free things to do in New York City
Free events for Tuesday, 05/17/22
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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 17, 2022?

28 free events take place on Tuesday, May 17 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 17 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!

28 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Tuesday, May 17, 2022

All events are free unless otherwise noted.

Editor's Picks

free events nyc Percussion Ensemble of American Symphony Orchestra
free events nyc Strand: Under the Dark Cloth (1989): Documentary on Noted Photogrpaher
free events nyc An evening with Law & Order's Sam Waterston
free events nyc 2 Rare German Films: Angels of Iron / The Passenger (online through June 14)
More Editor's Picks for 05/17/22
        

Performance | The Full Moon Show (online for 24 hours)


John Pizza hosts his newest Full Moon show called John Pimplepopper, a poetic personification of the impacted side of the soul, and our nagging desire to squeeze it out.   John Pizza is a performer, builder, and drawer. He uses trash and thrift-store detritus scrounged in his Brooklyn neighborhood to tell stories and make his shows. He loves the macabre and the mushy sweet. His sculptures are performative, and his performances involve sculptures—an object theatre of weird surprises.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 am
Free

Workshop | Tai Chi in Midtown


Learn and master this Chinese martial art for health and self-defense.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 am
Free

Birdwatching | Battery Bird Walk


Meet at the Netherlands Memorial Flagpole located at the entrance to Battery Park on the corner of Broadway, Battery Place, and State Street. Join Gabriel Willow and The Battery Conservancy to explore the diversity of migrating birds that find food and habitat in The Battery.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 am
Free

Birdwatching | Spring Birding Tour


Discover the surprising diversity of birds that call the park home during migratory season with guided tours by NYC Audubon, led by environmental educator and urban naturalist Gabriel Willow. The park is a hotspot for avian visitors and birders alike. Past sightings include warblers, tanagers, vireos, thrushes, and even a Chuck-will’s-widow.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 am
Free

Workshop | Morning Meditation


Start your day by balancing your mind, body, and spirit during instructor guided meditation. This renowned practice lowers blood pressure, reduces stress, and strengthens the immune system.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:30 am
Free

Workshop | Ribbon Dancing


Explore this traditional Chinese folk dance with Margaret Yuen, an instructor from the Red Silk Dancers. Combine cardio with artistry as you wave long ribbons in the air to create rainbows, waterfalls, dragons and ocean waves. Ribbon Dancing is as visually stunning as it is fun and easy to learn. All ages and skill levels are welcome. Ribbons will be available to borrow, but participants can also bring their own.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Workshop | Adult Zumba


Exercise in disguise! Join in on the fun featuring easy-to-follow Latin dance choreography while working on your balance, coordination and range of motion. Bring your friends and come prepared for enthusiastic instruction, a little strength training and a lot of fun.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:30 am
Free

Workshop | Juggling in the Park


Jugglers use the park throughout the year to provide free classes to the public. Stop by for a quick lesson, stay for the whole time, or just enjoy watching them put their skills to the test. They're a friendly group and open to drop-ins, even if you catch them outside of the regular juggling lessons. All skill levels welcome. Equipment is provided.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Jazz | Piano in the Park


New York City’s finest ragtime, stride, and jazz pianists perform.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:30 pm
Free

Discussion | Tony Award Winner Harvey Fierstein in Conversation


2-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein discusses his memoir I Was Better Last Night and his involvement in the current Broadway revival of Funny Girl. Hosted by Ilana Levine.
   New York City, NY; NYC
12:30 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Artist Talk: Drawing the Infinite (online)


Artist Rosa Barba in conversation withg Francesca Pietropaolo. The evnt concludes with a poetry reading by Lynn Xu.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Drop-In Chess


Play the popular strategy game while getting pointers and advice from an expert. Chess improves concentration, problem solving, and strategic planning — plus it’s fun. For ages 5 and up (adults welcome).
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:30 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Pablo Picasso: A Ceramic Perspective


Featuring over 60 earthenware objects as well as related editions and works on paper in collaboration with Joshua Hirth Fine Art. Picasso designed 633 different ceramic objects between 1947 and 1971. This exhibition spans twenty two years of the artist’s ceramic career
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Game Nights in the Park


Stop in during weekly game nights and socials to learn a new game, hone your skills, and meet new people
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Marina Adams: What Are You Listening To?


An exhibition of new paintings by Marina Adams. Committed to a pure painterly expression, Adams makes rigorous explorations of color and form that situate her squarely in the tradition of New York School painting, with its emphasis on gesture, spontaneity, and improvisation--an aesthetic and methodology shared with poets, musicians, and dancers alike. Her signature style, refined over several decades, coalesces here in a new body of work in which shifting colors and elastic forms are counterbalanced by the weight of their individual components.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free

Classical Music | Percussion Ensemble of American Symphony Orchestra


This percussion ensemble combines Afro-Cuban Bata drumming and poetry with the sounds of contemporary chamber percussion, featuring Grammy-nominated Imani Winds' oboist Toyin Spellman-Diaz in compositions by percussionist and composer Javier Diaz. Musicians: Toyin Spellman-Diaz, oboe Kory Grossman, Javier Diaz, and Charles Descarfino, percussion
   New York City, NY; NYC
5:30 pm
Free

Performance | Raphael Montañez Ortiz: A Contextual Retrospective: Exhibition and Performance


An evening of exhibition viewing with a performance presentation at El Teatro. The artist will revisit his legendary Explode this Bag action, first staged in London in 1966. Conceived as a new Paper Bag Destruction Concert, this participatory piece will invite the audience to blow up and burst air-filled paper bags in a cathartic, collective experience.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Supertall: How the World's Tallest Buildings are Reshaping Our Cities (online)


Focusing on four global cities – London, New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore – architect, urban designer, and TED Resident Stefan Al examines rise of global supertalls and the factors that have led to this worldwide boom. He uncovers the latest innovations in sustainable building, from skyscrapers made of wood to tree-covered buildings that promise a better urban future, but also examines the issues of wealth inequality, carbon emissions, and contagion that can accompany dense high-rise development. Featuring original architectural sketches, the book is both an exploration of our greatest accomplishments and a powerful argument for a more equitable way forward.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Book Club | Small Island by Andrea Levy (online)


Andrea Levy's epic novel journeys from Jamaica to Britain in 1948 - the year the HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury. Small Island follows three intricately connected stories, journeying from Jamaica to Britain, through the Second World War to 1948 - the year the HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Film | Strand: Under the Dark Cloth (1989): Documentary on Noted Photogrpaher


Documentary that presents an overview of the life and career of American photographer Paul Strand (1890-1976, born in Brooklyn, New York), featuring Strand's most famous photographs, clips from his films, and interviews with his wife, friends, and collaborators including Fred Zinneman, Cesare Zavattini and Georgia O'Keeffe. Directed by John Walker 80 minutes
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Neruda on the Park: The Pressures of Gentrification (online)


When demolition begins on a nearby tenement, the Guerreros are forced to reimagine their life in Nothar Park, the predominantly Dominican part of New York City where they have lived for the last twenty years. The family fragments—the elder, Eusebia, scheming to stop construction, the daughter, Luz, distracted by a sweltering romance with the developer, and the father, Vladimir, secretly scheming to retire in the Dominican Republic. PEN awardee Cleyvis Natera’s debut novel, Neruda on the Park, is a long-awaited interrogation of the pressures of gentrification, and what happens when the forces of ambition uproot a long-settled family tree.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Film | The Brasch Family (2018): Documentary on Noted German-Jewish Family


Brasch - this legendary name stands for one of the most sensational German family histories of all time. This film chronicles a family saga across three generations against a historic backdrop. Directed by Annekatrin Hendel 103 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
Free

Performance | An evening with Law & Order's Sam Waterston


Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning actor Sam Waterston hosts the evening, returning to the very stage where he reprised Abraham Lincoln's famous Right Makes Might address, which Lincoln originally gave at the school in 1860. The event will feature segments of the archive's original recordings, brought to life with large-scale projection imagery that surrounds you. Be among the first to experience again the voices of the thinkers, leaders, and creators who helped shape our city and nation, including Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, National Organization for Women co-founder Betty Friedan, and author and activist Larry Kramer. Also returning to the stage for live encores will be Lincoln expert and author Harold Holzer and ensembles from the New York Philharmonic and Resistance Revival Chorus.
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Culinary Lyricism: Exploring the Intersection of Food and Music in Black Community and Culture (online)


Food, like music, is shaped by our environment, socio-economic status, and heritage. Both food and music are a product of these broader contexts and articulation of our struggles and triumphs within them.  This conversation will explore the various parallels in the way trends and textures shape the two most basic forms of expression, food and music. Incorporating the perspectives of Jarobi White, chef and a founding member of A Tribe Called Quest; along with author, chef and opera singer Alexander Smalls; food, culture and history scholar Nia-Raquelle Smith; and Chef Amethyst Ganaway.  In-person tickets include admission to the African/American: Making the Nation’s Table exhibition and light bites.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
$5

Talk | Documentary Photographer Focused on Highlighting Underrepresented Communities (online)


Isadora Kosofsky is a Los Angeles-based documentary photographer focused on highlighting underrepresented communities through long-form and embedded storytelling. Kosofsky is a contributor to National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Time, GEO Germany, Stern, Le Monde and others.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Dance Performance | Open Dance Performances


A program of non-curated shared showings of experimentation and work-in-process, for artists at all stages of their development. The events are centered around a discussion, moderated by an Artist-in-Residence or guest artist, where they will experiment with different feedback methods to support and inform the artists’ process.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Film | 2 Rare German Films: Angels of Iron / The Passenger (online through June 14)


Two rare films written and directed by German poet and dramatist Thomas Brasch. Angels of Iron (1981) A historical drama set during the Berlin Blockade of 1948-1949 against the droning sounds of the Airlift, based on a true story. A 17-year-old hoodlum by the name of Gladow works hand in glove with a white-collar criminal to rob and pillage day and night, defying capture. The future casts a long shadow on these characters whose contradictions and confusion are emblematic for postwar Berlin. The Passenger: Welcome to Germany (1988) A Hollywood filmmaker (a German-speaking Tony Curtis) returns to Germany where in 1942 he and other concentration camp prisoners were lured into participating in a Nazi propaganda film. He plans to make a documentary about the experience. A reflection about self-deception in the processing of guilt and the difficulty of coming to terms with the past through art.
   New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Stargazing in the City


Head to the park for a walk and a chance to take a closer look at the stars. Peer through high-powered telescopes provided by the knowledgeable members of the Amateur Astronomers Association to see rare celestial sights. No experience is necessary and telescopes will be provided. Starts at dusk. Every Tuesday. Subject to cancellation due to overcast conditions or inclement weather.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 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
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