Best Free Things To Do in NYC This Week

“The quality and quantity of free events, free things to do that take place 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 things to do, free events to go to in NYC today!”

Join Club Free Time – I did, and it’s one of the best things I ever did. Here is a sample of FREE events this week. Get more information by going to the Club Free Time website.

Best Free Things To Do in NYC This Week

Monday, August 30, 2021

Mon, Aug 30 – 7:00 pm / free
Opera | Screening of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha: Modern Opera in a Park
Satyagraha (“insistence on truth”) is a 1979 opera by the revolutionary American composer P … more

Mon, Aug 30 – 8:00 pm / free; tickets required; available only through a digital lottery
Play | Merry Wives: Shakespeare Adaptation in the Park
Set in South Harlem, amidst a vibrant and eclectic community of West African immigrants, This adapta … more

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Tue, Aug 31 – 7:30 pm / free
Opera | Screening of Wagner’s Der Fliegende Hollander: Opera Masterpiece in a Park
Richard Wagner’s operas had a revolutionary influence on the course of Western music. By introducing … more

Tue, Aug 31 – 7:30 pm / free; RSVP required
Author Reading | Tolstoy Together: 85 Days of War and Peace (virtual)
When author Yiyun Li invited people to read War and Peace together at the start of the pand …

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Wed, Sep 1 – 12:00 am / free
Classical Music | Beethoven’s ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata (virtual, streaming until Sep 3)
Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9, Op. 47, is an 1803 sonata for piano and violin notable for its tech … more

Wed, Sep 1 – 5:00 pm / free
Movie in a Park | Short Films and Music Performance by Indie Rock Group: Original Fan-Favorites and Cover Songs
DATE. INTERRUPTEDNoa Osheroff | US, Israel | 5During the peak of the pandemic, a young w … more

Thursday, September 2, 2021

Thu, Sep 2 – 5:30 pm / free
Concert | Accordion Music: Klezmer, Brazilian, Scandinavian and More
Enjoy different music styles for this little-known instrument. … more

Thu, Sep 2 – 6:00 pm / free; standby line
Dance Performance | Award-Winning Choreographer’s Provocative Blend of Western and Indian Dance
Her experimental works address identity and cultural heritage. This is a socially conscious, site-sp … more

Friday, September 3, 2021

Fri, Sep 3 – 6:00 pm / free, registration required
Movie in a Park | Once Upon a Time in Queens (2021): Documentary on the 1986 Mets, One of Baseball’s Most Dominant Teams
They were one of the most dominating, infamous, magical teams of all time. A team that as much as an … more

Fri, Sep 3 – 7:00 pm / free; no reservation required
Opera | Verdi’s Rigoletto Under the Stars (in-person and livestream)
Enjoy a 90-minute version of Verdi’s masterpiece Rigoletto, conducted by Constantine Orbeli … more

Saturday, September 4, 2021

Sat, Sep 4 – 7:00 pm / free; RSVP required
Movie in a Park | The Lego Batman Movie (2017): Animated Superhero Adventure
A cooler-than-ever Bruce Wayne must deal with the usual suspects as they plan to rule Gotham City, w … more

Sat, Sep 4 – 7:30 pm / free; RSVP required
Musical | The Drowsy Chaperone: A Loving Jazz Age Send-Up (livestream)
When a die-hard theatre fan plays his favorite cast album, the characters come to life in this hilar … more

Sat, Sep 4 – 8:00 pm / free
Classical Music | Met Orchestra and Chorus: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, ‘Resurrection’
Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, known as the Resurrection Symphony, is considered … more

Sunday, September 5, 2021

Sun, Sep 5 – 12:00 pm / free; no reservation required
Fair | Outdoor Art Exhibit
This popular event, canceled last year by the pandemic, is back. More than 50 artists will be show t … more

Sun, Sep 5 – 4:00 pm / free; no reservation required
Concert | Live Music Sunday
Lay out on the grass and enjoy live music. … more

Sun, Sep 5 – 8:00 pm / free
Classical Music | Met Orchestra and Chorus: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, ‘Resurrection’
Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, known as the Resurrection Symphony, is considered … more

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If you are looking for some of the best info on food and drink, restaurants and eating in New York City, then you want to head to New York magazine’s Grub Street.

Right now you want to check out: The Return of Restaurants

“Make up for lost meals. No takeout, no pasta kits, just 66 of the best new (or newly relevant) places to eat.”
Edited by Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld, Photographs by Dina Litovsky

Here are 3 more of my faves:

Eat All Your Chinese Vegetables

Fat Choy / 250 Broome St.

It’s one thing to offer a $335 meat-free menu for the one percent (see Eleven Madison Park 2.0). It’s another to charge $10 and under for veggie-centric Chinese food for everyone: the curious carnivores, the certified vegans, and the dedicated superfans like Deborah from the Upper West Side, who loves the food and the vibe so much she literally hiked down the West Side Highway from 88th Street to Broome and Orchard one recent Saturday afternoon just to tuck in to paper-boatloads of chewy rice rolls topped with gai lan and juicy bok choy showered with crispy fried garlic. We know she did this because Fat Choy is the kind of place where diners who have navigated the scrum of Lower East Side streeteries — bars, vegan-cupcake shops, more bars — start conversations with strangers to recommend dishes, offer bites, and generally share communal moments of vibrantly flavored, inventively conceived culinary bliss. —Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Sip a Sazerac in a Secret Garden

Villanelle / 15 E. 12th St.

This elegant Greenwich Village establishment has flown so far under the radar that many regulars (ourselves included) were afraid it would close forever when disaster struck. Miraculously, unlike with the still-shuttered Gotham Bar & Grill across the street, the opposite has happened. Owner Catherine Manning fitted the space out back with tables and little enclosed “garden rooms” that have become a hit during the outdoor-dining craze. The Sazeracs we enjoyed on a recent summery evening were exceptional, and you can also addle yourself with $9 cocktails during the new happy hour. The talented young chef Tyler Heckman (Ferris, Le Turtle) took over the kitchen last fall, and he’s slowly added the kind of variety and style to the aggressively seasonal menu (braised spring lamb on our visit, white-asparagus velouté, gnocchi with escargot) that threatens to turn this sleepy local favorite into a proper big-city dining destination. —Adam Platt

Sample the Latest Fusion Cuisine on New York’s Original Open Street

The Migrant Kitchen / 45 Stone St.

Long before 2020 brought alfresco eating to every corner of our city, Stone Street was a pedestrian paradise, and it still is, a cobblestoned car-free wonderland for outdoor pints, pizza, and mozzarella sticks. The Migrant Kitchen, which opened last fall, brings Middle Eastern–Latin fusion to this Fidi pub-grub zone. Owner Nasser Jaber, who operates out of the Dubliner bar’s kitchen, sends out sumac-butter-slicked fried-chicken-and-falafel waffles, mariquitas (fried plantain chips) nachos, and pastelon mahshi, a Dominican-style maduros-and-beef riff on the traditional Palestinian stuffed gourd. And since many office workers are still Zooming in from home, Stone Street feels distinctly chiller and less suits-y these days. —Ryan P. Sutton

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Also see Eater New York’s interactive map that highlights
these 66 restaurants that deserve your attention.

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