49 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Thursday, August 23, 2018
All events are free unless otherwise noted.
A morning class provided by the Tai Chi Chuan Center and led by teachers and students who train at CK ...
more >> Chu Tai Chi under the direction of Master Hyland Harris.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 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
The US Open Experience brings the excitement of the Open from Queens to Manhattan! The two days of free ...
more >> tennis activities will feature, a full-size tennis court, big screens, and photo opportunities with the US Open trophies and other special activities. Former US Open Champions and current players will visit the Experience over the course of the two days. Evenings will feature free musical performances and an atmosphere that recreates all of the excitement found at America's Grand Slam.
New York City, NY; NYC
10:00 am
free, no reservation required
The tour of City Hall includes a discussion of the building's history, art, architecture, and civic function.
New York City, NY; NYC
10:00 am
free, reservation required
While prosecuting the three Italian teens who murdered a fifteen-year-old blind Puerto Rican boy from ...
more >> a rival gang, Assistant D.A. Hank Bell learns that there is more to this case than meets the eye. Based on Evan Hunter's bestselling novel, A Matter of Conviction. Director: John Frankenheimer. Starring: Burt Lancaster, Dina Merrill, Shelley Winters, Edward Andrews & Telly Savalas. 110 min.
New York City, NY; NYC
11:00 am
free, no reservation required
Looking for a job? Discover what tools to use to find vacancies, learn inside tips from a certified Talent ...
more >> Acquisition Strategist on where to find job postings and what HR is looking for in your application. Laptops will be first-come-first-served; bring your own if you have one. Also bring paper copies of your resume/cover letter, or have the file accessible via email or flash drive. Please do not arrive late interrupting the class.
New York City, NY; NYC
11:30 am
free, RSVP in-person...
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. Bertha Hope is a jazz pianist, teacher, composer, and arranger.
New York City, NY; NYC
12:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Two sweet old ladies from Brooklyn put lonely bachelors out of their misery via poison-laced wine, which ...
more >> their visiting nephew finds hard to swallow. An adaptation of the Joseph Kesselring Broadway hit. Directors Frank Capra. Cary Grant, Raymond Massey, Josephine Hull, John Alexander, Priscilla Lane. 118 min.
New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 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
The exhibition explores the confluence of art, love, science, and religion in the extraordinary art of ...
more >> Orra White Hitchcock, one of America’s first female scientific illustrators. White exhibited a prodigious scientific mind and abundant artistic talent at an early age. The exhibition traces her development from schoolgirl projects to highly accomplished renderings of the natural scenery of the Connecticut River Valley used in her husband’s many geology publications. Less well known are colorful paintings on cotton—some more than twelve feet long—that were used to illustrate her husband’s many college lectures on geology, botany, zoology, and anatomy. A tour of led by museum gallery guides.
New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Do you want to find time for literature in your busy life? Join to celebrate literature in bite-size ...
more >> servings! Read aloud, enact, and discuss passages of classic and contemporary literature from across the globe. This session's theme will be reading and discussing the great poetic form of the sonnet. From the Renaissance to modern period, from Milton to Borges. All literary enthusiasts are welcome.
New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in approximately ...
more >> 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England (ruled 1377–1399) and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's successors: Henry IV, Part 1; Henry IV, Part 2; and Henry V.
New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
A tour of The Battery, a 25-acre park at the tip of Manhattan. Learn about the park's rich history, many ...
more >> important landmarks and monuments, the Seaglass Carousel, 134,000 square feet of beautiful perennial gardens designed by renowned Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf, and so much more.
New York City, NY; NYC
In 19th century India, three British soldiers and a native waterbearer must stop a secret mass revival ...
more >> of the murderous Thuggee cult before it can rampage across the land. Directors George Stevens. Stars: Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Victor McLaglen. 117 min.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Janet hosts an intimate gathering of friends in her London home to celebrate her political ascension. ...
more >> After her acerbic best friend and others arrive, some with dramatic news to share, an announcement by Janet's husband provokes a series of revelations. As the sophisticated soiree starts to unravel, a night that began with champagne soon ends up with arguments, shouting and a pointed gun. Directed by Sally Potter. Starring: Timothy Spall, Kristin Scott Thomas, Patricia Clarkson. 71 mins.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
An Irish immigrant and his daughter move into a town in the American South with a magical piece of gold ...
more >> that will change people's lives, including a struggling farmer and African American citizens threatened by a bigoted politician. Starring Fred Astaire & Petula Clark. 140 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
Tom Winston is struggling to raise his three children on his own after his wife's death. After meeting ...
more >> the charming and beautiful Cinzia Zaccardi at a concert, he hires her as a live-in nanny. Unbeknown to Tom, Cinzia is actually a European socialite on the run from her domineering father and has absolutely no experience with cooking, cleaning or raising children. She does, however, have an interest in Tom. Directed by Melville Shavelson. 109 mins.
New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
A teen finds love, despite being hindered by a rare disease that makes exposure to sunlight deadly. ...
more >> Directors Scott Speer. Starring Bella Thorne, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Rob Riggle, Quinn Shephard, Ken Tremblett. 91 min.
New York City, NY; NYC
4:00 pm
free, no reservation required
A sharp-tongued widow struggles to grieve in her own way, but her family and therapy group want her to ...
more >> just move on. By Erin Moughon.
New York City, NY; NYC
Editor's Pick
In this fun and highly interactive workshop, speaker, trainer, and certified professional coach, Barbara ...
more >> Phillips, will share practical strategies that will help you more effectively navigate change in your life. You will learn:
The difference between change and transition
Where you are in the "change curve"
Basic change management skills and tools
How to strengthen your ability to effectively navigate change
Better manage the stress and anxiety of change
Increase your focus on productivity and results
How to develop resilience and become a "change master"!
New York City, NY; NYC
5:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Take a break with this free outdoor concert series, presented by Make Music New York. End your Thursday ...
more >> on a good note while enjoying the sweet, swinging sounds and smooth rhythms of New York City's jazz bands. Thursdays in August.
New York City, NY; NYC
5:00 pm
free, no reservation required
A walk-in tai chi class with a curriculum tested at the Tai Chi World Cup. Breathwork, visualization, ...
more >> and body mechanics unite in this unique evolution of the Tai Chi system that gives practitioners something tangible to take with them in every class. Taught by former US Tai Chi Push Hands Team captain and World Cup silver medalist Jan Lucanus. Thursdays, July 12-September 27, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
5:00 pm
Pay-what-you-want admission policy
Filmmaker Michael Patrick Kelly followed the late Paul Motian - American jazz drummer, percussionist ...
more >> and composer - on and off for over 10 years with unprecedented access to his world. In this special Charlie Parker Jazz Festival event, Kelly presents excerpts from the resulting soon-to-be-released documentary Motian in Motion and joins a Q&A moderated by guitarist and faculty member Steve Cardenas. A Motian tribute trio performance featuring Cardenas, Frank Kimbrough and Ben Allison rounds out the evening.
New York City, NY; NYC
Dr. Dana Cohen discusses her book, Quench: Beat Fatigue, Drop Weight, and Heal Your Body Through the ...
more >> New Science of Optimum Hydration. Chronic headaches…brain fog…fatigue…weight gain…insomnia…gut pain…autoimmune conditions. We may think these and other all-too-common modern maladies are due to gluten intake or too much sugar or too little exercise. But there is another missing piece to the health puzzle: Proper hydration. Dr. Cohen will conduct informative and inspiring lecture on hydration strategies. The lecture will be followed by an open Q & A.
New York City, NY; NYC
5:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Bollywood Dance is a mix of dance styles performed in Bollywood films, including traditional Indian styles ...
more >> of Bharatanatyam, Kathak, folk styles, and modern jazz, hip-hop or belly dance. Jazz gives a dancer form and style while Bollywood allows you to experience and open up the body in a fun way. It's not just a fitness class, it's a dance class. This 60-minute class begins with a warm-up using jazz style of dance using structure and form making sure the body is ready to take the next 30 mins of high energy Bollywood dance routine. . With: Pooja Uberoi
New York City, NY; NYC
Rising young stars on the New York string music scene, Leadlights is dedicated to bringing contemporary ...
more >> and classical music to new audiences. The program will include a 2017 piece by New York-based composer Kyle Werner as well as selections by Beethoven, Brahms and Mendelssohn.
New York City, NY; NYC
5:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Marcus Garvey emigrated from Jamaica to New York City in 1914, bringing with him a message of black empowerment. ...
more >> After touring the United States with his message, his organization started publishing The Negro World, a newspaper. With millions of followers worldwide, Garvey decried racial prejudice in the U.S.A., and urged African-Americans to invest in shares of his organization's shipping company, The Black Star Line. Garvey also promoted the idea of millions of African-Americans moving to Africa to found their own nation. Director: Stanley Nelson 90 min. Music begins at 6pm; film at 8pm or sundown.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
The 2018 MFA photography thesis exhibition Now features photographs, video installations, photographic ...
more >> installation, and printed works.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 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. Music starts at 6:00 PM, movie begins at sundown.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Dances for a Variable Population master teacher Naomi Goldberg Haas and members of the intergenerational ...
more >> company lead dance workshops for adults of all ages and abilities, with a special focus on seniors. Celebrate moving in strong and creative ways. All fun. All welcome! Thursdays, August 3-31, 2018
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
The explosive Los Habaneros mix musical styles from their home in Cuba with the diversity of sounds they ...
more >> encountered when they made New York City their home, transcending traditional musical genres to create a real fusion that provokes fans into hip-shaking abandon. The band comprises a young generation of Havana-trained musicians, including director and singer Gerardo Contino, artistic director and pianist Axel Tosca Laugart, and percussionist Yusnier Sanchez Bustamante. Los Habaneros have toured in Peru, Canada, Qatar, and throughout the US. They have played at the Kennedy Center for the Arts as official performers for TEDMED, the American Folk Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, BB King Blues Club, Subrosa, BAMCafe, The Green Space, Sounds of Brazil (SOBs), Le Poisson Rouge, The Bronx Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, Live at the Gantries, Roulette, Gonzalez y Gonzalez, Taj, and many others.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
The Library for the Performing Arts protects 171 boxes of Robbins' personal writings, including travelogue ...
more >> reveries, diaries adorned with collaged keepsakes, youthful poetry, and devotional essays. For this special evening, writer, dance scholar, and movement educator Hiie Saumaa engages Robbins in a dialog across time, sequencing recitations of Robbins’ private writing with her own reflections, deep questions, and memories. Come Learn about Jerome Robbins’ passionate approach to life and introspection, accompanied by music of Bach and Chopin, and video excerpts of Robbins' ballet performances.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, reservation required
Artist Amy Digi leads an outdoor watercolor painting and monotypes printmaking workshop at sunset. Participants ...
more >> will learn how to paint from observation, plus basics about materials, color mixing and composition. You'll get to take home your painting! Supplies are provided for you. No experience is necessary.
New York City, NY; NYC
On May 24, 1883, journalist Montgomery Schuyler said "It so happens that the work which is likely to ...
more >> be our most durable monument, and to convey some knowledge of us to the most remote posterity, is a work of bare utility; not a shrine, not a fortress, not a palace, but a bridge." This tour will tell the story of the world-famous Brooklyn Bridge, and examine its ever-present historical, technological, and cultural impact.
New York City, NY; NYC
Stretch and strengthen the entire body while calming and centering the mind. Explore the full range of ...
more >> yoga poses—along with breath work and meditation. Students of all levels are welcome at these free classes, offered on the lawn with mats and props provided. Come for fitness, flexibility, stress release—and a moment of quiet in nature. Thursdays, August 2-30, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Perfect your downward dog under the trees at the 16th season of outdoor yoga classes presented by KeVita. ...
more >> A colorful selection of mats is provided by Gaiam.
New York City, NY; NYC
An epic bicycle journey across the American hinterland that explores the challenges of climate change ...
more >> alongside a diverse array of American voices. After a distinguished career in climate science as the Director of the UN Global Climate Observing System in Geneva, David Goodrich returned home to the United States to find a nation in denial. Concerned that American citizens were misinformed about climate issues, David hopped on his bike set out across the country. Starting on the beach in Delaware, David rode 4,200 miles to Oregon, talking with the people he met on the ultimate road trip. Along the way he learned a great deal about why climate is a complicated issue for many Americans and even more about the country we all share.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Shakespeare's troubled prince in an outdoor production. Directed by George K. Wells Thursdays-Sundays; ...
more >> August 2-26, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
Pay-what-you-can admission policy
Editor's Pick
In this article, Touré Reed argues that Obama’s “post-racialism” moment and Coates’ attribution ...
more >> of racial disparities to an inexorable white prejudice have an eerie companionship as each of these frameworks divorces racial inequality from political economy, promoting a politics that is responsible for the widening gulf between the nation’s haves and have-nots. Does Reed’s charge ring true?
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
All-women comedy show featuring: Marcia Belsky (Handmaid's Tale: The Musical) Selena Coppock (Bravo) ...
more >> Jes Tom (Gotham Comedy Club) Jourdain Searles (Bad Romance Podcast) Allie Nelson (Greenwich Village Comedy Club) Hosted by Hattie Jean Hayes
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
In this article, first published in 1990, art critic and historian Anna Chave analyzes the “boys club” ...
more >> that was the mid-century minimalist moment in art. Rather than a movement of pure, irreferential simplicity, Chave evaluates minimalism through attempting to grapple with the historical undercurrents of the movement. What conclusions about Art may we draw from Chave’s own about minimalism?
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Link mindful breath with movement in this full spectrum yoga practice that includes modifications and ...
more >> intensifications depending on experience level. Veteran Nina Semczuk helps you cultivate strength, flexibility, balance, and focus while enjoying yoga outdoors. Please bring a mat. Every Thursday from June 7-October 25, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Take your workout to the waterfront! This exercise class returns for its 20th anniversary season, giving ...
more >> you opportunities to get fit. Enhance your yoga practice with skilled instructors and a rejuvenating river view. Bring your own mat! Thursdays, June 28-September 13, 2018.
New York City, NY; NYC
Editor's Pick
Director Ethan Hawke brings the unsung story of Texas songwriter Blaze Foley to the big screen. Adapted ...
more >> for film from her memoir, Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze Foley, Sybil Rosen and Ethan Hawke present Blaze, the story of the legendary hard-living songwriter of the Texas Outlaw Music movement. Known for his hit tunes “If I Could Only Fly” and “Election Day,” Foley was raised in a tree house and killed in a friend’s living room by a gunshot wound. The film reimagines the musician’s past, present, and future, exploring his love affair with Sybil Rosen, the legacy of his songs, and the impact his passing had on his fans, friends, and foes. Ethan Hawke will join the audience for a talk-back following the screening.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, reservation required
Conserve and Control is written from the margins. Characters who are non-binary, working class, disabled ...
more >> and trans take central place as we are transported to a queer and green paradise that, like all utopias, is not to be trusted. As a professional sex worker and working-class activist, Otter Lieffe brings nuance to the ethics of work, kink, sex and activism. In this, her second novel, she explores what it might mean to really create political change and asks who gets left behind in the process. She invites us to step up and take our place in the struggle and bring our fabulous complexity with us to the front-lines.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
Join several generations of music stars from the Congo basin for a night of soukous, the fast-paced, ...
more >> highly danceable fusion of traditional Congolese melodies and Afro-Cuban rhythms. With guitars, percussion, vocals, and dancers, this 12-piece band shakes it up with the infectious dance music that has thrilled revelers from Kinshasa to Nairobi to Paris.
New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 pm
free, no reservation required
When the newly crowned Queen Elsa accidentally uses her power to turn things into ice to curse her home ...
more >> in infinite winter, her sister Anna teams up with a mountain man, his playful reindeer, and a snowman to change the weather condition. Directors: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee 102 min. Sing along - bring a blanket and your friends!
New York City, NY; NYC
8:30 pm
free, no reservation required