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 20, 2009?

33 free events take place on Wednesday, May 20 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 20 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!

33 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Wednesday, May 20, 2009

All events are free unless otherwise noted.

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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 | “Amble Through the Ramble”

Over streams, under arches, through the woods along a maze of pathways in a 38-acre woodland respite. 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

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 | Terry Waldo, ragtime pianist

The ragtime expert and stride pianist is protégé of the late Eubie Blake. He has produced over 40 albums and wrote the definitive book This is Ragtime. Along with the book, came a 26-part series with the same title for National Public Radio, which fueled the 1970's ragtime revival.

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

Author Reading | Charlie Todd reads from his book Causing a Scene

From the legendary No Pants! Subway Ride to the Grand Central Freeze, Improv Everywhere has been responsible for some of the most original and subversive pranks of the Internet age. Come hear creator Todd discuss the hilarious tales behind the infamous pranks that have made the group a global phenomenon.

New York City, NY; NYC

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12:30 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

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

Concert | Pre-College Chamber Music

New York City, NY; NYC

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1:00 pm
Free

Park Walk | “Views from the Past”

As you promenade through the heart of the Park, imagine yourself living in 19th Century New York City. Learn about the Park's history and how its designers, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, struggled to create the magnificent "Greensward" for the enjoyment of all. Tour lasts approximately one hour.

New York City, NY; NYC

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1:00 pm
Free

Concert | ARTEK Ensemble, early music

New York City, NY; NYC

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1:15 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

Workshop | Latest Web Technologies

Web design is always evolving, so what’s going on today? In this seminar, learn current web design workflows using the Adobe Creative Suite 4 as well as the latest trends in technology (CSS, AJAX, XML, etc.). You don’t have to be a web design expert, just have the desire to see today’s current trends. This seminar is not meant for beginners.

New York City, NY; NYC

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3:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Interpreting Financial Statements

Learn more about how to intrepret the financial statements of companies to understand their financial picture more clearly.

New York City, NY; NYC

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4:15 pm
Free

Workshop | Latest Web Technologies

New York City, NY; NYC

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6:00 pm
Free

Concert | Maureen Andary with Sara Curtin/Chuck Costa, singer-songwriters

Maureen Andary joins Sara Curtin to play classical blues and jazz as well as original pieces inspired by the chord changes of 1930’s music. With his emotive lyrics, Chuck Costa (pictured) sings contemporary folk songs with rich arrangements to the strumming of his guitar.

New York City, NY; NYC

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6:00 pm
Free

Concert | Spider Saloff performs from her CD Cole Porter: Live at Maxim's

The singer, considered one of the great interpreters of Porter's work, delves into his classics.

New York City, NY; NYC

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6:00 pm
Free

Other | Chelsea 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 real, adult Math Bee. Questions are generally about SAT-level, but with funny twists and speed challenges. What's the square root of good time? Hosted by Jennifer Dziura and Andrew Singer (a.k.a Soce the Elemental Wizard). Cash prize for winner.

New York City, NY; NYC

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6:30 pm
Free

Author Reading | Eleanor Antin reads from her book, “Memories of Stalin”

Artist, writer, and filmmaker Antin will read from her autobiography. Antin's work has been the subject of a major restrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and she is an emeritus Professor of Visual Arts at the University of California at San Diego.

New York City, NY; NYC

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6:30 pm
Free

Discussion | Writing Contemporary Traditional Mysteries

"Contemporary Traditional Mysteries: Fair Play Puzzles in the Modern World" with Jack Getze (moderator), Jane K. Cleland, Meredith Cole, Rosemary Harris, and Jason Pinter of Mystery Writers of America.

New York City, NY; NYC

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6:30 pm
Free

Concert | Antonina Ermolenko, voice

Master of Arts recital.

New York City, NY; NYC

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7:00 pm
Free

Concert | Antonina Ermolenko, voice

Master of Arts recital.

New York City, NY; NYC

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7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Elinor Lipman reads from her book The Family Man

A hysterical phone call from his ex-wife and a familiar face in a photograph upend Henry Archer's well-ordered life to bring him back into contact with the child he adored, a stepdaughter from a misbegotten marriage long ago.

New York City, NY; NYC

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7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Elisabeth Edwards reads from her book Resilience

The wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards reflects on the ups and downs of life.

New York City, NY; NYC

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7:00 pm
Free

Concert | International Sejong Soloists - conductor-less string ensemble

An evening of classical music performed by the International Sejong Soloists, a conductor-less string ensemble comprised of today's leading young soloists.

New York City, NY; NYC

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7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Philip Lopate reads from his book, “Notes on Sontag”

The writer on the late Susan Sontag. In conversation with author, editor and memoirist Ben Taylor.

New York City, NY; NYC

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7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Simon Schama reads from his book, The American Future

Past performance may not guarantee future returns, but it's the best we have to go on, contends this lively meditation on American history. Looking back from the tumultuous 2008 election campaign, historian Schama (NBCC-award winner for Rough Crossings) ponders four themes in American history as they played out in the lives of historical figures: -the tension between militarism and liberty in the careers of Civil War general Montgomery Meigs and his family; - the progressive influence of evangelical Protestantism on abolitionist and civil rights crusaders; - America's conflicted attitudes toward immigrants as seen through the adventures of 18th-century French émigré J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur; - and Americans' profligate exploitation of the land and water in an elegy for the Cherokee tribe.

New York City, NY; NYC

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7:00 pm
Free

Staged Reading | two original one-act plays

Consumption, by Melanie Angelina Maras, and See Jane Talk, by Megan Hart. Award winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis will direct Consumption, and The Public Theater’s Director of Special Projects, Maria Goyanes will direct See Jane Talk. The plays compliment each other as they both deal with strong female characters, and focus on relationships between people who are stumbling through life, trying to figure it out as they go along.

New York City, NY; NYC

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7:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Voices from UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

"Sacred Indigenous Places, Broken Treaties and Human Rights Violations,"  hosted by WBAI's Tiokasin Ghosthorse.

New York City, NY; NYC

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7:00 pm
$10 suggested donation

Workshop | Fiction Writing Class

Tania James, author of The Atlas of Unknowns, teaches.

New York City, NY; NYC

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7:30 pm
Free

Concert | one of the nation's most esteemed concert organists, Gail Archer

Known as one of the nation's most esteemed concert organists, Gail Archer celebrates the bicentennial of composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) with a five-concert, fivemonth long (January-May 2009) performance series exploring his primary organ works, the Six Sonatas (1845). In honor of the composer's dual affiliation with both the Jewish and Christian faiths, Archer's concerts has journeyed through some of Manhattan's prominent religious institutions ranging from the Central Synagogue to St. Paul's Chapel. In addition to Mendelssohn's much beloved Six Sonatas, programming includes works by Fanny Mendelssohn (his sister with whom he had an especially close relationship, personally and artistically), Robert and Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Max Reger.

New York City, NY; NYC

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7:30 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

More CFT Deals

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