NYC Weekend: What to Do Virtually & Free

Stay home, stay safe, stay entertained with this virtual and streaming collection to see Broadway stars perform, visit a NYC museum, attend the Met opera, check out books from the library – all FREE and all from the comfort of your home.

This holy weekend includes a FREE online Saturday Night Seder with top Broadway and TV stars and a concert with Andrea Bocelli from one of the most famous churches in Italy.

Several NYC museums and PBS have online lesson plans and activities for home-schooling the kids, so it’s a great opportunity to explore and learn together any day of the week or weekend.

Enjoy the best NYC has to offer, any time of day, without crowds and without the need to buy a ticket.

Update –

NYC on the Cheap has added a new

Coronavirus Updates page

so you can find everything you need to know

 in one click.

Virtual Good Friday, Easter Sunday & Sabbath Services

Churches of all denominations are offering virtual services, and synagogues are offering online Sabbath services.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

The Archdiocese of New York has cancelled mass at all churches, but you can attend service at one of the most famous cathedrals in the world. 

St. Patrick’s Cathedral is live streaming mass at 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday.

All masses will be placed in their online archives for those who wish to access them at any time. More details here.

See our full list of virtual church services from more than a dozen denominations.

Actor’s Temple

This synagogue in the Theater District is live streaming its Friday night Shabbat services.

Services are live-streamed via Zoom. Friday, at 7pm and Saturday at 10:30 am. 

Here are this weekend’s sign-ups:

SHABBAT: The Actors’ Temple Friday Shabbat Service will be live-streamed via Zoom. Friday, April 10, 7 PM.

• To Join the Zoom Shabbat Service online, go to https://zoom.us/j/790675565?pwd=M3d0MWNEVzhmeWExMk1TRHZ0ODFiQT09or by phone, dial 1-646-876-9923
• Use the Meeting ID: 790-675-565 and Password 978609

SHABBAT AM: The Actors’ Temple Saturday April 11, 10:30 AM, Service will be live-streamed via Zoom.

• To Join the Zoom Shabbat Service, go to https://zoom.us/j/487058826?pwd=eDUwVXMvTE1VdFdKWEl2Y29YRG52dz09 or by phone, call 1-646-876-9923
• Use the Meeting ID: 487 058 826 and Password 471316; Service and Discussion of Song of Songs.

What to do Virtually on Friday

St. John’s Passion

On Good Friday, 10 April, at the hour of Jesus’ death (3pm, CEST), a chamber music version of Johann Sebastian Bach’s famous St. John Passion will be performed at Bach’s tomb in Leipzig, Germany, and the global Bach community is invited to sing along.

Prominent musicians from countries including the US, Canada and Malaysia will perform by video link.

The concert will be livestreamed via the Bach Archive’s Facebook channel.  Sorry – there is no direct link.

On the East Coast, the concert is at 1pm.

Background from Leipzig Bachfest: 

• The music was first performed 296 years ago, on Good Friday 1724.  It was the most extensive work to date by the cantor of St. Thomas’ in Leipzig, newly appointed in 1723: for two hours, the congregation followed the musically illustrated Passion of Jesus Christ. Many – together with the choristers of St. Thomas’ – joined in the singing of Bach’s immortal chorales and from them drew strength for difficult times.
• To this day, millions of people all over the world find comfort and hope by performing and listening to this unique music.

Rockefeller Center Virtual Happy Hour Art Party

Join the Rockefeller Center Virtual Happy Hour Art Party featuring a NYC artist who will turn photos you submit into artwork while you watch, and send you a digital copy, all FREE.

It’s a new event each Friday from 5pm to 6m with illustrator Angelicaa Hicks, to help us cope with being shut in, and end the virtual work week with some virtual fun.

What to do Virtually on Saturday

Saturday Night Seder

Why is this night different from all other nights?  Because it’s live from all over, featuring a galaxy of Broadway and TV stars telling the story of Passover interspersed with some entertainment.

Saturday Night Seder also is a benefit for the CDC Foundation’s Coronavirus Emergency Response Fund, so donations will be greatly appreciated.

Saturday Night Seder stars include – alphabetically – 

Pamela Adlon, Mayim Bialik, Rachel Brosnahan, Andy Cohen, Darren Criss, Fran Drescher, Cynthia Erivo, Harvey Fierstein, Josh Groban, Judith Light, Alan Menken, Idina Menzel, Debra Messing, Bette Midler, Isaac Mizrahi, Billy Porter and Henry Winkler.

It begins at 8pm Saturday on the East Coast.

• Watch at SaturdayNightSeder.com and youtube.com/buzzfeedtasty.

What to do Virtually on Sunday

Image courtesy ClassicFM

Music for Hope with Andrea Bocelli

Andrea Bocelli will perform in an empty Duomo Cathedral in Milan, Italy, on Easter Sunday, accompanied only by cathedral organist Emanuelle Vianelli. 

It will be broadcast worldwide. Time of NYC broadcast is 1pm.

• Livestream info here.

What to do Virtally Any Time

PBS Kids Daily newsletter

Sign up for this new resource from PBS to keep your kids playing and learning at home while school is closed.

The newsletter is filled with different activities each day that can be done online and offline, such as exploring creativity and problem-solving through art using Pinkalicious & Peterrific.

All the activities are designed to be jumping-off points to more creativity, conversation and family fun off-screen.

• Sign up here.
• If you have trouble signing up, contact the PBS KIDS team at pbsupdates@pbs.org

American Museum of Natural History

Watch previously recorded tours of the Museum’s halls and collections the Museum is sharing daily Facebook Live events at 2 p.m. ET over the next two weeks;

Visit the dinosaurs and more via virtual tours, videos and home school programs  that engage and educates audiences of all ages.

The OLogy science website is where kids and families can find fun activities and games to learn about the natural world around them.

Online curriculum collections for teachers, parents, and students, on topics ranging from dinosaurs to river ecology.

Opportunities to visit virtually through the museum’s YouTube channel

Learning opportunities for all ages through Museum courses onCoursera, Khan Academy, and Kahoot;

Seminars on Science program which offers online professional development programs for educators, the cost of which can include graduate credit. 

Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum

The Intrepid has a vast store of online material, including oral histories of those who served aboard the historic aircraft carrier Intrepid from 1943 to 1974.

The Oral History collection also includes oral histories from people associated with the submarine Growler, the space shuttle orbiter Enterprise and the supersonic airliner Concorde.

• Learn more

Explore the Museum’s collection of items related to the service history of its vessels and aircraft. This searchable database provides access to archival aids, transcripts of oral history projects, and other interesting items.

• Learn more.

Search and explore over 300 engaging videos featuring aircraft highlights, Women in History, behind-the-scenes features, collection showcases and much more.

• Watch Intrepid’s YouTube channel

As part of Intrepid’s 75th commissioning anniversary in 2018, the museum worked with animator Dustin Grella of Dusty Studio to present the stories of four oral history narrators in a new format through a project called Intrepid Animated.

• Learn more.

Broadway Stars Perform Online

Broadway World has partnered with some top performers to launch a series of daily Living Room Concerts, direct from the living rooms of Broadway performers!

The concerts change daily, and already have included Carolee Carmello from “Hello, Dolly!” and Andrew Barth Feldman from “Dear Evan Hansen.”

• Watch here.

“American Idol” alum turned Broadway star Katharine MacPhee and her superstar songwriter husband David Foster are performing every day at 5:30pm PT, including taking requests from followers.

• Watch on Instagram.

“Lost in Yonkers”

L.A. Theatre Works streams its 2002 audio recording of Neil Simon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy-drama about two teens in the 1940s forced to move in with their grandmother.  The cast features  Barbara Bain, Dan Castellaneta, Arye Gross and Roxanne Hart.

• Available anytime starting Saturday. Free. latw.org

Metropolitan Opera

The Met is streaming a different title from the past 14 years of its Live in HD series each night beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET through the duration of the closure.

Each show remains on the homepage for 20 hours before switching to the next opera.

• Watch here.

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall stages might be quiet, but there are a plenty of ways to experience the world-famous concert hall from home.

Enjoy concert broadcasts, curated playlists, performance clips, master classes, and more—all available worldwide for streaming on demand

• Watch here: https://bit.ly/2UHmGHO

“Lost in Yonkers”
L.A. Theatre Works streams its 2002 audio recording of Neil Simon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy-drama about two teens in the 1940s forced to move in with their grandmother.

With Barbara Bain, Dan Castellaneta, Arye Gross and Roxanne Hart. Available anytime starting Saturday. Free. latw.org

The Met has released a series of six videos that use high-tech spherical 360-degree views that let you tour the galleries virtually and without a VR headset.

The series includes crowd-free tours of  the Great Hall, the Cloisters, the Temple of Dendur, the Met Breuer, the Charles Engelhard Court, and the Arms and Armor Galleries.

The Museum of Modern Art

The MoMA website offers detailed information of many artworks on exhibit, podcasts with artists exploring their works, and articles from the museum’s magazine.

Plus, free educational resources and virtual tours on  YouTube channel, Coursera courses, and audio archive.

The Frick Collection

 The Frick’s website offers virtual tours of its collection of Medieval masters and more, including the Fifth Avenue Garden,  Garden Court, elaborate Fragonard Room, and more.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

There are several virtual ways to visit the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed museum.

 The Guggenheim Museum’s YouTube channel, features interviews with artists whose works have been recently featured there, including Simone Leigh and Sun Xun.

And the museum’s archive offers access to some 200 art books

Museum of Jewish Heritage

There are several ways to participate in the museum’s current major exhibit about the horrors and lessons of Auschwitz

And while there is no fancy 360-degree virtual video tour, the museum offers lesson plans for educators to teach kids about discrimination and  more. 

Since we parents and grandparents also are educators, even if not formal school teachers, this is an excellent opportunity to learn together.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage Holocaust Curriculum (holocaustcurriculum.nyc) is a free online resource offering ten lesson plans about the Holocaust, from the rise of Nazism to liberation and life post-war.

An eleventh lesson plan on antisemitism defines antisemitism and examines anti-Jewish discrimination in Nazi Germany, emphasizing how Jews responded to this discrimination. This historical background leads into how antisemitism affects Jewish communities today, in New York City and around the globe.

Every lesson plan contains a step-by-step plan in PDF format, as well as supporting images and videos, including the personal experiences of Jewish people during the Holocaust.

Curriculum guides for books about the Holocaust frequently read by tweens and teens – The Children of Willesden Lane by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen; Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank; Maus by Art Spiegelman; Night by Elie Wiesel; and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry – are also available.

There also are specific lesson plans for grades 3-5 and grades 6-8 centered around the child-friendly HBO short documentary The Number on Great-Grandpa’s Arm (the documentary is available online to everyone, not just HBO subscribers).

Check out a Book

New York Public Library

NYPL has a new app today that allows anyone with a library card to “borrow” any of the 300,000 e-books in the collection.

SimplyE and will allow you to read books on your phone.  Kindle and web browser versions are coming soon.

Be ready for a wait to e-check out the most popular titles, including such popular kids’ favs as the Harry Potter series, and the Game of Thrones series for their parents.

Brooklyn Public Library

In addition to its e-book catalog, the library is offering cardholders virtual storytime, language and software courses, test prep for all ages, and more.

Here are just some of the things you can do from home:

• Check out an eBook
• Read the newspaper
• Browse dozens of magazines
• Listen to BPL’s podcast, Borrowed
• Learn a new language
• Learn a new software, business or creative skill

For kids and teens:

• Hearing a story from our singing librarian
• Learning about career options
• Discovering different cultures
• Practicing for the SAT and other tests
• Learning about social issues like climate change
• Putting together a submission for our teen writing contest

92nd Street Y

The 92Y has made its archive of performances, from concerts to talks.

• Watch here.

Religious Services Online

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

The Archdiocese of New York has cancelled mass at all churches, but you can attend service at one of the most famous cathedrals in the world. 

St. Patrick’s Cathedral is live streaming mass at 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday.

All masses will be placed in their online archives for those who wish to access them at any time. More details here.

Actor’s Temple

This synagogue in the Theater District is live streaming its Friday night Shabbat services.

Services are live-streamed via Zoom. Friday, March 27, 7 PM.

To Join the Zoom Shabbat Service online, go to https://zoom.us/j/9557555342 or by phone, dial 1-646-876-9923 and use the Meeting ID: 955 755 5342.

The Actor’s Temple also will be holding its Passover Seder both online and on the phone.