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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!
20 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Monday, March 9, 2026
All events are free unless otherwise noted.
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...
Tour | NYC Famous Park Tour
Discover how Bryant Park Corporation successfully transformed "Needle Park" of the 1970s into Manhattan's Town Square of today. The guides are loaded with expertise on the park's rich history, award-winning design, distinct amenities, and ongoing maintenance efforts. Tours will continue as scheduled in light rain, but will be cancelled in heavy rain or inclement weather. Bring an umbrella if needed!
Manhattan, New York, NY
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11:00 am
free, registration required
free, registration required
Screening | Bicentenario (2020) & La Laguna del Soldado (2024): Documentary Double-Feature (+ Filmmaker Discussion)
Enjoy a special double-feature screening of Bicentenario and La Laguna del Soldado by filmmaker Pablo Alvarez-Mesa, followed by a conversation with the director. The two films are from an ongoing trilogy retracing Simón Bolívar’s 1819 liberation campaign across Colombia and its lingering presence two centuries later. In Bicentenario, shot on the exact dates and in the precise locations of Bolívar’s passage, spiritual mediums attempt to conjure the Liberator’s spirit, while Electronic Voice Phenomenon recordings channel a haunting dialogue between past and present—revealing how rituals of remembrance sustain political mysticism, violence, and unresolved historical trauma within the social imaginary. La Laguna del Soldado continues this journey across the high-altitude páramo, a fog-laden landscape that becomes a living archive of contested memory, where oral histories and territorial scars blur the line between ghost and geography. Together, these films offer a poetic and unsettling meditation on history as séance, landscape as witness, and liberation as an unfinished—and perhaps cursed—project.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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1:00 pm
free, RSVP required
free, RSVP required
Talk | Expert Discusses China's Artificial Intelligence Landscape
This talk offers a comprehensive account of how law serves as a critical layer of infrastructure supporting China’s development of physical AI—systems embedded in and operating in the physical world. The discussion expands on Angela Huyue Zhang’s paper, The Sixth Layer: The Legal Infrastructure for Physical Artificial Intelligence in China. Zhang is currently conducting research on the regulation of artificial intelligence.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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1:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Workshop | LinkedIn Headshot Session with Award-Winning Portrait Photographer
Come get a new professional headshot for your LinkedIn profile taken by award-winning portrait photographer Tony Gale. Tony will be on-site to take your photo at no cost. Just show up, step in front of the camera, and your image will be emailed to you a few days after the event. Please arrive "shoot-ready" in the clothes you would like to be photographed in.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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1:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Classical Music | Choral Works Performed in a Beautiful Cathedral
Midway Meistersingers, directed by Caleb Overstreet, perform a series of works by composers from various musical periods. Program: Eric Whitacre (1970-) The Seal Lullaby Shawn Kirchner (1970-) O What A Beautiful City Morten Lauridsen (1943-) O Nata Lux William Byrd (c. 1540-1623) Ave Verum Corpus Stephen Paulus (1949-2014) The Road Home Stacey Gibbs (1962-) Wade in the Water Dan Forrest (1978-) Like A River in My Soul Andrea Ramsey (1977-) Truth Peter Lutkin (1858-1931) The Lord Bless You and Keep You Sy Miller (1908-1971) and Jill Jackson (1913-1995) Let There Be Peace On Earth
Manhattan, New York, NY
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1:45 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Workshop | Walk and Creative Writing Session
This walk and writing session is led by Author and Poet Jon Curley. Participants will be encouraged to use observations as a way to enhance their writing styles in any preferred mode.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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2:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Staged Reading | Lagniappe: Love, Loss, and Everyday Life in a Changing Community
A rehearsed reading of Lagniappe by C.A. Johnson explores the lives of suburban descendants of sharecroppers in Bunche Village outside New Orleans. Both harrowing and humorous, the play examines love, longing, and community at a local corner store. Written by: C.A. Johnson Director: Eric Ting
Manhattan, New York, NY
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4:00 pm
free, RSVP required...
free, RSVP 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...
Film | Bugonia (2025): Black Comedy Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, Starring Emma Stone
Two conspiracy-minded young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien bent on destroying the Earth. Director: Yorgos Lanthimos Cast: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, Alicia Silverstone Yorgos Lanthimos is an acclaimed Greek filmmaker, having received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Lion, plus nominations for five Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Lanthimos started his career in experimental theatre before directing film. Emma Stone is an American actress and film producer. Over her career so far, she's earned such accolades as two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and two Golden Globes. In 2017, she was the world's highest-paid actress and named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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5:30 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation 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...
Book Discussion | French Author Marc Levy Discusses Fiction Vs. Reality & His New Book, Symphony of Monsters
Marc Levy, the most widely read French author worldwide, discusses how reality informs fiction. How does reality inform fiction? Why are these political and humanitarian themes so central to Marc Levy’s books? What sources does he use? What impact can popular fiction have on the political awareness and beliefs of readers? How is erasing national and cultural identity a weapon of war? These are some of the questions that Marc Levy will address in conversation with Emily Hamilton, producer of four ground-breaking documentaries by Bernard-Henri Lévy on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The talk will be introduced by Dora Chomiak, CEO of Razom, the largest U.S. nonprofit focused entirely on supporting Ukraine. Levy often uses fiction as a vehicle to explore large-scale contemporary political and humanitarian themes. His stories capture the fate of ordinary citizens seeking humanity, justice and love while facing wars, terrorism, dictatorships, cyberwarfare or environmental threats, to name a few of the themes he addresses in his books, based on meticulous research. “I write” he says, “so that no one can say they didn’t know."
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, RSVP required
free, RSVP required
Author Reading | Historian Shares His New Book, Karl Marx in America
Historian Andrew Hartman will speak about his recent book, Karl Marx in America. To read Karl Marx is to contemplate a world created by capitalism. People have long viewed the United States as the quintessential anti-Marxist nation, but Marx’s ideas have inspired a wide range of people to formulate a more precise sense of the stakes of the American project. Historians have highlighted the imprint made on the United States by Enlightenment thinkers such as Adam Smith, John Locke, and Thomas Paine, but Marx is rarely considered alongside these figures. Yet his ideas are the most relevant today because of capitalism’s centrality to American life.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Book Discussion | Journalist/Film Programmer Shares His New Book, The World of Black Film (+ Signing)
Enjoy a conversation with Ashley Clark to celebrate his new book, The World of Black Film, a comprehensive survey of Black film from around the world. He will be in conversation with Vinson Cunningham, followed by a signing.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration 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
Screening | Her Fight, His Name (2024): Short Documentary on Eric Garner's Mother, Gwen Carr (+ Discussion)
Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, spends years seeking justice over the death of her son. At home, surrounded by photos of lost loved ones, she draws strength from cherished memories to keep fighting. Filmed over six years, this documentary marks the 10-year anniversary of Eric's death. Director: Brad Bailey Followed by talkback with Gwen Carr and community activists.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:00 pm
pay-what-you-can, tickets required
pay-what-you-can, tickets required
Dance Performance | Dance Works-in-Progress
A high visibility low-tech forum for experimentation, emerging ideas, and works-in-progress held in the Fall and Spring seasons. Artists are selected by a rotating committee of peer artists.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:00 pm
free...
free...
Lecture | Learn about Visual Storytelling from Art Director/Graphic Designer
Hear from art director, graphic designer, and publisher renald Louissaint, whose practice sits at the intersection of editorial design, brand identity, and cultural archiving. Through his studio, Parallel, he leads two creative arms: Parallel Work, a design practice focused on publications, exhibitions, apparel, and typography; and Parallel Press, a publishing house dedicated to indexes, artist monographs, and catalogues. His passion for book design anchors much of his practice, where form, typography, and narrative converge to produce publications that function as both objects and archives. His work spans collaborations with institutions, brands, and independent artists, with projects ranging from large-scale books and cultural indexes to brand systems and experimental typography. Across all mediums, renald’s practice is driven by a commitment to visual storytelling that is both rigorous in form and expansive in scope.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Classical Music | Works from the Past 250 Years: stellar evening of classical music
Attend a stellar evening of music featuring both world-renowned artists and young, up-and-coming musicians. the featured program encompasses masterpieces by American and European composers. Tatjana Rankovich, a versatile musician, described by The New York Times as an "astonishingly good pianists;" Cellist Quiang Tu (a member of the New York Philharmonic); Belle Wang is an award-winning violinist with top honors; Juewen Zhang is an emerging young cellist and Leo Sommerheil is a young pianist who is studying with Tatjana Rankovich at Mannes Prep.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Classical Music | Diverse Flute Works by Cesar Franck & More
NYU Steinhardt's Director of Woodwind Studies, Meghan Bennett, performs a Faculty Flute Recital. Featuring: Meghan Bennett, flute Hui-Chuan Chen, piano Program: Michel Blavet (1700-1768) Flute Sonata No. 2 in d minor "La Vibray" Valerie Coleman (1970-) Fanmi Imen Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996) Air Cesar Franck (1822-1890) Sonata in A Major
Manhattan, New York, NY
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8:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration 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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