free things to do in New York City
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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 1, 2025?
29 free events take place on Thursday, May 1 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 1 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.
Are you looking for free things to do in New York City (NYC) on May 1, 2025?
29 free events take place on Thursday, May 1 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 1 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.
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!
29 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Thursday, May 1, 2025
All events are free unless otherwise noted.Workshop | Pick-Up Pickleball
An exciting fusion of badminton and tennis, pickleball has been proven to strengthen muscles, boost cardiovascular health, and enhance brain function. First come first serve basis.
New York City, NY; NYC
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9:00 am
Free
Free
Open Studios | Creative Climate Exhibition
This exhibition showcases visual and installation-based works that highlight community resilience, environmental justice, and our deep interconnection with nature. By sparking emotion and conversation, this exhibit aims to inspire individual and collective action for a just and livable future. Drop in anytime.
New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free
Free
Classical Music | Competition-Winning Musicians Perform 18th-Century French Works (In Person AND Online!)
American laureate of the International Bach-Abel Competition, Arnie Tanimoto, pardessus de viole, bass viol, and Ryan Cheng, bass viol, perform works reminiscent of the decadence of Parisian salons in 18th-century France. The program includes works of Marin Marais found in the Villeneuve manuscript, Pierre Hugard’s La Toilette, and various pieces by Antoine Forqueray.
New York City, NY; NYC
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1:15 pm
Free
Free
Film | The Firm (1993): Legal Thriller with Tom Cruise
A young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side. Director: Sydney Pollack Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris Tom Cruise is one of the world's highest-paid actors. He's received three Golden Globe Awards and has been nominated for an Academy Award four times. His films have grossed over $4 billion in North America and over $11.5 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing box-office stars of all time.
New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free
Free
Talk | Etymology of Modern Hebrew: Hebrew Roots and History (online)
Explore Hebrew’s deep Semitic roots and uncover how its ancient origins shaped the language we speak today. Join Elon Gilad and Hebrew at AJU for a special Yom Haatzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) program exploring the roots of modern Hebrew! Gilad will take you on an exploration of Hebrew etymology, tracing the fascinating evolution of the Hebrew language from its ancient Semitic roots to contemporary Israeli slang. Through carefully chosen examples, we’ll uncover the hidden stories behind everyday Hebrew words and discover how they reflect the rich cultural and historical journey of the Jewish people.
New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free
Free
Museums | Film and Television Industry: History, Artifacts, Interactive Displays
This museum is dedicated to the art, history, and technology of film, television, and digital media. It houses a diverse collection of industry related objects, including cameras, scripts, costumes, production materials, as well as interactive displays, and themed installations.
New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free
Free
Discussion | Exploration and Resonance: Chinese Music in the West
Part of the seventh annual US-China Music Institute conference, this opening day discussion features distinguished speakers sharing their insights on leadership in Chinese music performance and studies outside of China. The conference focuses on how Chinese music resonates in the West through three pivotal areas: music leadership, academic research, and Chinese-instrument teaching. Speakers to include: - Jindong Cai, Director, US-China Music Institute - Frank Kouwenhoven, Director and Cofounder, CHIME (Chinese Music Europe) - Li Zhong, Vice Chairman, University Council, Central Conservatory of Music, China - Ye Xiaogang, Dean, School of Music, Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen); Chairman of the China Musicians Association Moderated by author and China cultural expert Sheila Melvin.
New York City, NY; NYC
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3:30 pm
Free
Free
Opening Reception | Group Show Experimenting with the Limitations of Paper: On Paper
On Paper IS an exhibition of works by four graduating BFA students: Emma Pierce, Lee Coyne, MARS, and Lester Jingyi. Each artist will present a new body of work in which they experiment with the limitations and possibilities of working on paper, in ink, watercolor, paint, collage, and photo.
New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free
Free
Opening Reception | Immersive Installation on the Creative Process: A Natural History of the Studio (Select Prints)
For this event, artist William Kentridge will present his acclaimed nine-episode film series Self-Portrait as a Coffee-Pot and more than forty-five drawings integral to its creation alongside a group of sculptural works. This immersive installation will occupy two floors of the gallery's 22nd Street building and is the first time the drawings from the film series will be on view to the public. Transforming the first floor into a space evocative of the artist's own working environment and highlighting the integral relationship between drawing and sculpture throughout the second floor, A Natural History of the Studio invites visitors to step into Kentridge's creative process and explore the complex ways in which his work reveals truths about the ways we think, live and relate to one another. Select prints on display at this gallery location. Exhibition on view from May 1st through August 1st.
New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free
Free
Opening Reception | Boundary-Pushing Artwork on Fear, Pain, and Desire: Night Shift
This reception introduces a solo exhibition of new monoprints and collages by Robin F. Williams. The artist's new body of work adopts the compositional and narrative vocabulary of b-movie horror films. These source materials feature the fear, pain, and desire of female protagonists, while leaning heavily into repetitious genre conventions, to invite the viewer into a curated emotional landscape. For Williams, these expressions of extreme emotion, commonly feminized within the horror genre, become the means through which to examine universal human experiences across gender like catharsis for grief, feelings of vulnerability, as well as internal and external transformation. Known for their boundary pushing approach to figurative painting, which utilizes graphic and illusionistic techniques alongside innovative mark-making, Williams delved into the technical and material potential of printmaking when creating the works for this show. To complement their fastidiously hand rendered subjects, the artist took on a more playful and improvisational approach in the printshop - collecting and layering imagery, while also introducing graphic elements. The reccurring visuals between these works create an implied dialogue that carries an uncanny undercurrent throughout the entire exhibition. The distortions and aesthetic quirks of film and photography can be found throughout the prints in the show. Accompanying the exhibition will be a printed Night Shift movie poster that will be free for visitors to take while supplies last. This exhibition is on view from May 2nd through May 31st.
New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
Free
Tour | Exploring Floating Palaces and Secrets Beneath the Waves
Commemorating the 110th anniversary of the Lusitania's final voyage, this guided walking tour traces the legacy of grand ocean liners in early 20th-century New York. Explore the era when ships like the Titanic and Lusitania defined transatlantic travel and helped shape a rapidly growing metropolis.
New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
Free
Opening Reception | Exploring Vulnerability and Queer Identity in Contemporary Life
Solo exhibition by Salman Toor, featuring new works in painting, drawing, and etching. This marks Toor's major return to New York since his 2020 exhibition at the Whitney Museum. Toor explores themes of vulnerability, community, and queer diasporic identity, placing his figures in evocative spaces of waiting and contemplation. The artist's palette, particularly his use of green, creates a dynamic tension between beauty and discomfort, liberation and entrapment. Toor's fusion of art historical references and contemporary concerns creates deeply complex, relatable works that engage with the complexities of our time.
New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
Free
Opening Reception | Immersive Installation on the Creative Process: A Natural History of the Studio (Full Installation)
For this event, artist William Kentridge will present his acclaimed nine-episode film series Self-Portrait as a Coffee-Pot and more than forty-five drawings integral to its creation alongside a group of sculptural works. This immersive installation will occupy two floors of the gallery's 22nd Street building and is the first time the drawings from the film series will be on view to the public. Transforming the first floor into a space evocative of the artist's own working environment and highlighting the integral relationship between drawing and sculpture throughout the second floor, A Natural History of the Studio invites visitors to step into Kentridge's creative process and explore the complex ways in which his work reveals truths about the ways we think, live and relate to one another. Entire exhibition on display at this gallery location. Exhibition on view from May 1st through August 1st.
New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
Free
Party | May Art Reception Celebrating Storied Art Gallery
This event includes refreshments and mingling amongst a display of fine art from talented artists, some of whom are award-winners. Soft drinks and platters will be provided for your enjoyment. If desired,the bar will be open for purchase of wine and beer (card only, no cash). ID for age 21 and over will be required.
New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
Free
Opening Reception | Works of Avant-Garde Iconoclast Francis Picabia: Eternal Beginning
Co-curated by Comite Picabia's President, Beverley Calte and art historian Arnauld Pierre, this show is the first major exhibition to focus on the compelling final years of the French avant-garde artist's prolific career. This presentation features almost 30 paintings created by Picabia between 1945--when he returned to Paris from the South of France--and 1952, the penultimate year of his life. Representative of Picabia's restless artistic spirit, the works on view highlight his singular approach to abstraction, his iconoclastic tendency to repaint earlier works and his enduring attention to both surface texture and novel sources of inspiration. In 1945, Picabia announced in an interview that he was searching for a 'third path' forward between surrealism and abstraction, the two dominant forces in postwar European art. Even as he rejected surrealism's emphasis on elaborate figuration, Picabia aspired to continue--through abstraction--the movement's engagement with the artist's unconscious and innermost sensibilities. During this period, he continued to extract and repurpose pre-existing visual material from a vast collection of images, and from his own earlier paintings. By merging discrete references and artistic traditions, Picabia developed visual and symbolic languages that were entirely novel. Exhibition on view from May 1st through August 1st.
New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
Free
Classical Music | 'Made in Austria': Works by Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, and More for Orchestra
The Haydn Chamber Ensemble showcases Austria's rich musical heritage, from the Classical era to contemporary compositions, with a program highlighting the evolution of Austrian music through the works of Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, and Johanna Doderer. Program Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Hob. XV:29 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Piano Trio in E Major, KV 542 Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Adagio for Piano Trio in E-flat Major, D 897 "Notturno" Johanna Doderer (1969-) 5th Piano Trio DWV 110 10 Musical Images on the Fairy Tale Howl's Moving Castle
New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free
Free
Film | The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964): Classic French Film Screening & Discussion
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a 1964 musical romantic drama film written and directed by Jacques Demy, with music by Michel Legrand. Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo star as two young lovers in the French city of Cherbourg, separated by circumstance. The film's dialogue is entirely sung as recitative. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg won the Palme d'Or at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. It was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Foreign-Language Film, Best Original Screenplay (Demy), and Best Original Score (Demy and Legrand), and Best Original Song. Director: Jacques Demy Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Anne Vernon, Nino Castelnuovo, Marc Michel This screening will be followed by a discussion with Walter Frisch and Jane Gaines. Walter Frisch is H. Harold Gumm / Harry and Albert von Tilzer Professor of Music at Columbia, where he has taught since 1982. He is writing a book on The Umbrellas of Cherbourg for a new Oxford University Press series, Oxford Guides to Film Musicals, drawing on research in the French archives of filmmaker Jacques Demy and composer Michel Legrand that was undertaken with a fellowship at the Institute for Ideas & Imagination at Reid Hall in Paris. Jane M. Gaines is Professor of Film, Columbia University, and Professor Emerita of Literature and English, Duke University. She received the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Distinguished Career Award and an Honorary doctorate from University of Stockholm. SHe is also an author.
New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free
Free
6:30 pm
Regular: $18
Member: $0
Regular: $18
Member: $0
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Master Class | Latin Grammy-Winning Musician Performs in the Park
Experience the Latin Grammy winning vocalist, musician, composer, producer, arranger and founder of Flor de Toloache, Mireya Ramos, who's versatility, natural improvisational skills, and beautiful tone has made her one of the top Latin artists in NYC.
New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free
Free
Concert | Metal Band Gates to Hell In-Store Performance
The band Gates to Hell will be appearing in person for a live performance in support of their new album Death Comes To All, out on Nuclear Blast. All ages.
New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free
Free
Talk | Public Health, Public Responsibility: Confronting Severe Mental Illness in Urban Spaces
At this event, Brian Stettin—Senior Advisor on Severe Mental Illness for the New York City Mayor's Office—will discuss his collaborative efforts to develop and implement policies prioritizing psychiatric care and support for New Yorkers in greatest need. He'll be in conversation with Stephen Eide—a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and 2024–25 Public Scholar at The City College of New York’s Moynihan Center—who will introduce the public to his research on homelessness and mental illness.
New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free
Free
7:00 pm
Regular: $52
Member: $0
Regular: $52
Member: $0
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Classical Music | Choirs Perform Guiseppe Verdi's Requiem and more
To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Dessoff Choirs is joined by Trinity Choir, Downtown Voices, and NOVUS to perform Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem and the world premiere of a new choral work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tania Leon.
New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free
Free
Classical Music | Hogaku and Gagaku: Japanese Classical Music
The Institute for Japanese Cultural Heritage Initiatives and the Columbia University Music Performance Program worked together to crate a program of Japanese classical music.
New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free
Free
Concert | Nuestros Sonidos Festival: New Latin American Music for Solo Piano with Juilliard Professor
As part of Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros Sonidos Festival—the citywide celebration of Latin culture in the United States—Joel Sachs presents a program of recently-composed music from Latin America. Sachs, a Juilliard emeritus professor and legendary new-music maestro, brings a program that includes the world premiere of a sonata by Roberto Sierra written for Sachs, a work inspired by flamenco from the late Venezuelan composer Paul Desenne, a a now-classic piece by Tania Leon based on the music of her youth in Cuba, and the premiere of a new piece composed for Sachs by Mexican singer/composer Diana Syrse. Seating is limited and first come, first served. Priority will be given to those who register in advance. Check-in begins 30 minutes before the event and early arrival is suggested.
New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free
Free
Concert | Yiddish Music for Social Change
This event is a Yiddish music in a concert led by Craig Judelman featuring an all-star ensemble with beloved vocalists Lorin Sklamberg and Sasha Lurie.
New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free
Free
Classical Music | Chamber Music Festival: Competition Winners’ Concert (In Person AND Online!)
This event is the Ruth Widder String Quartet Competition Winners’ Concert. The Ruth Widder String Quartet Competition is a string quartet competition judged by members of the American String Quartet.
New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free
Free
Screening | Screening and Discussion with Director & Actor
This screening highlights Western Avenue, the Amazon Prime series converted into a movie. Following the screening, there will be a Q&A session with the Director of the film, Yoo Seok Jong, and lead actor, Jongman Kim. Synopsis: Sejong Production is a small Korean American film production company located in Koreatown LA. Filmmakers, who are united with dreams and passion for filmmaking, have a special journey challenging the Hollywood past the glass ceiling for immigrants and minorities. Director: Yoo Seok Jong Cast: Jongman Kim, Ian Oh, Hayden Won, Theresa Kim
New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free
Free
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