Friday October 6, 2017
Saturday October 7, 2017
Sunday October 8, 2017
Looking for free and cheap things to do in New York City this weekend? We have scoured the internet to find fun, interesting, artsy, tasty, active, educational and unique experiences that you can do this weekend in the city for free or cheap.
If you’re on a budget (or even if you’re not), check out the chronological list below for ideas on what to do this weekend without breaking the bank. Whatever your interests – food, music, movies, theater, dance, comedy, classes, tours, art or games – there’s definitely something here for you!
Museum of Modern Art | Museum/Art
- 11 W. 53rd St., 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM (Free!)
- Free admission to the MoMA courtesy of Uniqlo
- Recurring every Friday
- Event Website
Free Music Fridays | Music
- American Folk Art Museum, 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM (Free!)
- This week’s feature includes Washboard Slim and the Bluelights.
- Recurs every Friday
- Event Website
“Kong: Skull Island” Screening | Film
- The Peninsula (Manhattan), 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM (Free!)
- Synopsis: A team of scientists, soldiers, and adventurers unites to explore a mythical, uncharted island in the Pacific, venturing into the domain of the mighty Kong.
- Event Website
Morgan Library & Museum | Museum/Art
- Madison Ave & 36th St., 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM (Free!)
- Free admission to the library and museum.
- Recurring every Friday
- Event Website
“Wonder Woman” Screening | Film
- Haffen Park (Bronx), 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM (Free!)
- Synopsis: An Amazon princess leaves her island home and journeys to the outside world, which is being consumed by a massive war. With the help of an American pilot, she works to put an end to the conflict.
- Event Website
Whitney Museum | Museum/Art
- 99 Gansevoort Street (Chelsea), 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM (Free!)
- Free/pay what you wish admission to the Whitney Museum.
- Recurring every Friday
- Event Website
Drink & Draw | Comedy
- Q.E.D. (Astoria), 9:30 PM – 11:00 PM ($10 Advance, $12 Door)
- A social drawing event with focus on figure drawing from a live model. No need to be a pro, stick figures and hand-turkeys welcome! Model poses can range from 30 seconds to 20 minutes. Each event will have a unique theme, new models, and plenty to drink! Bring your own materials.
- Event Website
Karaoke | Music Fun & Games
- Union Hall (Brooklyn), Midnight – Late (Free!)
- Karaoke!
- Recurring every Friday night
- Event Website
Highline Tour: From Freight to Flowers | Tour
- The High Line, 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM (Free!)
- A 75-minute-long tour led by High Line Docents, knowledgeable volunteer guides, will offer you an insider’s perspective on the park’s history, design, and landscape.
- Recurs weekly through October
- Event Website
The Green Team | Active
- Brooklyn Bridge Park, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM (Free!)
- Volunteer with the Green Team: The Green Team provides essential horticultural care to the Park, including planting, mulching, and removing invasive plants. The Green Team is a wonderful opportunity to learn about gardening, enjoy nature, and make the Park look its best.
- Recurs Saturdays
- Event Website
Fiber Festival | Fair/Festival
- Old Stone House & Washington Park (Brooklyn), 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Free!)
- Spend the day with natural fiber artists, crocheters, dyers, felters, knitters, quilters, spinners and weavers in the annual fiber festival. The full day event will include a marketplace for independent fiber artists from the tri-state area, demonstrations, an art exhibit and more!
- Event Website
Hans Christian Andersen Stories | Fun & Games
- Central Park (72nd St. & 5th Ave.), 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (Free!)
- Each summer on Saturday morning for the past 60 years, New Yorkers of all ages have listened to Andersen tales and other stories, folktales, and fairytales from around the world told by a group of brilliant storytellers at the Hans Christian Andersen Statue in Central Park.
- This week: The Ugly Duckling
- Event Website
Central Park Tour: Southern Welcome | Tour
- 5th Ave and 61st Street, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (Free!)
- Visit some of the park’s most famous landmarks, including Grand Army Plaza, the pond, Gapstow Bridge, Wollman Rink, Chess & Checkers House, and the Dairy.
- Event Website
Garden Highlights Walk | Tour
- Wave Hill, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (Free!)
- Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for an hour-long tour of seasonal garden highlights.
- Event Website
The Amazing Maize Maze | Active
- Queens Farm, 11:00 AM – 4:30 PM ($10)
- Find your way out of this three-acre corn labyrinth! The adventure begins with a “Stalk Talk” to prepare you for the challenge of finding clues, solving puzzles, and making your way out of the maze.
- Recurs weekends through October
- Event Website
Urban Farm Exploration Day | Active
- Randall’s Island Park (Manhattan), 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Free!)
- Explore and learn about the great variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, chickens, and even rice paddies.
- Recurs Saturdays and Sundays through mid-October
- Event Website
Greenwich Village Walking Tour | Tour
- St. Marks Church (2nd Ave & 10th St.), 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM (Free!)
- Led by licensed guides, each tour lasts about 90 minutes and the Greenwich Village: steeped in artistic, political and progressively social history, Greenwich Village today remains a cultural melting pot. The ‘Village’ has been, and remains a bohemian capital, a center of the modern LGBT movement and one of the birthplaces of the ‘Beat’ and 60’s counter cultures.
- Event Website
Little Red Lighthouse Festival | Fair/Festival
- Little Red Lighthouse (Fort Washington), 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Free!)
- Celebrate Manhattan’s only remaining lighthouse at the annual Little Red Lighthouse Festival! This fun and free event includes tours of the lighthouse with the Urban Park Rangers, readings of the children’s book The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge, fishing clinics, live music, food vendors, and more.
- Event Website
Fall Festival | Fair/Festival
- Brookville Park (Queens), 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Free!)
- A day of fun activities including crafts, face painting, games, a pumpkin patch, a visit from The Nature Company, music, and more.
- Event Website
A 19th Century Home in Mourning | Museum/Art
- Merchant’s House Museum (Manhattan), 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM ($15)
- Step back in time to 1865, when family patriarch Seabury Tredwell died at home in his second floor bedroom. Poignant scenes of death and grief recreated in the House will explore mid-19th century mourning customs. Pay your last respects at his deathbed upstairs, or join the mourning in the double parlor, hung with black crepe and set for a mid-19th century funeral. And stage your own “postmortem” photograph in our 19th century coffin.
- Recurs through October 30
- Event Website
Sip. Shop. Eat! | Fair/Festival Food
- The Collective Market (Brooklyn), 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Free!)
- Sip custom drinks and eat from local food vendors while you shop a curated selection of individual vendors’ vintage clothing, art, home goods, fashion designers, hand-made beauty products, organic candles, photography, collectibles and more.
- Event Website
Capoeira for Beginners | Active Class
- Socrates Sculpture Park, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (Free!)
- This introduction will offer guidance with balance, flexibility, and agility while also providing a brief history of capoeira traditions.
- Recurs Saturdays through October 7
- Event Website
Tree Trail Walk | Tour Active
- Fort Greene (Brooklyn), 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM (Free!)
- Urban Park Rangers will introduce you to the hidden gems of Fort Greene and the trees in the park.
- Event Website
Union Square Park Tour | Tour
- Union Square, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM (Free!)
- Explore the social and political history of the Union Square neighborhood and learn about the people and events that shaped this vibrant historical community.
- Recurring every Saturday
- Event Website
Diwali | Fair/Festival
- Times Square, 2:00 PM – 9:00 PM (Free!)
- A festival of lights, celebrating Indian culture with Bollywood performances, food, drinks, clothing, crafts, and more.
- Event Website
Jonny Sun Book Signing | Museum/Art
- The Strand Bookstore (Manhattan), 3:00 PM – 4:00 (Free!)
- The Strand is back as this year’s New York Comic Con official book seller. This Saturday, they are hosting Jonny Sun, famous for his little aliebn from his twitter, @jonnysun. He’ll be signing copies of his book everyones a aliebn when ur a aliebn too.
- Event Website
Bargemusic | Music
- Brooklyn Bridge Park, 4:00 PM (Free!)
- Walk across the gangplank of a renovated coffee barge for a one-hour, family-friendly concert by Bargemusic.
- Recurs Saturdays
- Event Website
Brooklyn Museum | Museum/Art
- 200 Eastern Pkwy, 5:00 PM – 11:00 PM (Free!)
- An entire evening of events including live music, hands-on art, talks, tours, and a salsa party thanks to Target First Saturdays.
- Recurs every first Saturday of the month
- Event Website
Chelsea Flea Market | Fair/Festival
- West 25th Street, between 6th Ave & Broadway, 6:30 AM – 6:00 PM ($1 admission)
- Features up to 135 vendors selling antiques, collectibles, ephemera, decorative arts, vintage clothing, jewelry, and other types of antiques (items more than 100 years old), vintage items (including Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern items), and other desirable items from the past.
- Recurring weekly
- Event Website
Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market | Fair/Festival
- West 39th Street, between 9th & 10th Ave, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Free to enter, goods for purchase)
- A place where collectors and top-notch hagglers including fashion hunters, designers, celebs, tourists, and residents shop for antiques, collectibles, vintage clothing, home decorations, furniture, ephemera, jewelry, and more.
- Recurring weekly
- Event Website
Smorgasburg | Food Fair/Festival
- Willamsburg (Saturday) and Prospect Park (Sunday), 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Free to enter, food and drink for purchase)
- 75-100 food and drink vendors
- Recurring weekly, April through October
- Event Website
Long Island City Flea & Food | Fair/Festival Food
- 5-25 46th Avenue, LIC, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Free to enter, goods for purchase)
- The market has over 80 carefully curated vendors that sell items such as internationally inspired food & drink, antiques, art, furniture, fashion, jewelry, arts & crafts and much more
- Recurring weekly
- Event Website
Brooklyn Brewery Tours | Tour Food
- Brooklyn Brewery, 12:30 PM – 6:00 PM (Free!)
- Tour the brewery and learn how beer is made.
- Recurs every Saturday & Sunday
- Event Website
“Dirty Dancing” Screening | Film
- 1 Fordham Plaza (Bronx), 5:00 PM – 11:00 PM (Free!)
- Synopsis: X.
- Event Website
Queens Night Market | Fair/Festival Food
- New York Hall of Science, 6:00 PM – Midnight (Free to enter, food and drink for purchase)
- Open-air market that celebrates the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of Queens and NYC through affordable street food, art, and performances.
- Recurring every Saturday
- Event Website
“Zootopia” Screening | Film
- Dyker Beach Park (Brooklyn), 6:15 PM – 8:00 PM (Free!)
- Synopsis: When Judy Hopps becomes the first rabbit to join the Zootopia police force, she quickly learns how tough it is to enforce the law. Determined to prove herself, Judy jumps at the opportunity to solve a mysterious case. Unfortunately, that means working with a wily fox who makes her job even harder.
- Event Website
“World War Z” Screening | Film
- Thomas Jefferson Park (Manhattan), 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM (Free!)
- Synopsis: A former United Nations employee must save humanity from a zombie plague that has triggered global chaos.
- Event Website
“Monster Squad” Screening | Film
- Sunset Park (Brooklyn), 6:30 PM – 8:15 PM (Free!)
- Synopsis: Dapper Koala Buster Moon presides over a once-grand theater that has fallen on hard times. An eternal optimist, and a bit of a scoundrel, he loves his theater above all and will do anything to preserve it.
- Event Website
Trivia Night | Fun & Games
- One Star Bar (Manhattan), 7:00 PM (Free!)
- Hosted by Tony Hightower of TriviaNYC and John Chaneski of NPR’s “Ask Me Another“.
- Recurring every Saturday
- TriviaNYC Website
- Venue Website
“Guardians of the Galaxy 2” Screening | Film
- Concrete Plant Park (Bronx), 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM (Free!)
- Synopsis: This hilarious sequel to the wildly successful Marvel superhero film finds the Guardians travelling throughout the cosmos as they help Peter Quill learn more about his mysterious parentage.
- Event Website
Comedy for Puerto Rico | Comedy
- Union Hall (Brooklyn), 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM ($10 Advance, $15 Door)
- Fundraiser for Puerto Rico featuring top notch stand up comics.
- Two shows with two different sets.
- Event Website
Last Stop Laughs | Comedy
- Q.E.D. (Astoria), 11:00 PM – 12:30 AM (Free!)
- Late night stand up.
- Recurs every Saturday
- Event Website
“Hausu” Screening | Film
- Videology Bar & Cinema (Brooklyn), Midnight ($12)
- Synopsis: Seven girls on their summer trip pay a visit to a possessed house which plans to eat them in extremely bizarre and surreal ways.
- Event Website
Birding: Fall Migration | Tour Class
- Dyckman Street and Broadway (Manhattan), 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM (Free!)
- NYC is home to an amazing abundance of wildlife. Rangers will guide you to the best wildlife viewing spots in the urban jungle. To enhance your experience bring binoculars and field guides, or ask a Ranger to borrow a pair.
- Event Website
Central Park Tour: Heart of the Park | Tour
- 5th Ave and 72nd Street, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM (Free!)
- Visit some of the park’s most famous landmarks, including Conservatory Water, Loeb Boathouse, Bethesda Terrace, Bow Bridge, Cherry Hill, the lake, and Strawberry Fields.
- Event Website
World’s Fair History Walking Tour | Tour
- Corona Park (Queens), 11:00 AM & 1:00 PM (Free!)
- Hear the stories behind the Unisphere, New York State Pavilion, Hall of Science, Queens Zoo Aviary, Carousel, Time Capsules, Underground Home, second-oldest outdoor antiquity in NYC, and more.
- Event Website
Big City Fishing | Active Class
- Pier 25 (Tribeca), Pier 84 (Chelsea), 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM (Free!)
- Learn how to fish while engaging with trained environmental educators about river science topics. Rods, reels, and instruction provided.
- Recurs Sundays through October 15
- Event Website
The Amazing Maize Maze | Active
- Queens Farm, 11:00 AM – 4:30 PM ($10)
- Find your way out of this three-acre corn labyrinth! The adventure begins with a “Stalk Talk” to prepare you for the challenge of finding clues, solving puzzles, and making your way out of the maze.
- Recurs weekends through October
- Event Website
Urban Farm Exploration Day | Active
- Randall’s Island Park (Manhattan), 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Free!)
- Explore and learn about the great variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, chickens, and even rice paddies.
- Garden Tour at 2:00 PM
- Recurs Saturdays and Sundays through mid-October
- Event Website
Fall Foliage Walk | Tour Class
- Captain Tilly Park (Queens), 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM (Free!)
- With nearly 30,000 acres of public parkland, NYC is the perfect place for fall leaf-peeping. Let the Urban Park Ranger naturalists explain why leaves change colors and introduce you to the diversity of trees found in urban forests.
- Event Website
Spring Overlook Concerts | Music
- 116th Street Overlook (Riverside Park), 2:00 PM (Free!)
- This week features traditional as well as contemporary brass music.
- Recurs Sundays through October 8
- Event Website
Central Park Tour: West Side Stories | Tour
- 81st St. & Central Park West, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM (Free!)
- Visit some of the park’s most famous landmarks, including the Winterdale Arch, Delacorte Theater, Shakespeare Garden, the Swedish Cottage, and Ladies’ Pavilion.
- Event Website
Coming Out Day Picnic | Food
- Alice Austen House (Staten Island), 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Free!)
- Enjoy festivities and food on the lawn.
- RSVP in advance.
- Event Website
Shell-ebrate Oysters | Active Class
- Pier 25 (Tribeca), 4:00 PM (Free!)
- Oysters filter water, engineer reef habitat, and stabilize shorelines. Work alongside Park staff to restore oysters and learn how these bivalves benefit the health of the river.
- Recurs through October 15; registration recommended
- Event Website
Smorgasburg | Food Fair/Festival
- Willamsburg (Saturday) and Prospect Park (Sunday), 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Free to enter, food and drink for purchase)
- 75-100 food and drink vendors
- Recurring weekly, April through October
- Event Website
Long Island City Flea & Food | Fair/Festival Food
- 5-25 46th Avenue, LIC, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Free to enter, goods for purchase)
- The market has over 80 carefully curated vendors that sell items such as internationally inspired food & drink, antiques, art, furniture, fashion, jewelry, arts & crafts and much more
- Recurring weekly
- Event Website
Brooklyn Brewery Tours | Tour Food
- Brooklyn Brewery, 12:30 PM – 6:00 PM (Free!)
- Tour the brewery and learn how beer is made.
- Recurs every Saturday & Sunday
- Event Website
Chelsea Flea Market | Fair/Festival
- West 25th Street, between 6th Ave & Broadway, 6:30 AM – 6:00 PM ($1 admission)
- Features up to 135 vendors selling antiques, collectibles, ephemera, decorative arts, vintage clothing, jewelry, and other types of antiques (items more than 100 years old), vintage items (including Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern items), and other desirable items from the past
- Recurring weekly
- Event Website
Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market | Fair/Festival
- West 39th Street, between 9th & 10th Ave, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Free to enter, goods for purchase)
- A place where collectors and top-notch hagglers including fashion hunters, designers, celebs, tourists, and residents shop for antiques, collectibles, vintage clothing, home decorations, furniture, ephemera, jewelry, and more
- Recurring weekly
- Event Website
Grand Bazaar | Fair/Festival
- 77th St. & Columbus Ave., 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM (Free!)
- Recurring every Sunday
- The largest curated weekly market on the Upper West Side: indoors & outdoors, local artist, designers, and antique/vintage dealers sell one-of-a-kind and limited edition art, antique watches, vintage collectibles and fashion, handmade jewelry and furniture.
- Event Website
Indigenous Peoples Celebration | Fair/Festival
- Randall’s Island, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Free!)
- Celebrating Native American heritage and featuring artists, singers, colorful dancers, speakers, authentic tribal cuisine, and a Sunday overnight campout.
- Event Website
Fall Harvest Festival | Fair/Festival
- Narrows Botanical Gardens (Brooklyn), 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Free!)
- Join local artists and crafters for an annual festival, including tours of the Native Plant Garden, a pumpkin patch where you can pick and paint your own, country music, and a canine costume contest.
- Event Website
Kaiju Big Battel | Comedy
- The Bell House (Brooklyn), 5:00 PM ($15)
- Whoa! Kaiju Big Battel is a modern conflict of epic proportions. Evil villains, menacing alien beasts, and giant, city-crushing monsters threaten to destroy the planet Earth. Who will save the helpless humans from total ruin? The Heroes, of course, and the Heroines too. A few privileged humans also get in on the action, as they try to contain danger within the three-roped arena of Kaiju Big Battel
- Event Website
Elsie Fest | Music
- Central Park, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM ($60)
- NYC’s first music festival featuring stars and songs of the stage and screen. Whether it be a pop star singing their favorite showtune, or a Broadway star singing their favorite pop tune, Elsie celebrates all those who love musicals
- Event Website
Madams of the Universe | Comedy
- Q.E.D. (Astoria), 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM ($7)
- A feminist stand-up and storytelling show featuring some of New York’s best comedians and storytellers.
- Event Website
Trivia Night | Fun & Games
- Arts & Crafts Beer Parlor Soha (by Columbia), 7:00 PM (Free!)
- Recurring every Sunday
- Each week features an “On This Day In History” round, a rapid-fire “Name Threes” round, the best-curated audio round in the city, and tons of prizes, including books, theater tickets, & other prizes (many of them drinkable).
- TriviaNYC Website
- Venue Website
“Twilight” Screening | Film
- Monsignor McGolrick Park (Brooklyn), 7:15 PM – 9:15 PM (Free!)
- Synopsis: Based on film based on Stephenie Meyer’s wildly popular novel, this 2008 romantic fantasy follows Bella, a high school misfit who risks everything when she falls in love with Edward, a vampire.
- Event Website
Hocus Pocus: Queer Horror Stories | Comedy
- Tilt (Brooklyn), 8:00 PM (Free!)
- Join the Sanderson Sisters and a pack of stellar storytellers for a night of queer tales worthy of Salem’s most deviant dark witches.
- Event Website
