free things to do in New York City
Free events for Sunday, 05/23/21
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Free Events, Free Things to Do in New York City!    Read More
20 free events take place on Sunday, May 23 in New York City.
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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!

20 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Sunday, May 23, 2021

All events are free unless otherwise noted.
        

Fair | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Flea Market: Antiques, Vintage Goods, Food Vendors


Search for hidden gems as you browse antiques, vintage goods, architectural salvage and collectibles. There is also a selection of food vendors from Smorgasburg. Face covering is required. Rain or shine.
   Manhattan, New York, NY
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8:00 am
free, no reservation required

Performance | (IN-PERSON) Aerialists and Acrobats: Works-in-Progress and Show-Ready Acts


Professional circus performers showcasing training and creative process as well as rehearsals of works-in-progress and show-ready acts. Schedule: Monday-Friday 9am-9pm, Weekends 10am-7pm Artists will be inside the studios and viewers will be in the passageway. Masks and social distancing are required.
   Brooklyn, New York, NY
10:00 am
free, donations welcome

Fair | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Flea Market in Brooklyn: Art, Jewelry, Antiques and More


Shop for vintage clothing, furniture, collectibles, antiques, jewelry, art, handicrafts, and more. Every Sun 10 am - 5 pm, 40-50 vendors. Visitors must wear a face covering and maintain social distance.
   Brooklyn, New York, NY
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10:00 am
free, no reservation required

Workshop | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Vinyasa Yoga


Connect with the earth and the skies above in this all-level Vinyasa Yoga class in Brooklyn Bridge Park. This class will help all yogi’s build towards peak poses and postures and grow your foundational knowledge of the practice of yoga. Sundays, May 9-October 24, 2021. Advanced registration is required. Registration opens every Tuesday at 10:00am for classes the following week.
   Brooklyn, New York, NY
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10:00 am
free

Fair | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Waterfront Market: Music, Food, Antiques, Clothing, Roller Skating


The market offers socially-distanced experience of food, shopping, family-friendly activities and entertainment: music, accessories, clothing, jewelry, pet supplies, beauty products, pottery and much more. Every Sat and Sun, 10 am - 5 pm. Visitors must wear face coverings at all times and observe social distancing.
   Brooklyn, New York, NY
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10:00 am
free, no reservation required

Tour | Boston: The City of Firsts (virtual, live stream)


As one of the original 13 colonies, Boston is a great place to see many "firsts" in America. Join this live tour and see where public education began even before the United States became a nation. Take in five centuries of architecture and learn the history of the city through the well-preserved buildings that tell the story of how the foundations of a nation started.
   Manhattan, New York, NY
10:00 am
free, tip-supported, advanced...

Fair | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Pop-Up Market: One-of-a-Kind, Handmade Items


The market offers one-of-a-kind, handmade items from local artisans. This weekly event features more than twenty vendors offering artwork, jewelry, fashion, home and apothecary goods, and more. Masks are required for all adults and children over the age of 2.
   Brooklyn, New York, NY
10:30 am
free, no reservation required

Tour | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Waterfront Walk: Guided Park Tour


Conservancy docents lead a walking tour traversing the Park's beautiful landscape. Learn about the history of the Brooklyn waterfront, how the Park came to life, and its sustainable design.
   Brooklyn, New York, NY
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10:30 am
Free

Museums | (IN-PERSON) Folk Art: Diverse and Rich


The museum's collection includes more than eight thousand works of art from four centuries and nearly every continent--from compelling portraits and dazzling quilts to powerful works by living artists in a variety of mediums.
   Manhattan, New York, NY
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11:00 am
free, reservations required

Workshop | Tee Time on the Plaza


Putt putt your way through this 7-hole mini golf course. Grab a friend and make a day of it! May 10-27, 2021
   Manhattan, New York, NY
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11:30 am
free

Performance | Downtown Live, Featuring 36 In-Person Performances


Live performances are back! Downtown Live will bring 36 in-person performances to Lower Manhattan on May 15-16 and 22-23. The performances will be staged at unexpected locations around the neighborhood, including a covered loading dock (4 New York Plaza), an arcade along the Stone Street Historic District (85 Broad Street) and a plaza with harbor views near The Battery (1 Battery Park Plaza). After a year of lockdowns, these in-person shows offer audience members a long-awaited chance to see LIVE theatre, contemporary performance, and music and to explore all that Lower Manhattan has to offer.
   Manhattan, New York, NY
12:30 pm
free

Festival | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Japan Performing Arts: Dance, Music & Kimono


JPA's outdoor cultural program "Dance, Music & Kimono" this year introduces 10 different variation of Japan's performances, lectures and workshops. Some performance programs are designed to enjoy stage shows, and others welcome participants to join. The perfect green environment on Governors Island provides the perfect setting to engage in exercise activities with Japanese music and dance. Programs currently planned: Dance to Japanese Pop Songs Frisode Kimono Dressing Demonstration Enka Band Performance Yukata Casual Summer Kimono Workshop Awa Odori (Dance), Gujo Odori (Dance), Nihon Buyo (Traditional Japanese Dance) Traditional Japanese Hair Dressing Demonstration Furoshiki Wrapping Workshop Having Fun with Traditional Japanese Toys and more. May 22-23, 29-31, 2021.
   Manhattan, New York, NY
1:00 pm
free...

Jazz | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Lounge and Smooth Jazz


Enjoy an afternoon of live jazz! Sharla Keys (keyboards and voice) and ArBuz (drums) draw inspiration from Earth pop music of the last 50-60 years, lounge, and smooth jazz, and use them as a platform to launch the audience on intergalactic, genre-bending journeys. Please wear your seatbelt and bon voyage. Drinks are available for purchase.
   Brooklyn, New York, NY
2:00 pm
free, no reservation required

Concert | Solo, Chamber, and Large Ensemble Pieces (virtual)


NowNet Arts Ensemble premieres contemporary network arts works by composer Sarah Weaver for musicians in New York, California, and Switzerland performing together live via the internet. With collaborations spanning over fifteen years in network arts, NowNet Arts Ensemble expresses works at the forefront of the medium and artistic interconnection.  Artists: Yoon Sun Choi (voice), Julie Ferrara (oboe), Jane Ira Bloom (soprano saxophone), Marty Ehrlich (woodwinds), Ned Rothenberg (woodwinds), James Zollar (trumpet), Ray Anderson (trombone), David Taylor (bass trombone), Mark Dresser (bass), Gerry Hemingway (percussion), Sarah Weaver (conductor, composer)
   Manhattan, New York, NY
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2:00 pm
free, donations welcome

Jazz | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Jazz Quartet Performs Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin


Saxophonists and clarinetists Peter and Will Anderson will be joined by Joe Boga on trumpet and Alex Raderman on drums. They will play classic American repertoire from the songbooks of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin and more.
   Manhattan, New York, NY
3:00 pm
free, no reservation required

Dance Performance | Sleeping Beauty by City Ballet of Boston Dancers and Cambridge Symphony Orchestra Musicians (virtual)


The Cambridge Symphony Orchestra (CSO) streams a production of Tchaikovsky’s ballet Sleeping Beauty. The performance features CSO musicians as well as ballet dancers from City Ballet of Boston. The dance components will be filmed inside the Fairmont Copley Plaza Grand Ballroom, and will visually portray an abridged version of the Sleeping Beauty story.
   Manhattan, New York, NY
4:00 pm
free, no reservation required

Classical Music | Florentine Early Baroque Songs, Duets and Trios (virtual)


Young singers perform Florentine early baroque songs, duets and trios by Giulio Caccini, Francesca Caccini, and Marco da Gagliano. The singers will be accompanied by Adam Cockerham, theorbo; Christa Patton, harp; and early music ensemble ARTEK director Gwendolyn Toth, harpsichord.
   Manhattan, New York, NY
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4:00 pm
free, no reservation required

Performance | chekhovOS: an experimental game: Film, Theater and Video Game Technology (Zoom)


The latest workshop from our Zero Gravity Virtual Theater Lab fuses film, theater, and video game technology to experiment in a new medium where viewers interact with the performers. Inspired by Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and drawing from recordings of Chekhov's letters and dreams, this interactive online theater experience accesses the operating system behind both Chekhov's computer and the world in which his characters live, searching for happiness. This is a work-in-progress created during the pandemic, a way for artists to work through the themes of the play, the encroaching virus, and a moment of change in the world around us. Followed by live talkback with members of the cast and creative team.
   Manhattan, New York, NY
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8:00 pm
free...

Concert | New Music for Voice (virtual)


This program features the world premiere of Jonathan Howard Katz's new large work for solo soprano, "From Century to Century." Written jointly for vocalists Sophie Delphis, Stephanie Lamprea, Emily Solo, and Zen Wu, it takes a deep look at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair through the "eyes" of an imagined animatronic robot and the characters embedded in its programming. Texts come from source materials related to the Exposition. Each vocalist will perform a quarter of this work, plus an additional piece: Zen Wu will also perform the full premiere of Katz's work "A Scenario in My Head," a setting of 30 tweets by comedic writer Danielle Weisberg, written for her in 2020. Sophie Delphis will perform Katz's mezzo-soprano cycle "As If Saying Goodbye" (2020), a setting of 3 poems by Andrea Cohen. Stephanie Lamprea will perform "Sage's Garden" (2021) by composer Josiah Tayag Catalan, and Emily Solo will perform a selection from contemporary opera.  
   Manhattan, New York, NY
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8:00 pm
Pay-what-you-can

Classical Music | The Cassatt Quartet Performs Fanny Mendelssohn and More (virtual)


The Cassatt Quartet gives a preview performance of Victoria Bond's new string quartet, Blue and Green Music. The program also includes works by Fanny Mendelssohn and Amy Beach with pianist Ursula Oppens.
   Manhattan, New York, NY
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8:00 pm
free, donations welcome
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Complimentary Tickets

to shows, concerts ... (CFT Deals!)

Classical Music | J.S. Bach and Beethoven by Prominent Orchestra

Regular Price: $30
CFT Member Price: $0.00

Performance | Broadway Actors in a Comedy

Regular Price: $69
CFT Member Price: $0.00