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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!
32 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Thursday, November 19, 2026
All events are free unless otherwise noted.Tour | New York City Hall Guided Tour
One of the oldest continuously used city halls in the nation that still houses its original governmental functions, New York's City Hall is considered one of the finest architectural achievements of its period. Constructed from 1803 to 1812, the building was an early expression of the City's cosmopolitanism. City Hall is a designated New York City landmark, and its rotunda is also a designated interior landmark. Note: When registering, choose the "Individual Tour" option.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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10:00 am
free, registration required...
free, registration required...
Film | Wild Indian (2021): Thriller
Decades after covering up his classmate’s murder, Michael has moved on from his reservation and fractured past. When a man who shares his violent secret seeks vengeance, Michael goes to great lengths to protect his new life with his wife and boss from the demons of his past. Director: Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. Cast: Michael Greyeyes, Chaske Spencer, Jesse Eisenberg, Kate Bosworth
Manhattan, New York, NY
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11:00 am
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Tour | Historical Museum Tour: Discover a Site of the Underground Railroad
This tour will focus on the construction and history of the house through the lens of it original builder Joseph Brewster, a staunch abolitionist, who designed the house with a hidden passageway, making it one of Manhattan's only documented sites of the Underground Railroad. The group will also discover what daily life was really like for a wealthy merchant-class family and their Irish servants in the mid-19th century, when New York City evolved from a seaport to a thriving metropolis. The tour covers four floors of period rooms of this landmark late-Federal and Greek revival style rowhouse.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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11:00 am
free, registration required
free, registration required
Workshop | Mat Pilates Session (Beginners Welcome)
Sweet Water Dance & Yoga leads a session of mat pilates, a strengthening and lengthening exercise that focuses on conditioning your core muscles while also training your arms and legs. This class incorporates key Pilates principles such as postural alignment, breathing, strength, controlled movement, and flexibility. This class is perfect for beginners but intermediate and advanced movers will also benefit. Bring your own mat.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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11:00 am
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Workshop | Learn to Juggle in the Park
This juggling class is ideal for a quick lesson, an extended practice session, or just enjoy watching jugglers 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.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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12:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Classical Music | Organ Works by J.S. Bach in a Beautiful Church (In Person AND Online!)
Take a momentary respite from a busy day to enjoy a selection of organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach in an intimate venue.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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12:20 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Film | To Have and Have Not (1944): Romantic War Adventure Film with Humphrey Bogart
A charter-boat owner agrees to a smuggling deal in an effort to help an attractive pickpocket get back to America, but when a friend is taken hostage and pumped for information, he must come to his rescue. Director: Howard Hawks Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan, Lauren Bacall, Dolores Moran, Hoagy Carmichael Humphrey Bogart, nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart as the greatest male star of classic American cinema.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Classical Music | Chamber Works by Robert Schumann & More (In Person AND Online!)
CUNY musicians. Program: Carl Vine (1954-) Sonata for Flute and Piano Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Märchenerzählungen Trio, Op. 132 Yuko Uebayashi Au-delà du temps
Manhattan, New York, NY
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1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Classical Music | Motets and the Sacred Music of the Middle Ages (In Person AND Online!)
Demestvo is excited to present a new program centering around one of the musical masterpieces of the European Middle Ages: Guillaume de Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame. The program embeds this work in its liturgical context, supplementing it with a Gregorian Introit chant, an Alleluia motet by Machaut's contemporary, Philippe de Vitry, and a Trinitarian motet by fifteenth-century composer Guillaume Dufay. Named after a Slavic polyphonic chant tradition, Demestvo is a vocal ensemble founded by musicology PhD student and soprano Anastasia Shmytova. Conceived as part of her dissertation research on medieval Slavic chant and early polyphony, Demestvo is committed to bringing the unique sound worlds of lesser-known early music traditions to contemporary audiences.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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1:15 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Film | The Breadwinner (2026): Comedy Film
When a supermom lands a Shark Tank deal, she switches roles with her breadwinner husband, who struggles to adapt as a stay-at-home dad to their three daughters. Director: Eric Appel Cast: Nate Bargatze, Mandy Moore, Colin Jost, Zach Cherry, Martin Herlihy, Kumail Nanjiani, Will Forte
Manhattan, New York, NY
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2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Workshop | Make Your Own Clay Pinch Pot Using Techniues from Indigenous Cultures
Get hands-on with clay and create a miniature pinch pot! This engaging activity introduces a time-honored art form practiced by Indigenous communities across the Western Hemisphere. Passed down through generations, pottery-making reflects creativity, skill, and deep cultural knowledge. All are welcome! *Children under 15 should be accompanied by an adult caregiver.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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2:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Film | The Drug in Our Pocket (2026): Tech & Mental Health Documentary + Expert Discussion
An evening screening of clips from the documentary, followed by an expert panel conversation. Learn more about how digital technology is shaping youth mental health and what families and schools can do together to reclaim their attention, agency, and time! Smartphones and social media are part of nearly every moment of young people’s lives—both at home and at school. Parents see it at the dinner table and at bedtime; teachers see the results manifesting in the classroom, in students’ attention, in friendships, and in their perception of themselves. Panelists will explore what the research tells us, what parents and educators are seeing in children, and what practical strategies can help kids build healthier relationships with technology. Audience Q&A to follow.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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5:30 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Workshop | Full-Body Fitness Class in the Park (All-Levels Welcome)
An outdoor workout in the park for building strength, balance, and community. This full-body fitness class is designed to energize your week, boost your mood, and build community in the heart of Lower Manhattan. Every movement can be modified, making it perfect for beginners, returning exercisers, and parents looking to reset after school drop-off.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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5:30 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Poetry Reading | Poetry Open Mic: Share Your Work or Listen to Emerging Writers
Participants can share their original work for up to five minutes. Space is limited to 15 readers; show up on time to get a slot!
Manhattan, New York, NY
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5:30 pm
free, register for...
free, register for...
Classical Music | "Expressive & Stylish" (Financial Times) Historic Chamber Ensemble Performs Works by Couperin & More
Sonnambula opens its season with the premiere of previously lost work by Baroque composer Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre. Four "airs" written for the court at Versailles, discovered to be printed at the back of a 1712 educational treatise in the collection of The Morgan Library & Museum, have remained unresearched, unrecorded, and unperformed. These airs shed light on how women composers navigated the porous boundaries between elite entertainment, teaching, and public musical life in early eighteenth-century France and are testimony to how Jacquet de La Guerre worked within this complex environment. Sonnambula is joined by mezzo-soprano Chloe Holgate in a program that also features works by Jacquet de La Guerre's contemporaries Marin Marais, Francois Couperin, and Michel Richard Delalande, as well as a world premiere by Stephen Anthony Weinfield.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, registration required...
free, registration required...
Opening Reception | Industrial Artistry 2: Solo Exhibition Exploring Life, Matter, & Relationship to Objects
Japanese artist, designer, and "Matter Tuner" Takuma Yamazaki presents his solo exhibition. The exhibition adds three new works to his ongoing exploration of life, matter, and our relationship with objects. Yamazaki sees objects as more than passive things: they emerge and continually change through their connections and continuity with life. Through his distinctive sensibility, expressed across diverse materials and media, visitors are invited to explore and enjoy the connections between themselves and the beings and objects that surround them.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Opening Reception | one wing: Solo Painting Exhibition Capturing the Essence of a Feeling
An exhibition of new paintings realized over the last year by Ellen Siebers. Based in Hudson, New York, Siebers paints to capture the essence of a feeling, with compositions that combine elements of still life, landscape, and figure painting in a unique visual language. Working through multiple compositions at once, Siebers approaches painting as an act of discovery. Her atmospheric works reveal themselves over the course of several months, often finding inspiration in a variety of sources from life or media—a photograph, a film still, a figure in the clouds—but never ending there. Each work begins with an act of observation, but Siebers embraces the act of departure that follows. United by a considered attention to surrounding conditions of light, color, form, and texture, her works bear witness to the state of presence.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Opening Reception | Andrew Ginzel: Solo Exhibition from Bessie Award-Winning Artist
A series of new works exploring the juncture of what is perceptually expected and error.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Film | Pickup on South Street (1953): Spy Film Noir
A pickpocket, played by Richard Widmark in top form, unwittingly steals a top-secret microfilm from a courier on a New York subway, making himself the prime target of both a Communist spy ring and government agents. Director: Samuel Fuller Cast: Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Murvyn Vye, Richard Kiley
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:30 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Film | The Best Years of Our Lives (1946): Classic Epic Drama
This film follows three World War II veterans who return to their hometown and try to adjust to American civilian life. Coming from different branches of the military with ranks that don't match the social class they're returning to, each man carries the wartime dream of home—only to find himself out of step with the world he left behind. Director: William Wyler Cast: Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:30 pm
free, tickets required
free, tickets required
Book Discussion | A Postwar German Literary Masterpiece Rediscovered: Translator & Novelest Discuss
Illusions' translator Rob Madole joins writer Megan Nolan for a conversation about this book. Upon publication, critics were baffled by author Ruth Rehmann's frank treatment of sexuality—mistaking it for frivolousness—and faulted her style for “an excess of contemporaneity.” Read today, its focus on the poverty of human connection within an abundant and stubbornly traditional society feels shockingly prescient. Illusions follows four employees of the Wellis Corporation over one unsatisfactory weekend: grey-haired secretary Frau Schramm, frustrated translator Paul Westermann, fadingly glamorous Carmen Viol, and restless young assistant Therese Pfeiffer. Narrated in a prismatic, stream-of-consciousness style that jumps fluidly among characters, the book offers a portrait of the claustrophobic tension beneath postwar capitalism. Originally published by Suhrkamp in 1959 during West Germany's "economic miracle," Illusions incisively examines a regime attempting to slough off its Nazi past through a zealous drive to modernize and a rhetoric of material abundance.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:30 pm
free, RSVP required
free, RSVP required
Classical Music | Balkan grooves, Viennese Waltz Rhythms, & Works by J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Ravel, Schubert, & More for Marimba
An evening celebrating 15 years of Lucid Duo, as Austrian marimba duo Irena and Tomasz present a program tracing their artistic journey through classical arrangements, original compositions, and contemporary approaches to the marimba.The program brings together original arrangements of works by Bach, Beethoven, Ravel, Schubert, and Chopin with compositions written specifically for Lucid Duo by Tomasz Golinski, alongside nature-inspired works by Keiko Abe, Balkan grooves, and Viennese waltz rhythms. From classical masterworks to contemporary works for marimba duo, the concert highlights the instrument's sonic, expressive, and virtuosic versatility while reflecting the experiences and inspirations that have shaped the duo's musical path.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:30 pm
free, RSVP required
free, RSVP required
Workshop | Collage Night
Repurpose old book materials and create some art. Base supplies will be provided. Additional materials are available for purchase at PWYC prices.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:30 pm
free, donations welcome,...
free, donations welcome,...
Workshop | Intermediate Chess-Playing: Level-Up Your Game
Develop your strategies and take your game to the next level with chess expert Tamar Chanadiri from the Marshall Chess Club. Chess has many benefits, including:
Improving cognitive skills
Encouraging creativity
Building confidence
Developing problem-solving skills
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:30 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Discussion | Johns Hopkins Bioethics Researchers Discuss Advances in Reproductive Technology
Speakers explore the promises, risks, and societal implications of a technology that could reshape the future of human reproduction. What if ordinary skin cells could be transformed into eggs or sperm? Scientists are exploring in vitro gametogenesis (IVG), a technology that could expand reproductive options while raising profound ethical questions. Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH is the Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and the Levi Professor of Bioethics and Public Policy. His work focuses on the ethics of research, ethics and public health including global health, and ethics and emerging biomedical technologies. He speaks widely in the US and abroad, has published five books and over 160 articles, and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Anna Mastroianni, JD, MPH, is Research Professor in Bioethics and Law at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. Her scholarship explores complex issues at the intersection of law, bioethics, public health, and health policy, with a particular focus on the challenges of research in pregnancy, genetic technologies, and family building through assisted reproductive technologies. She has published widely across these areas and is recognized for her contributions to major debates in bioethics and public policy.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:30 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Book Club | Luddite Book Club: The Last Human Job by Allison Pugh
Offline Book Club is a space for in-person conversation about the role technology plays in our world. This month's pick: The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World by Allison Pugh (2024). About the Book: Reveals connective labor as a particular kind of mutual recognition of each other's humanity, essential in so many professional relationships, whether teacher-student, coach-player, or doctor-patient. Questions whether this work can ever be replaced using “AI”.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:30 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Concert | Percussive Music Experience
A powerful performance that celebrates the enduring legacy of one of America’s most influential composers and the artists carrying his legacy forward. Drumming moves fluidly between different families of instruments — from bongos, marimbas, and glockenspiels to whistling and the human voice — and requires an almost telepathic communication between players. This concert honors the mentors, educators, and musical visionaries who are shaping the next generation.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:30 pm
free, RSVP required
free, RSVP required
Book Discussion | Electric Literature-Featured Writer Shares Her New Short Story Collection, Hot Fruit
Erinrose Mage in conversation with Jesse Jae Hoon. About the book: Strange and incantatory, Erinrose Mager's debut collection Hot Fruit investigates the longing for self, the longing for another, and the longing for connection between the self and another when the other is inherently unknowable.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:00 pm
free, RSVP required
free, RSVP required
Author Reading | Pulitzer Prize Finalist Shares New Material
A reading by Nathan Englander followed by a conversation/Q&A with Darin Strauss. The event will conclude with a reception/signing with books for sale. Nathan Englander's most recent novel is kaddish.com. He is also the author of Dinner at the Center of the Earth, the collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, as well as the internationally bestselling story collection For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, and the novel The Ministry of Special Cases. He was the 2012 recipient of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for What We Talk About. His short fiction and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, Vogue, and Esquire, among other places.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:00 pm
free, RSVP required
free, RSVP required
7:00 pm
Regular: $30
Member: $0
Regular: $30
Member: $0
Join the Club!
Play | Accomplices: Political Family Drama
A new stage work inspired by Luchino Visconti's 1969 film The Damned. Set in Germany during the rise of fascism, the play follows one powerful family as ambition, fear, and the pursuit of power slowly transform them from bystanders into participants. Timely, provocative, and ensemble-driven, Accomplices explores how ordinary people become complicit in extraordinary events—and asks what happens when silence becomes a choice. Co-written by Arthur Makaryan, Emily Quin, Lucy Garcia, Twyla Weinstein, V Nivelle, and Clara Lupi. Directed by Arthur Makaryan Cast: V Nivelle, Mora Martinez, Shayne Ravello, Gergana Lilova, Prakhar Dixit, Lucy Garcia, Emily Quinn, Charles Cobb, Twyla Weinstein
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:30 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Comedy Club | Standup Show
Catch some of the best comedians at this free weekly stand-up show, featuring a lineup of rising stars and seasoned favorites. Past performers include Sheng Wang, Mark Normand, Dan Soder, Annie Lederman, and more.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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8:00 pm
free, reservation required...
free, reservation required...
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