free things to do in New York City
Free events for Friday, 10/23/09
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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 October 23, 2009?

49 free events take place on Friday, October 23 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 October 23 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 October . 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!

49 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Friday, October 23, 2009

All events are free unless otherwise noted.
        

Lesson | Tai Chi


Learn the ancient Chinese Martial art with an expert. No experience necessary. Taught by Alex Hing, who has practiced martial arts for over 25 years in San Francisco and New York City, including 10 years with the Tai Chi grand master William C.C. Chen.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:30 am
Free

Conference | The Fall of the Wall: A Prism for Looking at Germany's Recent Past and Future


A conference featuring lectures, discussions, screenings and readings on Germany after the Berlin Wall.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:30 am
Free

Symposium | After Truth: Justice, Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, and Related Aftermaths


9:30 am - 11:30 am RECOVERINGS with Catherine Cole, Jean Franco, Sally Merry, and Kimberly Theidon. 12 pm - 2 pm RECKONINGS with Kamari Clarke, Diane Nelson, and Mary Louise Pratt. 3:30 pm - 6 pm AFTER TRUTH with Diamela Eltit, Greg Grandin, Leo Spitzer, and Diana Taylor.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:30 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. Five tours daily on the hour.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:30 am
Free

City Walk | Historic Brooklyn Walk


Easy walk. Guided visit to Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims including the underground railroad. Lunch on Montague Street after the tour or bring your own. Rain or shine. You MUST sign up for this trip by October 10.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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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

Other | Street Corner Named for Community Activist


Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe will join City Council Member Alan Gerson to rename a Greenstreet for community activist Arthur Strickler (1945 – 2006), was a longtime neighborhood activist known for his passion, energy and dedication.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 am
Free

Tour | Times Square Tour


Learn about history of world-famous neighborhood with its 40 miles of neon supersigns, prominent theaters, and multiple megastores. Rain or shine.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Concert | Bach at Noon: Organ Works


Features the organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:20 pm
Free

Tour | Grand Central and Its Neighborhood


Discover architecture and social history of Grand Central neighborhood; learn secrets of Whispering Gallery in Grand Central Terminal; gaze upon hubcaps and roadsters on side of Chrysler Building; discover favorite Midtown Manhattan hangout of Mercury, Hercules, and Minerva; learn why Pershing Square isn’t really square; visit original Lincoln Memorial by Daniel Chester French. Award-winning tour led by urban explorer, historian, and storyteller Justin Ferate.
   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

Screening | Documentary: Steve Lawrence and Phil Lucas' Vis à Vis: Native Tongues (2003)


Indigenous performing artists James Luna (Luiseño) and Ningali Lawford (Walmajarri) compare perspectives on life and society, using dialogue via satellite, scenes of their performances, and video diaries to inform the conversation.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Film | Steve Box and Nick Park's Oscar-Winning Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of The Were-Rabbit (2005)


With the voices of Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and Liz Smith. Wallace and his loyal dog, Gromit, set out to discover the mystery behind the garden sabotage that plagues their village and threatens the annual giant vegetable growing contest. Animated. 85 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Screening | Documentary: Nathan Kroll's Pavarotti at Juilliard (1979)


Learn from the tenor master Luciano Pavarotti in this collection of opera classes at the Juilliard School. 60 min. Also showing: Robert M. Henderson's Library and Museum at Lincoln Center (16 min., 1968) and George C. Stoney's How to Live in a City (30 min., 1964).
   New York City, NY; NYC
2:30 pm
Free

Screening | Documentary: Steve Lawrence and Phil Lucas' Vis à Vis: Native Tongues (2003)


Indigenous performing artists James Luna (Luiseño) and Ningali Lawford (Walmajarri) compare perspectives on life and society, using dialogue via satellite, scenes of their performances, and video diaries to inform the conversation.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free

Master Class | Neil Percy - Percussion Master Class


Students coached by the distinguished artist.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free

Conference | On Quentin Skinner, from Method to Politics


This year marks the 40th anniversary of Quentin Skinner’s pathbreaking essay “Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas.” This afternoon conference will celebrate and critically evaluate Skinner’s work. Participants include Quentin Skinner, Barber Beaumont Professor of the Humanities at Queen Mary, Univeristy of London; Bryan Garsten, Associate Professor of Political Science, Yale University; Melissa Lane, Senior Lecturer in History, Cambridge University; Philip Pettit, Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor of Politics and Human Values, Princeton University; and Nadia Urbinati, Nell and Herbert M. Singer Professor of Contemporary Civilization, Columbia University. Moderated by Helena Rosenblatt.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free

Screening | Documentary: Peter Joseph's Zeitgeist: Addendum (2008)


Zeitgeist: Addendum attempts to locate the root causes of the economic collapse by investigating the corruption inherent in the monetary system. 123 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free

Other | Get Spooked at the Haunted Cruise Ship


Find out what Staten Island Recreation is cooking up in the kitchen or find out who’s haunting Brooklyn Recreation’s “wreck” room. Have a ghoulish dance in Queens Recreation’s ballroom, navigate through Manhattan Recreation’s creepy cabin and prepare for a scare in the Bronx’s prison! The Haunted Cruise Ship was designed by Parks employees from each borough.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free

Master Class | Master Class - Clive Greensmith, cello


An extraordinary opportunity for connoisseurs of great music and young talent. An outstanding artist of today discusses and critiques performances by outstanding artists of tomorrow at a world-renowned conservatory.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free

Colloquium | The Music of Carla Bley


Amy Beal of the University of California-Santa Cruz on the American jazz composer, pianist, organist and band leader, an important figure in the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free

Screening | Hungarian Cinema: Miklós Jancsó’s The Poor Outlaws (1966)


Sometimes called The Round-Up, this minimalist visual composition tells of a group of failed revolutionaries in nineteenth-century Hungary who are herded together under punishing circumstances amid a barren landscape. Highly abstract, extended shots and a camera that is almost constantly moving create an atmosphere of isolation and hopelessness. 90 min. In Hungarian with English subtitles.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:30 pm
Free

Screening | Experimental Cinema: Andrew Noren’s Time Being (2001)


An experimental film deemed “music for light and mind” by the director. 62 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Exhibition: Eva Horstick-Schmitt's Photo Meets Manga


Empty rooms, factory buildings, open fields and and inspiring architecture are the main foundations on which the artist creates.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Video Installation: Susana Gaudencio's Houyhnhnm


Portuguese artist Gaudencio's show consists of video installation-work. She creates and exhibits intricate animations. Her work is made by altering collage, montage, found footage and image, a process that both indulges in aesthetic allusions, and engages social relationships.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Opening Reception | Architecture at Cooper 1859-2009


An exhibition tracing the successive transformations of Cooper Union’s architecture, from the Foundation Building, which was designed by Frederick Petersen and completed in 1859, extensively renovated by Leopold Eidlitz in the 1880s and 90s, and transformed in 1975 by John Hejduk, to the construction of by Thom Mayne in 2009. The exhibition will also examine how the education of architects—beginning with the first drawing classes of 1859 to the five year undergraduate professional degree program and post-professional master’s program—has been reflected in the careful design and re-design of the school's buildings. For the first time, recently discovered blueprints of the Foundation Building from the Leopold Eidlitz reconstruction work in the 1880s and design phase blueprints from the 1975 John Hejduk interior renovation will be on public display. The show will also feature an array of works and historic artifacts, including an original drawing fragment of the Foundation Building by Petersen; images of innovative student works; and publications from 1965 to the present demonstrating the development of the Chanin School’s pedagogy.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Poetry Reading | Tribute to Liam Rector (1949-2007)


Tribute to poet Liam Rector. With Frank Bidart, Askold Melnyczuk, Tom Sleigh, and Tree Swenson. Hosted by Robert Polito.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Author Reading | Our Noise: Merge Records Book Launch, Reading, and Concert


Merge Records founders Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance will appear to celebrate the release of Our Noise, John Cook’s detailed look at an independent record label that has overcome the enormous challenges of succeeding in the music industry. Mac and Laura, two members of the pop-punk band Superchunk, will play songs by Merge bands like Arcade Fire, Neutral Milk Hotel and Spoon.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Screening | Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones' Award-Winning Breaking Upwards


This film xplores a young, real-life New York couple who, four years in and battling codependency, decide to intricately strategize their own break up. Based on an actual experiment devised by director/actor Wein and actress Lister-Jones, the film loosely interprets a year in their lives exploring alternatives to monogamy, and the madness that ensues. An uncensored look at young love, lust, and the pangs of codependency, Breaking Upwards follows its characters as they navigate each others' emotions across the city they love. It begs the question: is it ever possible to grow apart together? Awards won: FESTIVALS/AWARDS Official Selection - Narrative Competition- SXSW Film Festival 2009 WORLD PREMIERE Little Rock Film Festival, Arkansa *AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER* Brooklyn International Film Festival *GRAND JURY PRIZE AND BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE WINNER* Detroit Windsor International Film Festival *BEST SCREENPLAY AWARD WINNER*
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Screening | Experimental Cinema: Andrew Noren’s Free To Go (2003)


A silent film in which "light and shadow vigorously conjoin, conjuring delusion of depth and duration," according to the director. 62 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | Lillian Pollak reads from her book The Sweetest Dream


Perhaps we are living through the ‘Great Recession’… but join Lillian Pollak, a 94-year-old Raging Granny, as she relates life during the Great Depression, a decade she declares was most fabulous. Pollak’s book is a semi-autobiographical novel about love, dance and radical life in the 1930’s with cameos by Martha Graham and Ernest Hemingway.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Parades and the Forms They Take


In recent years artists have been increasingly interested in the possibilities parades or processions provide as artistic media. Oscillating between street performance, theatre, carnival, and demonstration, the parade has proliferated in the context of biennial events and as a standalone Gesamtkunstwerk. This panel discusses the different forms parades can take and introduces examples from recent artistic and curatorial productions around the world. With Marlon Griffith (artist, Port of Spain), Arto Lindsay (artist, Rio de Janeiro), Jennifer Scott (Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, The New School, New York), Claire Tancons (curator and art historian, New Orleans). Moderated by Tobi Maier (critic and curator, Ludlow 38, New York).
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Performance | Performance Artist Rosamond S. King


Part of the gallery's "Performance in Crisis" event.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Poetry Reading | Prize-winning poet Mark Doty reads from his book Fire to Fire: New and Selected Poems


Doty, the only American poet to have won Great Britain’s T. S. Eliot Prize, is the author of six books of poems. His most recent collection, Fire to Fire: New and Selected Poems, won the 2008 National Book Award.
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:00 pm
Free

Author Reading | R. Crumb discusses his book The Book of Genesis Illustrated


The famed illustrator discusses his work with Francoise Mouly, the art editor of The New Yorker, including his new book, an illustration of the Book of Genesis from the Creation to the death of Joseph.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Staged Reading | Work-in-Progress: Interviewing Miss Davis by Laura Maria Censabella*


Part of the theater's "Octoberfest" event.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
$10 suggested donation...

Staged Reading | Work-in-Progress: The Value of Names by Jeffrey Sweet


Part of the theater's "Octoberfest" event.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
$10 suggested donation...

Discussion | “Social Change, Conflict and a New Photographic Paradigm”


A panel discussion on the effectiveness of photography of conflict as a political tool and instrument for social change. The panelists are photographers Tim Heatherington, An-My Le and Tim Davis. Moderated by Richard B. Woodward.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Theater | Makbet: A Gypsy Retelling of the Shakespeare Classic


The piece continues to evolve as the ensemble members work on deepening their connection to the material, each other, and the audience.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
$15 suggested donation

Author Reading | David Hajdu reads from his book Heroes and Villains


Hajdu, award-winning author of Positively 4th Street, shares his eclectic first essay collection, taking on topics as varied as pop music, jazz, the avant-garde, comic books and our downloading culture. Allan Harris and Karen Oberlin perform.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Concert | Jeff Peretz, guitar, performs his own works


Peretz, born in Newark, is author of Zen and the Art of Guitar. He is the founder of Arabic/jazz group Abu Gara and a contributing columnist for Guitar Teacher Quarterly. He has composed music for the Off-Broadway hit Why We Don't Bomb the Amish. he had performed with Grammy-nominated Latin Funk group Yerba Buena, Eric Alexander, Simon Kirke. His jazz/hip-hop Jeff Peretz Group has shared the stage with The Fugees, Groove Collective, and Brooklyn Funk Essentials.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Author Reading | Marisa Acocella Marchetto reads from her book Cancer Vixen: A True Story


In vivid color and with a taboo-breaking sense of humor, the author tells the story of her 11-month battle with breast cancer, from diagnosis to cure.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Concert | The Mendelssohn Salon - Haydn Sonatas Concert #6


Part of the series that feature performances of Haydn's complete keyboard sonatas by piano majors.
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 pm
Free

Screening | Hungarian Cinema: Gábor Bódy’s American Torso (1975)


Based on the story by Ambrose Bierce. Collaged texts excerpted from authentic diaries, a text by Karl Marx, poems by Walt Whitman, and Bierce’s short story combine in a skeletal narrative about three Hungarian officers serving as land surveyors during the American Civil War. A poetic experiment in form, the film uses a special editing process that involves bleaching out the image between scenes and tearing, aging, and overexposing the film stock to mimic the look of a film from the late nineteenth century. 91 min. In Hungarian with English subtitles. Introduced by noted Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Performance | Panoply Performance Laboratory's Workforce/Forcedwork


Workforce/Forcedwork, presented by Panopoly Performance Laboratory, documents the emotional and physical patterns of American workers and uses them to map connections between private, personal experience and public, political structures. Using multi-layered rhythms of crude video, stop motion clay animation, music, sampled sound, and live performance, the piece pulls the everyday grind into the realm of surreality and excruciatingly sincere emotional reaction.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Festival | Radio Festival NYC 2009


A fall festival of radio art and experimentation with a focus on Radio Space and featured artists: murmur, rise set twilight, and Radio Wonderland.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
Free

Dance Performance | Second Avenue Dance Company


The Second Avenue Dance Company is an integral part of the professional training program in the Department of Dance. It is comprised of students in the final year of training and is designed to serve as the dancers' transition into the professional world of dance. SADC functions as a contemporary professional repertory dance company with daily company class and rehearsals of works by guest choreographers and members of the company.
   New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
Free

Staged Reading | Work-in-Progress: Eulogy by David Perry


Part of the theater's "Octoberfest" event.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 pm
$10 suggested donation...

Jazz | Michelle Amador, Jazz/Electronic


Brooklyn-based keyboardist and singer Michelle Amador fuses jazz-inflected soul with homespun electronic beats create a sound that is both classic and relevant. Whether performing solo accompanied by her Rhodes and laptop or before a full live band, Amador’s songs resonate with sincerity and passion.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:00 pm
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Concert | Christmas Concert

Regular Price: $55
CFT Member Price: $0.00

Classical Music | Works by Mozart, Dvorak and More

Regular Price: $50
CFT Member Price: $0.00
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