Your weekend plans begin here, with a couple of dozen FREE and cheap things to do this last weekend of March.
As always, everything NYC on the Cheap suggests is $25 or less, and most things are FREE, so you can enjoy more NYC for less money.
So much to see and do and so little time.
Let’s hope the weather cooperates with outdoor events.
And if it doesn’t, here are some rainy day activities in NYC, besides re-arranging your sock drawer.
Know before you go:
Weekend street and bridge closures
Today, Friday, March 29
Remembering Parkland
Attend this FREE event to remember and honor the 17 students and staff members murdered one year ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and to celebrate the dignity and courage of the survivors.
Eight survivors of the Parkland massacre will be on hand to share their stories about survival and renewal, and their journey from grief to activism.
The Parkland survivors will be participating in a special Sabbath service at Temple Emanu-el.
Jews place special emphasis on the phrase, Lest We Forget, but whatever religion you follow or don’t follow, we are all inspired by the Parkland students’ embrace of that sentiment.
- 6pm at Temple Emanu-el Streicker Center, Fifth Ave. at 67th St.
- Registration is recommended to ensure space.
- Video courtesy of Temple Emanu-el
NYC on the Cheap Editor Evelyn Kanter is attending tonight. Are you?
Already Underway
Macys Flower Show
The annual Macy’s Flower Show fills the Herald Square flagship store with some 5,000 colorful blooms and plants, plus daily events throughout the store, including special displays and programs for kids.
The theme of this year’s show is outer space, including seven fashion pods featuring looks designed by students of FIT, the world-famous fashion design school here in New York City. They were challenged to create original designs using the following themes: Shining Stars, Big Bang, Anti-Matter, Zero Gravity, Comet Couture, Lunar Landing, and Interstellar Explorer.
Journey to Paradisios will transport you into a multi-dimensional world of space, adventure and discovery through eccentric landscaped gardens that celebrate the wonder and mystery of the planet Paradisios, with colorful inhabitants, floating cities, alien technology, and whimsical plant life.
The 2019 Macy’s Flower Show is through Sunday, April 7.
Everything is FREE, of course
Closing This Weekend
Voice of My City: Jerome Robbins and New York
Enjoy the exuberance and brilliance of dancer, choreographer, artist and poet – and native New Yorker – Jerome Robbins in this FREE exhibit celebrating the 100th year of his birth, and his hometown, where the Bronx is up and the Battery’s down, and the people ride in a hole in the ground, as we learned in On the Town.
Jerome Robbins was an inveterate observer, seeker, and creator. In diaries, drawings, watercolors, paintings, story scenarios, poems—and, especially, in dance—he reimagined the world around him. And New York dominated that world, where he was born one-hundred years ago and where he lived his entire adult life.
Ideas of New York have long inspired artists but often the city serves as a backdrop in an artwork rather than the basis for plot, theme, and meaning. Robbins put the city at the center of his artistic imaginings.
From Fancy Free—his breakout hit ballet in 1944—to the musical West Side Story on stage (1957) and screen (1961) and the ballets N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz (1958) and Glass Pieces (1983), Robbins explored the joys, struggles, grooves, routines, and aspirations of New York. And in recreating the city around him on stage, Robbins found a place for himself.
Voice of My City traces Robbins’ life and dances alongside the history of New York, inspiring viewers to see the city as both a muse and a home.
- Open through March 30th, 2019.
- New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
Today through Sunday
Native Cinema Sowcase
Celebrate the latest in Native film at the Native Cinema Showcase, with three days of FREE screenings of films and shorts, including music videos, by Native American filmmakers, about contemporary Native Americans, including panel discussions.
It’s a unique showcase of current history by Native filmmakers from across the Americas, plus from the Pacific, with themes of tradition, including the fight to save the environment and tribal language.
There are four feature films and 42 short films, and 19 indigenous languages, including one in the Haida language of the Northwest, with English subtitles.
Most focus on issues facing Native peoples today, including some straight from the headlines, and several are historical dramas.including
All the features and shorts, dramas and music videos represent contemporary perspectives and themes of Indigenous people as they experience the world, and everything on the schedule is family-friendly.
- The Native Cinema Showcase is March 29-31, at the National Museum of the American Indian in Lower Manhattan, with screenings at 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 7pm.
- See more information about the schedule here.
Sat./Sun., March 30/31
Brick Fest Live
Kids and adults can get inspired, educated and entertained with LEGO bricks at this ultimate LEGO fan experience. Highlights include large LEGO sculptures, hands-on activities, collaborative LEGO building projects and more.
- Toy Story’s Woody & Darth Vadar – See 7-foot-tall models of Toy Story’s Woody and Darth Vadar, made entirely of LEGO bricks.
- Neon City – Build with UV-reactive LEGO under black lights to create an Alien City.
- Glow Gallery– See how UV-reactive LEGO elements light up the dark with custom LEGO models.
- Floorsaic – Assist with the assembly of a massive 20-foot by 20-foot LEGO mosaic image.
- LEGO Nerdy Derby– Build and race your own LEGO cars.
- Build Wall– Build with LEGOs on a vertical wall.
- LEGO Mosaic Building Station– Add your personal touch to a large collaborative work of art.
- Big Brick Pit – Build in a sandbox filled with over 100,000 2×4 red LEGO bricks.
- Duplo Junior Builders – Kids ages 1 – 4 years old can build in this special area for preschoolers.
- Architecture Zone– Create your own constructions in this architecture-inspired building area.
It’s all FREE with admission to the NY Hall of Science at Flushing Meadow Park in Queens. Get ticket online
- Please note there are special Free Hours on Sunday, March 31, 2019. Free Hours will begin at 4 pm instead of at 10 am.
Saturday, Mar. 30
Astor Place Street Festival – Astor Place between Broadway and Lafayette, 10am to 6pm
Sunday, Mar. 31
KidsLIVE: 90-Second Newbery Film Festival
Join talented kids us for the 2019 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! See short movies made by kids that tell the entire stories of Newbery award-winning books in about 90 seconds.
The main NYPL on Fifth Ave. will be screening movies made by kids in New York and some of the best from around the country. This year’s screening is hosted by children’s authors James Kennedy and Newbery Honor–winner Rita Williams-Garcia.
- FREE, 2:30 PM at the NYPL on Fifth Ave., in in the Celeste Auditorium.
- Registration is recommended to manage space.
Greek Independence Day Parade
Celebrate all things Greek during this parade celebrating Greek independence. Marching up Fifth Ave, from Fifth Ave from 64th St to 79th St, starting at 11am.
Things to do in NYC every Friday

Freebie Friday – FREE admission to NYC museums including MOMA. No passes or coupons needed. Just go.
FREE Friday morning admission to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, until Noon.
Get FREE admission to more than a dozen NYC museums with the IDNYC card. Enrollment is also FREE.
Freebie Friday: Family Fridays at MoMath – Solve puzzles, family-style, and learn how math affects everything, from music to space flight. 6:30pm, FREE The National Museum of Mathematics is at 11 E. 26th St.
Freebie Friday – Grand Central Neighborhood Tour. FREE every Friday at 12:30, docents from the Grand Central Partnership guide you through the history of the fabled Grand Central Terminal and some equally-fabled nearby landmarks including the Chrysler Building.
There are no tickets, no reservations. Just meet at Sculpture court at 120 Park Avenue (southwest corner of East 42nd Street). Tour is 90 minutes.
Things to do in NYC every Saturday
FREE Saturday admission at top NYC museums every Saturday all year includes the Jewish Museum
Things to do in NYC every Sunday
FREE Sunday admission at top NYC museums including Morgan Library and Museum.
FREE Flatiron Walking Tour – Join professional guides on a 90-minute journey through this vibrant neighborhood, viewing some of the City’s most notable landmarks, including the New York Life Insurance Building, the MetLife Clock Tower, the Appellate Courthouse and the famous Flatiron Building.
SEE ALSO
You now get FREE admission to more than 30 NYC museums and cultural institutions with the new CulturePass. It’s a new perk to use with your library card from the NYPL, Brooklyn Museum or Queens Museum systems.
The NYCOTC Free & Cheap Weekend Guide is $25 or less, with an occasional splurge because we deserve to treat ourselves once in a while.
NYC isn’t expensive when you know where to go and what to do, and we do. And we love to share.
- Unless a price is noted, our weekend list is FREE, but we usually remind you anyway.
- Unless otherwise noted, outdoor events are rain or shine, so let’s hope for shine.
- Street fairs are 11am to 6pm, unless otherwise noted.
Getting Around NYC – Know Before You go
FREE apps on subway track work and schedulng delays – Know what trains are bypassing what stations so you aren’t late for one of these free and cheap weekend events.
NYC official street closures website – Know what streets are closed when for street fairs, parades, political protests and more.
2018 NYC parking calendar – Know when you have to move your car, or not.
Where to eat at LaGuardia Airport – Top NYC restaurants and cafes are replacing fast food joints.
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Enjoy your free and cheap NYC weekend.
What do you think about this? We welcome your comments.