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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!
23 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Monday, October 19, 2026
All events are free unless otherwise noted.
Birdwatching | Park Birdwatching Outing
Learn the basics of bird watching in this fun outing for beginners, hobbyists, and lifelong birders alike. Together, the group will explore NYC parks, and see what makes this spot a hang-out for resident urban birds and marvelous migrators! Binoculars and field guides provided, or bring your own.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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9:30 am
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Workshop | Bodyroll Aerobic Dance Workout
This class teaches the bodyroll dance practice, which ignites embodied empowerment and energize a cathartic release. The experience is designed to alchemize a playful perspective for rolling, releasing, and reinventing yourself. Together, the group will tap into the spiral rave through body rolling, movement energetix, embodiment practices, and aerobic dancing. No dance experience is encouraged!
Manhattan, New York, NY
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10:00 am
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Museums | Exploring Art, History, and Global Cultures in a Landmark Museum
Spend time exploring a world-renowned collection spanning centuries of art, design, and cultural history. From ancient artifacts to iconic masterpieces, these galleries invite slow looking, discovery, and reflection across works that connect global traditions, artistic innovation, and human stories. Note: Some galleries are closed for renovation.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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10:00 am
pay-what-you-wish for NY...
pay-what-you-wish for NY...
Tour | Hop-On Hop-Off Bus: Brooklyn Bridge, Financial District, 9/11 Memorial
This complimentary shuttle loops through more than 30 locations across Lower Manhattan, covering major sites from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Financial District and the World Trade Center area. Busses arrive about every 15 minutes throughout the day. Riders can board or exit at any marked stop, with unlimited trips at no cost. Dayly service.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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10:00 am
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Workshop | Open Play Pickleball for All Ages
Enjoy casual, drop‑in pickleball at the park. An exciting fusion of badminton and tennis, pickleball has exploded in popularity. Open play encourages rotating games, social fun, and friendly competition for players of all skill levels. First‑come, first‑served.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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10:00 am
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Workshop | 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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10:30 am
free, registration required
free, registration 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
Party | Fiber/Textile Arts Social
Are you a knitter? Do you like to crochet? Maybe you like a different type of fiber art? Whichever it is, bring your supplies and lose yourself in the meditative world of creating art with fiber. Invite your friends, or make new connections there. This is a meet-up, not a class.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Workshop | French Petanque-Playing in the Park
Members of NYC’s oldest-running Petanque club guide a Petanque-playing session. This French lawn bowling game from the early 20th century is easy to learn, and the boules will be provided. Just bring yourself!
Manhattan, New York, NY
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1:00 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Workshop | Basic Sewing to Mend Your Clothing Items
A limited series of hands-on mending sessions with a different focus each week. Build your mending skills to save money, reduce waste, and express your personal style.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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2:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Workshop | Self-Reflective Writing Session
In this first unit of the creative writing class, the group will be focus on life-writing wherein patrons will be writing creative nonfiction based on their own memories. As it will be Back to School season and the oncoming fall, the session will focus primarily on childhood memories, and developing these into stories by doing the following: 1) focusing on memory selection and developing into a detailed episode, 2) taking real life persons and developing them into characters in their narrative, and 3) crafting them into stories through an outlining/drafting process.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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4:45 pm
free, no reservation required
free, no reservation required
Museums | Step Inside a Historic Mansion and Explore Centuries of Design Evolution
The museum showcases 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 | L'Eclisse (1962): Italian Romantic Drama Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
L'eclisse tells the story of a young woman who leaves one lover and drifts into a relationship with another. Using the architecture of Rome as a backdrop for the doomed affair, Antonioni achieves the apotheosis of his style in this return to the theme that preoccupied him the most: the difficulty of connection in an alienating modern world. Director: Michelangelo Antonioni Cast: Alain Delon, Monica Vitti, Francisco Rabal, Lilla Brignone, Louis Seigner Michelangelo Antonioni was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor. His films have been described as "enigmatic and intricate mood pieces" that feature striking visual composition, subdued narratives, and a preoccupation with modern landscapes. His work substantially influenced subsequent world art cinema, including the slow cinema movement. Antonioni received numerous awards and nominations throughout his career, winning the Palme d'Or, the Golden Lion, the Golden Bear, and the Golden Leopard. In Italian with English subtitles.
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...
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
Workshop | Poetry Memorization Workshop
Matthew Stillman will introduce games of listening to the group and use the principles there to build poetic responses to each other using these games. Using shared nursery rhymes and snippets of poems from Yeats or Dickinson or Williams, the group will voyage towards a silent horizon of the poetic ear.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, donations welcome,...
free, donations welcome,...
Book Discussion | Art Historian & Critic Shares Her 2025 Book on the History of Artists' Protests
Writer and editor Lauren O’Neill-Butler discusses her new book, The War of Art. Named a best book of 2025 by NPR, The War of Art tells the history of artist-led activism and the global political and aesthetic debates from the 1960s to the present. Artists in America have long battled against injustices, believing that art can, in fact, “do more.” The War of Art tells this history of artist-led activism and the global political and aesthetic debates from the 1960s to the present. In contrast to the financialized art market and celebrity artists, the book explores the power of collective effort — from protesting to philanthropy, and from wheat-pasting to planting a field of wheat.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:30 pm
free, RSVP required
free, RSVP required
Discussion | History & Film Scholars Discuss Portrayals of the Nuremburg Trials
Sylvie Lindeperg presents an illustrated lecture featuring the archival research for her award-winning book, Staging Nuremberg: How the United States and the Soviet Union Fought Over the Portrayal of Nazi Crimes (2026), Columbia University Press's translation of La Bataille des images (2021). Lindeperg will be joined in conversation by Annette Insdorf. Please review the venue's access requirements.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:30 pm
free, registration required
free, registration 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, donations welcome
free, donations welcome
Book Discussion | Hannah Arendt Award Winning Scholar Shares His New Book on Hannah Arendt's Life & Thought
A discussion with Roger Berkowitz on his new book, A World We Share: Hannah Arendt and the Power of Friendship in a Broken World. In conversation with Roosevelt Montas. About the book: A bold rethinking of politics through Hannah Arendt's life and thought, arguing that friendship--not truth--is the fragile but necessary foundation of democratic life
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:00 pm
free, RSVP required
free, RSVP required
Classical Music | Italian Chamber Works by Vivaldi, Handel, & More from the Time of the American Revolution
In recognition of America at 250 years, singers Sarah Fleiss and Morgan Mastrangelo and their baroque ensemble, Split the Lark, explore the musical spirit of the time. From figures like Antonio Vivaldi and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi—who cemented the Italianate baroque style—to Georg Frideric Handel and Thomas Arne—who adopted these sensibilities for English-speaking audiences in London—Italian opera was at the height of its power in the late 1700s. This musical form marked a shift in taste: from monarchical sway to public control. The ensemble will also present lesser-known works by Christoph Willibald Gluck, Nicola Porpora, and Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi, whose La quakera spiritosa (“The Spirited Quaker”) details a young American girl’s rebellion against her father.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Workshop | Drawing from a Distance: Light, Space & Sculpture (Online!)
Examine fixed-perspective films that feature spaces where light shifts and nature actively interacts with sculpture. Learn introductory drawing techniques and settle into a flow as you create a long sketch. Reflect on drawings and discuss the integration between art, space, and time. No previous experience required. Materials Needed: Pencils, an eraser, and paper.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:30 pm
free, registration required...
free, registration required...
Classical Music | Original Percussion Works by Emergig Composers
An evening of world premieres written for the ensemble, a collaboration that has yielded nearly 100 new works.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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8:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Join the Club!
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Classical Music | "Virtuoso" Pianist Performs Works by Liszt & More
Regular Price: $50CFT Member Price: $0.00
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