32 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Friday, September 1, 2017
All events are free unless otherwise noted.
Editor's Pick
Newark's own Gloria Gaynor is a vocalist best known for the 1970s disco hits "I Will Survive" and "Never ...
more >> Can Say Goodbye."
7:00 am
free, no reservation required
Florida-born Jason Derulo is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Since the start of his solo ...
more >> recording career in 2009, Derulo has sold over 30 million singles and has achieved eleven platinum singles, including "Wiggle," "Talk Dirty," "In My Head," and "Whatcha Say."
7:00 am
free, no reservation required
This is a 3-hour tour that begins with a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, an icon of New York City for ...
more >> over 125 years, with spectacular views of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The tour then moves on to a stroll of Brooklyn Heights, America’s and New York City’s first suburb. The tour then explores the neighborhood DUMBO before ending at the Fulton Ferry landing.
The 3-hour walking and subway tour covers the Financial District including Wall Street and the World ...
more >> Trade Center, SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown. These are neighborhoods that simply can’t be fully appreciated from a bus. There will be one or two opportunities to sample tasty treats.
It is here, as much as anywhere, where American history started. It's where the first US Congress assembled ...
more >> and produced the Bill of Rights and where President George Washington took his first oath of office. It's here where the world's most important stock exchange and one of the most famous bridges stand. And it is here where an unspeakable tragedy took place and where a rebirth is underway.
Join a Manhattan Street Art Tour and experience the Lower East Side - SoHo, NoHo, Nolita and Little Italy. ...
more >> The Lower East Side of Manhattan is a playground for street artists, Soho is known to be one of NYC first permit Joint Live-Work Quarters for artists and the area received landmark designation in 1973. Noho and Nolita’s street art is either hidden in courtyards or on the more prominent street art facades. Learn about the history of the art of many famous and unknown artist.
You've seen the iconic skyscrapers, attended a Broadway show, visited Lady Liberty and relaxed in Central ...
more >> Park. Looking for a little more of the Big Apple? Maybe it's time to visit some of Manhattan's oldest and most enchanting historic districts. Take a relaxing stroll through SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown.
It is easy to forget that you are in a crowded city while walking through this spectacular park! The ...
more >> original plan for the City of New York, laid out by the City Commissioners in 1811 did not include the park. But as the city grew rapidly in size, we needed a place for New Yorkers to get a breath of fresh air! Central Park, with its 843 acres of meadows, lawns, ponds, lakes and more, was the solution. Today it is one of the best-known parks in the world and is enjoyed by millions-both locals and tourists alike.
Don't have enough time to take all of the tours? Prefer to experience Manhattan with a smaller group, ...
more >> but a private booking is out of reach? Then consider our All-in-One New York Tour. This tour utilizes your feet and the New York City Subway to transport you from Lower Manhattan, the birthplace of New York, through Wall St and the Financial District, the World Trade Center, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Chinatown, Little Italy, Chelsea Market and the Highline Park.
Free fun for the whole family, including arts, crafts, antiques, plants, entertainment, games, and more.
New York City, NY; NYC
10:00 am
free, no reservation required
Editor's Pick
11:00 am
free, no reservation required
Poet, author, and educator Donna Masini will use Josiah McElheny’s Prismatic Park as a stage for live ...
more >> readings of poetry and prose.
12:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Discover architecture and social history of Grand Central neighborhood; learn secrets of Whispering Gallery ...
more >> in Grand Central Terminal; gaze upon hubcaps and roadsters on side of Chrysler Building; discover favorite Midtown Manhattan hangout of Mercury, Hercules, and Minerva; learn why Pershing Square isn’t really square; visit original Lincoln Memorial by Daniel Chester French. Award-winning tour led by urban explorer, historian, and storyteller Justin Ferate. This tour takes place every Friday.
12:30 pm
free, no reservation required
Learn about central banking functions that Federal Reserve System performs and see Bank's vault of international ...
more >> monetary gold on bedrock of Manhattan Island, five stories below street level. Learn why Federal Reserve has "Federal" in its name, while it's a private bank, not Federal at all. Tour times: 1:00pm, 2:00pm. This tour takes place Mondays through Fridays, except bank holidays.
Editor's Pick
Brave New World Repertory Theatre presents The Plantation, set in 1870 Virginia after emancipation, but ...
more >> before the onset of Jim Crow. The Plantation re-imagines The Cherry Orchard to tell a post-Civil War story about tectonic shifts in social status of black and white Americans during the period after the war when Southern aristocracy was brought to its knees. Chekhov’s Russian serfs become American freed men and women in this immersive and emotionally charged production.
1:30 pm
free, no reservation required
New York City is a mecca for graffiti and street art, making it a very attractive playground for artists ...
more >> from around the world. Bushwick, in a working class district on the north side of Brooklyn adjacent to Williamsburg, has been attracting artists for some time now. The neighborhood has a fair collection of art studios and galleries, but it’s Bushwick’s industrial landscape that’s attracting the street artist. If you came looking for 1960′s Greenwich Village, you’ll find something brewing in Bushwick. Tour takes place Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Greenwich Village is among Manhattan's most desirable and expensive residential neighborhoods. It's history, ...
more >> however, betrays it's monied status. The Village, with it's quiet, shaded streets, lined with lovely brick and brownstone townhouses, was once the incubating ground of artistic, social and political movements that have helped shape US history. From the Beats to the Folk Movement, from workers rights to gay rights, the Village has often been the center of it all.
Although world famous, Harlem may be New York's best kept secret with some of the city's best architecture, ...
more >> food, music and people. Harlem's history is also one of the city's most dramatic, having gone through many ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic changes over the past roughly 400 years, which have resulted in a diverse array of places of worship, theaters, homes and eating establishments.
Rockefeller Center is one of the most popular public spaces and tourist attractions in New York City. ...
more >> This depression-era commercial complex takes up over three full city blocks and is rich with history, public art, and art-deco architecture. Built by business mogul John D. Rockefeller Jr. with his own money, he instructed his team of designers and architects to build the most beautiful commercial complex of it’s kind in the world. That vision resulted in what is still one of NYC’s greatest treasures and gave rise to some of NYC’s favorite traditions including the Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the famous dance team the Rockettes and the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
You've seen the iconic skyscrapers, attended a Broadway show, visited Lady Liberty and relaxed in Central ...
more >> Park. Looking for a little more of the Big Apple? Maybe it's time to visit some of Manhattan's oldest and most enchanting historic districts. Take a relaxing stroll through SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown.
Editor's Pick
Every Friday on the lawn, the park has a free picnic, featuring over 100 free blankets to borrow, lawn ...
more >> games, entertainment, and food vendors from the Hester Street Fair, with wine and beer also for purchase from ARK Restaurants. Each week, the park will bring to the picnic a theater, music, or dance production. Every Friday from May 12 to September 1, 2017. Bryant Park Lawn in Bryant Park Manhattan Directions to this location Cost Free Event Organizer Bryant Park Corp. Related Links Bryant Park Website Categories Accessible, Concerts, Dance, Art, Festivals, Games, Theater, Free Summer Concerts, Free Summer Theater, Food Additional Media
5:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Amaze the crowd when you rock the mic at #TotallyPublicKaraoke nights. Bring your friends, your voice, ...
more >> and your courage. All ages.
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
BYO food and beverages to this all ages, free to enter, B-I-N-G-O night. Each game winner receives a ...
more >> prize! Fridays until September 29, 2017.
6:00 pm
free, no reservation required
Steel pan drummers, stilt walkers, mass camp, and much more. Come ready to proudly rep your countries ...
more >> with paraphernalia and flags! Hosted by Dhalimu from Dhali's Closet along with DJ Slyk and DJ JP. Age limit: 21+
6:00 pm
free, registration required
The area around the High Line Park was a vital business district of New York City, supplying fresh fruits, ...
more >> French Cheeses and Russian caviar as well as fresh meats to City markets. The hustle and bustle of the streets induced the City to elevate the railroad trains delivering goods to the commercial buildings. When interstate truck traffic made the railway outdated, it fell into ruin, only to be regenerated as a park.
Join a Manhattan Street Art Tour and experience the Lower East Side - SoHo, NoHo, Nolita and Little Italy. ...
more >> The Lower East Side of Manhattan is a playground for street artists, Soho is known to be one of NYC first permit Joint Live-Work Quarters for artists and the area received landmark designation in 1973. Noho and Nolita’s street art is either hidden in courtyards or on the more prominent street art facades. Learn about the history of the art of many famous and unknown artist.
Teen Producers Academy Summer 2017 Showcase premiering four new documentaries on The Amazing Life of ...
more >> an Incredible Woman, the Impact of Addiction on a Family, Gun Violence, and Sneaker Culture. Q & A will follow.
6:00 pm
free, RSVP required
Editor's Pick
Prospero, Duke of Milan, usurped and exiled by his own brother, holds sway over an enchanted island. ...
more >> He is comforted by his daughter Miranda and served by his spirit Ariel and his deformed slave Caliban. When Prospero raises a storm to wreck this perfidious brother and his confederates on the island, his long contemplated revenge at last seems within reach. August 25-September 9, 2017, Fridays and Saturdays.
7:00 pm
free, no reservation required
The ghosts of Greenwich Village are too numerous and interesting to meet in just one evening! Due to ...
more >> popular demand, they are offering a new tour, “Ghosts of the East Village,” as a companion tour to one of their biggest crowd-pleasers, Ghosts of the West Village.
7:30 pm
Free plus subway...
7:30 pm
free, registration required
Editor's Pick
It's Shakespeare in a ravishing new musical adaptation by Laurie Woolery and Shaina Taub, featuring music ...
more >> and lyrics by Taub, the acclaimed singer/songwriter behind last season’s adaptation of Twelfth Night, and choreography by Emmy nominee Sonya Tayeh. Two hundred community members and professional actors perform together in this immersive dream-like tale of faithful friends, feuding families and lovers in disguise. Forced from their homes, Orlando, Duke Senior, his daughter Rosalind, and niece Celia, escape to the Forest of Arden, a fantastical place of transformation, where all are welcomed and embraced. Lost amidst the trees, the refugees find community and acceptance under the stars in this magical story of chance encounters and self-discovery.
8:00 pm
Free tickets required
Editor's Pick
Sir Simon Rattle conducts Wagner’s meditation on transcendent love, with an acclaimed cast led by Nına ...
more >> Stemme and Stuart Skelton. Mariusz Treliński’s insightful production sets the timeless tale against a backdrop of modern-day warfare. Original transmission: October 8, 2016 Approximate running time for Acts II–III: 2 hours 35 minutes
8:00 pm
free, no reservation required