free things to do in New York City
Free events for Wednesday, 05/03/23
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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 3, 2023?

35 free events take place on Wednesday, May 3 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 3 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!

35 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Wednesday, May 3, 2023

All events are free unless otherwise noted.

Editor's Picks

free events nyc Standards from the American Songbook
free events nyc Live Electronica Orchestra
free events nyc Sun Ra Orchestra
More Editor's Picks for 05/03/23
        

Workshop | HIIT Workout


A High Intestity Interval Training workout in the park.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 am
Free

Tour | 13 Tours, All City Neighborhoods, Any Time Of The Day, Choose One Tour Or Many


These free tours take place at various times during the day, all day long. You can make reservations for as many tours as your schedule allows. SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights + DUMBO 3 Hour Lower Manhattan Harlem Chelsea and the High Line 6 Hour Downtown Combined Greenwich Village Central Park Lower Manhattan Midtown Manhattan Grand Central Terminal Graffiti and Street Art Tours World Trade Center
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Park Walk | Park Tour: From Freight to Flowers


Hear the story behind New York City's park in the sky: an insider's perspective on the park's history, design, and landscape.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Workshop | Wednesday Tai Chi


Tai chi—the ultimate mind and body workout, often described as “meditation in motion”—involves slow, fluid, continuous movements through formalized postures of centuries-old Chinese Taoist martial arts. Please wear comfortable clothes and shoes to move around in. Water will be provided.
   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

Tour | Tour of New York City Hall


One of the oldest continuously used City Halls in the nation that still houses its original governmental functions, New York's City Hall is considered one of the finest architectural achievements of its period. Constructed from 1803 to 1812, the building was an early expression of the City's cosmopolitanism. City Hall is a designated New York City landmark, and its rotunda is a designated interior landmark as well.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | Bach at Noon (In Person and Online)


Take a momentary respite from a busy day to enjoy a selection of organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach in an intimate venue.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:20 pm
Free

Concert | Piano in the Park


Come on by and tap your toes to The Big Apple's finest ragtime, stride, and jazz pianists around! Featuring special events and performances by distinguished musicians. Today's pianist: Todd Robbins.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:30 pm
Free

Jazz | Standards from the American Songbook


Jazz guitarist Bill Wurtzel and guests play standards from the American Songbook. Bill Wurtzel began playing guitar at age 9, and was a radio and TV country music performer by age 12. He attended art school and had a career as an award-winning advertising creative director. He continued to play professionally and switched to music full time in 1989. Bill has played worldwide with many jazz legends, including the Count Basie Countsmen, Wild Bill Davis, Bill Doggett, Jimmy McGriff, the Harlem Blues & Jazz Band, singers Gloria Lynne and Terri Thornton, as well as Paul Simon. Bill is a director of the Jazz Foundation of America.
   New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | Vocal Works by Bach (In Person AND Online)


Trinity Baroque Orchestra; members of The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; curated by and featuring Robert Mealy, concertmaster.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Film | Lady of the Night (1924): silent romantic drama


Two baby girls, born near in proximity, but worlds apart in life: Molly Helmer, a thief's daughter; and Florence Banning, daughter of the judge who would send Molly's father to prison. The girls' lives converge when they are young women of 18 as Florence leaves the security of the exclusive Girls' Select School and Molly, now orphaned, begins her life free from reform school. Norma Shearer plays both young women, but the apparent differences in their worldliness makes them most unfamiliar in appearance. Molly's new world consists of nights at Kelly's Dance Hall and her ever-present worshiper, Chunky Dunn. On one of her nightly dance-hall outings Molly meets up-and-coming inventor David Page, and quickly falls in love with him. She persuades him to seek an honest buyer for his new safe-cracking device against Chunky's advice, as his shadier side sees this as an opportunity for himself and to corrupt David. Following Molly's advice, David meets with a group of investors, including the now-retired Judge Banning, Florence's father. While at the judge's home, David meets Florence and is instantly attracted by her charm and her innocence, a characteristic not so present in Molly. Both women are in love with David but both are willing to give him up; Florence thinks Molly has a stronger claim on her, and Molly believes that she isn't good enough for him. Through strong direction and subtle acting intermixed with false bravado, Molly matures into one who sacrifices all for the sake of others and becomes the person she so often imitated. Director: Monta Bell Cast: Norma Shearer Registration required.
   New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Museum Closer Look Tour


A public tour of current exhibitions, led by museum Gallery Guides.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Knot Too Shabby: How to Turn Your Knots from Blah to Fabulous


Learn to harness the power of mathematics and the fourth dimension to unlock the secrets of knots. Guest speaker Dr. Allison Heinrich, Professor of Mathematics at Seattle University, will teach how to amaze friends and family with spectacular knot-tying ability. Discover how to make tangled messes magically disappear, learn how to make knots appear out of thin air, and impress your friends and family with fancy new phrases at this “knot-to-be-missed” evening of mathematical exploration.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free

Concert | Live Electronica Orchestra


The Live Electronica Orchestra is a performing laboratory for all things now and current in electronically influenced music, drawing inspiration from a history rich in electronic audio experimentation and pushing the stylistic thresholds of music. Directed by Amir Ziv.
   New York City, NY; NYC
5:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Munchkin: Learn and Play the New Game


This is an event where customers can play a featured game with the assistance of staff. Customers will be able to play the chosen game for free, so they can test out some of our most popular titles before unboxing them at home. The featured game will be suitable for all ages, and will be perfect for your next game night with family and friends. This event will feature the classic dungeon-diving card game, Munchkin. In the game, you'll race against your frenemies to slay monsters, grab powerful magic items, and, most importantly, hoard treasure.
   New York City, NY; NYC
5:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Settlers of Catan Social


Play one of the most popular board games in the world at the Games Cart. They welcome players of all levels to this weekly social.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | The Star of Redemption with a split:


An event consisting of an exhibition of new work by Udi Aloni, an hour with Berlin-based Palestinian singer Rasha Nahas, film screenings, lectures, and public discussions on German-Jewish philosophy. PROGRAM 5:30 - 6:00 pm:     Opening of the art exhibition (Udi Aloni) 6:00 - 6:15 pm:     Opening remarks on the series (Omri Boehm)  6:15 - 7:00 pm:     Study and thinking with Franz Rosenzweig's The Star of Redemption and Edward Said's Freud and the Non-European (2003) 7:00 - 8:00 pm:     An Hour with Rasha Nahas
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free

Workshop | Wellness Wednesdays


Curated by Sputnik Yoga, Wellness Wednesdays will offer a variety of fitness and wellness themed classes on a weekly basis. Bring your own yoga mat or blanket. Wednesdays, May 3 - October 25, 2023.     
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Harold Ancart: Paintings


In his atmospheric canvases, Ancart uses color and texture to blur the boundaries between observed and imagined realities. Pairing figuration with vibrant abstract passages, the artist explores natural landscapes and built environments, where he discovers moments of unexpected poetry. Though born and educated in Belgium, Ancart maintains a practice rooted in the influence of American abstract painters, including Richard Diebenkorn, Helen Frankenthaler, and Clyfford Still. The works in Ancart’s Gagosian debut suggest a place rooted in a longing for escape and use an arboreal motif to explore nuances of color and shape. Having previously depicted other elemental forms such as clouds, fires, and icebergs, the artist has stated that outward subject matter serves primarily as an “alibi” for painterly experimentation. Two large landscape canvases are also included. One depicts the sea at night and immerses the viewer in a composition featuring a large, truncated moon. The other, also a seascape, is bordered by a large field of red and conveys the impression of a prospecting gaze through a telescope.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Simon Benjamin: sub-marine


The exhibition incorporates mixed media sculpture, photography, and video to consider the significance of the sea as a unifying force in collective histories and colonial legacies. Taking as a starting point an assertion by Barbadian poet Kamau Brathwaite that says, “the unity is submarine,” Benjamin's work resists the notion of the Caribbean as a fractured region divided by language and nation state borders.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

City Walk | Bloomingdale Neighborhood Tour


Jim Mackin leads a mixed group of visitors to the city and resident New Yorkers on a one-of-a-kind, always interesting, walk around the historic Bloomingdale neighborhood.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Dancing | Dance Party: Salsa Dura


Superb bands and expert dance instruction. Instruction by Marlon Mills and Talia Castro Pozo at 6pm Live music by La Exelencia at 7pm Marlon Mills, also joyfully known as Marlon International, is one of New York City's most well-known dance educators and dance personalities in the Salsa dance community. He has trained with some of the best in the business, including Maria and Eddie Torres, and has been teaching salsa for more than 20 years. Inspired by the salsa sounds of the 1970s and the sociopolitical landscape of today, La Excelencia is an award-winning band from New York City that combines traditional salsa elements with a modern and unapologetic sound. Their music invigorates social mindedness amidst a powerful and danceable soundtrack. "It takes just a note or two to hear that La Excelencia is different.
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
Free

Lecture | From Cynegetic Power to Cryopolitics: Hypotheses on the Biopolitics of Virus Hunters


For the last fifty years, following the paradigms of ecology of infectious diseases and « One Health », virologists have collected samples from non-human animals to anticipate spillover events causing pandemics among humans. This daily work of monitoring, moving between farms, markets, borders and laboratories, has introduced animals in human communities as sentinels perceiving early warning signals, by contrast with spectacular killings of suspicious animals which redraw the boundaries between humans and animals. This talk will ask what kind of biopolitics emerges from such a surveillance of animals for pandemic preparedness. Discussing authors such as Chamayou, Mbembe, Descola, Povinelli, Landecker and Caduff, it will test the hypothesis that modernity is a shift not only from sovereign power to biopolitics, but also from cynegetic power to cryopolitics.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | Piano Works


David Portyanskiy, piano. David will play a selection of his own work, as well as those of Ludovico Einaudi (1955-present).
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Dafi Kühne: Letterpress Posters Reinvented


Dafi Kühne is an award-winning Swiss designer and letterpress printer who continuously pushes the boundaries of design. In his studio in the remote Swiss mountain village of Näfels, he works with analog and digital techniques to produce unique letterpress-printed posters that are visually mesmerizing and fascinating in brilliance and printing quality. In conversation with Poster House Curator Angelina Lippert, Dafi presents his work, shares his approach to Swiss Typography, and gives insight into his fascinating production process. Together they ask: Do printed posters in times of digital displays in urban spaces still make sense? And why should posters be produced at great expense using the antiquated letterpress printing process, when digital printing devices can deliver high-quality reproductions at much lower cost? In the words of Dafi Kühne “letterpress printing can only live on if the design is at the heart of the process and makes the connection to the present”.   Agenda 6:30 PM - 7:00 PM Doors Open 7:00 PM - 7:10 PM Welcome remarks by the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York 7:10 PM - 8:15 PM Lecture and discussion 8:15 PM - 9:00 PM Physical poster presentation
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Book Discussion | The Salt Grows Heavy: A Mermaid's Journey


Author Cassandra Khaw fits rich descriptions into each and every sentence on every single page. Visceral, vivid and dripping with horror, we follow a mermaid and a plague doctor on a most bizarre journey. No spoiler alerts on where the journey takes us, but do know, you will be on alert the whole way.  
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Workshop | Community Meditation Gathering


Although Buddhism is often seen as a solitary path, sangha, or community, is an essential part of meditation practice. However, cultivating this sense of community has been a difficult challenge in this day and age of social isolation and Zoom fatigue. New York Insight is excited to offer a brand new series of in-person community gatherings consisting of guided meditation, a talk by one of our teachers, followed by group discussion, and opportunities to socialize and connect with like-minded practitioners. Whether you are brand new to meditation practice, new to New York Insight, or are a longtime, experienced meditator, all are welcome to join us for this series of in-person community meditation gatherings.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Workshop | Dances Participatory Workshop


In this special participatory performance, disability culture activist Petra Kuppers and her guests invite audiences to search archives for disabled and mad dancers. The event will take place using movement, storytelling, and divinatory methods to explore connections to disabled dance ancestors. Gestural memories ground the experience in old and new lineages, help to honor chosen family, and offer embodied transmissions of knowledge. Participants can choose their level of engagement, including being a witness with no need to move if not desired. The session is grounded in disability culture values. Petra Kuppers (she/her) is a disability culture activist and a community performance artist. Petra grounds herself in disability culture methods, and uses somatics, performance, and speculative writing to engage audiences toward more socially just and enjoyable futures. Her latest academic study is Eco Soma: Pain and Joy in Speculative Performance Encounters (University of Minnesota Press, 2022, open access). Her third performance poetry collection, Gut Botany (Wayne State University Press, 2020), won the 2022 Creative Book Award by the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment. In 2022, she was named a Dance/USA Fellow. Kuppers is Artistic Director of The Olimpias, an international disability culture collective, and she co-creates Turtle Disco, a somatic writing studio. She is the Anita Gonzalez Collegiate Professor of Performance Studies and Disability Culture at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Registration required.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Discussion | The Transient Worlds of Immanuel of Rome


This evening of discussion seeks to reconsider Immanuel of Rome and his work in relation to three areas of interest: recent historiography on fourteenth-century Roman culture from the communal experience to the end of Avignon; the role of language and the question of poetry and prose; influences on Roman Judaism from the South of the peninsula, including the circulation of Arabic, Hebrew, and Byzantine sources in the literary circles of the time. In this effort to open new doors they wish to keep in sight the multidirectional connection among the Sicilian, Andalusi, and Baghdadi cultural circles with specific reference to poetic traditions. Little is known about Immanuel's life and work. Most information comes from his own poems and religious commentaries. He wrote in the vernacular and Hebrew, including the first "sonnets" in the biblical language. He lived during a turbulent period of Roman history--his lifetime estimated to be between 1261-70 and 1335-50-- marked by a prolonged absence of the Popes from the city and a profound shift of power in the relationship between the Papacy and the Empire. With: Isabelle Levy, Columbia University Davide Liberatoscioli, University of Postdam Dario Internullo, University of Roma Tre Fabrizio Lelli, University of Rome La Sapienza Karla Mallette, University of Michigan
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Gender Without Identity: Recognizing Trauma


Authors Avgi Saketopoulou and Ann Pellegrini discuss their new book. Rooted in the metapsychology of French psychoanalyst Jean Laplanche and in conversation with bold work in queer and trans studies, Saketopoulou and Pellegrini offer an innovative and at times unsettling theory of gender formation. They jettison “core gender identity” to propose, instead, that gender is something all subjects acquire -- and that trauma sometimes has a share in that acquisition. Gender Without Identity argues for the ethical urgency of recognizing that wounding experiences and traumatic legacies may be spun into gender. Such “spinning” involves self-theorizations that do not proceed from a centered self, but are nevertheless critical to psychic autonomy.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | The Skin and Its Girl: Her Aunt's Secrets (online)


Sarah Cypher's debut is a magic realist family saga centered around a young Palestinian American woman piecing together her great Aunt’s secrets. The story begins in a Pacific Northwest hospital far from the Rummani family’s ancestral home in Palestine, where the heart of a stillborn baby begins to beat and her skin turns a vibrant, permanent cobalt blue. Decades later, Betty returns to her Aunt Nuha’s gravestone faced with a difficult decision: should she stay in the only country she’s ever known or should she follow her heart for the woman she loves, perpetuating her family’s cycle of exile?
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
$5

Workshop | Knot Too Shabby: How to Turn Your Knots from Blah to Fabulous


Learn to harness the power of mathematics and the fourth dimension to unlock the secrets of knots. Guest speaker Dr. Allison Heinrich, Professor of Mathematics at Seattle University, will teach how to amaze friends and family with spectacular knot-tying ability. Discover how to make tangled messes magically disappear, learn how to make knots appear out of thin air, and impress your friends and family with fancy new phrases at this “knot-to-be-missed” evening of mathematical exploration.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Play | The Mountaintop


The Mountaintop By Katori Hall Directed by Meikayla Thomany The Actors Studio Drama School presents its annual Repertory Season; in six weeks (through May 13) of theatre designed to introduce its graduating students to the professional world and the public in fully-professional productions of the work they have created during their three years of study. You will witness a weekly series of scenes, one-act plays, and full-length plays.  Vaccination proof is required.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Festival | Illumination Spring Showcase


Step into a magical world of light and wonder at the Illumination Light Art Spring Showcase.. Kick off your spring with Illumination Light Art's first-ever Spring Showcase. Seven talented light artists, live performers, and DJs will transform the plaza into a dreamlike oasis. Explore and interact with exciting pieces produced by local New York-based light artists featuring a mixture of projection mapping, interactive video art, UV light art, and more! Dance to a different DJ every night Tuesday night to Saturday night as you wander and explore Illumination's outdoor gallery. Don't forget to bring your own light garb to take part in the festivities or check out our light shop where we will be selling all types of light merchandise!
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Jazz | Sun Ra Orchestra


This orchestra focuses on a multi-disciplinary vision that combines poetry, music, and dance with lyrics, characteristic of the Sun Ra legacy. Directed by Ahmed Abdullah.
   New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
Free
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Concert | Christmas Concert

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