free things to do in New York City
Free events for Wednesday, 05/13/09
 

May 2009

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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 13, 2009?

43 free events take place on Wednesday, May 13 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 13 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.
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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!

43 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Wednesday, May 13, 2009

All events are free unless otherwise noted.
        

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. Five tours daily on the hour.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:30 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
$5

Tour | “Manhattan Adirondacks”


Olmsted and Vaux designed the North Woods to replicate the forests of the Adirondack Mountains with its crystal streams, calming cascades, and rustic bridges. This scenic and meditative walk is right in New York City's backyard. Tour will be approximately one hour.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 am
Free

Lesson | Elements of Nature Drawing


Enjoy drawing in the parks and gardens with a professional artist/educator. Materials provided or bring your own.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:30 am
Free

Concert | Chamber Music Informal


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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12:00 pm
Free

Other | Oral Cancer Screenings


Screenings are on a first-come first-served basis. No appointment is needed. Testing is quick and painless.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Concert | Bach at Noon


This series features the organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:20 pm
Free

Tour | Grand Central Terminal Tour


Tour of this magnificent Beaux-Arts landmark.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:30 pm
$10 suggested donation

Author Reading | Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth reads from her book A Little Bit Wicked


The actress and singer shares her journey from Oklahoma beauty queen to Broadway leading lady.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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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
$5

Park Walk | “Cross Park Promenade”


You'll be amazed at what you'll see.... a hidden bench that tells time, miniature boats powered by the wind, a magnificent sculpture celebrating fresh water, and a glorious drinking fountain for the city's equine population. These are just some of the the sites along the way on this east to west walk through the park. Tour is approximately one hour long.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free
1:15 pm
Free

Performance | Momus and Aki Sasamoto's “Love is the End of Art”


A performance by Momus in collaboration with performance artist Aki Sasamoto. Momus will take the dual roles of art critic and unrequited lover, framing and critiquing Sasamoto's performance (which involves lectures, potatoes, stretched utensils, and bungee elastic) with a narrative that slips awkwardly between the abstract and the specific, the public and the private. Dressed as a kuroko, a kabuki stagehand, Momus will hover over Sasamoto's performance like a ghost, occasionally breaking off to sing along with a track from Martin Rev's strange 1996 album "See me Ridin." Sasamoto will completely ignore Momus, as a kabuki actor ignores the stagehands bustling around. She originally created her piece within the insular environment of her psyche, where the only type of love she was concerned with was platonic love for her mother. She did not consider how others might frame her. Love is the End of Art exists between Sasamoto's personal intention and Momus's interpretation.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Lesson | Figure al Fresco


Learn figure drawing outdoors with a clothed model and an artist/educator. Materials provided or bring your own.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:30 pm
Free

Author Reading | Helena Norberg-Hodge reads from her book Ancient Futures


In 1975, Norberg-Hodge visited Ladakh and found an idyllic pre-industrial society in Tibet. She has continued to visit annually and has watched as Ladakhi culture has been transformed by tourism, western goods and economic restructuring. Join her for a reading and discussion of her evocative account of paradise lost and warnings unheeded.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free

Staged Reading | “Final Draft 2009”


Final Draft 2009 is a festival of new play readings presented by the MFA Playwriting class of 2009. Today's readings: Today's readings: Weird Abundance by Rebecca Stokes, directed by Web Begole. At 17, Anne Sexton was volatile, under-educated, manipulative, and bored out of her mind. Then she discovered poetry – and everything got a lot worse. Set in the mid-to-late 1950s, this play watches a woman whose struggle to balance her turbulent personal life with the grounded reality of her poetry causes her to create a flamboyant artistic persona. This intoxicating veneer of sex, drugs, over-sharing, and humor would make her famous, and would forever cast a shadow on the value of her work. How do you reconcile the writing with the writer? Can you? And more importantly – would they want you to? The House On Kenfield Road by Diana Polansky, directed by Heidi Carlsen. A young girl blooms with the construction of the first brick house in the southeast, learning life lessons from the builder who continues to guide her long after his death – and long after she withers with the town.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free

Talk | How to Buy and Finance a Foreclosure


“Understanding the Foreclosure Market: How to Buy and Finance a Foreclosure” - Learn the secrets of finding, negotiating, and buying a foreclosure. Understand the special circumstances and differences between a standard real estate transaction and a foreclosure purchase. The speaker, Quentin J. Hardy, has worked with dozens of foreclosure transactions in multiple states and will be sharing his experiences and advice.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free

Staged Reading | 50th Anniversary of the Pirandello Society of America


This evening celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Pirandello Society of America will feature a talk by Benito Ortolani about the Italian actress Marta Abba, and a staged reading of Pirandello's 1923 one-act play The Other Son. Ortolani is Professor Emeritus of Theatre at Brooklyn College and editor and translator of Pirandello's Love Letters to Marta Abba. Excerpts from the letters will also be read. A panel discussion with Benito Ortolani and the co-organizers Jane House and Janice Capuana will conclude the evening.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Jazz | Babbie Green and John Boswell perform from their CD No Harm Done, Coquette


The father-daughter team presents songs in the jazz/cabaret vein.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Botswana: The African Success Story


A panel discussion about Botswana's success story.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Discussion | House of Illnesses: Unica Zürn's Art and Madness


This panel discussion addresses the relationship between art and mental illness, in particular, Zürn's own experience of schizophrenia and her tragic suicide at the age of 54 in 1970; the etiology of her illness and her treatment by the medical establishment; and its impact and relevance, if any, to a reading of her work. The panel, moderated by João Ribas, will include Caroline Rupprecht and others to be announced.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Jazz | Jazz Voices


Directed by Janet Lawson.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Lecture | Design and Improvisation


Practitioners from diverse backgrounds, including music, theater and comedy, will discuss how designers can use the principles and processes of improvisation to bring spark and perspective to their work. The speakers include Armando Diaz, instructor at Magnet Theater; Graham Marshall and Sunmee Kim of Innovation & Design, Motorola Inc.; and Charlie Todd, founder of Improv Everywhere.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Jazz | Guitarist Bill Wurtzel with Benny Powell, trombone and Bob Cranshaw, bass guitar


Bill Wurtzel has had a long career as a guitarist on the New York jazz scene. He was a member of the Count Basie alumnae band “The Countsmen” for 15 years, guitarist with Bill “Mr. Honky Tonk Doggett” for 7 years, the Haywood Henry Quartet for 5 years, and now is a member of the Harlem Jazz & Blues All Star band. Benny Powell spent 12 years as a sideman in Count Basie's band (1951-63.) More recently, he's played trombome wit Randy Weston and teaches at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Bob Cranshaw plays jazz bass guitar and has worked with Sunny Rollins' band for almost five decades startign with the 1962 album, The Bridge.
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
Free

Talk | History of the Bowery


"The Bowery: From The German Boulevard Through Blight To Renewal" with Dr. Ronald J. Brown. Learn about where Governor Peter Stuyvesant drove his wagon to the farmer’s market in colonial New York. Discover the many German beer halls, opera houses, dance halls, restaurants, and clubs that made the Bowery into the fashionable German Broadway. Learn how it declined and became a symbol of sleaze, dives, and danger. Sing the songs about the Bowery, see the movies the street figured in, and read the books it inspired. See how it is on the rise again.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Other | Mind Games


A live game show that alternates among the Vocabulary Tournament, Geography Bee, Math Bee, and Team Trivia. All games are open to all. Each event begins with live music, followed bythe competition. Tonight, enjoy tunes played by DJ Joe and pick up a copy of this week's warm-up quiz. Prize for the best score on the quiz. Quiz questions are not linked to the game that follows -- they include trivia on any topic, puzzles, word games, etc. Then, a Geography Tournament. Test your knowledge on local, national, and world geography. Hosted by encyclopedia editor / comedian team Jen and Meg. Cash prize for winner.
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
Free

Discussion | The Artist’s Life


Critic, author and curator Lilly Weir moderates a panel of prominent artists to discuss the challenges of sustaining an art career over one’s lifetime. Artist panelists include: Gregory Amenoff, Emma Amos, Wolf Kahn, Pat Steir and Lilly Wei.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
$5

Author Reading | Binnie Kirshenbaum reads from her book, The Scenic Route


From the author of An Almost Perfect Moment comes a book set throughout Europe in the present and in the narrator's own rememberings. This bittersweet novel about a woman whose search for love in the present and peace with the past leads to unexpected consequences.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Christopher Beha reads from his book, “The Whole Five Feet”


Created to include the best and most worthy thoughts of Western culture, the Harvard Classic Great Books collection became a cultural milestone. Author Beha turned to the famous series for answers to some of life's greatest questions. Beha discusses his new intellectual memoir with editor Jofie Ferrari-Adler.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Emily St. John Mandel reads from her book Last Night in Montreal


The novel follows the intersecting lives of four people: Lilia, a twenty-something who disappeared under mysterious circumstances as a child; Eli, who tries to hold on to her and then tries to let her go; Christopher, the private detective who remains obsessed with Lilia’s case; and Michaela, the detective’s daughter, who is as rootless as Lilia—and who knows the answers Lilia seeks.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | James Frey reads from his book Bright Shiny Morning


One of the more controversial authors in America delivers his first novel—a sweeping chronicle of contemporary Los Angeles with dozens of characters.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Michael Gross reads from his book, “Rogues' Gallery”


Just as cultural journalist Gross' New York Times bestselling book 740 Park peeled the facade off the extravagant home lives of America's wealthiest, this new book pulls back the shades of secrecy that have long shrouded the cultural and philanthropic ambitions and maneuvers of the most colorful characters in the Metropolitan Museum's history.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Philarmonic Orchestra of the Americas


Join POA Founder and Music Director Alondra de la Parra and special guests for an series of pre-concert events during which composers and soloists will share their views on the music to be included in the orchestra’s upcoming concerts. These dialogues and performances illuminate the music and the process by which the programs are designed, and introduce the composers and performers.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Screening | Students' Thesis Projects


A screening of thesis projects by students in the BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects Department.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Discussion | The Book As Art


With Susan Fleminger, Brian Bellot, Anne Gilman and Robbin Ami Silverberg. A panel discussion with the artists who use the book format as a container for their ideas, feelings, and aesthetic sensibilities. Meet-and-greet reception Included. Susan Fleminger is the Deputy Director of the Abrons Arts Center of Henry Street Settlement where she provides artistic leadership for an exhibitions program, an artist in residence workspace program, classes and workshops in the visual arts, and an arts-in-education program for public school children and their teachers. Anne Gilman has had her work exhibited in the United States, Europe, and Latin America with solo exhibitions in Guadalajara, Mexico, Matanzas and Havana, Cuba and 2-person exhibitions at 5+5 Gallery in Brooklyn and Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute in Utica NY. Group exhibitions include Rare Editions at Lehman College Art Gallery, Pratt Prints in Sao Paulo, Brazil, New York/Paris DIALOGUE in Paris and New York, The Missing Link in Berlin and Grabados in Lima, Peru. Robbin Ami Silverberg, artist and founding director of Dobbin Mill, a hand-papermaking studio, and Dobbin Books, a collaborative artist book studio, which publishes small editions by Silverberg, in collaboration with international artists. Her artwork is divided between solo & collaborative artist books and large paper installations. The work conceptually focuses on word cognition and interlinearity, with an emphasis on process and paper as activated substrate. Brian Bellot, a collector of images, is a collagist whose dense, unique “illuminated manuscripts” play with found paper fragments, color, pattern, games of all sorts, and music’s repetitions and vibrations. He alters books, especially cardboard children’s books, to act as frames for pages that express a sense of fantasy, play, discovery and humor.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
$5

Author Reading | William D. Cohan reads from his book House of Cards


On March 5th, 2008, a hedge fund manager offered advice on Bear Stearns, writing “in my book, they are insolvent.” This was a bold statement about a company with over $17 billion in cash and that had been colossally profitable over its eighty-five years. Yet, 10 days later Bear Stearns no longer existed, and the calamitous financial meltdown of 2008 had begun. Join William D. Cohan for a reading of his New York Times’ bestseller, a chronicling of the swashbuckling corporate culture of Bear Stearns and a cautionary tale about greed, arrogance, and stupidity amongst those managing the world’s finances.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Concert | Boy and Girl Choristers


The church's Boy and Girl Choristers have earned national recognition through performances at Carnegie Hall and Washington’s National Cathedral, as well as appearances on The Today Show, Good Morning America and The Early Show. Founded in 1995, the program offers free professional music training, touring opportunities, field trips, and other activities to children from grades 3 through 12.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Performance | Gamarjobat perform from Rock 'n Roll Penguin


Enjoy the hilarity of international silent sensation Gamarjobat as it performs an explosion of physical comedy and sight gags.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Jazz | Jazz Voices


Directed by Amy London.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Concert | ARGENTO CHAMBER ENSEMBLE AND CHRISTOPHER JUST - lots of fun!


The Argento Chamber Ensemble teams up with Austrian DJ Christopher Just in a program juxtaposing works of emerging American composers, DJs and turntable artists. Michel Galante, conductor Erin Lesser, flute Carol McGonnell, clarinet Joanna Chao, piano Miranda Cuckson, violin Stephanie Griffin, viola Greg Hesselink, cello Michael Klingbeil, electronics
   New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
Free

Concert | Won Whi Choi, tenor


Student Recital.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Concert | Jazz Voices


Directed by Amy London.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:00 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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