free things to do in New York City
Free events for Friday, 12/16/11
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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 December 16, 2011?

57 free events take place on Friday, December 16 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 December 16 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 December . 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.
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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!

57 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Friday, December 16, 2011

All events are free unless otherwise noted.
        

Park Walk | Fitness Walk NYC


This free fitness walk is one hour long and led by experienced Instructors.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:00 am
Free

Other | Bridge Club for Advanced Beginners


Are you a Bridge buff? Put on your game face and show off your best moves. For advanced beginner players only.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:30 am
Free

Workshop | Teach Yourself Using Online Resources


Hands on using wireless laptops. Explore Library databases and free websites that will help you learn a variety of skills and subjects. Prepare for many academic, civil service and professional licensing exams using LearningExpressLibrary, available from home with your library card.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:30 am
Free

Tour | Cathedral Tour


Explore the Cathedral's newly cleaned and restored Nave. Learn about the art, architecture and history of this great sacred space from 1892 to the present.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 am
$6

Tour | Federal Reserve Bank Tour


Learn about central banking functions that Federal Reserve System performs and see Bank's vault of international 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. Congressman Ron Paul considers the Federal Reserve "both corrupt and unconstitutional" Tour times: 11:15 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., and 4:00 p.m.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:15 am
Free

Workshop | In the Loop Knitting & Crocheting Club


Are you a crafter? Join this knitting and crocheting club, led by teacher and designer Ina Braun of Tante Sophie Knitting Studio, to create garments for charitable organizations.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Talk | Stephen King's Wang: The Literary History of Word Processing


A lunch talk with Matthew G. Kirschenbaum. Mark Twain famously prepared the manuscript for Life on the Mississippi with his new Remington typewriter, and today we recognize that typewriting changed the material culture (and the economy) of authorship. But when did literary writers begin using word processors? Who were the early adopters? How did the technology change their relation to their craft? Was the computer just a better typewriter, or was it something more? This talk, drawn from the speaker's forthcoming book on the subject, will provide some answers, and also address questions related to the challenges of conducting research at the intersection of literary and technological history. Feel free to bring lunch!
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Concert | Bach at Noon


This Organ Meditations Series features the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:20 pm
Free

Tour | Grand Central and Its Neighborhood


Discover architecture and social history of Grand Central neighborhood; learn secrets of Whispering Gallery 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.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:30 pm
Free

Tour | Tavern and Its Green Tour


Discover the sheepfold that became a world famous restaurant, a parade ground that became the Sheep Meadow, the Children's District, The Mall including its statues.
   New York City, NY; NYC
12:30 pm
Free

Tour | Cathedral Tour


Explore the Cathedral's newly cleaned and restored Nave. Learn about the art, architecture and history of this great sacred space from 1892 to the present.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
$6

Concert | Chamber Music Department 2011-2012, Afternoon Recital 4


This concert is a chamber music recital featuring ensembles from the College Division Chamber Music Program.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Screening | Documentary: Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud & Michel Debats' Oscar Nominee Winged Migration (2001)


This award-winning documentary by Jacques Perrin is full of exquisite cinematography of migrating birds, some species flying as far as 12,500 miles each year. 98 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
Free

Screening | Native American Films


Featuring films by and about Native Americans. At 1pm and 3pm.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Tour | U.S. Customs House Building Tour


Museum Ambassadors provide a 45-minute in-depth look at the unique architecture and design of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Film | German Cinema: Volker Schlöndorff's Circle of Deceit (1981)


Grateful for a respite from his imploding marriage, Hamburg newspaperman Georg arrives in civil war torn Beirut to chronicle the bloody Lebanese war. Inside a shell-pitted hotel, Georg and colleague Hoffman, join a cynical international coterie of competitive fellow journalists. Outside, they take their lives in their own hands, dodging bullets and conducting interviews that are always just a trigger pull away from becoming executions. 108 min. In German with English subtitles.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Talk | Learn About The Buffalo


Learn about the importance of the Buffalo to Nations of the Plains with William Chimborazo.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Dance Performance | An Afternoon of Dance Presentation: Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People / Kota Yamazaki


"And lose the name of action" is a new performance in development by Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People, featuring Gutierrez, Michelle Boulé, Hilary Clark, Luke George, K.J. Holmes and Ishmael Houston-Jones. Inspired by discoveries in neuroscience and paranormal phenomena, and drawing on the mysterious logic of improvisation, this new piece pushes Gutierrez’s persistent questions about the wonder of living with an ephemeral body into the beyond. Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People will begin at 2:30PM. "(glowing)," which will premier at EMPAC in April 2012, is presented as work-in-process in its early development. "(glowing)" is inspired by the Japanese writer Junichiro Tanizaki's essay "In Praise of Shadows" that illustrates illusory images and beauty of darkness found in old Japanese houses. Two dancers from Ethiopia and Senegal will join the group in January 2012. The group will explore commonalities between African dance and Yamazaki’s somatic practice, “Fluid Technique,” which was developed with influences in Butoh and Noguchi Gymnastics. Kota Yamazaki and performers will begin at 4:30PM.
   New York City, NY; NYC
2:15 pm
Free

Talk | Out of the Blacking Factory: Charles Dickens at the New York Public Library


Aside from Shakespeare, no writer has more thoroughly engaged the public’s imagination than Charles Dickens; no gallery of characters is more varied or memorable. This presentation examines various aspects of Dickens’ life and reputation, the broad range of his fiction, and the various illustrators who added a crucial visual element to his verbal design.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:15 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Infinity of Nations Guided Tour


A 45-minute in-depth look at the exhibition.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free

Other | Kwanzaa Celebration for Families


Celebrate the harvest, family, community and culture by crafting a work inspired by nature and African art. Date: Friday, December 16, 2011 Time: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free

Concert | “New Horizons” Holiday Concert


Get into the spirit of the season with the New Horizons Adult Band, performing a special holiday concert for all ages! New Horizons is a woodwind and brass band comprised of retired/professional people from a variety of cultural backgrounds from the Third Street Music School and Hamilton-Madison House.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free
4:00 pm
Free
4:00 pm
Free

Film | French Film: Henri-Georges Clouzot's Les Espions (1957)


With Peter Ustinov. A Cold War thriller set in a dilapidated lunatic asylum, Les Espions has an air of sickly menace that bears traces of Clouzot’s four-year convalescence at a TB sanatorium in the 1930s, and the darkly expressionist sensibility he cultivated while apprenticing at Berlin’s legendary UFA studios. 125 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:30 pm
Free
5:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Out of Nowhere, a Show of Winnipeg Artists


A group of ten artists from th city of Winnipeg. The work of these artists represents a range of media: painting, drawing, photography, video, and collage. Drawing on Winnipeg native Marshall McLuhan as source, these artists have clearly massaged their mediums. Most are relatively young and several were shown in the acclaimed "My Winnipeg," an extensive exhibition that premiered at La maison rouge in Paris and recently opened at the Musée International des Arts Modestes in Sete, France. This show, however, marks the first US exhibition for most of them.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free

Concert | Free Music Fridays


5:30 Joe Brent 6:05 Debbie Miller 6:40 Lily Neil Hosted by Lara Ewen
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free

Opening Reception | 2 Exhibitions: Dressed for the Holidays / Dressing the Part


Celebrate the opening of our two new exhibitions and learn all about the fashions of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Co-Curators from Empire Historic Arts will be on hand to answer questions and light refreshments will be served.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Concert | Chorus Tree Performance


The Chorus Tree Lighting Spectacular lights up the cobblestone streets with a musical performance by Cantori New York.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Painting: Alê Souto's Metropole Remix


The first exhibition by Brazilian artist Alê Souto in New York recreates an imaginary city inspired by the book Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. The exhibition consist of a mural encompassing the whole first floor of the gallery, four big scale canvases, 10 original prints, a series of drawings (Suburbio remix), and three site specific installations. Alê Souto’s metropolis raises issues which are common of any great world city: Loneliness, mobility, social divide and how technology impacts the urban and human landscape. Since the start of his artistic career in 2005, Alê Souto has participated in many group exhibitions in Brazil, and his work has been shown in six solo exhibitions in Mexico and Brazil. He also regularly intervenes in the street and creates site specific installations and performances in urban centers, such as No Subúrbio Vivo, in the suburbs of Rio (2011) and Snail Man performed in several Mexican cities and Buenos Aires (Argentina) in 2010.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Book Signing | Photographer Tim Barber signs copies of his book Untitled Photographs


Barber presents a collection of images spanning his fifteen years behind the lens. From portraits to landscapes to narrative scenes, Barber approaches all of his subject matter with a palpable delicacy. Expanding on amateur aesthetics, these images can feel as much like spontaneous documentation of the artist's adventures as careful compositions. The line between autobiography and fiction is as ethereal as the overall tone of the work. In the case of Barber's photography, ambiguity is seductive and the lure of fantasy eclipses the security of literality.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free

Concert | Faculty Recital: The Damocles Trio


Sibylle Johner, cello, Airi Yoshioka, violin, and Adam Kent, piano, performing music by Brotons, Dvořák and Villa-Lobos.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Theater | Jason Grote's 1001, the Story of a Modern-Day Scheherazade


The cuckolded king Shahriyar marries a new bride every night and beheads her the next morning. As unrest spreads in the sultanate, the vizier’s daughter, Scheherazade, hatches a plan: She will offer herself as a bride and seduce the king with stories that leave him hanging on every word. Scheherazade weaves such tales as “Sinbad the Sailor” and “Aladdin and His Magic Lamp” with references to Borges and Flaubert and the story of Alan and Dahna, a Jewish man and an Arab woman who have fallen in love in modern-day New York City. Shahriyar becomes Alan and Scheherazade becomes Dahna as the worlds mingle and inform each other. Modern speech invades the fantasy tales, and swords and genii appear in the 21st century, in a dance of cultures and people who are forever intertwined.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Performance | No Name and A Bag O’ Chips Comedy/Variety Show


Now in its 12th year, the show will also feature the funky sounds of "No Name" house band The Summer Replacements.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
No cover...

Jazz | Vocal Blues Ensemble


Directed by Danny Mixon.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Screening | Documentary: Agnès Varda's Daguerreotypes (1975)


An essential film in Agnès Varda's oeuvre, this classic documentary makes its US theatrical premiere. A highlight of the 1975 New York Film Festival that has rarely been seen in the States since then, Daguerreotypes is a portrait of the small shops and shopkeepers on the Rue Daguerre, a picturesque street in the 14th Arrondissement that has been the filmmaker's home for more than 50 years. 75 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
$10 suggested admission

Performance | Comedy: The Nathan + Joe Show Presents


An ongoing series of intricate and complicated improvisations with Nathan Phillips, Joe Schiappa and invited improvisationalists. Performed in the round and featuring a different NEVER BEFORE SEEN structure invented to challenge the performers and the audience. The fact that Nathan + Joe are so awesome guarantees that this is a must-see event.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
$5

Concert | Extension Sonata Class Recital, Fall 2011


This Recital features students from the Extension Division Sonata Class in an end of semester performance.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Film | French Film: Henri-Georges Clouzot's Quai des Orfèvres (1947)


Jenny Lamour wants to succeed in music hall. Her husband and accompanist is Maurice Martineau, a nice but jealous guy. When he sees Jenny making eyes at Brignon, an old businessman, in order to get some engagements, he loses his temper and threatens Brignon with death. 106 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Dance Performance | New Dances: Edition 2011


Four world premiere commissions choreographed by Monica Bill Barnes, Alexander Ekman, Alex Ketley, and Pam Tanowitz.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Concert | Strings Chamber Music


Stephanie Baer, Director.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free
8:00 pm
Free
8:00 pm
Free

Concert | Student Recital - Ashley Harrington, soprano


A uniquely rewarding experience for music lovers - the freshness and excitement of a solo recital by a gifted young artist at one of the world's leading conservatories.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Concert | Symphonic Works by Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Others


Program: MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides, Op. 26 CONUS Violin Concerto in E Minor MOZART Overture to Abduction from the Seraglio HANSON Symphony No. 2, Op. 30 ("Romantic") With the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony. George Stelluto, conductor. Angela Wee, violin. Opera Scenes To Be Announced, featuring students in the Juilliard Pre-College Voice Department.
   New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
Free

Concert | The Art Mob, A Cappella Singers


Quirky a cappella singers once again dust off songs of days gone by while feeling totally secure that they will mostly be on pitch and usually remember the lyrics. They couldn’t do this without you! Well actually, they could, but it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun. Trust them. The Art Mob is: Brent Frederick (music director), Connie Beckley, Aldo Ceresa (on leave), Hannah Campbell, Gaynor Coté, Martin Donach, Frank Donno, Cheryl Morrison, Dean Rainey, Dan Rosenbaum, Ruby McNeil, Nancy Moore Simpson, Confidence Stimpson, Jared Stamm, Kirsten Skrinde, and Vicki Watson. Each performance concludes with a sing-along of favorite holiday carols.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Concert | Vocal Chamber Ensemble


From the Program in Vocal Performance.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Concert | Dani Elliott, Singer/Songwriter


Singer-songwriter Dani Elliott takes her inspiration from R&B artists like Meshell N'degeocello, Jill Scott, and Corinne Bailey Rae, only to spin it into something entirely her own. Bass, drums, keyboards, and guitar lay down a sparse, funky backdrop for Elliott’s relaxed vocals, which flow unhurriedly on top.
   New York City, NY; NYC
9:00 pm
No cover

Jazz | Instrumental Blues Ensemble


Directed by Adam Holzman.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:00 pm
Free
9:00 pm
Free

Performance | Comedy: The Vigilante


The Vigilante is a completely improvised band. Guitar. Drums. Bass. Violin. And wailing lead singer, Rebecca Vigil, in short skirts and heels. The Vigilante creates the entire set list based on the stories we get you to tell us. Rock out and laugh out. Loud.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:30 pm
$5

Theater | Georg Büchner's Woyzeck, the Search for a Killer's Reasons


Nearly 200 years ago, a man killed a woman. Johann Christian Woyzeck’s guilt was never in doubt, but it is the question why that has rippled through the ages. Büchner’s classic, based on the case of the first murder suspect to plead insanity before a German criminal court, is newly adapted and re-imagined as the story of a criminal who is locked away to be studied after his crime. As the barriers between Woyzeck’s fantasy world and reality blur and disintegrate, we are left to wonder if he was driven to violence by the unsympathetic world around him—or if his brutal crime was the inevitable end for a disturbed man.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:30 pm
Free

Performance | Thank You, Robot’s Summer Fridays Comedy Show


Summer Friday’s is a showcase for independent and established improv teams. For each show, two teams join Thank You, Robot to perform sets of unscripted comedy, never seen before and never to be seen again.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:30 pm
$5

Performance | Stand-Up Comedy Competition


Six up-and-coming stand-up comedians compete for the title of THE STAND-UP COMEDY CHAMPION. Audience votes. Special guest judges!
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 pm
$5
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Broadway | Broadway Show!

Regular Price: $101
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Classical Music | Piano Works by Chopin and More

Regular Price: $30
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