free things to do in New York City
Free events for Wednesday, 11/20/13
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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 November 20, 2013?

53 free events take place on Wednesday, November 20 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 November 20 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 November . 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!

53 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Wednesday, November 20, 2013

All events are free unless otherwise noted.

Editor's Picks

free events nyc Lincoln Center Concert Hike
free events nyc Rick Rowley's Dirty Wars (2013): Documentary on US Involvement around the World
free events nyc Performance Art: Clifford Owens' Five Day’s Worth
free events nyc Oboe and Piano Works by Chopin, Poulenc and Mozart
        

Tour | Greenwich Village Tour


Greenwich Village is among Manhattan's most desirable and expensive residential neighborhoods. It's history, however, betrays it's monied status. The Village, with it's quiet, shaded streets, lined with lovely brick and brownstone townhouses, was once the incubating ground of artistic, social and political movements that have helped shape US history. From the Beats to the Folk Movement, from workers rights to gay rights, the Village has often been the center of it all.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

City Walk | Lincoln Center Concert Hike


3-5 miles. Some ups and downs. See Upper West Side sights, Riverside Park, and a chamber music concert at Alice Tully Hall. Join lunch at a local Chinese restaurant or bring your own to eat near by. The free concert will be at 1 PM. Check out the Performing Arts Library, see a garden, a church and wind up at Columbus Circle. Drop out whenever you are tired. Call to register and confirm walk.
   New York City, NY; NYC
10:00 am
$3

Tour | Cathedral Tour


Explore the Cathedral's newly cleaned and restored Nave. Learn about the art, architecture and history of this great sacred space from 1892 to the present.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 am
$6...

Film | Dennis Hopper's Oscar-Nominated Easy Rider (1969): Biker Buds


With Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson Two counterculture bikers travel from Los Angeles to New Orleans in search of America. 95 mins.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:15 am
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. Congressman Ron Paul considers the Federal Reserve "both corrupt and unconstitutional" Tour times: 11:15 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., and 4:00 p.m.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:15 am
Free

Tour | City Hall Lunchtime Tour


Constructed from 1803 to 1812, New York's City Hall is one of the oldest continuously used city halls in the nation and one of the finest architectural achievements of its period. In 2010, the Bloomberg Administration launched a rehabilitation project to correct structural issues and preserve the historic building. This tour is limited to 20 people and is offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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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.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:20 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Gallery Tour: The ABC of It: Why Children's Books Matter


Enjoy a 45-minutes docent-led tour of the exhibition.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:30 pm
Free

Tour | Cathedral Tour


Explore the Cathedral's newly cleaned and restored Nave. Learn about the art, architecture and history of this great sacred space from 1892 to the present.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
$6...

Concert | Donald Ingram, Organist


A free, 40-minute organ recital. The mechanical-action pipe organ was built in 1964 by the Schlicker Organ Company of Buffalo, New York, and rebuilt by the Andover Organ Company of Methuen, Massachusetts in 1981. It boasts the oldest pipe organ case in New York City, made of mahogany and dating from 1802, and contains 1,632 pipes.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Concert | Juilliard Chamber Ensembles


Juilliard performers share their talent with the community in these free, hour-long lunchtime concerts on Wednesday afternoons throughout the season.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Jazz | Midtown Jazz


A jazz concert for the midtown community. These popular midday concerts feature well-regarded artists. The programming is overseen by jazz pianist Ronny Whyte.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
$10 suggested donation

Reading | Story Time for Grown-Ups


Love a good story? Sit back and relax as they read you a story or two. The Thanksgiving Visitor by Truman Capote - Buddy doesn’t want to invite Odd Henderson, his worst enemy and the school bully, to their family Thanksgiving dinner even though his cousin and best friend Miss Sook insists it’s the right thing to do. The bully won’t really accept the invitation, will he?
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Jazz | Bill Wurtzel, Jazz Guitarist


Enjoy free live music performed by jazz guitarist Bill Wurtzel and guest musicians.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Tour | Harlem Tour


Although world famous, Harlem may be New York's best kept secret with some of the city's best architecture, food, music and people. Harlem's history is also one of the city's most dramatic, having gone through many ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic changes over the past roughly 400 years, which have resulted in a diverse array of places of worship, theaters, homes and eating establishments.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Gallery Tour: The ABC of It: Why Children's Books Matter


Enjoy a 45-minutes docent-led tour of the exhibition.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:30 pm
Free

Tour | US Customs House Building Tour


A Museum Ambassador provides a 45-minute in-depth look at the unique architecture and design of the Alexander Hamilton Customs House.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Introduction to Belly Dance


Belly dance is a great way to learn a beautiful art form while staying in shape, gaining confidence in yourself, and (most importantly) having fun. Presented by Katherine Illescas.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free

Master Class | Master Class: David Geber, Chamber Music


Cellist David Geber had his early musical training in Los Angeles, where he was raised in a family of professional cellists. He studied at the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard School, from which he holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. His principal teachers included Claus Adam and Ronald Leonard. Geber has been the recipient of numerous cello and chamber music awards, including the Walter W. Naumburg Award and the Coleman Chamber Music Prize.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free

Performance | Performance Art: Derrick Adams' The Institution of Me


A live art installation comprised of three performances and the process of realizing them. Over the course of three evenings, Adams creates enlarged, projected silhouettes of Jamaican Pan-Africanist leader Marcus Garvey, Martinican folk hero Robert Saint Rose, and Nigerian political activist and Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti as a means of exploring and developing a personal conversation between the past and the present, and as a conceptual engagement between the artist in relation to their unique historical positions and continued social and political importance.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Book Group: The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis


Light refreshments will be served.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free

Film | Joshua & Benny Safdie's Lenny Cooke, a Documentary on Would-Be NBA Player


In 2001, Lenny Cooke was the most hyped high school basketball player in the country, ranked above future greats LeBron James, Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. A decade later, Lenny has never played a minute in the NBA. In this quintessentially American documentary, filmmaking brothers Joshua and Benny Safdie take a candid look and track the unfulfilled destiny of a man for whom superstardom was only out of reach. Directly following the screening will be a Q&A with Lenny Cooke, producer Adam Shopkorn, and Josh and Benny Safdie. The evening’s grand finale will be an epic 2-on-1 match between Lenny and the Safdies, refereed by Shopkorn, marking Lenny’s triumphant return to the school he attended that first propelled him to basketball stardom.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free

Author Reading | 4 contributors discuss the book The Reckoning: Women Artists of the New Millennium


Authors Eleanor Heartney, Helaine Posner, Nancy Princenthal, and Sue Scott engage in an in-depth discussion about their new book. They explore the work of women artists in the contemporary art world, highlighting several innovative artists from around the globe.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Book Group: Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton


A tasty discussion of Gabrielle Hamilton's memoir behind the scenes as a professional chef.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Book Group: Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzpatrick by Therese Anne Fowler


When beautiful, reckless, seventeen-year-old Zelda Sayre meets Lieutenant Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald at a country club dance, he isn't rich or settled; no one knows his people; and he wants, of all things, to be a writer in New York. After Scott sells his first novel, Zelda defies her parents to marry him in the vestry of St. Patrick's Cathedral. It is the Jazz Age, and for Zelda and Scott the future will be grander and stranger than they could have ever imagined.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Lecture | Challenges of Innovation: Technology Development and Intellectual Property Rights in Latin America


A public lecture by Germán Alejandro Linzer, the 2013-2014 President Néstor Kirchner Fellow. Linzer will examine technology development and intellectual property rights in Latin America in the broader context of science, technology and innovation policy. In 2007, the government of Argentina created the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation to strengthen the diagnosis and consolidation of these policies.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Concert | College Clarinet Recital


Eloise Fisher, Clarinet
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Kari Soinio's Private Hero: Portraiture of the Male Body


In his photos, Kari Soinio studies masculine corporeality, body language, sexuality and identity and looks at the ways perception and recognition operate through visual representations. His auto-portraiture-based work takes a critical look into masculinity and femininity in maleness, showing ambiguous bodies with traits of both and in doing so addresses and challenges masculine complacency and self-importance.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Michele Beck & Jorge Calvo discuss their installation Passage


The artists will discuss their multidisciplinary work and the process of creating Passage, an immersive installation composed of 4-video projections, sound and gravel.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Paintings: Jay Hendrick's Measure Measure


From the artist: "I make paintings. I digitally erase paintings, I extract singular pixels, I wear the paintings as garments, I throw them into the air, and have friends mop the floor with me rolled up in them. All strategies to discern the value of my claims and counter claims."
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Lecture | Photoshop Feminism: Belle Epoque Women’s Magazines and the Elusive Triumph of the French Woman Writer


This talk explores the complex ways in which the popular Belle Epoque women’s magazines Femina and La Vie Heureuse exploited new photographic technologies to construct the French woman writer as a celebrity who could balance professional success with bourgeois ideals. This “Belle Epoque Literary Feminism” offered women readers and writers an airbrushed view of their present and raised the their expectations for the future. Lecturer Rachel Mesch is an Associate Professor of French and Chair of Languages, Literatures & Cultures at Yeshiva University and the author of The Hysteric’s Revenge: French Women Writers at the Fin de Siècle.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Simone Cinotto discusses his book The Italian American Table: Food, Family, and Community in New York City


Looking at the historic Italian American community of East Harlem in the 1920s and 30s, Simone Cinotto recreates the bustling world of Italian life in New York City and demonstrates how food was at the center of the lives of immigrants and their children.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Lecture | Voice and the Traces of Time: The Russian Archive of Vocal Memory


A lecture by Oksana Bulgakowa, film historian and author of Sergei Eisenstein: A Biography. Oksana Bulgakowa is Professor of Film Studies at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:15 pm
Free

Discussion | At the Intersection of Queer Studies & Religion: A Transnational Conversation


As part of a broader research project, “Interdisciplinary Innovations in the Study of Religion and Gender: Postcolonial, Post-Secular and Queer Perspectives,” this is a discussion on the intersections of queer and religious studies. How has queer studies in religion shaped the field more generally? What epistemological contributions does a queer approach facilitate? What are the social and political implications of working at the intersections of these two fields?
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Workshop | Group Dance Exercise Class


A fun dance workout to preview the group exercise classes that will be offered at the Manny Cantor Center, a new Lower East Side community center opening in early 2014.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Talk | Once a Pun a Time - Let’s Play with Words


Words have great power—they move us, they send our imaginations soaring, they help us communicate. But best of all, they make us laugh. In her talk, author Patricia T. O’Conner will share her delight in the fun of language—puns, spoonerisms, and mischievous wordplay of every stripe. You’ll learn what “crash blossoms” and “eggcorns” are, how “Tom Swifties” are formed, and why “mondegreen” is not a color. Join in and share your favorite plays on words.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Performance | Performance Art: Einat Amir's Our Best Intentions


Our Best Intentions invites audience members to take part in an intimate participatory performance combining elements from psychotherapy, theater and art. As individuals walk into a space divided into four domestic areas — a family lounge, a bedroom, a study, and a dining room – each participant selects a vest featuring an array of labels, such as "mother," "doubt," "addiction," "lover," and so forth. Under the direction of four moderators, the performance becomes a collaborative session wherein participants are encouraged to use personal stories and memories to confront unresolved issues, form momentary and intimate connections with strangers, and reveal themselves in unexpected ways. Our Best Intentions is an unpredictable series of interactions between moderators and audience members that seeks to contrast the individual/internal experience of therapy with the more dramatic devices of performance. As the action moves through the demarcated space, the audience is both active and passive, taking turns to watch other groups and participate within their own area, adding to the climatic, often emotional rollercoaster ride of different scenes that unfold in the space. Each interactive, closed session performance is 1 hour.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Forum | Poetry Forum: Edward Mendelson


Edward Mendelson, the author of Early Auden and Later Auden among other books, will read and discuss the poetry of W. H. Auden. He is the literary executor of Auden’s estate, a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and the first Isabel Dalhousie Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh. Mendelson is currently the Lionel Trilling Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University. Moderated by David Lehman, faculty, School of Writing.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
$5

Workshop | Adorning Your Souls Beauty: The Eye Within Us


Shamanic energy healer and jewelry designer Olivia Olkowski will share an informative evening of the history of the Talisman, and to find out how you can bring out your inner soul's beauty.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
$5

Author Reading | Ann Hood & Elissa Schappell read from the book Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting


Why does knitting occupy a place in the hearts of so many writers? What is so magical and transformative about yarn and needles? How does knitting help us get through life-changing events and inspire joy? In Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting, Ann Hood has collected original essays by twenty-seven writers including Anita Shreve, Elizabeth Berg, Ann Patchett, and Barbara Kingsolver.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Artist Talk: Ralph Lemon


Ralph Lemon is a dancer, choreographer, writer and visual artist. He currently serves as the Artistic Director of Cross Performance, a company dedicated to the creation of cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary performance and presentation. Lemon’s most recent work, How Can You Stay in The House All Day And Not Go Anywhere? (2008-2010) was a four-part project consisting of live performance, film and visual art.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Bill Ayers reads from his book Public Enemy: Confessions of an American Dissident


With the sequel to his controversial memoir Fugitive Days, Bill Ayers chronicles his life after the Weather Underground.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Book Group: The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro


The fiction reading group meets to discuss. Read the book and join the group -- they're a welcoming bunch.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Hilton Als discusses the book White Girls


Hilton Als’ first book since The Women fourteen years ago finds one of The New Yorker's boldest critics deftly weaving together his analyses of literature, art, and music with fearless insights on race, gender, and history.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Performance | Performance Art: David Antonio Cruz's TAKEABITE: The Opera


The Opera will recreate the multi-layered audio from the video TAKEABITE;elduendealwaystravels…light by artist David Antonio Cruz. The Opera will feature the three main performers, Elia Alba, Mickalene Thomas and Daivd Antonio Cruz in full costume, backed by orchestra, choir, jazz and soprano singers, fourteen actors, and a special effects sound mixer. The video, TAKEABITE is a dark and humorous attempt at exploring migration, gluttony, and the consumption of the American dream.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Talk | Photographer Talk: Leigh Ledare


Leigh Ledare (b. 1976, Seattle, Washington) is a fine art photographer who, "uses photography and video to document his highly eroticized relationship with his mother." In 2009, Ledare was included in an exhibition "Ça Me Touche" curated by Nan Goldin in Arles France as part of the annual Rencontres d'Arles photography festival. Writing in the New York Times, Roberta Smith said that Ledare is "taking us deep into the darkness and torment that drive many artists."
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Weekly Meditation Session


A respite from the busy doing of NYC; a chance to simply Be for 30 minutes (or as much of that as you can handle). For the beginner or regular meditator. Instruction available. Yoga classes available before or after.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Donations accepted

Tour | Ghosts of Greenwich Village Tour


New York Ghost tours capture the spiritual side of the Big Apple through stories. famed explorers, native tribes, lost opportunities and political intrigue. With almost every step one takes through the West Village, one encounters the ghosts and spirits of New York City’s past. Every corner has its stories, every building has its haunted spirits.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Performance | Performance Art: Clifford Owens' Five Day’s Worth


Conceived of as a durational multi-day performance, Clifford Owens’s Five Day’s Worth will include the activation of objects and the staging of conflicts and resolutions. Much like his earlier interventions, Owens will create a series of photographs during the run of the performance.
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 pm
Free

Film | Rick Rowley's Dirty Wars (2013): Documentary on US Involvement around the World


Dirty Wars follows investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill, author of the international bestseller Blackwater, into the heart of America's covert wars, from Afghanistan to Yemen, Somalia and beyond. 87 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 pm
$10 suggested donation

Concert | Oboe and Piano Works by Chopin, Poulenc and Mozart


Program: MOZART Sonata in F major DINOS CONSTANTINIDES Transformations POULENC Sonata, Op. 185 CHOPIN Variations on a Theme by Rossini With: Spyros Kontos, Oboe; and Irina Morozova, Piano Spyros Kontos, a native of Corfu, Greece, graduated from the “Nakas” Conservatory in Athens with the highest degree and distinction and continued his oboe studies with Thomas Indermühle at the State Music College of Karlsruhe (Germany) and Maurice Bourgue at the Conservatoire of Geneva (Switzerland). In 1997 he was appointed principal oboist of the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Athens. He collaborates as principal with various orchestras, appears regularly as soloist and in recital, and has made recordings for radio and television in most European countries.
   New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
Free

Concert | Student Oboe Recital


Devin Hinzo, oboe
   New York City, NY; NYC
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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
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9:00 pm
Free
Complimentary Tickets

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

Play | Emmy Nominee in a Play About Lifelong Friendship

Regular Price: $44
CFT Member Price: $0.00

Play | Retro Musical Comedy

Regular Price: $45
CFT Member Price: $0.00
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