireos, thrushes, and others, and why they stop here on their way back to breeding grounds in northern forests in Canada, Upstate New York, and New England. Bring binoculars.
New York City, NY; NYC
Learn the basics of fly fishing for free. Join expert instructors from Orvis. Equipment provided.
New York City, NY; NYC
Roosevelt House - the landmark former double townhouse of Franklin, Eleanor and Sara Delano Roosevelt, ...
more >> and now owned by Hunter College - offers visitors a chance to get closer to a family as unique as the city they inhabited, and to explore the private spaces where some of the most iconic public policy of the 20th century was shaped. Hear about FDR's rise to the presidency after his struggle with polio, Eleanor's activism for civil rights and human rights, and Sara's support for interracial and interfaith initiatives. Hear the voices of the Roosevelts and their visitors, and see Roosevelt memorabilia, photographs, and documents. ·
New York City, NY; NYC
Free fun for the whole family, including arts, crafts, antiques, plants, entertainment, games, and more.
New York City, NY; NYC
10:00 am
free, no reservation required
Free fun for the whole family, including arts, crafts, antiques, plants, entertainment, games, and more.
New York City, NY; NYC
10:00 am
free, no reservation required
10:30 am
free, no reservation required
12 miles, 5 hours. Start tuning up for The Great Saunter, our epic 32-mile hike around the Manhattan ...
more >> shoreline, by walking the second part of the hike. Walk north through Fort Washington and Inwood Hill parks, then south along the Harlem River, ending at East 145th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue.
New York City, NY; NYC
From solitary eggs and toast to memorable late night hangs to infinite movie cameos, New York City Diners ...
more >> are an essential, albeit fading, component of NYC culture and attitude. This tour charts the rise of the "everything restaurant," celebrates its heyday in the second part of the 20th century, and examines the current state of the diner amidst the ever-changing economic conditions and everyday priorities of the city and its residents.
New York City, NY; NYC
Test your coordination and dexterity with juggling lessons in the park. All skill levels are welcome ...
more >> to join in the fun. Equipment is provided.
New York City, NY; NYC
11:00 am
free, no reservation required
MICRO’s Smallest Mollusk Museum, a 6-foot-tall science museum that contains 15 multimedia exhibitions, ...
more >> will be displayed. The museum features two miniature movie theaters, a full-sized holographic aquarium filled with creatures, and a variety of exhibits exploring the evolution of mollusks, their physical traits, behaviors, and their similarities with people. An online audio tour and e-book accompany the museum. Meet the creators of the museum. Amanda Schochet and Charles Philipp will be on site to give guided tours of the museum and answer questions.
New York City, NY; NYC
11:00 am
free, no reservation required
A group for people to come together and share in the beautiful art of Origami - the ancient art of folding ...
more >> various mediums, most commonly paper. The word comes from the combination of the Japanese verb oru (to fold) and the noun kami (paper). Other materials often folded are fabric, wire mesh, sheet metal, tissue, thin plastic, cardboard, and straws. We meet at least once a month as a large group to teach each other new models and share paper, b…
New York City, NY; NYC
11:00 am
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Celebrate the spring season and Japanese culture. Including: Paper flower making Face painting Kite ...
more >> flying Yo-yo balloon fishing Origami Try on a kimono Crafts, gamesa and more Performances: J.D. Patch Band (Noon to 4:00 p.m.) NY Suwa Taiko Drumming (12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.) Taisan Tanaka Calligraphy (2:30 p.m.)
New York City, NY; NYC
12:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Founded in 1987, NYURI (Rhythmic Impulse at New York University) is a collegiate samulnori group that ...
more >> is dedicated to spreading the art of Korean traditional drums throughout the NYU community and the NYC Metropolitan area. This annual performance consists of custom choreographed pieces and several popular samulnori pieces. There are two main playing styles in Samulnori: Sun-ban and Ahn-jeun-ban. Sun-ban, usually the first half of the performance, incorporates choreography into instrument playing. Ahn-jeun-ban follows a more conventional performance, where the performers all sit down in a formation.
New York City, NY; NYC
12:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Roosevelt House - the landmark former double townhouse of Franklin, Eleanor and Sara Delano Roosevelt, ...
more >> and now owned by Hunter College - offers visitors a chance to get closer to a family as unique as the city they inhabited, and to explore the private spaces where some of the most iconic public policy of the 20th century was shaped. Hear about FDR's rise to the presidency after his struggle with polio, Eleanor's activism for civil rights and human rights, and Sara's support for interracial and interfaith initiatives. Hear the voices of the Roosevelts and their visitors, and see Roosevelt memorabilia, photographs, and documents. ·
New York City, NY; NYC
A docent-led tour of items on display, drawn exclusively from the Library’s collections, exploring ...
more >> the breadth and significance of this pivotal era. The tour last approximately 45 minutes and covers highlights of the show.
New York City, NY; NYC
12:30 pm
free, no reservation required
VulnerableWin is an ambitious, roll-up-your-sleeves initiative designed to create incremental changes ...
more >> in how we think about each other, how we communicate, how we turn our vulnerability into strength and kindness, through education, art, and direct experiences. 60% of it is love, 35% is patience, and 5% is everything else. In the past two years, our nation has become so anxious and divided that restoring the art of heart-to-heart dialogue is almost an emergency. The purpose of VulnerableWin is creating direct experiences that make it emotionally obvious to both participants and observers that bullying is not necessary for the survival of one's identity. It is about to talking to each other as humans, over disagreements and across different echo chambers.
New York City, NY; NYC
If you collect, read, or are just interested in classic pulp magazines, you want to know about the Gotham ...
more >> Pulp Collectors Club. They are pulp readers and collectors who meet once a month to talk about their favorite subject: popular fiction magazines from the first half of the 20th century. They discuss what they've been reading along with new developments in the fields of reprints, movies, TV, auctions, conventions, "new pulp" fiction, and more.
New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
In celebration of Shakespeare's birthday, The Instant Shakespeare Company will stage a special presentation ...
more >> of his monarchs from John to James which includes excerpts from all of Shakespeare's history plays.
New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Tales of war, the environment, and personal regret collide as mankind hurtles toward a surreal apocalypse ...
more >> in the company of a belligerent duck, bears of at least three different varieties, and a truly extraordinary chicken. Written by Wei Yu-Chia (Taiwan), translated by Jeremy Tiang, directed by Mei Ann Teo.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
The index always comes at a juncture; it points to a thing but is not the thing itself; it is a tool ...
more >> and instrument of activation. As they celebrate the 25th Vera List Center for Art and Politics Fellowship Anniversary, they consider the ways in which the Vera List Center Fellowship program is, in itself, an index—an initiative activated by the fellows who use local and hyperspecific instances of contemporary culture to speak to larger aesthetic, cultural, economic, and socio-political concerns. This is a series of intimate conversations with and among fellows whose work and ideas have been threaded through the Vera List Center, informing and informed by the Center over the past quarter of a century. The public dialogues evolve from private exchanges between the fellows that happened throughout the spring where they considered the interrelatedness of their individual fellowship projects with their current practice. The live event is complemented by a reader, an index that records and accounts for the generative engagements that undergird this symposium. Collectively they conjure the meaning, importance, and necessity of the interdisciplinary nature of fellowship projects today.
New York City, NY; NYC
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.
New York City, NY; NYC
Once described as the lungs of the city, Central Park brings a breath of fresh air to New York's crowded ...
more >> urban terrain. What started out as the rocky and desolate northern fringes of a rapidly expanding city is today among the world's most famous and beloved public parks. With over 843 acres of meadows, hills, ball fields and bodies of water, it's impossible not to find something to enjoy in Central Park.
New York City, NY; NYC
The tour explores the social and political history of the one of the most active and most famous squares ...
more >> in NYC through discussions about the people, history, architecture, and forces that have shaped its surroundings. You’ll hear how the square got its name, see where the legendary Tiffany & Co. once stood, and learn how to read the clock (yes, it’s a clock!) on the famous sculpture and so much more! The tour takes place every Saturday.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
With some of the world's largest fracking operations on his territory, a young indigenous leader and ...
more >> lawyer confronts the fractures within his community and himself as he struggles to reconcile traditional teachings with the law to protect the land. 75 min.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Walk straight through the heart of Central Park on this east-to-west tour led by guides. Enjoy a great ...
more >> variety of the scenic, sculptural, and ar chitectural elements the Park has to offer. Visit some of the Park's most famous landmarks, including Conservatory Water, Loeb Boathouse, Bethesda Terrace, Bow Bridge, Cherry Hill, The Lake, and Strawberry Fields.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Come see speaker, trainer, and certified professional coach, Barbara Phillips, to learn practical strategies ...
more >> to more effectively navigate change in your life. Learn skills and tools to better manage stress and anxiety, increase productivity and develop resilience during times of transition.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Roosevelt House - the landmark former double townhouse of Franklin, Eleanor and Sara Delano Roosevelt, ...
more >> and now owned by Hunter College - offers visitors a chance to get closer to a family as unique as the city they inhabited, and to explore the private spaces where some of the most iconic public policy of the 20th century was shaped. Hear about FDR's rise to the presidency after his struggle with polio, Eleanor's activism for civil rights and human rights, and Sara's support for interracial and interfaith initiatives. Hear the voices of the Roosevelts and their visitors, and see Roosevelt memorabilia, photographs, and documents. ·
New York City, NY; NYC
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.
New York City, NY; NYC
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn. A couple's attitudes are challenged when their ...
more >> daughter introduces them to her African American fiancé. 108 min.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Manhattan Opera Association presents a concert featuring sister sopranos Monica Norcia and Patricia Norcia ...
more >> and contralto Barbara Norcia Broms, joined by guest artist tenor Martin Broms and pianist Eric Sedgwick.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:30 pm
free, no reservation required
The German title of this work literally means the "petit bourgeois wedding." Like other of Brecht’s ...
more >> early works, for example Baal, Drums in the Night, and The Threepenny Opera, it is seen as a critique of bourgeois society. Part of the Senior Thesis Festival. Directed by Britt Berke (’18).
New York City, NY; NYC
Editor's Pick
Karen and Britney don't know one another, and they never will. However, they find themselves on parallel ...
more >> journeys when they both become simultaneously pregnant. While Britney watches her options disappear helplessly as Planned Parenthoods vanish from her world, a late stage miscarriage threatens to mentally destabilize Karen beyond the point of recovery. A student production of the play by Blake Bishton .
New York City, NY; NYC
3:00 pm
free, no reservation required
A tribute to the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Written by Cesi Davidson Directed by Illana Stein Featuring ...
more >> Gregory Bastien and Sam Morales
New York City, NY; NYC
3:00 pm
free, no reservation required
A docent-led tour of items on display, drawn exclusively from the Library’s collections, exploring ...
more >> the breadth and significance of this pivotal era. The tour last approximately 45 minutes and covers highlights of the show.
New York City, NY; NYC
3:30 pm
free, no reservation required
"Charles L. Mee's dip into the mind and obsessions of the artist Joseph Cornell, is a shimmering confection." ...
more >> -- The New York Times Part of the Senior Thesis Festival. Directed by Lauren Cannon (’18).
New York City, NY; NYC
After learning that the war is over, a lonely child soldier with a Kalashnikov tells a young girl the ...
more >> story of his life. For him, it is nothing more than a video game with animated characters. Written by Edouard Elvis Bvouma (Cameroon), translated by Heather Jeanne Denyer, directed by Gisela Cardenas.
New York City, NY; NYC
4:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
4:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Building tension with every page, The Perfect Nanny is a compulsive, riveting, bravely observed exploration ...
more >> of power, class, race, domesticity, and motherhood—and the American debut of an immensely talented writer. Film versions are underway in France and the US. The novel immediately positioned Leila Slimani as a major contemporary French author.
New York City, NY; NYC
5:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Program:
Schumann’s Frauenliebe und -leben Spanish songs Contemporary works by Jessie Montgomery ...
more >> and John Harbison Mezzo-soprano Sarah Nelson Craft has received wide acclaim for her solo and operatic performances. Opera News called her 2016 Carnegie Hall recital “exquisite” and “glowing,” while Parterre Box praised her “fluid, robust singing.” She has thrilled in operatic roles that span the Baroque to the present day, and made her mark as a concert soloist. Craft is joined by noted pianist and conductor Alden Gatt, who is a vocal coach at Opera Leipzig and the 2015 winner of the Marilyn Horne Song Competition.
New York City, NY; NYC
5:00 pm
free, no reservation required
A fictional Chilean philosopher and performance artist returns to her country after 30 years of self-exile. ...
more >> A conference play about language, identity, community, and immigration–both from and to Chile. Written and translated by Ana Luz Ormazabal (Chile), directed by Amelia Bande.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
For one night only, the Best of L.E.S. Dance Showcase brings people together to celebrate culture, community, ...
more >> and diversity through dance.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
$5 suggested donation...
Stone Speaks, an exhibition of works by Jerry the Marble Faun that mark the past decade of stone carving. ...
more >> Jerry's works include mature iterations of sculpted creatures and animals alongside simultaneously made abstract pieces. Taking cues from lived experience, such as driving a New York taxi for 25 years and living with Big and Little Edie at Grey Gardens, his sculpting process relies on a freeform method. Jerry follows the chance of a stone’s natural properties to define each element, giving rise to a style that is at once rigorous and intuitive.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Theater of Light presents series of three short plays by three different up and coming, aspiring playwrights ...
more >> about betrayal, murder, and the afterlife.
New York City, NY; NYC
Revered around the world for his universal verse, Pablo Neruda also left a legacy as being one of the ...
more >> most iconic and important resistance poets of his century. His relationship to readers and to his own writing was extraordinarily shaped by time of political crisis and authoritarianism. In our current political climate, what does Neruda give us now, both in the utility of his actual words and in his example? What might this poet’s tumultuous and influential journey through political upheavals, uprisings, and exiles offer us as we continue to shape the next chapter in our own cultural story? Mark Eisner, the author of the recently published biography of Pablo Neruda; Forrest Gander, translator of the lost Neruda poems only recently discovered; novelist, poet and translator Idra Novey; and Chilean poet, artist and filmmaker Cecilia Vicuña find some answers in the vivid details of Neruda’s life and work and in his lasting influence on generations of poets and activists.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Program: Douglas Moore (1893-1969): "Gallantry," One Act Opera Student recital - Emma Teitelbaum, Mezzo-Soprano
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Chamber Music Concert VI 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Roan Ma, violin 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Si ...
more >> Chao Ma, piano 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM Christina Parnell, soprano 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM Junior Opera Theater
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Dating, marital commitment, and married life have been reconfigured in the 21st century, such that the ...
more >> work of wifedom occurs in online dating sites, on reality television, in social media, and on the campaign trail. No longer the stuff of marriage vows, these realms are now controlled by brand management and marketability. To prosper, women must appear confident, empowered, and sexually savvy.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
New York Ghost tours capture the spiritual side of the Big Apple through stories. famed explorers, native ...
more >> tribes, lost opportunities and political intrigue. With almost every step one takes through the West Village, one encounters the ghosts and spirits of New York City’s past. Every corner has its stories, every building has its haunted spirits.
New York City, NY; NYC
Tom and Dan like each other. Dan wants a fairytale romance. So does Tom. Dan fantasizes about a destination ...
more >> wedding. Tom fantasizes about Dan abusing him in a hotel room. In a place where fantasy and reality must collide, and the line between sex and violence is all but erased, these men must make a stand for how they want to experience love – and pain. A college production of the a play by Nikhil Mahapatra.
New York City, NY; NYC
"Charles L. Mee's dip into the mind and obsessions of the artist Joseph Cornell, is a shimmering confection." ...
more >> -- The New York Times Part of the Senior Thesis Festival. Directed by Lauren Cannon (’18).
New York City, NY; NYC
Editor's Pick
On the brink of military defeat, Saddam and his doppelgangers retreat to the bunker—and embark upon ...
more >> a spiritual quest. Blending politics, metaphysics, poetry, and nonsense, the play follows the tyrant’s initiation into the esoteric secret of oil. Written and co-translated by Yonatan Levy (Israel), directed and co-translated Amir Farjoun.
New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Cash & Carrie is a popular morning sports talk radio show, thanks to the on-air chemistry between ex-Big ...
more >> Leaguer Jimmy Cash and his co-host, Carrie Danvers. But that chemistry has started to evaporate, and so has their devoted fan base. With contracts coming up and Carrie looking for greener pastures, can Cash deliver in the clutch, or will there be no joy in Mudville...? By Jon Krupp. Donation is welcomed.
New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
free, reservation required
New York is a skyscraper city and there is no better time to view Manhattan’s icons than after the ...
more >> sun sets and the lights go on. Fueled by competition and a dash of audacity, New York City is still producing one of mankind’s most remarkable skyline. NOTE** THIS TOUR SPENDS MUCH TIME INDOORS OR IN SUBWAYS AND GREAT FOR ALL WEATHER CONDITIONS. Please note they do utilize the subway on this tour so you will need $5 for subway.
New York City, NY; NYC
The latest figures show New York homeless shelters are at a record high 60,400 and over 24,000 of them ...
more >> are youth. "We Sing, We Dance, We Feed!" TheEdwardMorganBallet will be honoring Earth Day by planting seeds of awareness with performances. With: Edward Morgan Joseph Alexander Cherayl Coupé Helen Waite Lynne Charnay (pictured) Donna Lamb
New York City, NY; NYC
8:30 pm
free, no reservation required
The German title of this work literally means the "petit bourgeois wedding." Like other of Brecht’s ...
more >> early works, for example Baal, Drums in the Night, and The Threepenny Opera, it is seen as a critique of bourgeois society. Part of the Senior Thesis Festival. Directed by Britt Berke (’18).
New York City, NY; NYC
Editor's Pick
Acoustic Adventure are named for their non-electric, but lively, sound and the journey on which they ...
more >> take their audiences. Two guitar players, Lowell Marin and Seth Goldart, have different styles but are very much in sync and bring out the best in eachother. Seth also plays mandolin and is a vocalist in this band. Also contributing to this synergy is Blake Brocksmith with his dynamic vocal and harmonica skills. He also occasionally adds percussion and rhythm guitar.
New York City, NY; NYC