NYC free and cheap weekend guide, MLK Jr. holiday edition

There’s a long list of free and cheap events and activities this weekend, most of which celebrate the life and times of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Saturday –

• A free screening of the documentary Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock, at the New York Public Library, Shomburg Center, 515 Malcolm X Blvd at 135th St.  Daisy Bates was a pivotal figure in desegregating the city’s all-white Central High School.  There’s also a discussion afterwards with filmmaker Sharon La Cruise.  Starts at 4 p.m.  Free, but you must register to ensure space.  Here’s the link to register. 

• Free films for children are being offered by the Museum of Modern Art, for kids ages 4 and older, and include a Q&A session with some of the filmmakers.  The program starts at noon, and tickets are handed out in the museum lobby starting at 11:30 AM, first come first served.

• It’s Family Day at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in Columbus Circle. with a full menu of arts and crafts programs for the entire family, plus family-oriented gallery tours.  The program includes a dance class with choreographers, who will design a dance inspired by the art the kids create.  The program is 11 AM to 4 PM, and costs $30 per family, or $25 for museum members.

Sunday –

• Free crafts workshop for families at the Studio Museum of Harlem.  Click here for the NYC OTC posting with detailed information.

• There also are special inter-faith concerts, all free.  2 PM at the Islamic Cultural Center, 96th Street and Third Ave.  3 PM at the Sutton Place Synagogue,  225 East 51st St., between Second and Third Avneues, and 4 PM at St. Bartholemew’s Church, Park Avenue at 51st St.

I’ll have Monday’s schedule of free and cheap NYC holiday events for you tomorrow.