Check out our Free and Inexpensive Things to Do in NYC pages.
You’ll find fun things to do for little (or no) money.
Fun, Inexpensive Things to Do in NYC, August 2016
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Enjoy an afternoon of free jazz, swing, and blues in Central Park on August 13th, 2016, 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m..
Great Jazz on the Great Hill 2016 takes place on Central Park’s Great Hill (enter the park at 106th Street and Central Park West). The Great Hill is an open hilltop surrounded by trees. It’s located in the upper western side of the park.
There will be music by the The Jimmy Heath Big Band with Special Guests, Antonio Hart and Jeb Patton, Alyson Williams, and Sheila Anderson.
A variety of food trucks will be on hand.
The event is free and there are no tickets required.
Visit the Central Park Conservancy website for details.
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June 15 – 22 – New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks – Each summer the New York Philharmonic puts on a series of free concerts in city parks. This year’s concerts are in Central Park (June 15 & 16), Prospect Park in Brooklyn (June 17), Cunningham Park in Queens (June 20), Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx ( June 21), and at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens Music Hall on Staten Island ( June 22). All concerts begin at 8:00 p.m.. There will be fireworks following the concerts in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx.
The program for the concerts includes Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, with Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill; Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben; and music by Beethoven, Wagner, and Rossini. And Staten Island audiences will enjoy Concertmaster Frank Huang as soloist in Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and Vivaldi-inspired tango music.
See more free and inexpensive June 2016 NYC events.
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Check out our new page of free and inexpensive things to do in NYC this June.
You’ll find fun things to do for little (or no) money, including free SummerStage concerts, free Shakespeare in the Park, free films in Bryant Park, live dance bands with lessons for $17 at Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night Swing, and more.
Fun, Inexpensive Things to Do in NYC, June 2016
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Broadway Shows Discount List – Multiple discount offers for current shows, all in one place.
The 2016 Free Shakespeare in the Park shows are The Taming of the Shrew May 24 – June 26 and Troilus and Cressida July 19 – August 14.
Shakespeare in the Park is an annual event, with free plays produced by The Public Theater staged at the outdoor stage at Central Park’s Delacort Theater.
There are three ways you can get tickets. You can wait in line (often a long line) at the Delecorte Theater on the day of the performance. The tickets are distributed at noon. Each person age 5 and older can get up to two tickets, while supplies last. There will also be ticket vouchers distributed at certain other locations throughout the season. These alternative distribution sites change daily. See the boroughs ticket distribution schedule. Or, you can enter the virtual ticket lottery online to try to get tickets. You enter the lottery between midnight and noon on the day of the performance and you’ll receive an email after noon letting you know if you were selected to receive tickets.
See the “Tickets” page at the Shakespeare in the Park website for details.
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The 2016 schedule has been announced for the free outdoor film festival at Bryant Park. The films are shown on Monday nights from June 20 – August 22.
Come out to the park and grab a spot on the lawn. The lawn opens for seating at 5:00 p.m and the films begin at sunset, which is usually between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m..
Bryant Park Film Festival
June 20 – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
June 27 – East of Eden
July 4 – Top Gun
July 11 – The Palm Beach Story
July 18 – The Omen
July 25 – Three Days of the Condor
August 1 – Harvey
August 8 – High Plains Drifter
August 15 – The Big Chill
August 22 – Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
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Lincoln Center Out of Doors 2016 takes place July 20 – August 7, 2016. Free concerts and dance performances are held at the Damrosch Park Bandshell and on the plazas around Lincoln Center.
Highlights of this year’s event include an Evening with Darlene Love on July 23; the Lincoln Center Block Party with Illstyle & Peace on July 23rd; the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra on July 22d; the Hallelujah Train featuring Pastor Buddy Blade Sr, Brian Blade, Daniel Lanois, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo; and a Night of Words and Music with Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye, and Tony Sanahan on July 20th.
Everything is free.
Visit the Lincoln Center Out of Doors website for more information.
Lincoln Center is located in the block between W 62nd and W 63rd Streets & Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues (see a map). The Damrosch Park Bandshell is part of the Lincoln Center complex. It’s on 62nd Street, between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues.
Hotels near Lincoln Center and Damrosch Park.
Although many television shows are taped in L.A. now, there are still plenty of opportunities to be part of a studio audience in New York City. Some shows are live and others are taped for later airing. All of the TV audience opportunities are free. It’s a fun way to see your favorite stars and get a behind-the-scenes look at the entertainment industry.
You usually have to make arrangements for tickets in advance, so you’ll need to do a little planning before you take your trip to the city.
Shows that use studio audiences include The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The View, Rachel Ray, The Dr. Oz Show, Inside the Actors Stuio, Good Morning American, and Today.
The Chew – Be in the audience for ABC’s food-centered talk show.
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah – Comedy Central’s popular talk/news satire program.
Doctor OZ – Be in the studio audience for Dr. Oz show.
Good Morning America – Be in the GMA inside studio audience. Mornings Monday – Friday.
Harry Connick Show – Daytime talk show with variety and music segments.
Inside the Actors Studio – See James Lipton interview big name actors.
Late Night with Seth Meyers – Get tickets for the show or for monologue rehearsal.
The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon – Tickets to this popular show can be hard to get. We have information about advance tickets, standby, and monologue rehearsal tickets.
The Wendy Williams Show – Be in the audience for a live broadcast Mondays through Thursdays.
More to come
The NYC tourism folks put together a nice guide to TV show tapings. They include information on schedules and how to obtain tickets.
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The SummerStage season of free concerts in New York City extends from May to October. There’s something for everyone, performances are scheduled throughout all five boroughs of the city, and it’s mostly free. The biggest concerts are held in Central Park at Rumsey Playfield.
A few of the big name concerts are ticketed events and the proceeds from these helps pay for all the free shows. 2016 ticketed benefit concerts announced so far include Barenaked Ladies/OMD/Howard Jones and Flight of the Conchords.
For the free events, admission is first-come-first served and closes when the venue’s capacity is reached.
Full Summerstage performance schedule.
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One weekend each year, hundreds of New York City sites that are normally off-limits to the public open their doors for Open House New York.
The 2016 dates for Open House New York 2016 are October 15th and 16th.
Some of the sites provide free public access and can be visited at any time during their specified hours for the event. Some sites and tours require reservations. The sites and tours that require a reservation charge a $5 fee. Once the participating sites have been announced, you’ll be able to make your reservations online.
The list of participating sites is not usually listed until October. Check the Open House New York website for updates.
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