The best free events and festivals in NYC

Grand Bazaar is one of NYC's oldest and largest marketplaces where you can buy vintage treasures, antiques, clothing and more goodies from more than 150 local merchants. Photographers, jewelers and furniture designers sell their best on Sundays between 10am and 5pm on the Upper West Side (77th Street at Columbus Avenue), rain or shine. Each week offers a different theme, from featuring women-owned businesses to focusing on handmade items to spotlighting international wares. The market runs both indoors and outdoors each week all year long. As a testament to the beloved Grand Bazaar's staying power, the market is celebrating 40 years in 2025. Grand Bazaar also has a mission to give back with 100% of its profits from booth rentals supporting four local public schools, helping with everything from school supplies through teaching assistants.

Every week feels like a fantastical celebration at Coney Island with its spectacular showing of fireworks each Friday night through August 28. Grab a Nathan's Famous frank and snag a comfortable spot on the boardwalk to celebrate the end of the summer's last few work weeks. Fireworks begin at approximately 9:45pm and launch in front of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, providing a breathtaking backdrop to the iconic boardwalk and amusement parks. The show is presented by the Alliance for Coney Island.

Step back in time to August 1776 at Green-Wood Cemetery's commemoration of the Battle of Brooklyn. The battle was the largest battle of the Revolutionary War and the first to take place after the signing of the Declaration of Independence—it took place on land that's now part of Green-Wood Cemetery. Events on Sunday, August 23 include a chance to meet costumed interpreters, experience a 1776 soldiers encampment, do some 18th-century laundry, see historical demonstrations and listen to stories of the American Revolution. Plus, all are welcome to participate in a march to Battle Hill, the highest natural point in Brooklyn and a key site of the 1776 battle.  This event isn't just for history nerds. All ages are invited for a fun afternoon of activities that bring NYC's revolutionary history to life and honor the bravery of those who fought for America's independence 250 years ago. Visitors are welcome to bring picnics and blankets to enjoy on the Main Entrance Meadow—something not usually permitted at Green-Wood. It's free to attend, with advance reservation recommended.

Celebrity pets have been a thing long before Paris Hilton put her tiny dog in her purse. A new exhibit at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts puts the animals in the spotlight they always deserved, now through February 23, 2027. Unleashed: Pets of the Performing Arts celebrates the beloved pets who have shaped and inspired some of the greatest performing artists of all time, from Baryshnikov to Billie Holiday. It’s a delightful reminder that even the most inspired genius probably had lengthy, one-sided conversations with a silent pet about when she'd come home.

Opera under the stars? Yes, please. The Metropolitan Opera’s free Summer HD Festival returns to Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza September 2 through 7, screening five productions from the company’s Live in HD series on a giant outdoor screen. The lineup begins with Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde (Act I on Sept. 2, II–III on Sept. 3), followed by Bellini’s I Puritani on September 4, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin on September 5, Gabriela Lena Frank’s El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego on September 6 and Puccini’s La Bohème on September 7. Admission (and a feeling of superiority for spending your evening engaged in such a lofty pursuit) is free, with about 2,500 first-come, first-served seats each night.

Coming at the tail end of the three-day weekend, the annual Labor Day march kicks off downtown in the late afternoon, offering a good reason to leave work early that Tuesday and partake in the solidarity. Rather than taking the form of a parade with floats and fanfare like many of the city's other holiday street celebrations, this one is more of a rally, organized by the New York City Central Labor Council. This year's theme is Our City, Our Fight, Our Future, and it's meant to demonstrate the strength and solidarity of working people, and advocate for the rights, freedoms and future of New Yorkers. Whether you’re marching with actors, nurses, engineers and organizers or are just there for support, you’re certain to leave feeling proud of the Big Apple. The march begins at 4:30pm on Liberty Street between Broadway and Church Street and is slated to run until 7pm.

For far too long, people have looked down upon the unicycle, ridiculing riders, saying they look silly perched up high above a single wheel. But it’s that time again for the one-wheel lovers to unite and take over the streets of New York on Labor Day weekend. To kick things off on Thursday, September 3, from 10:30am to approximately 3pm, unicyclists will meet up in Battery Park and cruise up the West Side to Central Park. The next day (Sept. 4), riders head over the Brooklyn Bridge to Coney Island together from 2pm to roughly 6pm. The main event, though, is over the weekend: two days of five-hour (noon–5pm) Open Streets time on 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens. Here, there will be other activities including games, unicycle basketball, a dedicated learn-to ride area and more. The free, four-day event is presented by the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus—don't forget to sign the waiver on their website.

Prepare to become an international cinephile with El Museo del Barrio's Noches de Cine: New Latine Cinema, a free five-film series curated by Ecuadorian-American writer and director Sebastián Rea. Running monthly through December, the series brings contemporary films from Latin America, the Caribbean and the Latine diaspora to El Museo’s historic theater at 1230 Fifth Avenue. The lineup opens with Joel Alfonso Vargas’s Mad Bills to Pay (August 20). On September 24, a marathon of short films from across the Americas will be on view. Then comes Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona (October 29), Simón Mesa Soto’s Un Poeta (A Poet) (November 19) and William D. Caballero’s TheyDream (December 17). All screenings are free and start at 6:30pm, with advance registration encouraged.