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free things to do in New York City
Join the Club!
The quality and quantity of
free events,
free things to do
that happen in New York City
every day of the year
is truly amazing.
So don't miss the opportunities
that only New York provides:
stop wondering what to do;
start taking advantage of
free events to go to,
free things to do in NYC
today!
The quality and quantity of
free events,
free things to do
that happen in New York City
every day of the year
is truly amazing.
So don't miss the opportunities
that only New York provides:
stop wondering what to do;
start taking advantage of
free events to go to,
free things to do in NYC
today!
22 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Monday, February 2, 2026
All events are free unless otherwise noted.Editor's Picks
Workshop | Start the Day with Morning Meditation
Start your day by balancing your mind, body, and spirit during instructor guided meditation. This renowned practice lowers blood pressure, reduces stress, and strengthens the immune system.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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9:45 am
free...
free...
Museums | Exploring Art, History, and Global Cultures in a Landmark Museum
Spend time exploring a world-renowned collection spanning centuries of art, design, and cultural history. From ancient artifacts to iconic masterpieces, these galleries invite slow looking, discovery, and reflection across works that connect global traditions, artistic innovation, and human stories.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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10:00 am
pay-what-you-wish for NY...
pay-what-you-wish for NY...
Master Class | Learn the Ins & Outs of Great Viola & Violin Performance
Manhattan School of Music Professor Patinka Kopec imparts skills and techniques for violin and viola mastery through distance learning.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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10:00 am
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Party | Fiber/Textile Arts Meetup
Are you a knitter? Do you like to crochet? Maybe you like a different type of fiber art? Whichever it is, bring your supplies and lose yourself in the meditative world of creating art with fiber. Invite your friends, or make new connections there. This is a meet-up, not a class.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Screening | We Were Here - The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe (2025): Documentary + Filmmaker Q&A
We Were Here , exhibited at the Central Pavilion of the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale and presented as an Official Submission to the 98th Academy Awards 2026 - Best Documentary Feature, also submitted to the 56th NAACP Image Awards 2026, sheds light on the overlooked presence of African and Black individuals in Renaissance Europe, highlighting their depiction in masterpieces by some of the era's most celebrated artists. How did they come to Europe? Why were they portrayed? Were they truly all servants or enslaved? If the Black faces depicted in these Renaissance masterpieces could speak, what would they tell us? Director: Fred Kudjo Kuwornu
Manhattan, New York, NY
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4:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Museums | Historical and Modern Design Spanning Centuries
The museum is dedicated to showcasing the history, influence, and importance of design in everyday life. Housed in a historic mansion, the museum features a diverse collection of design objects, including decorative arts, architecture, graphic design, textiles, and industrial design.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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5:00 pm
pay-what-you-wish from 5pm...
pay-what-you-wish from 5pm...
Festival | Evening Light and Sound Experience
Until February 17th, explore a unique light-and-sound installation after dark. Enjoy the vibrant city energy, with entertainment and special offers from local businesses, turning your visit into a full evening out.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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5:15 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Screening | Director's Cut of Citizens Revival: Documentary on Grassroots Organizing & Democracy
Celebrating the power of ordinary people, activists, and politicians for democracy as hope triumphs over fear and doors open for participation. Enjoy a special Director's Cut screening & discussion of the documentary Citizens Revival. This event will feature a thought-provoking film that explores the power of grassroots movements in shaping our civic communities, particularly with a focus on education & participation. Don't miss this opportunity to be inspired and connect with like-minded individuals. Director: Becca Finley
Manhattan, New York, NY
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5:30 pm
free, RSVP required
free, RSVP required
Museums | Explore Memorial Museum and Reconnect with History
Reconnect with the feeling of community and cohesion that blanketed our city and nation in the wake of 9/11. This is a monument to human dignity, courage, and sacrifice, this museum honors the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993, recognizes the courage of those who survived, and salutes those who risked their lives to help others.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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5:30 pm
free, tickets required
free, tickets required
Screening | Common Denominator: Docuseries Pilot on Mental Health + Discussion with Experts
Before he passed away, Tony Award-winning actor Gavin Creel filmed a pilot episode of Common Denominator, a regular documentary series dedicated to exploring the mental health challenges many of us face. Experience a screening of this pilot episode! Throughout the episode, Creel shares his journey of navigating life's challenges, from coming out and experiencing love and loss, to the deep connections he found in friendship and family. His story illustrates the impact of music and art, not just as forms of expression, but as tools for connection and healing. Following the screening, organizers will host a discussion with a panel of performing arts professionals. They will share their personal experiences and insights on mental health within the performing arts community, sparking a much-needed conversation about well-being in a demanding industry.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Film | Thirst for Love (Ai no kawaki) (1967): Japanese Romantic Drama Film
A tense psychological drama about a young woman who is widowed after marrying into a wealthy family, and becomes sexually involved with her father-in-law, while harboring a destructive obsession with the family gardener. Director: Koreyoshi Kurahara Cast: Ruriko Asaoka, Tetsuo Ishidate In Japanese with English subtitles.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Lecture | A Turning Point in America’s Favorite Pastime: Baseball (Online!)
A talk exploring the early history of professional baseball and the founding of its oldest league, tracing how the sport helped shape American culture. The discussion examines intense competition, labor struggles, and early challenges to racial segregation, including the contributions of some of the first Black professional players. Presented by a noted baseball historian, the program offers insight into how baseball’s formative years reflected broader social and political forces.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, registration required...
free, registration required...
Discussion | Activists & Experts Discuss Immigration Detention & Mass Incarceration
This event will bring together faculty, students, and advocates in both immigration detention and justice-impacted communities, from Arizona, California, Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Texas. They will share first-hand stories of crackdowns on immigrant communities in each of their communities, and their connection to experiences of incarceration. They will also reflect on the narratives that have divided the movements against immigration detention and mass incarceration, and envision what stories, scholarship, and pedagogies can help bring them together The systems of immigration detention and mass incarceration are intertwined: immigrants and citizens accused of crimes are often detained in the same buildings, controlled by the same personnel, managed by the same corporations. Expansions of prisons have fueled the expansion of immigration detention, and vice versa. Yet they are often understood — and contested — separately.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Workshop | Learn & Practice Chess with an Expert
Learn to play chess or develop your strategies with chess expert Tamar Chanadiri from the Marshall Chess Club. Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions, as each one builds on the previous. Bring a friend or join on your own--all levels and ages are welcome! Chess sets are provided but you're welcome to bring your own. From 6-7 PM Tamar will provide instruction for beginner-level players. From 7-8 PM there will be open play for all levels.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Literary Scholar Discusses Her New Book, Forgotten Friendships: Yugoslavia and the Anticolonial Francophone World
In her book Forgotten Friendships: Yugoslavia and the Anticolonial Francophone World, Serbian literary scholar Alexandra Perišić examines transnational friendships and alliances between intellectuals from Yugoslavia and the Francophone African and Caribbean world during the mid-twentieth century. Forgotten Friendships emphasizes the ways in which writers, intellectuals, and activists envisioned alternative futures rooted in collaboration across peripheries. Personal bonds of friendship were not mere footnotes to the anti-colonial struggle, but vital political tools for rethinking global solidarity.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Opening Reception | Photography Exhibition Exploring Brazilian Life (+ Artist Talk & Gallery Walk)
Enjoy the opening of an exhibition curated by Peter Lucas that brings two striking visual archives into conversation for the first time. In 2003, at a Rio de Janeiro flea market, Lucas discovered a collection of images by the late amateur photographer Orizon Carneiro Muniz. Taken in the early 1960s, Muniz's work captured the vibrant life of Rio's beaches and the people who frequented them. Inspired by this encounter, Lucas also captured 5,000 photographs, only on Sundays, using a 6 x 7 camera on the rocks of Arpoador, the same part of the Ipanema beach that Muniz documented 50 years earlier. This reception features remarks from Peter Lucas, a curated gallery walk, and refreshments.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Chef Shares Her New Cookbook, Gursha: Timeless Recipes for Modern Kitchens
Chef and uptown restaurateur Beejhy Barhany sits down to discuss her new cookbook Gursha: Timeless Recipes for Modern Kitchens, from Ethiopia, Israel, Harlem, and Beyond with food writer and editor Gabriella Gershenson.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:30 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Staged Reading | #SAVEDAWNJOHNSON: Original Drama about Small Town Crime
Attend the collaborative reading of #SAVEDAWNJOHNSON written by PeterPaul Shaker, and featuring School of Drama students with The New School and Naked Angels. #SAVEDAWNJOHNSON tells the story of a brazen kidnapping that rocks a small town. Directed by Bill Schaumberg.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Talk | Exploring Textiles, Photography, and Narrative (Online!)
Artists Stacy Bogdonoff and Teri Figliuzzi discuss their creative practices, which focus on textiles, fibers, alternative photographic methods, and the physicality of making. Bogdonoff works in both two- and three-dimensional forms, often incorporating narrative into her work, while Figliuzzi blends botanical imagery with handcrafted techniques such as cyanotypes, weaving, and leafing. Their conversation highlights the intersections of material, technique, and personal reflection in contemporary art.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Talk | Musican Discusses His Music Education Initiatives in Peru
Hear Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez discuss his organization, Sinfonía por el Perú, which has been providing music education to children and young people for over a decade. 15 years ago, Flórez founded Sinfonía por el Perú, which has transformed the lives of more than 35,000 children and young people growing up in contexts of high risk and vulnerability. Through free music education, they gain access to a safe space that promotes emotional well-being, the development of personal and social skills, and the construction of positive and sustainable life projects. Above all, they learn to believe in themselves and to dream of a better future.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:00 pm
free, RSVP required
free, RSVP required
Workshop | Retro Music Dance Fitness
Come dance to classic pop tunes: Top 40, Disco, Electronic and more! This class is 45 minutes of peppy beats to enhance your cardio conditioning. A low-impact and fun workout; it is open to any fitness level. Let's dance away blue Monday! Instructor: Patricia Collins
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Concert | Musical Tribute to Poet Cornelius Eady
Independent study presentation celebrating the poetry of Cornelius Eady. Eady wrote poetry often focused on race and society, performing it alongside live music.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:30 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Join the Club!
Complimentary Tickets
to shows, concerts ... (CFT Deals!)
Classical Music | J.S. Bach and Beethoven by Prominent Orchestra
Regular Price: $30CFT Member Price: $0.00
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