free things to do in New York City

Free Events, Free Things to Do in New York City! Read More

39 free events take place in New York City on Monday, May 6, 2013.

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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!

39 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Monday, May 6, 2013

All events are free unless otherwise noted.

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Birdwatching | Birding Tour of the Park

Discover the varieties of birds that call the Park home during the migratory season with guided tours.

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8:00 am
free, no reservation required

Tour | Lower Manhattan Tour

It is here, as much as anywhere, where American history started. It's where the first US Congress assembled and produced the Bill of Rights and where President George Washington took his first oath of office. It's here where the world's most important stock exchange and one of the most famous bridges stand. And it is here where an unspeakable tragedy took place and where a rebirth is underway.

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10:00 am
Free...

Tour | Cathedral Tour

Explore the Cathedral's newly cleaned and restored Nave. Learn about the art, architecture and history of this great sacred space from 1892 to the present. Tour times: 11am & 1pm.

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11:00 am
$6

Workshop | Park Pétanque

Learn to play pétanque, the popular European game anchored in precision, patience, and camaraderie from members of La Boule New Yorkaise, NYC’s championship-winning club.

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11:00 am
free, no reservation required

Tour | Federal Reserve Bank Tour

Learn about central banking functions that Federal Reserve System performs and see Bank's vault of international 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. Congressman Ron Paul considers the Federal Reserve "both corrupt and unconstitutional" Tour times: 11:15 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 12:45 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:15 p.m., and 3:00 p.m.

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11:15 am
Free...

Workshop | Beginner French Language Class

Instruction by inlingua. Learn a new language or brush up on your skills in these standalone classes.

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11:45 am
Free

Workshop | Learn Juggling in the Park

Test your coordination and dexterity with free juggling lessons in the park. All skill levels are welcome to join in the fun. Equipment is provided. Lessons are weather permitting. You'll be surprised that Alex and Jordan can often be found outside tossing pins in the snow!

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12:00 pm
free, no reservation required

Park Walk | “Views from the Past” Tour

As you promenade through the heart of the Park, imagine yourself living in 19th Century New York City. Learn about the Park's history and how its designers, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, struggled to create the magnificent "Greensward" for the enjoyment of all. Tour lasts approximately one hour.

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12:30 pm
free, no reservation required

City Walk | TriBeCa Open Artist Studio Tour

For a few short days every spring, New Yorkers are invited to enter the fascinating world of some of Manhattan’s finest artists. Now in its 16th year, The TriBeCa Open Artist Studio Tour (TOAST) is an open invitation to the public to take a free, self-guided tour through artists’ studios in TriBeCa. TOAST attendees are able to visit the artists’ studios, view their work and talk to the artists themselves. Those who take the tour will also have the chance to purchase work directly from the artists, helping to support them in the pursuit of their craft. This year, the 15th Annual TriBeCa Open Artist Studio Tour features approximately a 100 artists of varying genres and will be held in 36 different buildings in TriBeCa. The tour will also take participants through TriBeCa art galleries and exhibits, including those at the New York Academy of Art.

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1:00 pm
free, no reservation required

**Screening | Downton Abbey: The First Episode**

Downton Abbey--a sprawling Edwardian mansion and park nestled in the lush North Yorkshire countryside--needs an heir. A tragedy at sea has claimed the life of the presumed heir, and Lord Grantham is faced with the possibility that the house he's loved his whole life might one day belong to a distant cousin he's never met. As hundreds of years of British aristocratic privilege are battered by the tides of social upheaval and technical progress, as World War I looms, what does fate have in store for Downton? How will the troubles of its family--above and below stairs--be resolved? Or will life be altered so dramatically that its master no longer matters? 66 min.

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2:00 pm
free, no reservation required

City Walk | Greenwich Village Tour

Greenwich Village is among Manhattan's most desirable and expensive residential neighborhoods. It's history, 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.

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2:00 pm
Free...

City Walk | Harlem Tour

Although world famous, Harlem may be New York's best kept secret with some of the city's best architecture, 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.

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2:00 pm
Free...

Workshop | Wii Fit for Adults

Calling all Adults who want to lose or maintain current weight: Join Wii Fit for Adults and benefit from burning calories, socializing, maintaining current weight and/or tracking your BMI. Use the various workouts including yoga, strength training, boxing, stepping, hula hooping, running, and regaining balance through using the balance exercises. The Wii tracks your weight and BMI as well as your progress and allows you to compete with others. It is a fun way to keep a record of your progress while exercising.

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2:00 pm
free, no reservation required

**Gallery Talk | Infinity of Nations Guided Tour**

A Museum Ambassador gives a 45-minute free guided tour through the permanent exhibition.

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3:00 pm
free, no reservation required

Concert | College Recitals

4:00 PM - 5:30 PM Saundra Schiller, Accompanying 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM Ellen Teufel, Soprano 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM Harriet Stubbs, Piano 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM James Naumann, Vocal Accompanying 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Maria Malik, Piano 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Nakyung Min, Soprano 8:30 PM - 10:00 PM Tobias Roth, Viola 9:00 PM - 10:30 PM Andrea Vos, Clarinet 9:00 PM - 10:30 PM Jennifer H. Sung, Soprano

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4:00 pm
free, no reservation required

Discussion | Harlem Jazz Shrine Dialogues

Featuring: Cotton Club in Black & White and Ann Petry: The Street - Harlem in the 1940s.

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5:00 pm
free, no reservation required

Author Reading | Mike Bartlett discusses his play Bull

Playwright Mike Bartlett (COCK, BULL) Reading, Talk and Book Signing. The U.S. premier of Mike Bartlett's new play BULL is part of "Brit's Off Broadway" at 59E59 Theatres, April 25 through June 2.

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5:00 pm
Free

City Walk | The High Line Sunset Tour

The area around the High Line Park was a vital business district of New York City, supplying fresh fruits, French Cheeses and Russian caviar as well as fresh meats to City markets. The hustle and bustle of the streets induced the City to elevate the railroad trains delivering goods to the commercial buildings. When interstate truck traffic made the railway outdated, it fell into ruin, only to be regenerated as a park. Reservations Required RESERVE NOW

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5:00 pm
Free...

Author Reading | Alexander Stille discusses his book The Force of Things: A Marriage in War and Peace

The Force of Things follows two families across the twentieth century-one starting in czarist Russia, the other starting in the American Midwest-across revolution, war, fascism, and racial persecution, until they collide at mid-century. Their immediate attraction and tumultuous marriage is part of a much larger story: the mass migration of Jews from fascist-dominated Europe in the 1930s and 1940s.

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