free things to do in New York City
Free events for Wednesday, 01/31/24
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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 January 31, 2024?

32 free events take place on Wednesday, January 31 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 January 31 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 January . 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!

32 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Wednesday, January 31, 2024

All events are free unless otherwise noted.

Editor's Picks

free events nyc Tour of New York City Hall
free events nyc ?Fenomenal!, Rompeforma 1989-1996 (2023): dance documentary (In Person AND Online)
free events nyc Material Wealth: Mining the Personal Archive of Allen Ginsberg
free events nyc Theresienstadt: In Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
More Editor's Picks for 01/31/24
        

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

Talk | Address by Ambassador Dennis Ross (online)


Ambassador Dennis Ross is Counsellor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy; Professor, Center for Jewish Civilization, Georgetown University, Washington.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 am
Free

Tour | Exhibition Tour: Border Crossings: Exile and American Modern Dance, 1900-1955


Immigrant artists and artists of color, marginalized and excluded in their own lands, have largely been erased from dance history despite their pivotal contributions to contemporary performance. Border Crossings: Exile and American Modern Dance, 1900-1955 illuminates these unknown and underrepresented artists whose dance artistry forged our understanding of modern dance and cultural and national identity. Mapping how the crucial concept of the border geographic, national, legal, spiritual, even psychic--fed the articulation of a distinctly American modernity, Border Crossings charts the geographic and aesthetic migration of many artists, including Ada Overton Walker, Josephine Baker, Michio Ito, Carmen Amaya, Syvilla Fort, Si-Lan Chen Leyda, Katherine Dunham, and Jose Limon. Border Crossings surveys these artists' heroism and hidden narratives through photographs, rare film footage, artwork, costumes, scenic designs, and other extensive documentation. Modern dance artists' confrontations at the border--forced and willed--shaped early twentieth-century philosophies of "the modern" in dance to include the experience of exile, displacement, and newfound identity. This tour is first come, first served and requires no registration.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 am
Free

Book Discussion | In Hitler's Munich: Jews, the Revolution, and the Rise of Nazism (online)


In the aftermath of Germany's defeat in World War I and the failed November Revolution of 1918-19, which was led by many prominent Jewish politicians, the conservative government of Bavaria identified Jews with left-wing radicalism. Munich became a hotbed of right-wing extremism, with synagogues under attack and Jews physically assaulted in the streets. It was here that Adolf Hitler established the Nazi movement and developed his antisemitic ideas. This lecture provides a gripping account of how Bavaria's capital city became the testing ground for Nazism and the Final Solution. With author Michael Brenner.
   New York City, NY; NYC
12:00 pm
Free

Tour | Tour of New York City Hall


One of the oldest continuously used City Halls in the nation that still houses its original governmental functions, New York's City Hall is considered one of the finest architectural achievements of its period. Constructed from 1803 to 1812, the building was an early expression of the City's cosmopolitanism. City Hall is a designated New York City landmark, and its rotunda is a designated interior landmark as well.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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

Screening | ?Fenomenal!, Rompeforma 1989-1996 (2023): dance documentary (In Person AND Online)


Dance artists Merian Soto and Viveca Vazquez co-host a screening of their new film ?Fenomenal!, Rompeforma 1989-1996, a documentary which uses archival materials, explores the history of the experimental Latin festival, Rompeforma--a dance, performance, and visual marathon held in Puerto Rico from 1989 to 1996. Following the film Soto and Vazquez will engage in an in-depth conversation with public participation on the process of creating the documentary. Registration required.
   New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Adult Chorus


Directed by Church Street School of Music, the chorus is open to all who love to sing. Learn contemporary and classic songs and perform at community events throughout the year.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Film | Spy (2015) with Melissa McCarthy, Jude Law, and More


Despite having solid field training, CIA analyst Susan Cooper has spent her entire career as a desk jockey, working hand-in-hand with dashing agent Bradley Fine. Using high-tech equipment and a hidden earpiece, Susan is the guardian angel who helps Bradley avoid danger. However, when Bradley is assassinated by Bulgarian arms dealer Rayna Boyanov, Susan wrangles her way into her first undercover assignment to help capture Boyanov and avenge Bradley. Director: Paul Feig Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Bobby Cannavale, Allison Janney, Jude Law, Nargis Fakhri Melissa McCarthy is an American actress, screenwriter, producer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. McCarthy was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016, and she has been featured multiple times in annual rankings of the highest-paid actresses in the world. In 2020, The New York Times ranked her #22 in its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century. Jude Law is an English actor. He began his career in theatre before landing small roles in various British television productions and feature films, later gaining recognition for his role in Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and was nominated for an Academy Award. He has been nominated for a total of two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Talk | Jews of the Land of Israel Before the First Aliyah: Their Names and History (online)


Speaker Alexander Beider was born in Moscow in 1963. He studied mathematics and theoretical physics in Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology from which he received a PhD in applied mathematics (1989). Since 1990, he lives with his family in Paris, France. In 2000, he received his second PhD, this time in the domain of Jewish studies, from Sorbonne. Beider uses onomastics and linguistics as tools allowing to unravel the history of the Jewish people.
   New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
Free

Lecture | Why Constitutional Conservatives Need Natural Rights and Libertarians Need Natural Law


A talk by Professor Randy Barnett of the Georgetown University Law Center on the importance of natural rights and natural law.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:30 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Artist Talk: Leave Room for the Wind


Dominic Chambers creates vibrant paintings that frequently portray scenes of leisure, joy, and quiet contemplation. In his newest body of work, Chambers continues his examination of the contemporary role of leisure—focusing on its relationship to nature—and explores how art can function as a mode for understanding, recontextualizing, or renegotiating one’s relationship to the world. Chambers will be in conversation with Jenée-Daria Strand, Assistant Curator, Public Art Fund.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Day by Michael Cunningham (In Person AND Online)


Join WNYC's Alison Stewart and Michael Cunningham for a live conversation about his newest book, Day, a “quietly stunning” (Ocean Vuong) exploration of love and loss, the struggles and limitations of family life—and how we all must learn to live together and apart. April 5, 2019 - In a cozy brownstone in Brooklyn, the veneer of domestic bliss is beginning to crack. Exactly 1 year later, as the world goes into lockdown, the cozy brownstone is starting to feel more like a prison. Another year passes and emerging from the worst of the crisis, the family reckons with a new, very different reality—and with what they’ve learned, what they’ve lost, and how they might go on.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Leave to Land: Exhibition Discussion (in-person and online)


The Kitchener Camp has been largely forgotten today, but in 1939, this derelict army base on the Kent coast in southeastern England became the scene of an extraordinary rescue in which 4,000 men were saved from the Holocaust. The Leave to Land traveling exhibition was authored by Clare Weissenberg and was based on materials collected through The Kitchener Camp Project, a unique online resource that brings together archival records and family treasures to build a moving and compelling picture of this unlikely sanctuary. Beginning at 6:00 PM EST on January 31, visit this exhibition. At 6:30 PM, there will be a live panel discussion with Barbara Birch (President and CEO at ORT America), Emary Aronson (Board Member and Chief Knowledge Officer and Senior Advisor to the CEO at Robin Hood), and Ronnie Wolf (Senior Adviser of the Leave to Land Exhibition) and moderated by Frank Mecklenburg (Mark M. and Lottie Salton Senior Historian at the Leo Baeck Institute). Panelists will then take questions from the live audience.
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Material Wealth: Mining the Personal Archive of Allen Ginsberg


Editor Pat Thomas documents Ginsberg's life as a young man, breakaway poet, expansive spirit, curious intellectual traveler, and relentless enthusiast of the provocative and the profane. In conversation with Peter Hale, Sylvia Reed and Holly George Warren.
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | The Furies: Women, Vengeance, and Justice


Renowned journalist Elizabeth Flock investigates what few dare to confront, or even imagine: the role and necessity of female-led violence in response to systems built against women.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Dance Performance | Eternal NOW: Mesmerizing Dance


White Wave Young Soon Kim Dance Company will perform Eternal NOW. Choreographer Young Soon Kim, known for her exhilarating and emotionally rich works, will present a mesmerizing expression of movement that perpetually affirms the now, in space and time, as it reveals the inner landscape of human emotion. Dancers will be dressed in select pieces from Cesarine’s "Lumière” wearable art fashion collection, premiering at the event.  
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Lecture | Ideology and Populism: The Anatomy of Post-Communist Regimes


Drs. Magyar and Madlovics will present key findings from their books The Anatomy of Post-Communist Regimes and A Concise Field Guide to Post-Communist Regimes. Focusing on Central Europe, the post-Soviet countries and China, the studies provide a systematic mapping of possible post-communist trajectories. At exploring the structural foundations of post-communist regime development, the work discusses the types of state, with an emphasis on informality and patronalism; the variety of actors in the political, economic, and communal spheres; the ways autocrats neutralize media, elections, etc. The analysis embraces the color revolutions of civil resistance (as in Georgia and in Ukraine) and the defensive mechanisms of democracy and autocracy; the evolution of corruption and the workings of “relational economy”; an analysis of China as “market-exploiting dictatorship”; the sociology of “clientage society”; and the instrumental use of ideology, with an emphasis on populism. Beyond a cataloguing of phenomena—actors, institutions, and dynamics of post-communist democracies, autocracies, and dictatorships—Magyar and Madlovics also conceptualize everything as building blocks to a larger, coherent structure: a new language for post-communist regimes.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Politics of Memory: Anti-Semitism in Contemporary Western Europe


A roundtable discussion will explore the contemporary politics of anti-semitism in western Europe in historical perspective. Focusing on the cases of postwar France and Germany, discussants will ask how a set of debates that emerged out of consideration of the Holocaust have been transformed in recent years and affected most recently by events in the Middle East.  Participants: Stefanos Geroulanos is Professor of European Intellectual History and Director of the Remarque Institute at NYU where he teaches modern European intellectual history, specialising in France. Gil Hochberg is Ransford Professor of Hebrew and Visual Studies, Comparative Literature, and Middle East Studies and the Chair of MESAAS at Columbia, and on the executive committee of the Center of Palestine Studies (CPS). Mark Mazower is SNF Director of the Columbia Institute for Ideas and Imagination and Ira D. Wallach Professor of History, Columbia. Andrew Port is Professor of History at Wayne State University. Fabien Théofilakis is Professor of History at Paris-1, Sorbonne, and the author of numerous publications on wartime captivity and camps in the Second World War, the Eichmann trial and the memory of the Holocaust. 
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Societal Costs of Oil and Gas Production


A legacy of costs from oil and gas production will remain long after achieving a net-zero future. Professor Lucija Muehlenbachs, visiting faculty member, associate professor of economics at the University of Calgary, and a university fellow at Resources for the Future, gives a fireside chat focused on some of these burdens, such as methane emissions and well-site cleanup, as well as recent policy developments.  Dr. Geoffrey Heal, Donald C. Waite III professor of social enterprise, and Paul Garrett professor of public policy and corporate responsibility, Columbia Business School, will moderate. 
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Solving the Biodiversity Crisis


A panel discussion moderated by Wendy Hapgood, co-founder of Wild Tomorrow and featuring a distinguished group of experts in the fields of biodiversity finance and policy, conservation, and ecology. The event aims to introduce the importance of biodiversity in sustainable business decisions and to highlight key trends in the current biodiversity crisis and solution pathways.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free

Reading | An Ugly Word: Rethinking Race in Italy and the United States


Scholars and politicians often assume a significant gap between the ways that Americans and Europeans think about race. According to this template, in the U.S. race is associated with physical characteristics, while in Western Europe race has disappeared, and discrimination is based on insurmountable cultural differences. However, little research has addressed how average Americans and Europeans actually think and talk about race. In An Ugly Word, sociologists Ann Morning and Marcello Maneri examine American and Italian understandings of group difference in order to determine if and how they may differ.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Film | Bucha (2023): Ukrainian Thriller


The story of a refugee from Kazakhstan who in the spring of 2022 saved hundreds of Ukrainians in Bucha and other cities and towns occupied by Russian troops. Director: Stanislav Tiunov Stars: Sergey Strelnikov, Vyacheslav Dovzhenko, Cezary Lukaszewicz Followed by a discussion with Ukrainian screewriter Oleksandr Shchur.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Last Acts: Razor-Sharp Social Satire


Following a near-death experience, an entrepreneurial father-and-son duo wreak havoc and fend off bankruptcy in this unflinching portrayal of the absurdities of American life. Even though his firearms store is failing, things are looking up for David Rizzo. His son, Nick, has just recovered after a near-fatal overdose, which means one thing: Rizzo can use Nick’s resurrection to create the most compelling television commercial for a gun emporium that the world has ever seen. After all, this is America, Rizzo tells himself. Surely anything is possible. But the relationship between father and son is fragile, mired in mutual disappointment. And when the pair embarks on their scheme to avoid bankruptcy, a high stakes crash of hijinks, hope, and disaster ensues. Featuring a cast of unforgettable characters, Alexander Sammartino's razor-sharp social satire lays bare both the gun and opioid crises. Fans of Don DeLillo and Stephen Markley will be thrilled by this smart, inventive debut.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
$5

Discussion | Breaking the Audio Fiction Form


The past decade has seen a resurgence of audio listening in podcast form, but even with this growth, audio fiction has remained a minor genre within podcasting. This is a lively conversation on the unique art and culture of audio fiction, and learn about how our star panelists from the industry are creatively pushing the medium forward. You’ll have the chance to listen to trailers from the panelists’ recent work and ask them questions. It’s sure be a memorable night of media, mingling, and moxy—featuring: Moderator Kirsten Nelson with panelists Jocelyn Kuritsky, creator of the Telly Award winning A Simple Herstory; Peabody Award winning writer/director/producer, Jenny Turner Hall; Arielle Nissenblatt, founder and head curator of the EarBuds Podcast Collective and community marketing manager at Descript; Davy Gardner, veteran audio writer/creator and head of Tribeca Audio, and James Scully, radio historian and creator of the 2022 Tribeca audio selection Burning Gotham.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Talk | Notable New Yorkers of Manhattan's Bloomingdale Neighborhood (online)


Jim Mackin-- local historian, popular tour guide and author-- is set to present the second installment of an immensely popular program he put together for the BNHG three years ago. Jim's presentation takes a close look at some of the "notables" who once lived in the Bloomingdale neighborhood, the "wildly diverse people who shaped the character of the area." Macklin spent years doing meticulous research for his book, Notable New Yorkers of Manhattan's Upper West Side, published in 2021 by Fordham University Press, and it is this book that is the inspiration for these presentations. Scouring hundreds of sources, he uncovered details of the lives of almost 600 one-time neighborhood residents-- some well known, others not-- which he included in his book. . (Actually, he found twice as many people who qualified but his publisher insisted on narrowing the number down to a more wieldy 600.) Many of the lesser known subjects in the book are women: "My research revealed many surprises, including dozens of accomplished women whose histories are little known."
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
Free

Discussion | Transcending Time: Japanese Art and Technology


Japanese art has an allure that transcends time, from the resplendent beauty of paintings on golden screens to the elegant lines of ikebana flower arrangements. In modern times, new technologies are revolutionizing our engagement with these art forms. High-precision replicas of precious paintings can be created, allowing the originals to be safely preserved, while still being accessible to the public. Meanwhile, contemporary artists are using technology to express traditional Japanese artistic concepts in novel ways. Frank Feltens, Curator of Japanese Art at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, and Naoko Tosa, Japanese new media artist and Professor of Kyoto University, will examine the applications of technology in the world of Japanese art today. This conversation will be moderated by Monika Bincsik, Diane and Arthur Abbey Curator for Japanese Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
Free

Book Discussion | How We Named the Stars: A Love Story for the Written Off


Set between the United States and México, Andrés N. Ordorica’s debut novel is a tender and lyrical exploration of belonging, grief, and first love—a love story for those so often written off the page. When Daniel de La Luna arrives as a scholarship student at an elite East Coast university, he bears the weight of his family’s hopes and dreams, and the burden of sharing his late uncle’s name. Daniel flounders at first—but then Sam, his roommate, changes everything. As their relationship evolves from brotherly banter to something more intimate, Daniel soon finds himself in love with a man who helps him see himself in a new light. But just as their relationship takes flight, Daniel is pulled away, first by Sam’s hesitation and then by a brutal turn of events that changes Daniel’s life forever.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Discussion | All About Impeachment (online)


In the wake of the spotlight cast on impeachment during Donald Trump’s presidency, Michael J. Gerhardt, a leading expert in the field, offers a clear and comprehensive overview of this crucial aspect of American governance. His The Law of Presidential Impeachment goes beyond partisan perspectives, providing a nonpartisan and up-to-date examination of the constitutional tools available for holding presidents accountable. This is a conversation with Kim Roosevelt and Gerhardt. This conversation will delve into the historical roots and constitutional mechanisms of impeachment, gaining insights from Gerhardt’s lifetime of research and experience in high profile trials. Gerhardt will guide you through a nonpartisan overview that goes beyond specific cases, offering nuanced perspectives on under-explored issues.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Comedy Club | Girls Aren't Funny: Screening + Standup


Live standup and a screening of a pilot called Girls Aren't Funny.   Performances by: Amamah Sardar Karolena Theresa Katie Boyle Indigo Asim Kelly Bachman with MC Glennis La Roe  
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | Theresienstadt: In Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust


Austrian baritone Wolfgang Holzmair and pianist Olivier Godin give a recital centred on works composed at the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Theresienstadt stands for ghetto, hunger, danger of epidemics, overcrowded quarters, inhumane hygienic conditions, fear of deportation, physical and mental exhaustion. Nevertheless, some of the artists imprisoned at Theresienstadt managed to develop a wide variety of cultural activities: Concerts, opera and theater performances, cabaret, readings, exhibitions. There was an elite at work under catastrophic conditions, talented amateurs included, who never lost their creative power and humor (yes, even that!) in the daily struggle for survival and who practiced spiritual resistance, as it were: Viktor Ullmann, Hans Krasa, Gideon Klein, Pavel Haas, Ilse Weber, Adolf Strauss, Karel Svenk and many others. The concert will span an arc from the classical song genre to light music.
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
Free
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