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Free events for Saturday, 05/13/23
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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 13, 2023?

38 free events take place on Saturday, May 13 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 13 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 Saturday, May 13, 2023

All events are free unless otherwise noted.

Editor's Picks

free events nyc Lift Off: A Waterfront Kite Festival
free events nyc Coronavirus Haiku: Writing from NYC Frontline Workers
free events nyc La Boheme (1926): silent drama
free events nyc Continuous Replay: Seminal Dance Work
More Editor's Picks for 05/13/23
        

Workshop | Forest Fitness


This regular fitness class incorporates climbing multiple staircases, stretches and strengthening exercises, notable tree identification, and forest bathing. Led by instructor, Nancy Bruning\.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:30 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

Birdwatching | Bird Bonanza


Come out to celebrate birds, especially those that are currently migrating through NYC. The entire day will be dedicated to our flying feathered friends with activities and games for all ages.  
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Workshop | Drawing in the Park


Paint in watercolor or use pastels and other drawing materials to capture the magical vistas of the Hudson River and the unique landscape of South Cove. An artist/educator will help participants of all levels with instruction and critique. Materials provided, and artists are encouraged to bring their own favorite media
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Workshop | Move and Groove: Live Jazz and Yoga


A wellness initiative that seeks to build community through events focusing on music, movement and mindfulness practices. This is a 60-minute vinyasa flow yoga set to live jazz. This carefully curated sequence seamlessly unites mind and body with skillful postures and mindful breathing that flow towards deep relaxation.
   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

Fair | Street Fair


Free fun for the whole family, including arts, crafts, antiques, plants, entertainment, games, and more.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Fair | Street Fair


Free fun for the whole family, including arts, crafts, antiques, plants, entertainment, games, and more.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 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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11:00 am
Free

Festival | Lift Off: A Waterfront Kite Festival


Watch your kite soar above the Manhattan skyline on the one day of the year kite-flying is open to the public at the park. This family-friendly festival unites S.T.E.A.M concepts, the Caribbean's rich history of kite-flying, and outdoor adventures. Launch your kites, enjoy live entertainment, and learn all about the science of flight through kite-flying activities and experiments.
   New York City, NY; NYC
11:00 am
Free

Workshop | Shape Up NYC Dance Fitness


A fun dance fitness class. Colorful outfits are encouraged.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 am
Free

Fair | Street Fair


Jewelry. Art. Baked goods and local vintage. Home goods. Live DJs. Tightly curated. Wildly creative. Always a good time.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 am
Free

Festival | Indie Lit Fair


The 8th annual Indie Lit Fair showcases poetry presses, fiction and creative nonfiction, and literary magazines
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Translation Manifesto


In 1969, the PEN America Translation Committee released a manifesto ahead of the 1970 “World of Translation” conference, the first gathering of its kind in the United States. The manifesto sought to bring to light the issues faced by the translation community, focusing on the rights of the translator and translation studies. Fifty years later, in 2020, PEN held another conference titled “Translating the Future.” In conjunction with this conference, a new manifesto was drafted to address the contemporary state of translation in the United States. The new manifesto, released in 2023, takes a critical eye to the world of translation, examining the intersection of translation with other harmful trends in the publishing industry, such as under-compensation, racism, sexism, and US cultural hegemony. Welcome activists from the translation community for a roundtable discussion surrounding this vital document. How can we understand translation not just as a form of writing, but also as an inherently political act? How do we teach, review, and study translation in a way that honors the unique context of the practice? Understanding these questions and more is a crucial act of literary citizenship. Moderated by writer and translator Bonnie Chau, this event will feature translators and editors Jennifer Croft, Alexa Frank, Anton Hur and Aaron Robertson. Join us for this meaningful discussion—and urgent call to action.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Festival | Urban Wildlife Festival


Get to know your wild neighbors, including squirrels, turtles, raccoons, opossum, and coyotes while participating in activities to build your awareness and understanding of the natural world. The festival is an opportunity to get up close and personal with NYC’s wild residents! Find out the best places in New York City and New York State to watch wildlife. There will be fun activities including live animals presented by Wildlife In Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation (WINORR), games, and music by Hopalong Andrew.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Coronavirus Haiku: Writing from NYC Frontline Workers


Members of New York City's frontline worker centers--Domestic Workers United, New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Street Vendor Project, and other organizations--as they read from their new anthology. During Zoom workshops with poet and labor organizer Mark Nowak, worker-poets closely studied radical haiku tradition: Japanese-American internment camp haiku; Amiri Baraka's "low coup"; haiku from the workshops at Attica prison after the 1971 rebellion; and more. This event will celebrate the rich results of that study and the growing solidarity of New York City's essential working class.
   New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Contemporary Games Social


Play your favorite contemporary board games every Saturday afternoon. Featured games include but are not limited to Chameleon, Wavelength, Avalon, Parade, Splendor, Century Spice Road, Mountain Goats, No Thanks, Codenames, Werewords, Spyfall, Azul, Letter Jam, Dixit, In Kahootz, and Captain Sonar. A new game will be selected each week.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Park Walk | History Tour of The Battery


Tour New York's historic birthplace park with an expert guide. Learn about the park's rich history, many important landmarks and monuments, SeaGlass Carousel, beautiful perennial gardens designed by renowned Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf, and so much more.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Parade | Japan Parade


Featuring: -- Stage performances with amazing artists -- Activity Tents include a variety of fun and family-friendly Japanese activities, while our Food Tents offer free samples of mouth-watering Japanese cuisine. -- Charity Initiatives
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Ukrainian Writers at War


A conversation with Ukrainian writers, featuring Artem Chekh, Artem Chapeye, Iryna Tsilyk with Phil Klay The war in Ukraine has brought forth a remarkable resistance and solidarity among its citizens, as well as unimaginable personal and professional transformations. Artem Chapeye, fiction writer, is now a private in the Defense Forces; Artem Chekh, whose 2022 New York Times Op-Ed was titled “I’m a Ukrainian Soldier and I’ve Accepted My Death,” now patrols the Chernobyl exclusion zone; and poet/filmmaker Iryna Tsilyk—winner of 2020 Directing Award in World Cinema at Sundance—fled besieged Kyiv with her son and her cat. In an urgent convocation, these Ukrainian writers tell the story of their country’s struggle from their various and precarious perspectives. The event will be moderated by former U.S. Marine and National Book Award-winning novelist and non-fiction writer Phil Klay.
   New York City, NY; NYC
1:00 pm
Free

Dance Performance | XOXO Dance Intervention


Dancer Salma Kiuhan in a one-day per­for­mance. The work is inspired by the pub­lic art sculp­ture XOXO by Miguel Otero Fuentes, on dis­play out­side. 
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Film | La Boheme (1926): silent drama


Silent adaptation of Henri Murger's novel, set in 19th-century Paris, about a seamtress, an impoverished playwright, and their star-crossed romance. In this tragic romance, a tubercular seamstress sacrifices her life so that her lover, a bohemian playwright, might pen his masterpiece. Director: King Vidor Cast: Lillian Gish, John Gilber Registration required.
   New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
Free

Film | The Joy Luck Club (1993): drama


Adaptation of Amy Tan's bestseller about four immigrant Chinese women and their American-born daughters. The story begins in San Francisco, where three of the women have gathered to bid farewell to their deceased friend's daughter, who's departing for China to meet her long-lost half sisters. Director: Wayne Wang Cast: Tsai Chin, Kieu Chinh, Lisa Lu, France Nuyen, Rosalind Chao, Lauren Tom, Tamlyn Tomita, Ming-Na Wen, Michael Paul Chan, Andrew McCarthy, Christopher Rich, Russell Wong, Vivian Wu
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Lee Friedlander: Framed by Joel Coen


Curated by the widely acclaimed filmmaker Joel Coen, the exhibition showcases approximately 45 of Friedlander’s photographs that span the range of his 60+ year career, bringing into the equation many lesser-known images. Rather than focusing on a single subject or period, Coen’s selection concentrates on Friedlander’s singular approach to composition and evidences an unexpected affinity between the two artists, both of whose work explores the sly power of images.  
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:30 pm
Free

Discussion | Writing Truthfully for Kids About Today's Issues


A conversation on the politics of children's literature, feat. Ruta Sepetys, Kyle Lukoff, Traci Sorell, Zetta Elliott, & Padma Venkatraman Children's and YA literature have increasingly become war zones of conflicting values, with educators, parents, and politicians battling over what kinds of books should be accessible to young readers. A panel of four distinctive voices in contemporary children's literature--Zetta Elliott (Moonwalking, written with Lyn Miller-Lachman), Kyle Lukoff (Different Kinds of Fruit), Ruta Sepetys (I Must Betray You), and Traci Sorell (We Are Still Here: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know)--will discuss the challenges of writing honestly, responsibly, and with sensitivity about subjects that dominate today's headlines. Respectively, their work explores the impact of policing on Black children and teens, trans visibility, the historical victimization of life under dictatorship, and Native Nations' rich contributions to literature and culture. Collectively, they will explore such questions as how, in this politically charged environment, do writers approach their responsibility to create truthful works that make every reader feel seen, heard, and understood? How do they interact with those who would serve as gatekeepers to children's books? The panel will be moderated by Padma Venkatraman, whose work centers Asian protagonists and whose most recent book is Born Behind Bars.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:30 pm
Free

Play | 6 Heroes of the Fourth Turning


Heroes of the Fourth Turning by Will Arberry Directed by Chandler Stephenson 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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3:00 pm
Free

Film | A View From the Field: The Visions of Erna Brodber (2023)


This documentary explores the life’s work and the political era of Jamaican literary laureate, historian, fiction writer, sociologist and community activist Erna Brodber. Brodber, one of Jamaica’s great literary figures of contemporary times, is best known for such novels as Myal and Louisiana, and for a number of historical and sociological studies. She has received the Jamaican Order of Distinction, multiple Commonwealth Writers’ Prizes, the Musgrave Prize, and the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize for her works. Director: Mark Purushotham 60 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Kool Koor: Timeless


Charles “Kool Koor” Hargrove was born in the South Bronx in 1963. Koor is, and has since his childhood been, equal parts “fine artist” and “street artist”—a distinction that, under close consideration, does not hold much weight and is invariably tied to classist, tenuous categorizations imposed from institutions outside of the annals where so-called “street art” and graffiti blossomed. He is also a graffiti pioneer who belongs to the first generation of New York graffiti artists. Koor was born steeped in the visual arts, with both his mother and sister being practicing artists as well. Throughout his childhood, he drew voraciously and in 1976, at the age of twelve, he started “writing”, the insider-term for practicing graffiti. Like a Zen master toiling with Ensō circles or a laboring calligrapher, Koor practiced his craft with repetition.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free

Musical | The Comedy of Errors: A Musical Adaptation of Shakespeare's Play


Conceived by director Rebecca Martínez and composer Julián Mesri, a member of The Public Theater’s 2022-23 Emerging Writers Group, this new adaptation rigorously embraces music from all over Latin America in this tale of separation and joyous reunion. With songs in English and Spanish, this new musical adaptation brings an energetic vibe to this age-old tale of two sets of twins separated by stormy seas as they overcome a baffling case of mistaken identity—and the mayhem and hilarious confusion that follows.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Eric Hart Jr.: When I Think About Power


Eric Hart Jr. is in conversation with Elliott Jerome Brown Jr. about his new monograph, a collection of sumptuous and tender portraits of an empowered Black queer experience.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:30 pm
Free

Concert | Chamber Music on the Water


A one hour performance (no intermission), including a Q & A session with the musicians. The program is announced at the performance.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | Serene organ meditations in an intimate venue (In Person AND Online)


Enjoy a program of hymns, anthems, and voluntaries for the organ.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Politicized: Writing Trans Narratives Today


Trans stories today are working against a daunting history of suppression, erasure, and violence. This event convenes transgender and cis writers to explore how they approach writing transgender stories in light of an alarming rise in hate speech and anti-trans legislation, and the concurrently increasing removal of LGBTQIA+ stories from schools and libraries. How does this moment affect the writer's approach to their work? How do the writers make space for their art and create narratives beyond the struggle for equality? What is it like to be publicly trans at a time when public transness is being criminalized and erased? An array of writers including novelist James Hannaham (Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta), writer and social critic Jeremiah Moss (Feral City), and award winning producer, model, and advocate Geena Rocero (Horse Barbie) come together to dive into these questions and share their recent and forthcoming works. Writer and critic Maya Gittelman will lead this crucial conversation.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Alexandre Diop: Hood Rich


Alexandre Diop’s new body of work pays homage to the inherent creativity, resourcefulness, code of conduct and capacity to adapt of people inhabiting environments considered “ghetto” or labeled as inner-city communities, often stereotypically associated with poverty, institutional racism, disenfranchisement and marginalization.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Dance Performance | Continuous Replay: Seminal Dance Work


A distinctive dance experience centered on recent developments in the field: a seminal work in the legacy of Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane.
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 pm
Free

Film | Lightyear (2022): Toy Story Prequel


While spending years attempting to return home, marooned Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear encounters an army of ruthless robots commanded by Zurg who are attempting to steal his fuel source. Director: Angus MacLane Stars: Chris Evans, Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn 100 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Poetry Reading | Seen, Sound, Scribe


Brooklyn’s Mahogany L. Browne, a prolific writer and important advocate for public art, is poet-in-residence. She has written works of fiction, stage plays and critical essays to accompany her half-dozen poetry collections and another six anthologies as editor. Browne's recently released book-length poem, I Remember Death by Its Proximity to What I Love, explores the binding and boundaries of incarceration. Browne curates thought-provoking and politically driven evenings of spoken word, spirited conversation, and presentations of new work. This edition features Wo Chan, Eugenia Leigh, Tre G. and Phil Kay.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Play | Vile Isle: Testing the Limits of Faith


A group of friends who call themselves 'queer family' is on the verge of spiritual breakdown or breakthrough, depending on who you ask. A dead-of-winter trip to Fire Island is threatened by an Old Testament-style flood. And Gnocchi the Cat is being Bat Mitzvah’d, God willing. Justin Halle's Vile Isle is a passionate and provocative dark comedy about the ways we fail and forgive one another, and what faith is worth when our limits are existentially tested.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:00 pm
Free
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