Hand-picked every week — checked against organizers’ own pages.
Stumblday's hand-checked ranking of the best free things to do in manhattan in New York City on Columbus Day Monday, Oct 12: 29 picks, refreshed weekly.
29 picks · checked Sep 28
American Academy of Arts and Letters, Washington Heights, ManhattanBeyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsThe Final Fantasy artist's first New York institutional solo show: a Pandora frieze of drawings, free at Audubon Terrace from opening day.
American Academy of Arts and Letters, Washington Heights, ManhattanBeyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsThe Final Fantasy artist's first New York institutional solo show: a Pandora frieze of drawings, free at Audubon Terrace from opening day.
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Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Central Park, ManhattanBronze, stone and concrete dogs on leashes take over the Central Park entrance at 60th and Fifth — Camille Henrot's first public show in New York.
Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Central Park, ManhattanBronze, stone and concrete dogs on leashes take over the Central Park entrance at 60th and Fifth — Camille Henrot's first public show in New York.
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Hauser & Wirth, 542 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, ManhattanKorean icon Lee Bul fills Hauser & Wirth with major new sculptures — cyborg bodies and glittering future ruins probing technology, nature and history.
Hauser & Wirth, 542 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, ManhattanKorean icon Lee Bul fills Hauser & Wirth with major new sculptures — cyborg bodies and glittering future ruins probing technology, nature and history.
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City Hall Park, Civic Center, ManhattanNielsoncaetanosalmeron · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsConcrete birds pluck pennies from the City Hall Park fountain and two bronze Lady Justices preside — Genesis Belanger's first big public show.
City Hall Park, Civic Center, ManhattanNielsoncaetanosalmeron · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsConcrete birds pluck pennies from the City Hall Park fountain and two bronze Lady Justices preside — Genesis Belanger's first big public show.
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The Museum at FIT, Chelsea, ManhattanAn original 1980 Black Barbie beside Margiela and Moschino looks: 170-plus dolls and garments fill FIT's fashion museum in Chelsea, free to walk in.
The Museum at FIT, Chelsea, ManhattanAn original 1980 Black Barbie beside Margiela and Moschino looks: 170-plus dolls and garments fill FIT's fashion museum in Chelsea, free to walk in.
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First Street Green Cultural Park, Lower East Side, ManhattanTdorante10 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsBassist William Parker leads PocketWatch and Luke Stewart's big band closes Arts for Art's free garden jazz festival on the Lower East Side.
First Street Green Cultural Park, Lower East Side, ManhattanTdorante10 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsBassist William Parker leads PocketWatch and Luke Stewart's big band closes Arts for Art's free garden jazz festival on the Lower East Side.
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The Museum of Modern Art, Midtown, ManhattanDietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsThirty works of digital and analog information design in MoMA's street-level gallery, which is free and open to the public.
The Museum of Modern Art, Midtown, ManhattanDietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsThirty works of digital and analog information design in MoMA's street-level gallery, which is free and open to the public.
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Watermark, Pier 15, South Street Seaport, ManhattanBillie Grace Ward from New York, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsHofbräu, Weihenstephan and giant pretzels on a 10,000-square-foot East River pier with Brooklyn Bridge views — free to walk in, all ages.
Watermark, Pier 15, South Street Seaport, ManhattanBillie Grace Ward from New York, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsHofbräu, Weihenstephan and giant pretzels on a 10,000-square-foot East River pier with Brooklyn Bridge views — free to walk in, all ages.
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Element Brooklyn Gallery of Scent, South Street Seaport, ManhattanSniff 30 perfumery notes from touch-activated misters and leave with a Polaroid scent portrait at this free Front Street gallery near the Seaport.
Element Brooklyn Gallery of Scent, South Street Seaport, ManhattanSniff 30 perfumery notes from touch-activated misters and leave with a Polaroid scent portrait at this free Front Street gallery near the Seaport.
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Loreley Beer Garden, Lower East Side, ManhattanLiter steins, liter boots, pig roasts and twelve kinds of sausage fill Loreley's heated LES beer garden for a six-week Oktoberfest, no cover.
Loreley Beer Garden, Lower East Side, ManhattanLiter steins, liter boots, pig roasts and twelve kinds of sausage fill Loreley's heated LES beer garden for a six-week Oktoberfest, no cover.
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The Kitchen, Chelsea, ManhattanHumming glass gongs and a pulsing drum honoring Milford Graves fill The Kitchen's loft in Josiah McElheny's free ode to experimental musicians.
The Kitchen, Chelsea, ManhattanHumming glass gongs and a pulsing drum honoring Milford Graves fill The Kitchen's loft in Josiah McElheny's free ode to experimental musicians.
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The FLAG Art Foundation, Chelsea, ManhattanPrison-stool sculptures, neon text and a new bodycam-style video fill FLAG's Chelsea floor in Sable Elyse Smith's free prize show.
The FLAG Art Foundation, Chelsea, ManhattanPrison-stool sculptures, neon text and a new bodycam-style video fill FLAG's Chelsea floor in Sable Elyse Smith's free prize show.
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David Zwirner Tribeca, Tribeca, ManhattanRising painter Emma McIntyre debuts lush new abstractions at Zwirner's Tribeca space — poured, stained canvases where chemistry meets gesture.
David Zwirner Tribeca, Tribeca, ManhattanRising painter Emma McIntyre debuts lush new abstractions at Zwirner's Tribeca space — poured, stained canvases where chemistry meets gesture.
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Ralph Ellison Plaza, Hamilton Heights, ManhattanDeans Charbal · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsLocal jazz musicians and vocalists jam beside Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man memorial on Riverside Drive at 150th Street — free.
Ralph Ellison Plaza, Hamilton Heights, ManhattanDeans Charbal · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsLocal jazz musicians and vocalists jam beside Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man memorial on Riverside Drive at 150th Street — free.
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Sean Kelly, Hudson Yards, ManhattanWalk free into fifty years of McCall's light beams at Sean Kelly, from 1973 to a new premiere.
Sean Kelly, Hudson Yards, ManhattanWalk free into fifty years of McCall's light beams at Sean Kelly, from 1973 to a new premiere.
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Soissons Landing, Governors Island, ManhattanMiscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsVolunteer Governors Island Guides lead free 90-minute walks covering the island's military past and its rebuild into public parkland.
Soissons Landing, Governors Island, ManhattanMiscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsVolunteer Governors Island Guides lead free 90-minute walks covering the island's military past and its rebuild into public parkland.
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Lever House, Midtown East, ManhattanFree sculpture, models and Akari lanterns fill the lobby and plaza of Bunshaft's 1952 landmark.
Lever House, Midtown East, ManhattanFree sculpture, models and Akari lanterns fill the lobby and plaza of Bunshaft's 1952 landmark.
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New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Midtown, Manhattan(vincent desjardins) from Paris, France · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsWinnie-the-Pooh's original stuffed animals, a Gutenberg Bible and Jefferson's handwriting, free inside the Fifth Avenue library.
New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Midtown, Manhattan(vincent desjardins) from Paris, France · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsWinnie-the-Pooh's original stuffed animals, a Gutenberg Bible and Jefferson's handwriting, free inside the Fifth Avenue library.
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Governors Island, ManhattanTdorante10 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsAlan Michelson's harbour commission on Governors Island stays up into late autumn, free to walk to from the ferry landing.
Governors Island, ManhattanTdorante10 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsAlan Michelson's harbour commission on Governors Island stays up into late autumn, free to walk to from the ferry landing.
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Hispanic Society Museum and Library, Washington Heights, ManhattanAsaavedra32 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsThe centenary of the room built for Sorolla's Vision of Spain, fourteen enormous canvases wrapped around a single uptown gallery.
Hispanic Society Museum and Library, Washington Heights, ManhattanAsaavedra32 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsThe centenary of the room built for Sorolla's Vision of Spain, fourteen enormous canvases wrapped around a single uptown gallery.
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Hispanic Society Museum and Library, Washington Heights, ManhattanThe Hispanic Society turns its lens on the neighbourhood immediately around it, uptown Manhattan seen by the artists who live there.
Hispanic Society Museum and Library, Washington Heights, ManhattanThe Hispanic Society turns its lens on the neighbourhood immediately around it, uptown Manhattan seen by the artists who live there.
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Hispanic Society Museum and Library, Washington Heights, ManhattanPetri Krohn at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsEsperanza Cortes opens at the Hispanic Society days before the holiday weekend, embroidery used as allegory inside Audubon Terrace.
Hispanic Society Museum and Library, Washington Heights, ManhattanPetri Krohn at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsEsperanza Cortes opens at the Hispanic Society days before the holiday weekend, embroidery used as allegory inside Audubon Terrace.
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Nolan Park, Building 11, Governors Island, Manhattanhttps://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ny1493.photos.118223p · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsA 20,000 square foot junkyard playground on Governors Island where children aged 5 to 19 build, climb, paint and zip line without adults directing them.
Nolan Park, Building 11, Governors Island, Manhattanhttps://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ny1493.photos.118223p · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsA 20,000 square foot junkyard playground on Governors Island where children aged 5 to 19 build, climb, paint and zip line without adults directing them.
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Hispanic Society Museum and Library, Washington Heights, ManhattanDelibash · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsThe Hispanic Society opens its own holdings across Spain and Latin America, hung to ignore the national borders they were catalogued by.
Hispanic Society Museum and Library, Washington Heights, ManhattanDelibash · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsThe Hispanic Society opens its own holdings across Spain and Latin America, hung to ignore the national borders they were catalogued by.
Add to calendarBig weekends coming up — save them now, plan later.
