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free things to do in New York City
Free events for Saturday, 05/15/21
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Free Events, Free Things to Do in New York City!  Read More
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25 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Saturday, May 15, 2021

All events are free unless otherwise noted.
        

Dance Performance | New York City Ballet Spring Gala! (virtual, streaming for 24 hours)


New York City Ballet Spring Gala presents a film by Academy Award Winner Sofia Coppola, featuring members more of the Company performing five works. Program - a world premiere from Resident Choreographer and Artistic Advisor Justin Peck featuring Principal Dancer Anthony Huxley set to Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings; - excerpts from three works by Balanchine -- Duo Concertant, featuring Principal Dancers Ashley Bouder and Russell Janzen; - Liebeslieder Walzer, featuring Principal Dancers Maria Kowroski and Ask la Cour; - the finale of Divertimento No. 15, featuring Principal Dancers Tiler Peck and Andrew Veyette, Soloists Emilie Gerrity, Lauren King, Ashley Laracey, Unity Phelan, and Daniel Applebaum, and corps de ballet member Andrew Scordato; - a solo from Jerome Robbins' Dances at a Gathering, featuring Principal Dancer Gonzalo Garcia. The musical soundtrack for the film will be performed by New York City Ballet Orchestra members and Company pianists under the direction of NYCB Music Director Andrew Litton. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
12:00 am
Free

Fair | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Flea Market: Antiques, Vintage Goods, Food Vendors


Search for hidden gems as you browse antiques, vintage goods, architectural salvage and collectibles. more There is also a selection of food vendors from Smorgasburg. Face covering is required. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 am
Free

Workshop | (IN-PERSOM, outdoors) Drawing in the Park


The park is a special place in spring, and what better time than Saturday mornings to practice your art! more Participants are expected to bring their own drawing and painting supplies, including drawing boards and containers of water if they are planning to paint. BPCA will supply drawing paper and watercolor paper only. • Masks and contact information required upon arrival. • Participants must maintain six feet of physical distance between households. • All programs will be held in accordance with New York State reopening guidance less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Performance | (IN-PERSON) Aerialists and Acrobats: Works-in-Progress and Show-Ready Acts


Professional circus performers showcasing training and creative process as well as rehearsals of works-in-progress more and show-ready acts. Schedule: Monday-Friday 9am-9pm, Weekends 10am-7pm Artists will be inside the studios and viewers will be in the passageway. Masks and social distancing are required. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Fair | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Waterfront Market: Music, Food, Antiques, Clothing, Roller Skating


The market offers socially-distanced experience of food, shopping, family-friendly activities and entertainment: more music, accessories, clothing, jewelry, pet supplies, beauty products, pottery and much more. Every Sat and Sun, 10 am - 5 pm. Visitors must wear face coverings at all times and observe social distancing. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
10:00 am
Free

Tour | (In PERSON) The Art Tours at Hudson Yards: The Outdoors Tour


Discover how art is threaded throughout the Hudson Yards neighborhood. Enjoy a curated and guided tour more throughout Hudson Yards as part of NYCxDESIGN, Design Days. The Outdoors Tour Exploring how Hudson Yards integrates outdoor space and highlights the importance of open spaces. Topics may include what the outdoors mean to people, sustainable architecture, developments for the modern day life, what it means to be a green city space and more. Highlights include Sam Durant's Untitled (drone) and the plaza of Hudson Yards. The tour is offered 3 times a day - 11:00am, 2:00pm, 5:00pm. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
11:00 am
Free

Fair | (IN-PERSON) Flower Show: Floral Extravaganza


Enjoy an exhibition of exotic flowers and plants from around the world that transforms the venue into more a breathtaking floral extravaganza. The exhibition will last for two weeks: May 2 - May 16. Masks are required. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 am
Free

Museums | (IN-PERSON) Jewish History: Centuries of Art


One of the largest collections of art and Jewish culture in the world, it focuses both on artifacts of more Jewish history and on modern and contemporary art. Works in the collection are presented as distinctive creative expressions and as bearers of the stories of those who made, owned, used, preserved, and sometimes transformed them. The exhibition speaks of the vast range of Jewish experiences across the globe and over time, made tangible through artistic expression. It is both a mirror of Jewish identities and an inspiration for the formation of new ones. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 am
Free

Fair | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Street Market: Food Vendors, Collectables, Decor Items and More


Shop for antiques, decor items, sustainable and vintage clothing, collectible objects and more. In more addition, Smorgasburg food vendors will offer brunch and lunch options. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 am
Free

Workshop | Tee Time on the Plaza


Putt putt your way through this 7-hole mini golf course. Grab a friend and make a day of it! May 10-27, more 2021 less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:30 am
Free

Park Walk | (IN-PERSON) Foraging Tour in Central Park: Wild Salad Greens, Mushrooms, Wild Allspice and More


This park provides a great window into the world of wild foods in mid-spring. Making a meal with these more plants is simple at this time of the year. Wild salad greens, pungent field garlic, spicy mustard greens, such as poor man's pepper, hedge mustard, hairy bittercress, and garlic mustard, are abound alongside the paths throughout the park. Wild mushrooms, if present, will provide a gourmet side dish. You could find dryad's saddle, wine-cap stropharias, or chicken mushrooms on this tour, given enough rain beforehand, sharp-eyed participants, and some luck. Burdock root is one of the few wild root vegetables that remains in season throughout the warm weather. You can also cook and peel the immature flower stalks, which taste like artichoke hearts. And for an exotic dessert, why not stew apples or pears with sassafras, ginger, wild allspice from the common spicebush, and nuts, then add the sweet, perfumed blossoms of the black locust tree? The tour will last for about 4 hours. Please wear a mask and observe social distancing. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:45 am
$20 suggested donation,...

Jazz | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Downtown Jamaica Jazz Festival


This year's lineup -- curated by The Jazz Gallery's Rio Sakairi -- is one of it's strongest yet. The more headliner of Downtown Jamaica Jazz Festival is none other than Grammy-nominated saxophonist Ravi Coltrane. The son of legendary Jazz artists John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane, Ravi is a highly regarded bandleader, and composer. In the course of a twenty plus year career, Coltrane has worked as a sideman to many, recorded noteworthy albums for himself and others and founded a prominent independent record label, RKM. *Please note, COVID-19 safety protocols will be observed. Only 100 people at a time will be let in to view this event.* less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Festival | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Swamp in the City: An Open-Air Cajun & Creole Music Festival


This weekend-long open air festival will feature world class Cajun and Creole bands on two different more stages, jam sessions, picnic concerts, pod partner dancing and ample breathing room on New York City’s picturesque island. Swamp in the City will feature performances from Jesse Lége, Cedric Watson, Joel Savoy, Joe Hall, Kelli Jones, Wilson Savoy, Jourdan Thibodeaux, Chas Justus, Jo Vidrine, Rose & the Bros, Bayou Brew… and maybe more! Bring your instruments! Swamp in the City will host a jam each day and, if enough visitors are interested, they’ll offer a few group lessons in playing Cajun & Creole music. A Swamp in the City HQ tent will let registrants stash their instruments safely when not in use. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Staged Reading | Spunk: Forbidden Love Affair (virtual, streaming for 24 hours)


From the first day that Spunk, a charismatic, guitar-playing wanderer, sets foot in his new home, his more bravado and musical talents make him the talk of this rural Florida town. Spunk immediately catches the eye of the lovely, young, and married Evalina Bishop, and their love affair sets off a chain of extraordinary events that none of their gossip-loving neighbors will ever forget. This play is based on Zora Neale Hurston's short story Spunk which was published by Opportunity Magazine in June 1925. Ten years later, Hurston wrote this theatrical adaptation, which was never published and was considered to be lost for many years until the text was located in 1997. Note: This is not the 1989 George C. Wolfe play of the same name, based on three Hurston stories. The streaming will be available until May 17th. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | The African Lookbook: A Visual History of 100 Years of African Women (Zoom)


The African Lookbook is a personal archive and unprecedented visual collection representing photography more from Africa between 1870 and 1970. This is a special conversation and workshop celebrating its release and the practice of self-fashioning as forms of art, craft, and resistance. Author Catherine E. McKinley will read and join in dialogue with multidisciplinary artists Fatimah Tuggar and Lola Keyezua. The program will be moderated by historian Tanisha C. Ford. Following the conversation, artist and educator Jazmine Hayes will facilitate a workshop using the publication as a point of departure to explore texture and textile through meditation, writing, and art-making. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Performance | Downtown Live, Featuring 36 In-Person Performances


Live performances are back! Downtown Live will bring 36 in-person performances to Lower Manhattan on more May 15-16 and 22-23. The performances will be staged at unexpected locations around the neighborhood, including a covered loading dock (4 New York Plaza), an arcade along the Stone Street Historic District (85 Broad Street) and a plaza with harbor views near The Battery (1 Battery Park Plaza). After a year of lockdowns, these in-person shows offer audience members a long-awaited chance to see LIVE theatre, contemporary performance, and music and to explore all that Lower Manhattan has to offer. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:30 pm
Free

Jazz | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Jazz Quartet Performs Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin


Saxophonists and clarinetists Peter and Will Anderson will be joined by Joe Boga on trumpet and Alex more Raderman on drums. They will play classic American repertoire from the songbooks of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin and more. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Cooking with The First Ladies: Rosalynn Carter and the Rockin’ 70s (Zoom)


Rosalynn Carter was the right hand to the president Jimmy Carter and continues to be an advocate for more several causes. Join historian Sarah Morgan as she talks about Rosalynn’s favorite recipes: a Plains Georgia Cheese Ring, Peanut Butter Pie, the Carter’s Corn Bread, as well as a peanut themed cocktail! less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | Five Boroughs Music Festival Presents Terra Nova


Five Boroughs Music Festival presents Terra Nova, a new concert-length song cycle created by the members more of composer-collective Oracle Hysterical and performed in collaboration with the contemporary mixed-instrument quartet Hub New Music. Inspired by a range of ambitious, gritty (and sometimes naïve, cruel, and myopic) explorers, the songs of Terra Nova are by turns darkly ironic, heartrending, and straight-up fun (and occasionally a confounding mix of all three), coalescing into a powerful experience of both text and music.  Among its songs is a playful setting of John James Audubon’s descriptions of wood warblers by Brad Balliett, Dylan Greene’s depiction of the pre-Columbian exploration of North America by Chinese mariners, a melancholy view from Amelia Earhart’s cockpit by Majel Connery, Elliot Cole’s haunting setting of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott’s final letter home, and a Beastie Boys-like shout of the cruel Spanish Requirement of 1513, set by Doug Balliett.  less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free

Concert | Bloomingdale School of Music Students Perform (virtual)


Featuring performances by the students of Bloomingdale School of Music. Enjoy the music and join the more chat to celebrate the school's musical community from near and far. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free

Concert | (IN-PERSON, outdoors) Saturday Live Music


Take a dash of Herb Albert, a pinch of David Bowie, add a handful of Andy Kaufman, and you have Robert more Whaley and his band. Food and drinks are available for purchase. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Dance Discussion: The Dream of the Audience (Zoom)


A conversation between the dancers Ishmael Houston-Jones, Okwui Okpokwasili, Eiko Otake, Joan Jonas, more and Reggie Wilson, and Platform curator/Danspace Executive Director and Chief Curator Judy Hussie-Taylor. The artists will reflect on a year without audiences. What is lost when there is an extremely limited relationship to audience and/or no live audience to bear witness to your work? less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Opera | Met Opera: Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia (virtual, streaming for 23 hours)


A youthful cast brings Rossini's immortal comedy to sparkling life, led by Christopher Maltman as Figaro, more the resourceful barber and man-about-town of the title. The lovely Isabel Leonard is Rosina, the clever young woman at the center of the story, and Lawrence Brownlee sings Count Almaviva, the man who loves her and--with Figaro's help--rescues her from the house of her elderly and smitten guardian, Bartolo, played by Maurizio Muraro. Paata Burchuladze is the bumbling music master Basilio, and rising conductor and bel canto specialist Michele Mariotti leads the Met's musical forces in Bartlett Sher's lively production. From November 22, 2014. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 pm
Free

Comedy Club | Stand Up Comedy (virtual)


Stand up comedy featuring comedians from HBO, The Tonight Show, CONAN, Amazon, Comedy Central, Netflix, more TikTok, SNL, Colbert and more! Hosted by Rich Kiamco (The Howard Stern Show). Each Sat at 9 pm. Different lineup each week. less
   New York City, NY; NYC
9:00 pm
Pay any amount,...

Comedy Club | Worst Summer Ever: Comics Remember


A marathon where comics will reminisce about their worst summers as we embark into possibly the biggest more summer of our lives. Hosted by Jared Goldstein & Hannah Pilkes.   SATURDAY 5/15 6p PT / 9p ET RSVP on Eventbrite now for the private YT link.   Featuring: Alex English Alyssa Limperis Ayo Adebiri Caleb Hearon Dhruv Uday Singh Grace Kuhlenschmidt Jinkx Monsoon Langston Kerman Larry Owens Megan Gailey Molly Kearney Natalie Palamides Noah Findling Patti Harrison Rachel Sennott Rob Huebel Robby Hoffman Ruby McCollister Sandy Honig Sherry Cola Solomon Georgio Sydnee Washington Sydney Steinberg Tashi Condelee Yassir Lester Tags     Add to calendar Location Online event less
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:00 pm
Free
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