25 free things to do in NYC this August

One of the best reasons to live in New York City is that you'll never run out of things to do for free, from opera on the lawn to movie night on a rooftop. Here are some of the best options coming up in August.

Catch a new music series at Bryant Park.

The Bryant Park Picnic Performances series has long been one of the city's most popular free seasonal offerings; small wonder that now there's a spin-off. Live After Dark comprises three cabaret-style sessions on Tuesday nights at the L'OR Porch, near the fountain on the park's south side. The inaugural lineup includes jazz bassist Endea Owens with her band, The Cookout (Aug. 1), Venezuelan innovator Mafer Bandola (Aug. 8) and electroacoustic string duo ARKAI (Aug. 15). Aug. 1, 8 and 15 at 8 p.m., Bryant Park; details here.

Hear classical music under the stars.

The final offering of the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, billed as the world's oldest continuously running, outdoor classical music concert series, features the popular, invigorating East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) playing a world premiere by Eleanor Alberga alongside works by Mozart, Josef Suk and William Grant Still. Brass quartet The Westerlies set the stage with a newly composed fanfare by Milica Paranosic. Aug. 1 at 7:30 p.m., Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park; details here.

Catch the grand finale of “Summer for the City" at Lincoln Center.

Lincoln Center’s expansive, all-embracing “Summer for the City” series heads into the home stretch, starting with a family-friendly chamber music event featuring Imani Winds, a 60th-anniversary dance party for Orquesta Broadway and a performance of Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Company” in American Sign Language all happening on Aug. 2. Eddie Palmieri, the Salsa Spaceman, performs with his band on Aug. 3, the international smorgasbord known as globalFEST takes over the entire Lincoln Center campus Aug. 5, and a 13-event Hip-Hop Week series starting Aug. 9 celebrates NYC’s home-grown art form with performances by Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, DJ Spinna, Ladies of Hip-Hop and more. Through Aug. 12, Lincoln Center; details here.

See “Hamlet” while you can, then greet “The Tempest.”

The Public Theater wraps up its Free Shakespeare in the Park production of “Hamlet,” directed by Kenny Leon and starring Ato Blankson-Wood, on Aug. 6. Then on Aug. 27, welcome Prospero, Miranda, Caliban and the rest in a Public Works presentation of “The Tempest,” a musical adaptation by Benjamin Velez directed by Laurie Woolery. Through Sept. 3, Delacorte Theater; details here.

Hear premier musical acts in Prospect Park.

Among the highlights ahead in the final month of BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! are concerts featuring Uruguayan singer-songwriter and actor Jorge Drexler (Aug. 3), North Carolina singer Indigo de Souza (Aug. 4), a hip-hop 50th anniversary double feature with Digable Planets, Kari Faux and a screening of “Brown Sugar” (Aug. 11 & 12) and a showcase for Welsh veteran and Velvet Underground founder John Cale (Aug. 19). Through Aug. 24, Lena Horne Bandshell, Prospect Park; details here.

Catch a movie on a rooftop (or at a park or in a backyard) near you.

Rooftop Films continues its robust schedule of outdoor film screenings throughout the month of August, and the free options span a wild range: from documentaries about memory, mariachi and Walter Mercado to popcorn flicks like “The Empire Strikes Back.” Dates and locations vary; details here.

Learn to dance in Times Square.

The TSQ Live series regularly hosts free concerts, DJ parties, comedy sets and more in Times Square's Broadway Pedestrian Plazas nearly every Tuesday through Friday. Highlights in August include Jazz at Lincoln Center shows featuring the Grace Fox Big Band (Aug. 3) and Endea Owens and the Cookout (Aug. 31), and sets produced by Red Hook avant-garde bastion Pioneer Works featuring The Chutneys (Aug. 16) and H x H (Aug. 30). Through Sept. 29, Broadway Pedestrian Plazas; details here.

Head uptown for music, exercise, yoga and more at Harlem Meer.

The Harlem Meer Summer Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary with an extended schedule of concerts, classes and fitness activities running through late August. Everything’s free, but registration is required for movement classes, and fitness participants have to sign a waiver. Through Aug. 20, Charles A. Dana Discovery Center; details here.

Meet a Shakespearean heroine in Riverside Park.

Hudson Classical Theater Company concludes its summer season with a production of “Margaret: Shakespeare's Warrior Queen,” based on portions of "Henry VI," Parts I, II and III. The show is staged each Thursday through Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Riverside Park. Through Aug. 20, Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Riverside Park; details here.

Catch a family flick … with a bunch of other families.

The "Movies with a View" series continues at Brooklyn Bridge Park for its 23rd season of outdoor film screenings at Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn. This month’s lineup includes “Goodfellas” (Aug. 3), “Despicable Me” (Aug. 10), “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (Aug. 17) and a public-choice finale determined by audience votes. The viewing area opens at 6 p.m., and films begin at sundown. Through Aug. 24, Brooklyn Bridge Park; details here.

Head to the Bryant Park Picnic Performance series.

Free offerings in the Bryant Park Picnic Performances series in August cover an extensive range of creative disciplines, from modern dance with Ailey II (Aug. 3) to a stellar triple bill of improvising artists Immanuel Wilkins, 75 Dollar Bill and Ka Baird celebrating the 45th anniversary of NYC experimental music hub Roulette (Aug. 26). In between, you can catch New York City Opera performing Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” (Aug. 18), a jam session of accordions from around the world (Aug. 25) and even more. Through Sept. 14, Bryant Park; details here.

SummerStage 'Hip-Hop 50 Special Edition'

SummerStage has already offered a couple of events honoring hip-hop’s 50th birthday this summer, and that'll continue into August. One event that should be at the top of people’s minds is Hip-Hop 50 Special Edition, a free party that will bring patrons to Coney Island Amphitheater on Aug. 6 to see a laundry list of artists, curated by Brooklyn rapper Special Ed. The lineup represents the underground scene of hip hop including Buckshot of Black Moon, Masta Ace, CL Smooth, Rah Digga, Sweet Tee, Spark D and Nice N Smooth. The night will be hosted by Ralph McDaniels, founder of the groundbreaking public television show “Video Music Box.” Aug. 6 at 5 p.m., Coney Island Amphitheater; details here.

Dance to reggae, R&B and hip-hop in Brooklyn.

The Wingate Park Concert, a summertime staple in Brooklyn, entrusts its celebration of hip-hop's 50th anniversary to the sure hands of Video Music Box founder Ralph McDaniels. Also on offer are live sets by reggae combo Morgan Heritage, soul singer Leela James, funky jazzer Lakecia Benjamin and the Brooklyn United Marching Band. Aug. 8 at 6 p.m., Wingate Park, Brooklyn; entrances at Brooklyn Ave. and Winthrop St.

Rise Up for live music in the Bronx and Queens.

The Rise Up NYC Concert Series hosts a couple of compelling two-night stands for your hot August nights. First up is Orchard Beach in the Bronx, with a hip-hop bill featuring The Lox and Ja Rule (Aug. 9) and a salsa showcase with El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico and Hector Acosta (Aug. 10). Then it's out to Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans for an evening of reggae and soca acts like Maxi Priest, Patrice Roberts and Skinny Fabulous (Aug. 16), followed with a hip-hop and R&B bill featuring CL Smooth, Main Source, Black Sheep, The Manhattans and Chrisette Michele (Aug. 17). The series concludes in Manhattan on Aug. 19, with an afternoon showcase featuring Stephanie Mills, Hi-Five, Sugar Hill Gang and Brand Nubian. Aug. 9, 10, 16 and 17 at 6 p.m., Aug. 19 at 4 p.m., locations vary; details here.

Find even more Shakespeare in yet another park.

Proving that Central Park isn't big enough to contain the Bard of Avon, the Hackensack Department of Cultural Arts mounts a tidy 90-minute staging of "Othello" across the river in New Jersey. Aug. 9 and 16 at 7:30 p.m., Atlantic Street Park, Hackensack, NJ; details and preregistration here.

Be dazzled by a charismatic Cuban percussionist.

Cuban percussionist, singer and dancer Pedrito Martinez will blow you away with his musical skills, and dazzle you with his megawatt smile. On Aug. 12 in Harlem, Martinez headlines the fifth annual Afribembé Festival, a six-hour pan-African celebration that also features Combo Chimbita, Chimurenga Renaissance, Imani Uzuri and more. Aug. 12 at noon, Harlem Art Park and E. 120th St. between Lexington and Third Aves.; details here

Shake a leg down to the Battery for a week of free dance.

Billed as New York City’s longest-running free public dance festival, the Battery Dance Festival offers a full week of programs by companies from throughout the city and around the world. Presentations by local troupes are liberally dotted with city and world premieres; among the international visitors are first-time appearances by companies from India and Norway. Aug. 12-18, Rockefeller Park, Battery Park City; details here.

Get back to nature with a film in Central Park.

The lineup for this year's Central Park Conservancy Film Festival, presented by National Geographic, features four disparate documentaries: "The Space Race," "Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold," "Wild Life" and "We Feed People." Access to the viewing area, located between Sheep Meadow and the 72nd St. Cross Drive, opens at 6:30 p.m., and each screening is preceded by pre-show programming and live music until dusk. Aug. 15–18, Central Park; details and preregistration here.

Grab a daylong dose of the blues on the Hudson River.

Danielle Ponder, John Primer & The Real Deal Blues Band and Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas are among the acts performing at this year’s Blues BBQ Festival, a popular annual celebration mounted by Hudson River Park. The festivities get underway at 1 p.m. Aug. 19, Hudson River Park Pier 76; details here.

Swing with jazz greats and rising stars, uptown and downtown.

The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival returns for its 31st year, presenting three evenings of marquee names and promising newcomers. The opening-night event in Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park finds the estimable vocalist Dianne Reeves joining pianist Orrin Evans and his Captain Black Big Band. Day two, also at Marcus Garvey Park, features all-star combo The Cookers and South African pianist Nduduzo Makhathini; the finale, at Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, stars saxophonists Charles McPherson, Vincent Herring and Chelsea Baratz. Aug. 25-27, locations vary; details here.

Catch highlights and high notes from the Met Opera onscreen.

The Metropolitan Opera's popular Summer HD Festival returns to Lincoln Center Plaza on Aug. 25 with a screening of "Moonstruck," a delectable opera-adjacent feature film. After that offbeat opening, revisit recent HD broadcasts of beloved standards like Verdi's "La Traviata" and Puccini’s "La Bohème," offbeat fare including Cherubini’s "Medea" and Giordano’s "Fedora," and contemporary successes such as Kevin Puts's "The Hours" and Terence Blanchard's "Champion." Aug. 25–Sept. 4, Lincoln Center Plaza; details here.

Hear “What Is American” on Governors Island.

The Rite of Summer Music Festival concludes its summer new-music series with a performance by the bold, innovative string foursome PUBLIQuartet, which plays selections from its 2022 album, “What Is American,” a kaleidoscopic paean to music made in this country. Note: This event has been moved to its rain date of Saturday, Aug. 26 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at Nolan Park; details here.

Watch innovative dance on the sand at Rockaway Beach.

The Beach Sessions Dance Series returns to Rockaway Beach on Saturday, August 26, for a recreation of a classic 1991 Merce Cunningham work, “Beach Birds,” adapted for the event by Patricia Lent and Rashaun Mitchell, and a new response designed by choreographer Sarah Michelson. Aug. 26 at 5:45 p.m. on the sand at Beach 108th Street, Rockaway Beach; detailshere.

Kick-start your heartrate with a Bollywood dance class.

Dancers and choreographers from New York City’s Ajna Dance Company lead hourlong classes devoted to Bollywood and bhangra dance styles, nearly every Saturday morning throughout the summer. Through Aug. 26, Pier 63, Hudson River Park; details here.

Head to Little Island for a big lineup of arts events.

Little Island, the artificial floating park and performance venue on the Hudson River at Pier 55, offers a packed summer season of free events running through Sept. 3. The schedule includes concerts, dance performances, comedy events and more in the Glade, the more intimate of its performance spaces, and the Play Ground, the spacious plaza that greets all arrivals. No tickets or reservations are required, making this a choice destination for impromptu outings. Through Sept. 3, Hudson River at Pier 55; details here.

This story has been updated with a revised date for the PUBLIQuartet event.