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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 26, 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. Daily 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 | Mending Session: Patches & Embroidery
Build your mending skills to save money, reduce waste, and express your personal style. Learn how to enjoy fixing well-loved items that still have use in them. This week's focus is patching and embroidery. Need more extensive repairs for your most well loved items? The group will look at techniques for patches and patterned stitching, also known as boro and sashiko. And if you have unsightly stains that just won't come out, decorative embroidery can be used to embellish and disguise those areas.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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2:00 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Party | Community Plant Trade-Off
Meet other plant enthusiasts for a free plant swap. Share tips, advice, and plants in this community event Tips for success: Please bring only pest-free plants. If your plants are in containers, please be sure they are in containers that you are ready to give away or exchange. Rooted cuttings may be brought in a sealed plastic bag wrapped in a moist paper towel.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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3:30 pm
free, registration recommended
free, registration recommended
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...
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...
Film | Two Prosecutors (2025): German Historical Drama (+ Filmmaker Discussion)
Summoned with a blood-written note smuggled out of a prison block, an idealistic state lawyer pushes past the leery authorities to interview an elderly, broken-down Bolshevik. The young attorney, determined to expose the miscarriages of justice that landed the man in confinement, finds the eye of the state turned on him instead, as an ever-tightening net encircles his investigation. Set at the height of the Great Purge and drenched in the paranoia of Stalin's police state, filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa's latest triumph is a chilling, Kafkaesque thriller about the impunity of power and matter-of-fact horrors of fascism. Director: Sergei Loznitsa Cast: Aleksandr Kuznetsov, Aleksandr Filippenko, Anatoliy Beliy, Andris Keiss The post-screening Q&A with director Sergei Loznitsa will be moderated by Mark Lipovetsky.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, registration required...
free, registration 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
Classical Music | Works by Felix Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Brahms, & More for Piano & Cello
Maxime Zecchini, piano, Theo Bross, cello. Program: Paul Bazelaire (1886-1958) Suite Française Émile Waldteufel (1837-1915) Comme c’est joli Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) 2 Songs Without Words, Op. 67 Carl Orff (1895-1982) In Trutina Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) Variations Josef Suk (1874-1935) Ballade, Op. 3 Johann Brahms (1833-1897) Hungarian Dance No. 4 Béla Bartók (1881-1945) An Evening in Transylvania Nikos Skalkottas (1904-1949) 2 Pieces Fazıl Say (1970-) Bodrum
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:00 pm
free, RSVP required
free, RSVP required
Book Discussion | Broadway Producer (Just in Time, South Pacific, Oklahoma) Discusses the Far Reaches of Musical Theater
Ted Chapin discusses his unparalleled career in the arts. Ted Chapin is the ultimate Broadway insider--responsible for the revivals of South Pacific, The King and I, Carousel, Oklahoma, and The Sound of Music. As president of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, head of the "Lyrics and Lyricists" program at the 92NY, where he conceived the Broadway hit Just In Time, and as a leading producer, director, and author about all things Broadway, Chapin engages in a candid discussion with Daniel Okrent, editor and author of Stephen Sondheim: Art Isn't Easy. They will talk about his life and why musical theatre continues to matter in the life of New York and beyond.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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6:30 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Staged Reading | Best Line Wins: Original Comedy on Friendship & Ambition
Nichols & May were one of the greatest comedy duos of all time-- they performed together for only four years (and were lovers for only three days, or so the legend goes), but their comedy shaped a generation. After disbanding their act, the talented and charming Mike Nichols goes on to be an incredibly successful director of stage and screen, while the brilliant but "difficult" Elaine May has more of a roller coaster career, struggling as a screenwriter and director, ultimately making a living as a ghostwriter and go-to script doctor. When her old partner approaches her to write the screenplay for a comedy he's set to direct-- an English adaptation of the French film La Cage Aux Folles -- Elaine must wrestle with what matters more: succeeding on her own or reuniting with the partner who has always known her true worth. A comedy with plenty of belly laughs and a couple of solid gut punches. Written by Beth Kander.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:00 pm
free, RSVP required
free, RSVP required
Classical Music | A Child of Our Time: Orchestral & Choral Performance Drawing on African American Spirituals
This performance invites audiences to reflect on where we have been, where we are, and the future we want to create. More than a concert, A Child of Our Time is seen as a reminder of the power of music to bear witness, challenge injustice, and bring people together. Written in response to the rise of fascism in Europe and the violence of Kristallnacht in 1938, Tippett's powerful oratorio for chorus and orchestra draws on African American spirituals. For Tippett, these songs expressed a universal truth: even in the face of injustice, the human spirit endures. Singers from the New York Choral Society (NYCHORAL) will join the Mannes Orchestra, conducted by David Hayes, with an acclaimed cast of soloists from the Mannes faculty: Laquita Mitchell, William Burden, Margaret Lattimore, and Stephen Powell.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:30 pm
free, tickets required
free, tickets required
Classical Music | Contemporary String Works
JACK Quartet. Program: Cenk Ergun Celare Keir GoGwilt Treatise on Limited Freedoms: Future Mode I Austin Wulliman Escape Rites Cenk Ergun Sonare
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:30 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
Classical Music | Influential Modern Composer's Piano & String Quartet
JACK Quartet and pianist Amy Williams perform a well-known work by Morton Feldman. This performance marks the centennial of Feldman’s birth and honors the artistic relationship between Feldman and Robert Rauschenberg, whose work frequently intersected across music and visual art.
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:30 pm
free, RSVP required
free, RSVP required
Classical Music | Works by Rachmaninoff, Ravel, & More for Violin, Cello, Piano, & Clarinet
The Claremont Trio: Emily Bruskin, violin, Julia Bruskin, cello, Sophiko Simsive, and piano. With Kinan Azmeh, clarinet. The Claremont Trio has established itself as one of the leading piano trios in the United States. They have expanded the repertoire with many commissioned works and play with "aesthetic maturity, interpretive depth, and exuberance" (Palm Beach Daily News). Program: Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) Trio elegiaque No. 1 Kinan Azmeh Gravitas Kinan Azmeh On Solitude and Other Ambiguous Emotions Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) Piano Trio
Manhattan, New York, NY
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7:30 pm
free, registration required
free, registration required
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Classical Music | "Virtuoso" Pianist Performs Works by Liszt & More
Regular Price: $50CFT Member Price: $0.00
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