54 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Wednesday, August 8, 2018
All events are free unless otherwise noted.
The Rise NYC, a community-driven pop-up fitness group, hosts a Boot Camp. Rotations through exercises ...
more >> like crunches, planks, push-ups, burpees, and mountain climbers ensure a mixture of cardio and strength training that will keep you coming back, and seeing results. No equipment necessary; smiles and high fives encouraged. Rain or shine. Every Wednesday.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 am
free, no reservation required
Ready to work hard and sweat with NYC's newest skyline behind you?! Ruel Davis returns for a new season ...
more >> of boot camp. This one-hour, intense class will challenge you, and keep you coming back for more. Every Wednesday from June 6-September 12, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 am
free, no reservation required
Start your day out right; come enjoy Sunrise Tai Chi classes with certified Tai Chi Instructor Robert ...
more >> Martinez. These classes are suitable for all levels. Wear comfortable clothing and bring water. Wednesdays, July 11-August 29, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 am
free, no reservation required
Get your yoga on in the park this summer and fall with Sacred Sounds Yoga. Breathe, move, and stretch. ...
more >> Please bring your own yoga mat. Every Wednesday and Thursday from June 6-September 12, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
8:30 am
free, no reservation required
These free tours take place at various times during the day, all day long. You can make reservations ...
more >> for as many tours as your schedule allows.
SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown
Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights + DUMBO
3 Hour Lower Manhattan
Harlem
Chelsea and the High Line
6 Hour Downtown Combined
Greenwich Village
Central Park
Lower Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Grand Central Terminal
Graffiti and Street Art Tours
World Trade Center
New York City, NY; NYC
Get inspired by the beautiful expanse of the Hudson River and New York Harbor and by the verdant park, ...
more >> with its very special Hot and Cool gardens; each flower-filled and colorful throughout the season. All art materials are provided.
New York City, NY; NYC
11:00 am
free, no reservation required
The tour of City Hall includes a discussion of the building's history, art, architecture, and civic function. ...
more >> Non-reservation City Hall tours take place each Wednesday.
New York City, NY; NYC
12:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Concertgoers are encouraged to grab lunch and make their way to the park for an afternoon of lively music ...
more >> from New York City’s underground talent and summer sunshine. Today: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. The Meetles (classic rock and Beatles tribute band) 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. The Ladybugs (Latin Cowgirl Jazz) In between performances, music lovers can stretch it out with free and gentle restorative yoga sessions by instructors from the West Side Y—a great way to relax during lunch. Wednesdays, July 11-August 29, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
12:00 pm
free, no reservation required
The organ works of J.S. Bach (1685-1750) offered in 30-minute meditations. Bach at Noon concerts takes ...
more >> place every Wednesday from May 30 to September 5, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
12:20 pm
free, no reservation required
Featuring: Kumiko Makihara, Dear Diary Boy: An Exacting Mother, Her Free-Spirited Son, and Their Bittersweet ...
more >> Adventures in an Elite Japanese School Sofija Stefanovic, Miss Ex-Yugoslavia Zachary Wood, Uncensored: My Life and Uncomfortable Conversations at the Intersection of Black and White America Beck Dorey-Stein, From the Corner of the Oval
New York City, NY; NYC
12:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Summertime, and the livin’ is easy... so swing on by for toe-tappin’ performances by New York’s ...
more >> finest, playing ragtime, stride, and jazz to your heart’s delight. Russ Kassoff is a jazz pianist, Broadway conductor, and music director.
New York City, NY; NYC
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.
New York City, NY; NYC
Jeff Newell has diverse musical tastes including blues, jazz, early 20th century classical, and rock, ...
more >> and draws inspiration from musical greats including Charles Ives, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Hank Williams, and Louis Armstrong, among many, many others. He will play his own group, the New Orleans style New-Trad Octet which recently released its first CD, “Brownstone,” on Blujazz records.
New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
$10 suggested donation
Editor's Pick
Starring Maggie Smith, Alec McCowen. A stuffy young banker gets caught up in his eccentric Aunt Augusta's ...
more >> capers. 109 mins.
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
Learn to play the most popular game ever: A game of strategy and problem solving. Whether you are beginner ...
more >> or a more advanced player you can learn the strategies that will make you a better chess player. This lesson repeats every Wednesday.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Bill Wurtzel, a renowned jazz guitarist, has performed worldwide with many jazz greats. His style in ...
more >> his own words: "I love mainstream jazz and the American songbook. Albums I’ve played on range from gospel, mainstream and soul jazz to Christmas songs in Latin."
New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Challenge your artistic skills by drawing the human figure. Each week a model will strike both long and ...
more >> short poses for participants to draw. Artists/educators will offer constructive suggestions and critique. Wednesdays, July 11-September 5, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:30 pm
free, no reservation required
No experience necessary. Just bring your love of poetry and your favorite writing implement.
New York City, NY; NYC
4:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Langston Hughes was one of the most prominent figures of the Harlem Renaissance and is often referred ...
more >> to as Harlem's poet laureate. This film shows how Hughes successfully fused jazz, blues and common speech to celebrate the beauty of Black life. Hughes' Dream Harlem presents a vision of the esteemed poet in present-day Harlem and makes an important case for Hughes' impact on hip-hop and the spoken-word community. Director: Jamal Joseph. Open discussion to follow.
New York City, NY; NYC
5:00 pm
free, no reservation required
In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced ...
more >> to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel's doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery. Amor Towles is an American novelist. He is best known for his New York Times bestselling novels Rules of Civility (2011) and A Gentleman in Moscow (2016), named as one of the best books of 2016 by the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR.
New York City, NY; NYC
5:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Evening of music by Sinkane, whose most recent recording, Life & Livin’ It, has been described by The ...
more >> Guardian as “socially conscious music suffused with joy.” Leader of the band Ahmed Gallab absorbed the North African musical culture that inspires his rapturous hybrid sound, laced with percussion-heavy Sudanese pop, electronica, funk, and free jazz. He is a prolific recording artist with critically acclaimed EPs and albums to his credit. Sinkane’s Performers: Ahmed Gallab, vocals and guitar Jonny Lam, guitar Michael Montgomery, bass Elenna Canlas, keyboard. Presented by Carnegie Hall Citywide Night.
New York City, NY; NYC
5:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Understanding Cancer is a program where participants can learn through an organic, informed and respectful ...
more >> exchange with leaders from the local scientific and medical community.
New York City, NY; NYC
5:30 pm
free, no reservation required
As a painter of the New York City urban landscape for over 40 years, Sharon Florin has been painting ...
more >> the architecture, street scenes, storefronts and people of her hometown with the hope of capturing what is here today that might be gone tomorrow. She has been dubbed an “urban documentarian.” In addition, many of the new construction projects in and around the city have found their way onto her canvases. Florin is intrigued with the reflections of the older buildings on the newer glass facades, the face of our ever changing city. She is pleased to share these New York urban landscape paintings with native New Yorkers who delight in recognizing specific places and scenes they know as well as with visitors new to the city.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Blending the personal and the historical, this program is an illuminating and accessible introduction ...
more >> to the life and work of Marcel Proust, whose novel Remembrance of Things Past changed the face of literature. Interviews with writers Dame Iris Murdoch, Shelby Foote, and writer-critic Roger Shattuck highlight the magnitude of Proust’s accomplishment, while dramatizations of key scenes from Proust’s life combine with rare archival footage to place his personal struggle in a historical context. The film was co-produced by William C. Carter, author of the critically acclaimed Proust biography. Archival interviews include Jean Cocteau, François Mauriac, and Celeste Albaret, Proust’s long-time friend and assistant.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, reservation required
An African-American couple searching for a new house has difficulty finding willing sellers in New Jersey. ...
more >> Producer and writer: William Peters. Narrator: Mike Wallace. 56 min.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Julio Cortes is a movement teacher with over 30 years of martial and movement arts experience, specializing ...
more >> in Taijiquan. Taijiquan, also known as Taichi ch’uan, or Taichi, is an internal movement art that includes all of the following: fighting, self-defense, weapons, mental development, meditation, health and healing. The last three are what it is best known for now. In this class students will develop greater body/mind awareness, strength, range of motion, coordination and balance while learning how to move gracefully. Specifically, we will practice a basic warm-up and learn the first set of a powerful and rare long form taught in Asia. Suitable for any age and body condition, this a great opportunity to learn one of the best regarded and most popular body/mind practices in the world. Wednesdays, July 18- October 17, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Complimentary outdoor Pilates mat classes with BK Pilates. - Wear comfortable clothing that allows for ...
more >> movement - Bring your own mat Wednesdays and Saturdays through August 29, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Namaste! Unwind from the day with outdoor yoga. Immerse yourself in this meditative practice surrounded ...
more >> by the Hudson’s peaceful aura. Strengthen the bod and cultivate awareness in a relaxed environment as your instructor guides you through alignments and poses. All levels welcome. Please bring your own mat. Wednesdays, July 11-September 5, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Executive Career Coach Robert Hellmann, author of Advanced LinkedIn, shows how to: - Turn an interview ...
more >> into an offer by re-focusing the conversation - Use the interview follow-up to close the deal, especially when you’re not “perfect” - Build and use your network effectively to land interviews - Get meetings by contacting people directly who you don’t know - Position yourself in your resume and all your communications so your “how I can help you” message resonates
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
A summer block party featuring leading NYC DJs, exhibitions, musical performances, art-making workshops, ...
more >> food trucks, and more! Wednesdays, July 25-August 15, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
Shake off the stress of work and join others for some friendly competition at drop-in volleyball. This ...
more >> is an after-work volleyball game for adults. They will provide the scorekeeper and the ball and will instruct newcomers in the basics of the game. A great opportunity to meet new friends!
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
"The music is different here. The vibrations are different here." So opens the 1972 Afrofuturist sci-fi ...
more >> film Space Is the Place by jazz cult-icon Sun Ra. But these words could also apply to (le) poisson rouge, the Bleecker Street club known for its diverse, open-minded programming. This cosmic evening, part of LPR’s 10th-anniversary celebrations, builds up to the Sun Ra Arkestra’s live performance of the score to the film, in which Black people create their own paradise on Saturn, transported there by music. Getting everyone to that place tonight are the beloved songs of Bill Withers (“Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone,” “Just the Two of Us”) performed by Blue Note jazz and R&B artist José James. Jazz pianist and composer Samora Pinderhughes opens with "The Transformations Suite," a musical examination of the radical history of resistance within communities of the African diaspora.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Manhattan's 32 miles of shoreline have long been a priceless asset. In his book Waterfront Manhattan, ...
more >> Kurt C. Schlichting narrates its evolution over time. Initially, the city gave control of the waterfront to private interests, with shipping companies, railroads, and ferries competing for access and building up infrastructure. Just as the city regained control of the waterfront, technology in the form of shipping containers and commercial jets dealt major blows to the maritime economy. More recently there has been an opportunity to reimagine the waterfront, so that today the island is almost completely surrounded by parkland, luxury housing, and tourist attractions. Kurt C. Schlichting is the E. Gerald Corrigan Chair in Humanities and Social Sciences at Fairfield University, where he is a professor of sociology. He will be joined in conversation with Ann L. Buttenwieser, an urban planner and historian who has worked in virtually every City agency with a waterfront portfolio, and creator of the "Floating Pool Lady," a seven-lane pool on a barge.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
free, reservation required
A series of short films introduce female protagonists on the screen and behind the scenes. Featuring: ...
more >> A House Divided (1913, dir. Alice Guy-Blaché) Suspense (1913, dir. Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley) Thèmes et Variations (1928, dir. Germaine Dulac) A Girl’s Folly (1917, dir. Maurice Tourneur). Kate Saccone of Columbia University’s Women Film Pioneers Project curates an evening of short films directed, produced, and written by women. Ranging from representations of alternative marital arrangements to suspense, the female body, and a meta-cinematic look at the early motion picture industry, these silent films speak volumes about the work—and minds—of the women behind their creation. Live musical accompaniment will be provided by Ben Model, courtesy of Columbia University’s Film & Media Studies Program, School of the Arts.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
free, reservation required
Take your workout to our waterfront! This exercise class returns for its 20th anniversary season, giving ...
more >> you opportunities to get fit. Wednesdays, June 27-September 12, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
Outdoor yoga classes are a great way for the entire family to stay fit! These hour-long sessions are ...
more >> bilingual and led by certified yoga teachers from Bread & Yoga. Mats will be provided for temporary use. Wednesdays, July 11-Auhust 29, 2018. Swindler Cove in Sherman Creek Manhattan Directions to this location Cost Free Event Organizer New York Restoration Project Contact Number 212-333-2552
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Yoga is back as a summer offering twice a week. Open for all ages. Bring your own mat or borrow one while ...
more >> supplies last, first come first served.
New York City, NY; NYC
End your day with Hatha yoga led by Hollis in a beautiful sunset setting. Suitable for all fitness levels. ...
more >> Please wear loose, comfortable clothing and bring your own mat. Every Wednesday from June 6-September 26, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Practice yoga with a variety of certified local yoga instructors while overlooking the beautiful Hudson ...
more >> River and basking in the glow of the setting sun. Arrive early. Bring a towel or yoga mat and water. Wednesdays, July 11-August 29, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:45 pm
free, no reservation required
The true story of the 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial ...
more >> hustler Bobby Riggs. Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris 121 min.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
A delightful novel of one woman's transformative journey, from the best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning ...
more >> writer Anne Tyler.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
In Katie Henry's novel, Michael is an atheist. So as he walks through the doors at St. Clare’s—a ...
more >> strict Catholic school—sporting a plaid tie, things can’t get much worse. His dad has just made the family move again, and Michael needs a friend. When a girl challenges their teacher in class, Michael thinks he might have found one, and a fellow nonbeliever at that. Only this girl, Lucy, is not just Catholic . . . she wants to be a priest.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
In a desperate attempt to win a basketball match and earn their freedom, the Looney Tunes seek the aid ...
more >> of retired basketball champion, Michael Jordan. Director: Joe Pytka 88 min.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
A student tries to fix a problem he accidentally caused in OZ, a digital world, while pretending to be ...
more >> the fiancé of his friend at her grandmother's 90th birthday. Directed by Mamoru Hosoda. Pack a picnic, bring a friend. Seating opens at 6:30 p.m. The movie starts after sunset, at around 8:30 p.m.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
In this sweeping new biography, Colin Calloway uses the prism of George Washington's life to bring focus ...
more >> to the great Native leaders of his time--Shingas, Tanaghrisson, Bloody Fellow, Joseph Brant, Red Jacket, Little Turtle--and the tribes they represented: the Iroquois Confederacy, Lenape, Miami, Creek, Delaware; in the process, he returns them to their rightful place in the story of America's founding.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
In 1940, after watching and being traumatized by the movie Frankenstein, a sensitive seven year-old girl ...
more >> living in a small Spanish village drifts into her own fantasy world. Director: Victor Erice 95 min. Pre-screening performance at 7PM, film begins at sundown.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Do you like to Whistle While You Work? Do you want to Let It Go? Then grab your seven dwarfs and join ...
more >> for Disney Sing-Along.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
High adventure and high ideals merge in Keith O'Brien's book when a corps of intrepid female aviators ...
more >> battle to take part in the hugely popular air shows of the 1920s and 1930s. Ultimately, one of our heroines would win a race that earned her the right to be called America’s best pilot.
New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
free, no reservation required
An I.R.S. auditor suddenly finds himself the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins ...
more >> to affect his entire life, from his work, to his love-interest, to his death. Director: Marc Forster 113 min.
New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Professional artists and two rotating ensembles of community members from all five boroughs will perform ...
more >> together on the Delacorte stage in this enchanting comedy about Viola (Nikki M. James), a young heroine who washes up on the shores of Illyria, disguises herself as a man, is sent to court a countess, and falls in love with a Duke. Featuring music and lyrics by critically-acclaimed songwriter Shaina Taub, this very special Twelfth Night is a unique partnership between two Public Theater programs that exemplify The Public’s commitment to radical inclusion. Oskar Eustis, The Public’s Artistic Director, and Kwame Kwei-Armah, incoming Artistic Director of London’s Young Vic, helm this unforgettable musical about love in all its many disguises.
New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
Free tickets required...
When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, Diana, an Amazonian warrior in training, ...
more >> leaves home to fight a war, discovering her full powers and true destiny. 141 min. Director: Patty Jenkins You should arrive before 7:30 p.m. to get your spot. Feel free to bring a blanket to sit on; there will be a limited supply of chairs available. Bottled waters are OK, but no glass.
New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
free, no reservation required
When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, Diana, an Amazonian warrior in training, ...
more >> leaves home to fight a war, discovering her full powers and true destiny. 141 min. Director: Patty Jenkins.
New York City, NY; NYC
8:30 pm
free, no reservation required