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Free events for Thursday, 05/12/22
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Free Events, Free Things to Do in New York City!  Read More

Are you looking for free things to do in New York City (NYC) on May 12, 2022?

32 free events take place on Thursday, May 12 in New York City. Don't miss the opportunities that only New York provides! Exciting, high quality, unique and off the beaten path free events and free things to do take place in New York today, tonight, tomorrow and each day of the year, any time of the day: whether it's a weekday or a weekend, day or night, morning or evening or afternoon, December or July, April or November! These events will take your breath away!

New York City (NYC) never ceases to amaze you with quantity and quality of its free culture and free entertainment. Check out May 12 and see for yourself. Summer or Winter, Spring or Fall! Just click on any day of the calendar above and you'll find most inspiring and entertaining free events to go to and free things to do on each day of May . Don't miss the opportunities that only New York provides!

Some events take place all year long: same day of the week, same time there are there for you to take advantage of. One of the oldest free weekly events in Manhattan is Dixieland Jazz with the Gotham Jazzmen, which happen at noon every Tuesday. Another example of an event that you can attend all year round on weekdays is Federal Reserve Bank Tour, which takes place every week day at 1 pm (but advanced reservations are required). You can take at least 13 free tours every day of the year, except the New Year Day, July 4th, and the Christmas Day. If you are classical music afficionado, you can spend whole day in New York going from one free classical concert to another. If you love theater, then New York gives you an option to attend plays and musicals free of charge, or at deep discount. You just need to have information about it. And we are here to make that information available to you.
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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!

32 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Thursday, May 12, 2022

All events are free unless otherwise noted.

Editor's Picks

free events nyc Greenbelt Hike: White Trail to Willowbrook Park
free events nyc Music of the Americas Dance Party
free events nyc Prop Man: Behind-the-Scenes Look at Iconic Movies and TV
free events nyc Chamber Works by Ravel, Bach, Saint-Saens, Liszt
free events nyc Jazz Saxophonist Who's Worked with Alicia Keys, Anita Baker
More Editor's Picks for 05/12/22
        

Fair | Street Fair


Free fun for the whole family, including arts, crafts, antiques, plants, entertainment, games, and more.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Dance Lesson | Everyone Dance Festival


An outdoor celebration of dance featuring Heidi Latsky Dance, ZCO / Dance Project, and Broadway instructors. This is an inclusive day of free dance activities available to everyone who would like to express themselves through movement.
   New York City, NY; NYC
11:00 am
Free

Workshop | Juggling in the Park


Jugglers use the park throughout the year to provide free classes to the public. Stop by for a quick lesson, stay for the whole time, or just enjoy watching them put their skills to the test. They're a friendly group and open to drop-ins, even if you catch them outside of the regular juggling lessons. All skill levels welcome. Equipment is provided.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Jazz | Ragtime/Tin Pan Alley Piano in the Park


Todd Robbins is a New York City based performer who plays Ragtime and classic Tin Pan Alley - and is renowned for his work in Coney Island, off Broadway, and as an author of several books. Whether a sideshow, magic, circus, jazz, or burlesque act, Todd is a master of popular entertainment and can be seen on YouTube, heard playing piano with Woody Allen's Jazz Band (he has recorded two albums with that group), or watched as host on the Investigation Discovery Channel’s new series, True Nightmares.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:30 pm
Free

Tour | Urban Farm Tour


Take a tour of an urban farm to learn about how they grow produce in the heart of downtown New York City
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | Cantatas by Telemann and Clérembault (in-person and online)


Addy Sterrett ~ soprano; Seula Isabelle Lee ~ violin; Balint Karosi ~ harpsichord; Ana Kim ~ cello This program centers around works by French composer Clérembault (1676-1749) and German composer Telemann (1681-1767), especially on their series of cantatas for solo voice with a single instrument. The Harmonischer Gottesdienst is a series of cantatas for solo voice, one obligato instrument and basso continuo that Telemann composed for every Sunday of the Lutheran church year. Medée is part of a series of secular cantatas that Clérembault published for solo voice and one obligato instrument. Telemann was very receptive to international influences in his cantatas; therefore, it will be interesting to hear these two cantatas in a single program.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:15 pm
Free

Hike | Greenbelt Hike: White Trail to Willowbrook Park


A journey through the Greenbelt's wandering White Trail. Be on the lookout for spring flowers: violets and wild geraniums, and returning warblers. Wear sturdy shoes and bring water. The trail is level. Approx. 4 miles. The trail may be muddy.
   New York City, NY; NYC
1:30 pm
Free

Discussion | Writing the Story: Exploring the Family Holocaust Memoir (online)


Ruth Franklin will moderate as Helen Epstein and Ariana Neumann discuss their experiences writing their families' Holocaust memoirs.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Hike | High Rock Park: Pumphouse Pond Dip


Discover the complex world of pond life and why stoneflies, mayflies, and diving beetles play critical roles in sustaining healthy aquatic ecosystems, ass we record and monitor a variety of freshwater invertebrates.  
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Nadine Faraj: Pink Moon Ceremony


The show marks the first presentation of the artist’s sumi ink drawings and features her largest watercolor paintings to date. The works on view demonstrate the artist’s masterful control of these notoriously difficult media. This series, inspired by full moon ceremonies and dance parties, invites viewers to partake in a celebration of togetherness and of the body itself, to revel in a joy beyond consumerism. These are not ordinarily naked gatherings, on the contrary, because they take place during the coldest hours of the night participants dress in multiple layers. The nudity in these pictures is often pure fantasy.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free

Birdwatching | Spring Birding Tour


Discover the surprising diversity of birds that call the park home during migratory season with guided tours by NYC Audubon, led by environmental educator and urban naturalist Gabriel Willow. The park is a hotspot for avian visitors and birders alike. Past sightings include warblers, tanagers, vireos, thrushes, and even a Chuck-will’s-widow.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | An Evening of Piano Music


Francesco Barfoed (b. 1996), a Danish pianist, born and raised in Copenhagen. A young collaborative and solo artist on the rise, he is currently pursuing his master’s degree at The Juilliard School. Program: RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Songs of Travel CARL MARIA VON WEBER Grand Duo Concertant RUED LANGGAARD Three Danish Songs
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free

Film | 1913 Massacre (2013): A Town's Violent Legacy


This documentary follows singer/songwriter Arlo Guthrie to Calumet, a once-thriving mining town on Michigan's Upper Peninsula still haunted by the tragic events that inspired Woody Guthrie's ballad, '1913 Massacre.' The film captures the last living witnesses of the 1913 tragedy, reconstructs Calumet's past from individual memories, family legends and songs, and traces the legacy of the tragedy to the present day, when the town--out of work, out of money, out of luck--still struggles to come to terms with this painful episode from its past. 66 min. Producers/directors Ken Ross and Louis V. Galdieri will discuss the film with Nora Guthrie following the screening.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Johanna Robinson: Wish Fulfillment


An exhibition of paintings by the Brooklyn-based artist Johanna Robinson, marking her first solo presentation in New York. Robinson’s depictions of whimsical dreamscapes explore the depths of the human psyche. Her paintings and works on paper present curious menageries of creatures and objects entangled in nebulous webs, where animate and inanimate entities collide, interchange, and comingle. Figure-stacking is a motif recurring throughout the artist’s practice, notably through subjects contorting and balancing in comical acrobatic displays. A nod to the German fairy tale Town Musicians of Bremen, in which animals band together in defiance of their masters, this towering into quasi-architectural forms allegorizes knowledge structures within Robinson’s work, which, through devices of humor and irony, she quite literally turns on their heads.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | La Nijinska: Choreographer of the Modern, Author Discussion 


In this book, Lynn Garafola uncovers the astonishing life of the choreographer Bronislava Nijinska, long overshadowed by her brother, Vaslav Nijinsky, and yet long deserving of attention as one of the most notable choreographers of ballet modernism. Garafola constructs Nijinska’s world across three continents and multiple languages in a biography that challenges our understanding of the history of ballet, the impact of dance criticism, and the power of artistic legacies. Lynn Garafola is Professor Emerita of Dance at Barnard College, Columbia University. A historian and critic, she is the author of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, Legacies of Twentieth-Century Dance, and most recently La Nijinska: Choreographer of the Modern. Garafola will be joined in converstaion by Julia Foulkes, faculty member of The New School and the author of A Place for Us: West Side Story and New York (2016); Modern Bodies: Dance and American Modernism from Martha Graham to Alvin Ailey (2002). Foulkes curated the exhibition "Voice of My City: Jerome Robbins and New York" (2018-19).
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Mariette Pathy Allen: House Ball, Harlem, 1984


Mariette Pathy Allen began photographing the transgender community in the late 1970s. Through her artistic practice, she has been a pioneering force in gender consciousness, contributing to numerous cultural and academic publications about gender variance and lecturing across the globe. In 1984, Allen was invited to attend and photograph a house ball in Harlem. The competitions began after midnight and ran to 8 AM. The space was very dark, and there were many, many categories including the Face Competition, Femme Queen Realness, Runway, etc. Contestants competed for trophies, prizes, and bragging rights. While Allen shot images of the action in front of the audience, she also invested much of her time and interest in the preparations backstage, shooting more intimate portraits.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Prabhavathi Meppayil: Meticulous, Subtle Abstractions


Known for her use of traditional Bangalorean goldsmithing tools and techniques, which have been passed down throughout generations in her family, Prabhavathi Meppayil creates meticulous, subtle abstractions that bridge the past and future. Engaged with the history of postwar abstraction and modes of non-hierarchical organization, the artist’s work combines modernist aesthetics with the rich craft traditions of her native India.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Prop Man: Behind-the-Scenes Look at Iconic Movies and TV


Ross MacDonald will show us the secret history at the art and design of iconic props from many of the most popular films and TV shows, from John Wick and Silver Linings Playbook to Boardwalk Empire and Parks and Recreation. He will be in conversation with design critic and author Steven Heller, with a signing to follow. Discover the secret history of the books, cards, letters, maps, and legal papers that play central and supporting roles in many of your favorite films and TV shows
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Richard Alvarez: A Feeling as Well as a Look


Raised in the Bronx, Richard Alvarez entered Manhattan nightlife as a teenager in the 1980s. Dressing up and sneaking out of his parents’ home late at night, he soon found himself part of club culture where gay, straight, hip hop, punk, and the ball scene all intersected. Alvarez eventually went on to join New York’s downtown art scene, first as a fashion stylist and later as a painter. Employing a self-taught layering technique with binder and glitter, Alvarez’s work references iconography from the Yoruba and Catholic religions that surrounded him as a child. The exhibition features the artist’s newest works, a series of painted portraits of the luminaries he encountered and embraced during his earliest adventures in the city, including many of the ball children he befriended.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Steve Marcus: Top Dog of Kosher Pop Art


An exciting new exhibition which explores Jewish life and immigrant culture through works on paper, a wooden sculpture, a site-specific installation, and selections from Marcus’s personal collection of New York City hot dog memorabilia. Celebrate with us and learn about the realization of this exhibition with remarks from artist Steve Marcus, Executive Director Bonnie Dimun, Curator Nancy Johnson, The Honorable Judge Saul Stein and Mrs. Leeba Stein.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Poetry Reading | When We Make It: Poetry and Music


Poet Elisabet Velasquez will collaborate with poet and DJ Jive Poetic to throw a party that celebrates love, grief, and the written and spoken word. This event will feature interactive altars to honor the poets and ancestors who guide us from the other side. They offer this event as testament to our continued fight for justice and joy and as a ritual to honor all the love and struggle that makes us possible.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Dancing | Music of the Americas Dance Party


Dance Party, hosted and produced by Talia Castro-Pozo, includes superb bands and expert dance instruction for extraordinary dancing experiences each Wednesday evening. Learn the steps from 6pm - 7pm and then test out your new moves to live music from 7pm to 8:30pm. Join Talia and friends for an evening of Salsa, Cumbia, and Afro Peruvian dance. La Mar is led by the Colombian-American Classical Guitarist and Composer Nilko Andreas Guarin. Guarin has been praised as an "electrifying performer for his powerful stage presence and spontaneity" by Backstage. Since his Carnegie Hall debut in 2009, Nilko Andreas has been captivating audiences in over fifteen countries and three continents as a soloist, composer and chamber musician, performing on prestigious stages such as Wildthurn Castle in Germany and The Strathmore Hall in Bethesda. Guarin is the recipient of many international awards including the "Recognition aAward" by the city of New York for his contributions to the Arts. Guarin has appeared as soloist with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Shenzhen Symphonic Orchestra of China, and Surabaya Symphony Orchestra in Indonesia. He has participated in renowned international festivals as Cooperstown Music Festival, Vale do Cafe and Festival do Inverno do Petropolis in Brazil, and has worked with prominent composers including Alba Potes, "Prix de Rome" winner Juan Pablo Carreno, Kevin Purcell, Juan Pablo Contreras, Ricardo Calderoni, Reinaldo Moya and Francisco Zumaque. As a composer, Nilko Andreas has written music for independent films, theatre, dance and solo artists. His score for the silent film Pancho Villa's Revenge was celebrated at the world-renowned Flaherty Film Seminar. His collaboration with award-winning theatre group Artificio, in Federico Garcia Lorca's The Butterfly's Evil Spell, won him honors, awards and rave reviews. Recently he was commissioned by Mordance to write a piece for a chamber ensemble that premiered in New York's Sheen Center .
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes and Global Politics (online)


For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, join us on YouTube Live for a special virtual Tenement Talk honoring the 2022 Bancroft Prize-winning book. Author and historian Mae Ngai will discuss her decade of research into the global politics of Chinese immigration through history across five continents. Born from the need to debunk myths of 19th Century Chinese immigration, The Chinese Question weaves together economics and global history to explore the interactions between Chinese and Western settler populations in gold mining regions. Ngai details the perspectives of Chinese arrivals in colonies and territories, the differences and similarities they encountered, and ultimately, how the tensions and racism born from these areas gave rise to restrictive immigration laws and new understandings of race. In this conversation, we’ll explore this critical history and how it helps us understand the roots of anti-Asian racism prevalent today.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Talk | Bird Identification for Beginners (online)


More than 200 birds regularly visit New York City each year. Long-time birders, experienced trip leaders, and authors of the upcoming Birdwatching in New York City and on Long Island, Deborah Rivel and Kellye Rosenheim, will show you the basics of bird identification, bird behavior, and cover some of the best places to find them during this webinar. For the beginning birder, it will be a great opportunity to learn a new skill and for those who have been out on their own, this is a chance to learn tips from the experts.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Book Discussion | 2 New Crime Thrillers: The Murder Rule / City on Fire


Welcome internationally bestselling crime writers Dervla McTiernan and Don Winslow. After triumph in the internationally bestselling DI Cormac Reilly series, McTiernan is back with her first standalone novel, The Murder Rule. This mother-daughter story shows family at odds with a horrible truth amid gripping, electric prose. In Winslow’s new epic crime saga, City on Fire, eighties grit and swagger meets classic themes of loyalty, betrayal, and corruption. Winslow’s writing is a tour-de-force of electric storytelling, referred to as a ‘contemporary Iliad.’ These two authors blend crime and loyalty, immersing us in a world where everything—not just family—ends in blood.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | At the Dawn of a New Age: Early Twentieth-Century American Modernism: Curator Talk (online)


Curator Barbara Haskell and Curatorial Assistant Roxanne Smith give an overview of the Whitney Museum show. Featuring over sixty works by fifty artists drawn primarily from the Whitney’s permanent collection, this exhibition offers an expanded understanding of the complexity of American art produced between 1900 and 1930.  While visitors will likely be familiar with well-known artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Marsden Hartley, At the Dawn of a New Age will also present work by many similarly groundbreaking modernists who have been largely forgotten. For this event, the curator will provide an introduction to the exhibition followed by an opportunity for audience members to ask questions. Free with registration.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | Chamber Works by Ravel, Bach, Saint-Saens, Liszt


American Protege Award-winning pianist Leila Ditta Hargitai and flutist Eszter Kiraly. Program: J. S. Bach: Flute Sonata in E minor, BWV 1034 Saint-Saens: Violin Sonata in D minor Op.75 in flute and piano arrangement J. S. Bach: Italian Concerto C. P.. E. Bach: Sonata in A major (W.55/4) Liszt: Scherzo und Marsch Ravel: Jeux d'eau Leila Ditta Hargitai won first prize in various piano competitions like the International Bela Bartok Piano Competition, the National Piano Competition, Music Bridge International Youth Instrumental Competition, and was awarded for the best Chopin performance. Eszter Kiraly is a Hungarian flutist and conductor. In 2020 she founded the MilleniArt Ensemble, which focuses on performing Baroque and contemporary music and their work already includes several world premieres. In 2020 she won the first prize at the New Millennium International Chamber Music Festival,
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
Free

Concert | Sing-In with Acclaimed Soprano-Composer Kamala Sankaram


Join composer, soprano Kamala Sankaram for a public communal sing-in featuring new works by Sankaram. All levels are welcome! Praised as “one of the most exciting opera composers in the country"” (Washington Post), composer Kamala Sankaram moves freely between the worlds of experimental music and contemporary opera. Vaccination proof required.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Musical | In the Green: An Innovative Musical-Opera Hybrid


This innovative opera/music/theater piece tells the story of the medieval composer, mystic, scientist and Catholic saint Hildegard von Bingen “on her path to sainthood from childhood,” focusing on the thirty years she spent locked up in a cell with her mentor, the anchoress Jutta von Sponheim. A New Musical by Grace McLean Additional Music & Words by Hildegard Von Bingen
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Jazz | Jazz Saxophonist Who's Worked with Alicia Keys, Anita Baker


It is easy to hear why saxophonist and composer Lakecia Benjamin was named a 2020 Rising Star by the Downbeat Magazine Critics' Poll. A collaborator with artists as diverse as Alicia Keys, Gregory Porter, Anita Baker, and Clark Terry, Benjamin has proven versatility and excellence in multiple fields, but it is her third album as bandleader, Pursuance: The Coltranes, that best spotlights her virtuosity. Pursuance is a sax-driven set of standards by both Alice and John Coltrane, featuring Benjamin and her band joined by a stellar multi-generational lineup of guest artists including Ron Carter, Reggie Workman, Gary Bartz, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Georgia Anne Muldrow. Benjamin breathes new life into the Coltranes' legacy, finding and reflecting the nuance and brilliance of these jazz titans.
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 pm
Free

Comedy Club | Bomb Shelter Comedy Show


Bomb Shelter is a free weekly comedy show in New York City where you’ll find some of the best comedians performing. Expect free pizza.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | Works by J.S.Bach, Hindemith, Max Bruch for Cello


Blake Hilley, Double Bass. Program: JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 PAUL HINDEMITH Double Bass Sonata DAVID ANDERSON Four Short Pieces for Solo Double Bass MAX BRUCH Kol Nidrei, Op. 47
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free
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