free things to do in New York City
Free events for Thursday, 12/16/21
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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, 2021?

35 free events take place on Thursday, 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!

35 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Thursday, December 16, 2021

All events are free unless otherwise noted.
        

Conference | 2021 Latin American Cities Conferences: Lima (online)


With a severe Covid-19 death toll, millions living below the poverty line, and a large informal economy, Peru faces enormous challenges in reactivating its economy. However, with years of macroeconomic stability, a network of trade agreements, and abundant natural resources, the economy is showing its inherent strength and there are clear signs for optimism. For the 16th consecutive year, Peru’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and Americas Society/Council of the Americas will bring together key government figures, as well as private-sector leaders from around Latin America to analyze Peru's economic standing and exchange views on how the public and the private sectors can work together to restore growth that leads to sustainable and equitable development. In Spanish with simultaneous English interpretation.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:00 am
Free

Tour | 13 Tours, All City Neighborhoods, Any Time Of The Day, Choose One Tour Or Many


These free tours take place at various times during the day, all day long. You can make reservations for as many tours as your schedule allows. SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights + DUMBO 3 Hour Lower Manhattan Harlem Chelsea and the High Line 6 Hour Downtown Combined Greenwich Village Central Park Lower Manhattan Midtown Manhattan Grand Central Terminal Graffiti and Street Art Tours World Trade Center
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Film | Holiday Affair (1949): A Romantic Comedy Set In Christmas


A young widow is romanced by a sales clerk whom she inadvertently got fired. 87 min. Director: Don Hartman. Starring Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey. Holiday Affair was based on the story Christmas Gift by John D. Weaver.
   New York City, NY; NYC
11:00 am
Free

Fair | Holiday Fair: Art, Jewelry, Home Goods and Delicious Eats


Loseyourself in glittering aisles of art, jewelry, home goods and delicious eats from local artisans and designers. It is the perfect place to do all your holiday shopping while soaking in the splendor of winter in New York City. Nov 29 - Dec 24 Monday - Saturday, 11am - 8pm Sunday 11am - 7pm Closed at 4pm on Christmas Eve
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 am
Free

Gallery Talk | Jasper Johns: Mind/Mirror: Exhibition Tour (online)


A virtual tour led by one of the Whitney Museum’s teaching fellows. Participants are invited to comment and ask questions through a moderated chat for a fifteen-minute Q&A following the talk.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Concert | Daytime Piano


Live music featuring performers from the Lindeblad School of Music.  
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Museums | Tiffany Glass and Other Exhibitions


The collection of Tiffany's leaded glass includes an extraordinary array of floral and geometric lamps as well as landscape and figural windows. A unique feature of the collection is a vast, one-of-a-kind archive of original flat glass and pressed-glass "jewels" used by Tiffany Studios, which provides valuable insight into the development of the stained-glass movement in America at the turn of the twentieth century. Established in 1972, this art museum's permanent collection consists of around 10,000 items, over 6,000 of which are documents and objects related to the 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs, some of which are on long-term display. Proof of vaccination, ID, masks are required.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | Bach at Noon (In Person and Online)


Take a momentary respite from a busy day to enjoy a selection of organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach in an intimate venue.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:20 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Book Discussion in a Digital Space (Online)


Monthly book discussions to explore titles you've been meaning to read, or reread, and discuss with other lovers of literature.  Participants should read each title before the discussion. This month's title is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Tour of American Weathervanes: The Art of the Winds (online)


This hour-long tour, led by Nicole Haroutunian, take participants through the current exhibition to experience different perspectives of the works on view.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | Works By Joseph Haydn And Michael Haydn (In Person and Online)


Olivier Brault, violin; Loretta O'Sullivan, cello; Andrew Appel, harpsichord. The mature works of Joseph Haydn are beloved, particularly by professional musicians who have the opportunity to perform these works. Joseph Haydn's earlier works, prophetic of the mature genius, give extraordinary pleasure when performed and heard. The works of his brilliant, if often tipsy brother Michael, live in the shadow of the London Symphonies and String Quartets of Joseph though they merit appreciation and celebration. This program offers two early keyboard trios of Joseph's and a lyrical "Mozartian" Divertimento for violin and cello by Michael. The Four Nations Ensemble has been performing in New York City, throughout the United States and in Europe and South America since 1986. Recordings, concerts, college residencies and arts in education have given the ensemble every chance to enrich the lives of a various and diverse audience.
   New York City, NY; NYC
1:15 pm
Free

Film | The Awful Truth (1937): Oscar Winning Comedy with Cary Grant


Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start undermining each other's attempts to find new romance. 90 min. Director: Leo McCarey. Starring Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy. In 1996, The Awful Truth was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, having been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It won an Academy Award for Best Director and also had five other Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Screenplay and Best Film Editing.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Film | Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946): Five Time Oscar Nominated Christmas Fantasy Drama


An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed. 130 min. Director: Frank Capra. Starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore. It's a Wonderful Life was nominated for five Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Film Editing and Best Sound Recording.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Artist Talk: Night Bloom (online)


Grace DeGennaro (b. 1956) was born in Rockville Centre, NY. She received her MFA in Painting and Sculpture from Columbia University in New York (1986) and her BS in Fine Arts from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY (1978). DeGennaro has recently exhibited her work at Zero Station, Portland, ME (2021); The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY (2021); Cove Street Arts, Portland, ME (2021, 2020 [solo exhibition]); and Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockland, ME (2019). She discusses her new show Night Bloom.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:30 pm
Free

Discussion | Philosophy of Race and Racism: Perspectives on the Past, Present, and Future of a Field (online)


A panel discussion on the development, current state, and future of the philosophy of race and racism, featuring four prominent leaders in the field.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:30 pm
Free

Open Studios | Lower East Side Gallery Night


30 downtown galleries will be open later than usual to celebrate current exhibitions throughout the neighborhood. See link for details.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Dancing in the Dash: My Story of Empowerment, Diplomacy, and Resilience


The inspiring and compelling story of a woman whose experiences have taken her around the world. Lauri Fitz-Pegado has had a remarkable life performing in the arts, embracing activism and advocacy, and working in the world of policy, politics, and diplomacy. She became a career diplomat, a presidential appointee in the Clinton Administration at the Department of Commerce under Secretary Ron Brown, and she met with renowned world leaders. Ballet provided ballast and grace throughout the rigors of her life and career, beginning with her training at the prestigious Jones-Haywood School of Ballet in Washington, D.C.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | This Was Toscanini: The Maestro, My Father, and Me (Online)


Book discussion with author Lucy Antek Johnson and music historian Harvey Sachs. In the new and expanded edition – This Was Toscanini: The Maestro, My Father, and Me, Samuel Antek’s reflections on playing with the Maestro gain sparkling new facets of insight from his daughter, Lucy Antek Johnson, as she enlightens readers with vivid recollections about her father and his most memorable musical partnership. Arturo Toscanini – widely considered the greatest conductor of the modern age—remains a towering figure in the world of classical music. His explosive passions, dynamic music making, and legendary leadership continue to inspire and influence today’s musicians while still captivating new generations of enthusiastic fans.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Rewind: Gallery's 20th Anniversary Show


Featuring works selected from over one hundred exhibitions, this show is an opportunity to revisit the gallery's ever-evolving program and to salute the extraordinary artists who have entrusted the gallery with their legacies.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Alexander Pope's Essay on Man (Online)


Alexander Pope's Essay on Man is comprised of four letters, or epistles, which recommend a system of ethics whose prescriptions follow from Pope's seeing man as a "middling" sort of creature—not a beast, yet not a God, whose ultimate The Essay seeks to avoid the pitfalls of both extreme skepticism and dogmatism, preferring a course of "middling" doubt. In its own century the Essay had many admirers, including Rousseau, Hume, and Voltaire. Kant believed Pope a more profound thinker than Leibniz, and would read passages of the Essay aloud to his students in the lecture hall. Yet, the Essay has suffered from the critical legacy of many who were (and are) uncomfortable with the Essay's "middling" position between two genres—philosophy and poetry.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Artist Talk: Art for Change (online)


Zora J Murff’s exhibition Bold As Brass (or, Third Year Review) reflects Murff’s desire to name and dismantle the anti-Black violence he has experienced in order to effect change in problematic spaces and systems. Murff’s work in sculpture and collage is a discursive narrative on the evolution and perpetuation of this violence and grapples with the complicated entanglement of the photographic medium with the histories of spectacle, commodification, and race.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Artist Talk: Photos That Question the Status Quo (online)


Photographer Zora J Murff, the winner of the first annual Next Step Award, discusses her work. As the award’s recipient, Murff was given carte blanche to expand his photographic practice by experimenting with image making that actively questions the status quo. The show centers around his experiences with anti-Blackness, tokenization, and gaslighting in the art world and academia.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Venezuela Art Fair: Art, Sculpture and Photography


A one-of-a-kind special event featuring art, sculpture and photography, Venezuelan style.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Film Comment Magazine's Best Movies of 2021


Editors Clinton Krute and Devika Girish and a panel of special guests -- Beatrice Loayza (associate web editor, The Criterion Collection), Bilge Ebiri (film critic, New York Magazine and Vulture), and A. S. Hamrah (film critic, The Baffler) -- in a real-time countdown of the results of Film Comment’s year-end critics’ poll. The evening will feature a reception and a lively discussion (and some hearty debate) about the films as they’re unveiled. Please note: Tickets to this event will be distributed at the venue on a first-come, first-served basis beginning one hour prior to the event start. The line may form in advance. Limit one ticket per person, subject to availability.
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
Free

Poetry Reading | Towering Mind: Poetry (in-person and online)


12 poets read from their work.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Godard Boomerang: Artists in Conceptual Dialogue with Filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard


The US launch of an anthology of artists' writings in conceptual dialogue with French-Swiss filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, edited by Caspar Stracke. Stracke will be joined by artists Amie Siegel and Jason Simon to discuss Godard’s conceptual traces in contemporary art and moving image. 
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Concert | A City Singing At Christmas


Join 42nd Annual A City Singing At Christmas concert featuring St. Agnes Cathedral Choir, Rockville Centre; Young People’s Chorus of New York; St. Patrick’s Cathedral Choir; Cathedral Organs; New York Symphonic Brass.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Artist Talk: How Place Affects Artmaking (online)


Artist Vanessa German will discuss how place affects artists, the healing properties of art, the role art plays in communities at large, and what it may truly mean to love.  
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Concert | Grammy-Nominated Mexican Singer and Composer


New York-based, Grammy-nominated, Mexican singer and composer Magos Herrera is one of the most expressive, beautiful voices in the contemporary Latin American jazz scene. Herrera is best known for her eloquent vocal improvisation and her bold style, which embraces elements of contemporary jazz with Latin American melodies and rhythms, in a style that elegantly blends boundaries. In her return to our stage (physical and virtual) she will be joined by the Magos Herrera Quartet, an acoustic quartet that incorporates harmonic jazz principles and improvisational elements that includes guitarist Vinicius Gomes, bassist Sam Minaie, and drummer Alex Kautz. Magos Herrera Quartet and a string quartet comprised of members of the orchestral collective The Knights will present music that Magos produced during the COVID isolation. The program will include new arrangements, songs included in the 2020 album Con Alma, and new original music written by Herrera.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Holiday Collage Making


A fun, holiday-themed collage-making in-person workshop. It encourages participants to make a thoughtful and creative collage for family and friends during the holiday season. Amon Focus will facilitate this workshop sharing some of his own techniques and strategies for engaging collage based art. Collages will be made using old magazines and can be decorated with an assortment of materials such as paint, buttons, paper and fabric. All materials will be provided and no previous experience in collage making is required.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Recalibrating for a Better New York (online)


How do we recalibrate reality to create a better, brighter future for New York? Scott Rechler, chair of the Regional Plan Association and CEO of RXR Realty, hosts a conversation series with leading thinkers and decision-makers to tackle this crucial question. His guest: Stanley McChrystal.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Snowbirds: A Cultural Phenomenon (online)


South Miami Beach was the winter destination of choice for Jewish seniors during the 1970s and 80s. During the area’s golden age, upwards of 20,000 “snowbirds” (those who fly south for the winter to escape the cold) would migrate to the 2.5 mile stretch of beachfront. This is a program with visual artist Naomi Harris, whose rich, colorful photographs of "snowbirds" capture the lost world. She'll be interviewed by Michael Clinton.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Discussion | What Does It Take to Translate the Intangible? (online)


Much of what translators work on doesn’t involve “meaning” in the dictionary sense. How do practitioners handle intangibles like rhyme, alliteration and assonance, naturalness, concision, and other elements of both poetic and prose texts? The lyrical force and emotional impact of many texts require acrobatic feats to successfully exist in multiple languages. Kareem James Abu-Zeid and Alta L. Price will explore approaches to prioritizing what’s most important when honing the vision for your translation.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Beatboxing: How Hip-Hop Changed the Fight Game (online)


Author and boxing aficionado Todd D. Snyder about his new book along with special guest and Wu-Tang producer Bronze Nazareth. Interviewing champion fighters and music legends, Snyder uncovers the unique connection between hip-hop and the sweet science, tracing a grassroots cultural movement from its origins in the South Bronx to its explosion across the globe and ultimately into the charged environment of the prize ring. Step into a world of rap moguls turned fight promoters, boxers turned rappers, and rappers turned boxers.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Classical Music | Symphony Orchestra Performs Works By Mahler And More


The program by American Symphony Orchestra paints a portrait of Mahler's residency in New York City through works by his lesser-known contemporaries including George Whitefield Chadwick, Alphons Diepenbrock, and Henry Hadley. Mahler's famous Adagio from his Symphony No. 10 will also be performed. Program George Whitefield Chadwick (1854-1931) Melpomene Overture (1887) Henry Hadley (1871-1937) The Culprit Fay, Op. 62 (1908) Alphons Diepenbrock (1862-1921) Hymne an die Nacht (1899) Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) Adagio from Symphony No. 10 (1910) Doors will open at 6 pm; if the concert is sold out, there will be a standby line for patrons without tickets that will be seated after 7:50 pm, so please plan your arrival time accordingly.
   New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
Free
Complimentary Tickets

to shows, concerts ... (CFT Deals!)

Concert | Christmas Concert

Regular Price: $55
CFT Member Price: $0.00

Classical Music | Works by Mozart, Dvorak and More

Regular Price: $50
CFT Member Price: $0.00
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