free things to do in New York City
Free events for Monday, 05/05/14
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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 5, 2014?

42 free events take place on Monday, May 5 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 5 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!

42 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Monday, May 5, 2014

All events are free unless otherwise noted.

Editor's Picks

free events nyc Beginner Japanese Language Class
free events nyc Reforging the Pustynia: Literary Myths of the Kara-Kum Desert in the Early Soviet Era
free events nyc Renowned psychologist John D. Mayer discusses his book Personal Intelligence: The Power of Personality and How It Shapes Our Lives
More Editor's Picks for 05/05/14
        

Birdwatching | Spring Birding Tour of the Park


Discover the birds that call the Park home, as well as those that may stop by during migration. A surprising diversity of avian visitors drop in, even in the heart of midtown. Sightings could include warblers, tanagers, vireos, thrushes, even an American Woodcock!
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 am
Free

Workshop | Early Bird Game Social


Join to meet up with like-minded players interested in the same games as you. The Early Bird Game Social gives you a chance to start the day in the park, and warm up your mind with games that get you thinking like dominoes, Scrabble, cards or Boggle.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Tour | Lower Manhattan Tour


It is here, as much as anywhere, where American history started. It's where the first US Congress assembled and produced the Bill of Rights and where President George Washington took his first oath of office. It's here where the world's most important stock exchange and one of the most famous bridges stand. And it is here where an unspeakable tragedy took place and where a rebirth is underway.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Tour | SoHo, Little Italy & Chinatown Tour


You've seen the iconic skyscrapers, attended a Broadway show, visited Lady Liberty and relaxed in Central Park. Looking for a little more of the Big Apple? Maybe it's time to visit some of Manhattan's oldest and most enchanting historic districts. Take a relaxing stroll through SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 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...

Workshop | Beginner Japanese Language Class


Ciao! Ola! Konnichiwa! Hola! The Park speaks Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, and Spanish with instruction by inlingua. Learn a new language in these standalone beginner classes.
   New York City, NY; NYC
11:45 am
Free

Park Walk | Heart of the Park Tour


On this east-west walk you will see some of the Park's most well-known landmarks, including Conservatory Water, Bethesda Terrace, the Lake, and Strawberry Fields. Route involves a few stairs. 90 minutes.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Learn Juggling in the Park


Test your coordination and dexterity with free juggling lessons in the park. All skill levels are welcome to join in the fun. Equipment is provided. Lessons are weather permitting. You'll be surprised that Alex and Jordan can often be found outside tossing pins in the snow!
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Tour | US Customs House Building Tour


A Museum Ambassador provides a 45-minute in-depth look at the unique architecture and design of the Alexander Hamilton Customs House.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

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: 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Reading | Story Time for Grown-Ups


Love a good story? Sit back and relax as they read you a story or two. Featuring stories about cowboys and outlaws.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 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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2:00 pm
$6...

Tour | Greenwich Village Neighborhood Tour


Greenwich Village is among Manhattan's most desirable and expensive residential neighborhoods. It's history, however, betrays it's monied status. The Village, with it's quiet, shaded streets, lined with lovely brick and brownstone townhouses, was once the incubating ground of artistic, social and political movements that have helped shape US history. From the Beats to the Folk Movement, from workers rights to gay rights, the Village has often been the center of it all.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Tour | Harlem Tour


Although world famous, Harlem may be New York's best kept secret with some of the city's best architecture, food, music and people. Harlem's history is also one of the city's most dramatic, having gone through many ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic changes over the past roughly 400 years, which have resulted in a diverse array of places of worship, theaters, homes and eating establishments.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Lecture | Reforging the Pustynia: Literary Myths of the Kara-Kum Desert in the Early Soviet Era


Since antiquity, the desert has captured the human imagination as an empty and extreme landscape. It has been treated as a site of exile, escape, solitude, contemplation, spiritual communion, and scientific experimentation, attracting explorers, outlaws, prophets, poets, seekers, artists, and those set on transforming nature. At the same time, it has provided a home to numerous communities, though these groups have often been written out of the picture when the desert has been imagined in art and literature. This talk by Katharine Holt will discuss the cultural construction of the desert in the Russian tradition generally before focusing on how one specific desert - the Kara-Kum - was represented in a set of Russian literary texts from the 1920s and 1930s. Engaging with the circumstances under which various narratives were created as well as the specific tropes used within them, she will ask how the Soviet Kara-Kum was made culturally and how its creation was connected to the forging of the Soviet subject.
   New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Infinity of Nations Guided Tour


A Museum Ambassador gives a 45-minute free guided tour through the permanent exhibition.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free

Lecture | Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Early Southeast Asia


Lecturer John Guy is Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He previously served for 22 years as Curator of Indian Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum, and is an elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, London.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Protecting Black Girlhood


Join scholar-in-residence bell hooks and Salamishah Tillet, Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and co-founder of A Long Walk Home, Inc., in a conversation addressing the welfare of black girls and their continued devaluation.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free

Lecture | When Music May Not Be Enough: Songwriting, Environmentalism, and the Louisiana Oil Industry


A lecture by Dr. Mark DeWitt, University of Louisiana.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free

Discussion | A Billion Votes: Making Sense of India’s 2014 General Election


India’s general elections are not only fascinating and consequential in their own right; they are also an important indicator of democracy’s global health. This campaign season party competition is intense and public advocacy full-throated; Indian democracy is in vigorous condition. Yet, trends such as economic inequality, rampant corruption, and social violence raise concerns about the direction in which politics may be heading. This is a roundtable on the significance of India’s elections – in which, to put things in perspective, newly eligible voters (those who turned 18 since India’s last election in 2009) exceed the entire voting electorate in the 2012 US presidential election.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:45 pm
Free

Lecture | Design at the Edge: Helen Walters


A lecture by Helen Walters, Ideas Editor at TED.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:50 pm
Free

Author Reading | Actress Jennifer Esposito discusses her book Jennifer's Way: My Journey with Celiac Disease


Esposito discusses what doctors don't tell you and how you can learn to live again.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Book Signing | Alex Butler signs copies of her book Circling the Same


Circling the Same is a collection of poems by Alex Butler addressing memory, family and loss. In this collection, Butler shares her attempt to capture, control and reason with the dead. The book contains thirty-nine poems divided in five section each of which captures a specific moment of grief.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | MFA Design Exhibition


An exhibition of works by MFA Design students, curated by 3D Design chair Kevin O’Callaghan.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Park Walk | The High Line Tour


The area around the High Line Park was a vital business district of New York City, supplying fresh fruits, French Cheeses and Russian caviar as well as fresh meats to City markets. The hustle and bustle of the streets induced the City to elevate the railroad trains delivering goods to the commercial buildings. When interstate truck traffic made the railway outdated, it fell into ruin, only to be regenerated as a park.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Latin Jazz: A Conversation


Trombonist and Columbia University Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology Chris Washburne leads this conversation on Harlem’s Afro Latin Jazz music. He’ll explore the roots of Afro Latin Jazz and some of the key musicians and shrines where the music flourished in Harlem. Scheduled to appear: - Arturo O'Farrill - Musician, Composer, Educator, Founder and Artistic Director of the Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance - Bobby Sanabria - Percussionist, Composer, Arranger, Grammy Nominated Recording Artist and Educator - Ray Santos - Composer, Arranger, and International Latin Music Hall of Fame Inductee
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Slide Lecture | Renowned psychologist John D. Mayer discusses his book Personal Intelligence: The Power of Personality and How It Shapes Our Lives


In this illustrated lecture, the renowned psychologist, who co-developed the groundbreaking theory of emotional intelligence, draws on decades of research to introduce another paradigm-shifting idea: that in order to become our best selves, we use an even broader intelligence to understand our own personality and the personalities of the people around us.
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
Free

Author Reading | 80s pop star Rick Springfield reads from his book Magnificent Vibration


Why are we here? What is love? Is there a Loch Ness monster? Does God send text messages? These are the kinds of questions Horatio Cotton, aka Bobby, asks in New York Times bestseller Rick Springfield’s debut novel.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Bill Dedman reads from his book Empty Mansions


Named one of New York Times critic Janet Maslin's 10 favorite books of 2013, Empty Mansions brings us a rich mystery of wealth and loss, connecting Gilded Age opulence with a twenty-first century battle over a large inheritance.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Candy Spelling reads from her book Candy at Last


Candy Spelling is adjusting to a new downsized life after 38 years of marriage to her producer-husband, raising kids and selling her estate. But the dishy stories just keep multiplying, which makes for a very entertaining book.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Jazz | The Music of John Coltrane Ensemble


The Music of John Coltrane Ensemble is a special repertory ensemble exploring the compositions and performances of John Coltrane. Ensemble director Reggie Workman performed with Coltrane as a member of his band, and develops the ensemble in the spirit of the great Coltrane groups.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Concert | Music Commemorating 100 Years Since the Start of World War I


Program: Zoltan KODALY Sonata Op.4 (1910) Nigel OSBORNE "Roma Diary 2" (2011 for F. Kitt) Clemens GADENSTÄTTER "bersten/platzen" (2012 for F. Kitt) Igor STRAVINSKY Suite Italienne (Pulcinella, 1919/20) In commemoration of the centenary of the beginning of World War I in 1914, the duo Florian Kitt and Aima Labra-Makk perform a program of music written just before and after WWI juxtaposed with two works written a century later.
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 pm
Free

Concert | Roomful of Teeth performs Caroline Shaw's Pulitzer Prize-winning Partita


Program: Caroline Shaw Partita (Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize) Wally Gunn The Ascendant (New York Premiere) Greenstein Montmartre Burhans Beneath Wells Summary Garbus Quizassa The "sensually stunning" (New York Times) vocal octet Roomful of Teeth brings experience in Inuit throat singing, yodeling, Sardinian cantu, and Korean P'ansori to an impeccable command of classical technique, creating a signature blend that is "fiercely beautiful and bravely, utterly exposed" (NPR). Don't miss this opportunity to hear music from their recent chart-topping album.
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 pm
Free

Concert | The NYU Percussion Ensemble


Program: World premiere of Bobby Previte’s Terminals With special guests Bobby Previte and So Percussion.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Actor Danny Glover discusses the book The Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975


The Black Power Mixtape: 1967–1975 is an extraordinary window into the black freedom struggle in the United States, offering a treasure trove of fresh archival information about the Black Power movement from 1967 to 1975 and vivid portraits of some of its most dynamic participants, including Angela Davis and Stokely Carmichael.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Concert | Cinco de Mayo Celebration: 100 Years of Piano Music by Mexican Composers


Pianist Max Lifchitz celebrates the Cinco de Mayo Holiday performing works by three generations of composers from Mexico. Featuring works by Carlos Chavez, Manuel Enriquez, Max Lifchitz, Manuel M. Ponce, Maria Teresa Prieto, Silvestre Revueltas, and Brian Banks.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Concert | College Flute Recital


Julie Lee, flute. Experience the freshness and excitement of a solo performance by a gifted young artist - a uniquely rewarding experience for music lovers. The program for this event is TBA.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Concert | College Guitar Soloists Spring Concert


Featuring the guitar students of Michael Newman and Fred Hand, these concerts include performances of works by great masters from the Renaissance, new works by students and faculty, and an eclectic mix of everything in between.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Dance Performance | Dance Works-in-Progress: Jeanine Durning / Deborah Hazler / Phoebe Morris / Saúl Ulerio


A free, high visibility low-tech forum for experimentation, emerging ideas and works-in-progress held in the Fall and Spring seasons. Artists are selected by a rotating committee of peer artists, and join artists-in-residence and international guests each season in performing.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Concert | Juilliard's Aeolus Quartet performs works by Haydn and Ravel


Program: Haydn’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76, No. 5 Ravel’s String Quartet in F Major Christopher Theofanidis’ Ariel Ascending The Aeolus Quartet, Juilliard’s graduate resident quartet, makes its NYC debut. Members of the Aeolus Quartet are: Nicholas Tavani and Rachel Shapiro (violins); Gregory Luce (viola); and Alan Richardson (cello). The Quartet is completing its first year as Juilliard’s graduate resident quartet.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Performance | Nat Towsen's Downtown Variety Hour - with Free Pizza


An all-pizza edition of the show. All of the guests relate to pizza in some way, and they will be giving free pizza from Two Boots to the audience. With: -MC Chris (rapper, Adult Swim) -Scott Wiener (Art of the Pizza Box) -Scott Rogowsky (ABC, The Onion) -Downtown History: Two Boots (with owner Phil Hartman) -NYC Trivia w/guest host Samantha Lee
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
$5

Concert | The Jack Quartet


Featuring new works by graduate student composers.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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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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