free things to do in New York City
Free events for Thursday, 05/22/14
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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 22, 2014?

38 free events take place on Thursday, May 22 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 22 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!

38 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Thursday, May 22, 2014

All events are free unless otherwise noted.

Editor's Picks

free events nyc Song and Story: The Early Years of Broadway
free events nyc The New York Classical Quartet performs string quartets of Haydn
free events nyc Frankie 100: Lindy Lessons and Live Music by Solomon Douglas Sextet
free events nyc The Drilling Company presents an outdoor production of Shakespeare's Hamlet
        

Workshop | Park Tai Chi


Tai Chi and Eternal Spring are instructed by members of the Tai Chi Chuan Center for all ages and experience levels. Classes are rain or shine.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 am
Free

Tour | Midtown Manhattan Tour


Arguably the world's most valuable, busiest and most crowded pieces of real estate, Midtown Manhattan is what most visitors think of when they think of New York City. Home to some of the city's most iconic architecture, from Gothic to Post-Modern and from Beaux-Arts to Art Deco (lots of Art Deco). it's not difficult to understand why. But just behind the massive facades, lie facinating histories just waiting to be unveiled.
   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 | Board Game Social


Join an all-new weekly Game Social to meet up with like-minded players interested in the same games as you. The Board Game Social features games in their classic form with a board, special pieces and a little bit of competition. Try classics like Sorry, Clue, Monopoly, or Life.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Guided Tour: Before and After the Horizon: Anishinaabe Artists of the Great Lakes


Join a Museum Ambassador for an engaging tour through the exhibition. Tour highlights include discussion of underwater panther and thunderbird, figures in Anishinaabe cosmology; and an in-depth look at artists such as Norval Morriseau, George Morrison, and Keesic Douglas.
   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

Concert | Bach at Noon


The keyboard works of Bach offered in 30-minute meditations by Patrick Allen, organist and master of choristers, and Phillip Lamb, organ scholar.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:20 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
$6...

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

Concert | Gallery Tour: Self-Taught Genius


A Closer-Look Tour of the exhibition led by the museum’s gallery guides.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Concert | Song and Story: The Early Years of Broadway


Broadway musicals of the 1910s and 1920s in abridged concert format.
   New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
Free

Lecture | Sylvia Townsend Warner's Summer Will Show: A Spectre Haunting Europe


The political crisis of the 1930’s and the Spanish Civil War inspired great works of literature by Garcia Lorca, Orwell, Hemingway, Muriel Rukeyser and others, but one of the most surprising and delightful novels of the period is Sylvia Townsend Warner’s 1936 Summer Will Show, the focus of this talk. Published just as the war began and set in the Revolutionary Paris of 1848, the book ends with its heroine enthusiastically reading a draft of The Communist Manifesto. Lecturer Anne Fernald is the author of Virginia Woolf: Feminism and the Reader (2006) and the editor of a textual edition of Mrs. Dalloway for Cambridge University Press (forthcoming).
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:15 pm
Free

Concert | The New York Classical Quartet performs string quartets of Haydn


The New York Classical Quartet will play a selection of Franz Joseph Haydn’s string quartets on period instruments. They aim to share the riches of the string quartets of Joseph Haydn, the first master of the form, a giant of of western culture, a musical Shakespeare or Michelangelo. Performers: Judson Griffin, violin; Margaret Ziemnicka, violin; ChiuChen Liu, viola; David Bakamjian, cello.
   New York City, NY; NYC
1:15 pm
$10 suggested donation

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

Film | Josef von Sternberg's The Devil Is a Woman (1935): And Her Name Is Marlene


Starring Marlene Dietrich, Lionel Atwill, Edward Everett Horton. In Seville in the 1890s, a femme fatale has several admirers. 79 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Tour | Subway Art Tour


Many people think of the New York City subway as one of the largest, most efficient, if not the cleanest mass transit systems in the world. Few, however, think of it as the largest and longest art gallery on the planet. Well, they don't know what they are missing. This lively walking AND subway riding tour visits over a dozen subway stations to experience a selection of these striking often whimsical works that go largely unnoticed by the general public. Join this climate controlled subway and walking art tour. Along the way you'll learn about and become expert at navigating the (in)famous NYC subway system. There's also the invaluable opportunity to confer about your other sightseeing plans with the acclaimed Bronx born, vastly experienced licensed NYC tour guide, Darryl Reilly.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 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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2:00 pm
Free

Staged Reading | A Reading of the Rodgers-Hart 1926 Musical Peggy-Ann


UnsungMusicalsCo. presents a reading of the hit 1926 musical comedy featuring a book by Tony Award winner Herbert Fields and a score by the legendary team of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Set almost entirely within a razzle-dazzle dream sequence, with crazy characters and harebrained happenings, this delight follows a charmingly idealistic Peggy-Ann Barnes as she journeys after the love of her life and gets swept up in the lights of Broadway, the spirited high seas, and the steamy clubs of Havana.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:30 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

Film | Peter Segal's Grudge Match (2013): Heavyweight Match, Geriatric Division


Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Kim Basinger. A pair of aging boxing rivals are coaxed out of retirement to fight one final bout - 30 years after their last match. 113 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free

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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5:00 pm
Free

Tour | Brooklyn Heights Tour


Known as America's first suburb, Brooklyn Heights is truly a gem. Travel and Leisure named it one of America's top 10 most beautiful neighborhoods, and its beauty is rivaled only by its place in American history. These quaint, tree-lined streets have been the sites of Revolutionary War battles, abolitionist activism and have inspired numerous novelists. Visit a stop on the Underground Railroad, or the home of Truman Capote, where he penned Breakfast at Tiffany's and where Jackie Robinson signed with the Dodgers.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Exhibit: Good Spell Bad Craft: The Trailer


Works by Jonah Emerson-Bell and Serban Ionescu.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Matt Berman reads from his new book JFK Jr., George, & Me


If George magazine was about “not just politics as usual,” a day at the office with John F. Kennedy Jr. was not just business as usual. He handpicked Creative Director Matt Berman to bring his vision for a new political magazine to life.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Screening | The Project Class Presents: Films From The Eighth Hour


Featuring eight short films from The Project Class, an undergraduate honors course in BFA Design, taught by Bob Giraldi, chair of MPS Live Action Short Film.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | A Lecture on New Zealand-Born Artist Len Lye


Writer, editor and curator Wystan Curnow examines the New York experience of the New Zealand-born artist Len Lye, asking whether his work belongs to the history of New Zealand art or America's or to some combination of the two.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Artist Talk: Jason Bryant


Painter Jason Bryant discusses his exhibition "Letters From Home."
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Film | Chinese Documentary: Hao Wu's The Road to Fame (2013)


A unique coming-of-age story with Chinese characteristics, The Road to Fame chronicles the staging of the American musical Fame — China's first official collaboration with Broadway — by the senior class of the Central Academy of Drama. 80 min. With Followed by Q&A with director Hao Wu and Jasper Grant, Broadway musical director and one of the subjects in this film.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Film | Documentary: Bruce Wodder and Peter Bosco 's George Tice: Seeing Beyond the Moment (1988)


A screening of this feature-length documentary on the legendary photographer. The filmmakers Bruce Wodder and Peter Bosco will introduce the film and have a Q&A after.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Dance Lesson | Frankie 100: Lindy Lessons and Live Music by Solomon Douglas Sextet


Learn the basics of the Lindy hop with contemporary masters Dan Newsome and Lainey Silver and practice your moves to live music at this party for beginners, intermediates, and pros. Solomon Douglas “Swingtet” brings music to this party in honor of the 100th birthday of dance ambassador Frankie Manning. 6:00: Free dancing with iPod playlist 6:30: Dance Instruction by Dan Newsome and Lainey Silver 7:15: DJ Michael Milazzo set 7:30: Solomon Douglas Sextet 8:30: Lindy hop performance by Dan Newsome and Lainey Silver with DJ Michael Milazzo 9:00: Solomon Douglas Sextet
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
Free

Lecture | Nicholas Basbanes discusses his book On Paper: The Everything of its Two Thousand-Year History


In this talk, the author seeks to question the "paperless society" we hear so much about as imminent, by exploring how and why paper has become a ubiquitous part of our lives. Since its invention 2,000 years ago in China, paper has revolutionized human civilization. He takes a look at paper’s sweeping influence on society from Islamic scholarship to the American Revolutionary War and describes pulp mills that make billions of boxes of Kleenex.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Author Reading | William W. Buzbee discusses his book Fighting Westway


From 1971 to 1985, legal and political battles raged over Westway, the controversial multibillion-dollar highway, development, and park project conceived for the Hudson River edge on Manhattan’s Lower West Side. The most expensive highway project ever proposed, Westway provoked one of the highest stakes legal battles of its day. Drawing on archival records and interviews, legal scholar William W. Buzbee probes beneath the veneer of government actions and court rulings to illuminate the political pressures and strategic moves that shaped the Westway wars.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Concert | African Dance Party


Rising from the ashes of a war-torn country, the musicians of Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have overcome great obstacles to bring their inspiring music to fans across the globe. Steeped in hope, faith, and joy, their uplifting messages are further fueled by their warm, uptempo Afropop beats, which pull from their West African musical heritage as well as reggae. This evening’s positive vibes will start flowing with Okayafrica Electrafrique featuring Chief Boima and DJ Underdog on the turntables. There will be a dance lesson at the opening of the party by Iris Wilson (FELA!) who is also an instructor at Cumbé: Center for African and Diaspora Dance.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Theater | The Drilling Company presents an outdoor production of Shakespeare's Hamlet


In an unusual interpretation, the production is intended to illuminate the modern dysfunctional family unit. Gertrude is an alcoholic mother; Ophelia is manic depressive; Claudius is overworked, power-obsessed and success-oriented. Everyone but Hamlet and Horatio are suffering from one of the maladies that we identify in modern culture as a problem for human development.
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
Free

Screening | Documentary: Bobbito Garcia and Kevin Couliau's Doin' It in the Park: Pick-Up Basketball, NYC (2012)


The film explores the definition, history, culture and social impact of New York's summer b-ball scene, the worldwide "Mecca" of the sport. 83 min. Q&A with director Bobbito Garcia to follow the screening.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
$10 suggested donation

Park Walk | The Haunted High Line Tour


The skeletal remains of the High Line’s elevated tracks set the perfect scene for a spooky evening. Join a journey to the creepier side of New York City’s most unique park. On this tour you’ll hear tales of the strange eccentric who lived below the tracks and saved them from demise, the curse of a West Side Cowboy who fell to his death from the elevated track, and the children who haunt the street formerly known as Death Avenue. If the moon hangs right perhaps you’ll witness the spectacle of a ghostly ship floating down the Hudson River; is it the long forgotten crew of Henry Hudson’s Half-Moon warning sailors not to go to sea? Or is it Captain Kidd protecting the treasure he buried on Liberty Island? Venture at your own risk through the dark side of High Line.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Tour | Manhattan Night Tour


New York is a skyscraper city and there is no better time to view Manhattan’s icons than after the sun sets and the lights go on. Fueled by competition and a dash of audacity, New York City is still producing one of mankind’s most remarkable skyline. NOTE: THIS TOUR SPENDS MUCH TIME INDOORS OR IN SUBWAYS AND GREAT FOR ALL WEATHER CONDITIONS.
   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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