free things to do in New York City
Free events for Wednesday, 05/04/16
<

May 2016

>
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031    
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 4, 2016?

35 free events take place on Wednesday, May 4 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 4 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.
Join the Club!

Go!
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!

35 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Wednesday, May 4, 2016

All events are free unless otherwise noted.
        

City Walk | Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo Tour


This is a 3-hour tour that begins with a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, an icon of New York City for over 125 years, with spectacular views of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The tour then moves on to a stroll of Brooklyn Heights, America’s and New York City’s first suburb. The tour then explores the neighborhood DUMBO before ending at the Fulton Ferry landing. This tour takes place every day at 10am.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
10:00 am
Free

Author Reading | Jane Mendelsohn discusses her book Burning Down the House


Jane Mendelsohn is a graduate of Yale University. She is the author of three previous novels, including the New York Times best seller I Was Amelia Earhart. She lives in New York City.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
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. Bach at Noon concerts takes place Tuesdays through Fridays, from September 15, 2015 to May 26, 2016.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
12:30 pm
Free

Classical Music | Bach at One Concert


A devout Lutheran, Bach composed 200 cantatas using both sacred and secular texts. Many of those cantatas are heard in churches around the world every Sunday, but through Bach at One, your Wednesday lunch hour can be enriched by these timeless works. The New York Times has praised the “dramatic vigor” of Bach performances by Trinity artists, not to mention “the buoyant, elegantly shaped orchestral sound” and “the lithe, immaculate and colorful singing of the chorus.”
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
1:00 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. Tour times: 1:00pm, 2:00pm. This tour takes place Mondays through Fridays, except bank holidays.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
1:00 pm
Free

Other | Nature Sanctuary Open Hours


During these limited hours, visitors can explore the normally closed sanctuary at their own pace along the rustic trail. See how the conservancy has restored this native woodland garden for birds and other wildlife. The wood-chipped trail is uneven; please wear appropriate shoes. This ecosystem is a protected area and home to many flora and fauna. No groups, dogs, bikes, or strollers. Free and self-guided. Space is limited.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
2:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Riverside Book Discussion Group


State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
3:30 pm
Free

Author Reading | Writers Read: Nicholas Mirzoeff / Yates McKee


Nicholas Mirzoeff is the author of How to See the World: An Introduction to Images, from Self-Portraits to Selfies, Maps to Movies, and More. Yates McKee wrote Strike Art: Contemporary Art and the Post-Occupy Condition.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
5:30 pm
Free

Author Reading | Michael Bierut discusses his book How to


Logos, packages, signs, books, websites: in the modern world we are surrounded by graphic design. Where does it come from? Why does it look that way? What is it supposed to do? Michael Bierut is a partner in the New York office of the international design consultancy Pentagram.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
6:00 pm
Free

Reading | 28th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Reading


Join finalists of the 28th Annual Lambda Literary Awards for readings of their nominated works.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
6:30 pm
Free

Talk | Gallery Talk: Art for Every Home


With Noel Anderson, clinical assistant professor of printmaking, Department of Art and Art Professions, who will discuss the artists’ prints in the exhibition, illuminating the technical and social aspects of the processes used to make them.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
6:30 pm
Free

Conference | Gay American History at 40


This conference marks the fortieth anniversary of Jonathan Ned Katz's Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the USA (1976) and will highlight the ways in which theories, categories, research methods and priorities have been constructed, challenged, and reconstructed over the last forty years of historical research on sexuality and gender.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
6:30 pm
Free

Classical Music | Keith Boratko, Brooklyn-Based Classical Pianist


Based in Brooklyn, Keith Boratko is a multifaceted artist who seeks to create a career that traverses multiple mediums. He has performed on numerous national and international tours and CDs, as well as being a regular cocktail pianist at various locations in New York City.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
6:30 pm
Free

Lecture | The Legacy of Writer and Preservationist Jane Jacobs, with Ray Suarez


Ray Suarez, broadcast journalist and author of three books including The Old Neighborhood: What We Lost in the Great Suburban Migration, will speak on the legacy of writer and preservationist Jane Jacobs (1916-2006), whose work changed the way the world views and understands cities. Award-winning author and preservationist Roberta Brandes Gratz will introduce Suarez.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
6:30 pm
Pay what you...

Film | Defiant Requiem: Documentary on Choir in a Concentraion Camp


An Emmy-nominated and award-winning feature-length documentary film that relates the little-known story of conductor Rafael Schächter and his prisoner choir in the Terezín Concentration Camp who resisted their Nazi captors by performing the Verdi Requiem as an act of defiance. Questions and answers with the film’s Creative Producer and Music Director, and Foundation President and Founder, Murry Sidlin, will follow the film.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:00 pm
Free

Reading | Granta: New Irish Writing Reading


To celebrate Granta Magazine's spring issue, "New Irish Writing," a conversation on the state of Irish writing, featuring acclaimed novelists Colm Tóibín and Belinda McKeon, poet and novelist Mary O'Donoghue, Belfast poet Stephen Sexton, and introducing fiction writer Sally Rooney.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:00 pm
Free

Reading | Contributors read from Noon


The launch will feature readings from some of this issue's contributers: Kim Chinquee, Lucie Elven, Brandon Hobson, R.O. Kwon, Greg Mulcahy, Christine Schutt, and Souvankham Thammavongsa.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | Density and Lightness: An Exploration of Microgravity Through Virtuosic Solos


Program: Heinz Holliger Souvenirs Trémaësques (2000-01) Fausto Romitelli Ganimede (1986) Salvatore Sciarrino Tre Notturni Brillanti (1974-75) JS Bach Partita No. 2 in minor bwv (1717-20) A concert of music by Elizabeth Weisser, violist with the Talea Ensemble.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Drucilla Cornell and Stephen Seely discuss their book The Spirit of Revolution


Drucilla Cornell and Stephen Seely will be joined in conversation by Rosalind Morris, Linda Alcoff, and Emma Bianchi. This event is sponsored by the Institute for African Studies at Columbia University.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:00 pm
Free

Concert | Fact-Checking The Daily Show: The Real Journalists Who Keep Fake News Honest


Trevor Noah, Larry Wilmore and Samantha Bee aren’t real newscasters, but they successfully play them on TV -- thanks, in part, to the real journalists in their writers’ rooms. With more ways than ever for viewers to get a satirical take on the day’s news, we ask, do these programs serve a purpose beyond entertainment? How beholden are they to the facts? And could it be possible that the satirists are speaking truth to power in a way “straight” journalists cannot? Join a conversation with five journalists-turned-comedy writers, researchers and producers: Dan Amira, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Daniel Radosh, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Cord Jefferson, formerly of The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore Naureen Khan, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Sanya Dosani, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Moderated by Brooke Gladstone, WNYC’s On the Media
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:00 pm
Free

Concert | Fatoumata Diawara, Malian Singer-Songwriter


Fatoumata Diawara combines traditional Wassoulou music and dance from her ancestral home in Mali with elements of pop, jazz, and funk. Also a celebrated actress, Diawara has collaborated with such luminaries as Herbie Hancock, Damon Albarn, and Cheikh Lô, and has impressed audiences around the world with her radiant voice, infectious Afro-pop sound, and original songs that range in theme from politics to empowerment and love.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Great Books Discussion Group


For this month, Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:00 pm
$5 suggested donation

Film | Isaac Julien's Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask (1995): Documentary on Famed Psychoanalyst


Explores the life and work of the psychoanalytic theorist and activist Frantz Fanon who was born in Martinique, educated in Paris and worked in Algeria. Examines Fanon's theories of identity and race, and traces his involvement in the anti-colonial struggle in Algeria and throughout the world. 70 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:00 pm
Free

Poetry Reading | Kim Dower reads from her book Last Train to the Missing Planet


Kim Dower's third poetry collection takes us on a journey to places we've often visited but never seen. Buy a ticket and hop aboard: experience love, longing, and passion tipped sideways; irreverent, touching, and disarmingly sexy as illuminated by an original and brilliant light.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Lauren Belfer reads from her book And After the Fire


Inspired by historical events, the New York Times-bestselling author returns with a powerful new novel about two women, one European and one American, and the mysterious choral masterpiece by Johann Sebastian Bach that changes both their lives. Seamlessly melding past and present, Belfer's compelling narrative resonates with emotion and immediacy.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Martin Suter reads from his novel The Last Weynfeldt


Martin Suter, one of the most popular authors writing in German today, talks about and reads from his novel, a gripping story about the international art world and art forgery, set in Zurich and translated into English by Steph Morris. In English.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Michael Eric Dyson reads from his book The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America


In conjunction with their bookfair, Brooklyn Democracy Academy is presenting Michael Eric Dyson in conversation with Dr. Lee Gabay. Both authors will be signing their books.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:00 pm
Free

Jazz | Student Recital: The Chick Corea Ensemble


The Chick Corea Ensemble play, listen to, and study the music of Chick Corea, one of the most prolific, influential, and multi-directional pianist/composers in jazz. Special attention is paid to developing students’ improvisational originality, melodic and harmonic clarity, sensitivity to dynamics and timbral nuances, propulsive and relaxed sense of time and rhythm, and interplay within the rhythm section. Works including “Steps,” “What Was,” “Tones for Joan’s Bones,” “Windows,” “Litha,” “Captain Marvel,” “Like This,” and “Morning Sprite” are played.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:00 pm
Free

Screening | Animated Spirits: European Animated Short Film Festival


The festival brings some of the most exciting, recent animation from Europe to New York City. Artists from 12 European Union countries 'illustrate' the spirit of experimentation.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
7:30 pm
Free

Other | When The Art Comes Down: Works from The Super 8 Collection, Hosted by Amy Sedaris


Actress and author Amy Sedaris will ensure a proper sendoff where more than 100 eclectic pieces of Super 8’s “not-so-super” art will be available for free on a first-come, first-serve basis, at When The Art Comes Down: Works from The Super 8 Collection. Super 8 Motel says goodbye to old art as brand redesign touches all 1,800 of its North American hotels by year’s end
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 pm
Free

Workshop | Intro Class: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction


Learning to be mindful—to pay attention in the moment without resistance or judgment - can shift the course of our lives. Instead of being driven by our fears and hopes, we learn how to listen to ourselves and others, to pause and respond wisely. With Amy Gross.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
8:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | NYU Community Orchestra performs works by Smetana, Rimsky-Korsakov, Brahms


Program: Smetana: The Moldau Brahms: Adagio Non Troppo From Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 73 Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34 Mussorgsky/Ravel: Excerpts From Pictures at an Exhibition Also: Runaway Overture - A short film inspired by Wagner’s Overture To Tannhäuser. Directed By Adam Grannick.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
8:00 pm
Free

Concert | NYU Composers Ensemble


Premieres of works by student composer-performers.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
8:00 pm
Free

Performance | Gandhi, Is That You? Comedy Show


Stand-up comedy show (that has been featured on MTV, and that fills to standing-room only each week). The show is produced by Brendan Fitzgibbons (The Onion, McSweeney's) and Lance Weiss (Carolines on Broadway) with comedians from David Letterman, Vh1, MTV, The Onion, and Comedy Central. Free pizza!
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
9:00 pm
Free

Jazz | Student Recital: M Base Ensemble


The M-BASE Ensemble uses oral dictation technique to improve musicians' melodic ear training abilities and their ability to distinguish new and unfamiliar rhythms and melodic passages. The music is based primarily on the compositions of Ralph Alessi, David Gilmore, Steve Coleman, and Andy Milne, where the students face very specific rhythmic challenges not normally found in standard jazz repertoire.
   New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Go!
9:00 pm
Free
Complimentary Tickets

to shows, concerts ... (CFT Deals!)

Broadway | Broadway Show!

Regular Price: $101
CFT Member Price: $0.00

Concert | Christmas Concert

Regular Price: $55
CFT Member Price: $0.00
Join the Club!

Go!