The best free events and festivals in NYC

Shop 'til you drop at FAD Market, a curated fashion, art and design pop-up marketplace, which is back for 2025. Expect to see your favorite makers plus brand new creatives to help you live smarter, gift better and support local businesses.  FAD—which stands for Fashion, Art and Design—takes over different venues with a horde of independent vendors and creators. Admission is free and dogs are welcome! Peruse handmade jewelry, apparel, skincare products, tableware, artisanal packaged food, and more. Whether you're shopping for you or a friend (or even getting an early on that holiday shopping), there are plenty of local gems to pick up.  Here's the upcoming FAD Market schedule for 2025 Dumbo (Empire Stores, 55 Water Street), December 1–21 daily, 11am–6pm Boerum Hill (51 Bergen Street), December 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21,  11am–6pm Cobble Hill (St. Paul’s, 190 Court Street), December 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21,  11am–6pm

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.

Take a break from Christmas shopping and check out the state-of-the-art holiday light display at The Shops at Columbus Circle. This year, the seasonal spectacle has been pumped up with 300,000 shimmering lights and 44 floating stars illuminating the entire complex in holiday cheer. Holiday Under the Stars runs from November 10 to January 3, 2026. You’ll be so moved, you won’t even care that you maxed out your MasterCard getting Aunt Judy that back massager she’s been wanting. Color-changing stars will perform choreographed light shows every 30 minutes from 5pm to midnight, casting a kaleidoscope of color across the shopping center. Also look for illuminated stars at the 58th Street and 60th Street entrances and sparkling photo moments throughout the complex.   It's free to visit, and there are plenty of shops and restaurants to stop by along the way. If you can, visit on a Thursday evening for free Broadway Under the Stars performances!   

Within Grand Central Terminal, find the New York Transit Museum's 21st annual Holiday Train Show, an ode to all kinds of locomotives. You'll feel positively giant while wandering around the 34-foot-long display, festooned with miniature versions of city landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building. Watch as Lionel model trains depart from a miniature replica of Grand Central. Then they travel over the river (the East River, to be exact) and through the wood to reach their final destination, the North Pole. The Holiday Train Show will be on view at Grand Central Terminal through February 2026. The free show is open Monday-Friday, 10am-7:30pm; Saturday-Sunday, 10am-6pm; and closed major holidays. Find it in the shuttle passage on 42nd Street and Park Avenue, adjacent to the Station Master’s Office.

'Tis the season fors carol and cocoa, and you can do both at the 29th annual Holiday Lighting in Central Park. On Thursday, December 4 at 5:30pm, join your fellow revelers (and Santa!) at the park's Charles A. Dana Discovery Center to kick off an evening of carol singing, seasonal activities and, of course, hot chocolate. As is tradition, the festivities wrap up with the lighting of a flotilla of trees on the Harlem Meer. Extra tip: Print out this songsheet so you're prepared for the carols. This tree lighting may not get the same pomp and circumstance as the Rockefeller Center tree lighting, but we think it's just as beautiful.