There’s never a dull moment in the greatest city on the planet. Enjoy NYC with Holiday tree lighting ceremonies starting this week, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, FREE museum admission, FREE ice skating in Bryant Park, FREE performances from the Metropolitan Opera, and so much more.
Add these virtual and in-person events to your calendar for November 23-29.
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Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is yet another victim of the coronavirus pandemic. It is being scaled back dramatically as a virtual parade.
You’ll still be able to enjoy giant balloons, top entertainers, and the appearance by Santa Claus, but on TV only. The actual parade down Central Park West and Sixth Avenue, ending at Herald Square, isn’t happening.
Entertainment includes performances by the casts of “Hamilton,” “Mean Girls,” “Jagged Little Pill,” and “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations,” and a a solo ballerina dancing as The Nutcracker‘s Sugar Plum Fairy.
Read more here
National Dog Show
Woof! Celebrate man’s best friend with a FREE broadcast of the National Dog Show immediately after the Macy’s Parade, at Noon, also on NBC.
The annual show is virtual.
Sponsored by The Kennel Club of Philadelphia, this year’s Covid-19 precautions include banning spectators from the live show, limiting the number of dogs participating, and enforcing social distancing, temperature-taking, and mask-wearing. Only Kennel Club officials, NBC broadcast staff, and dogs and handlers will be allowed at the event, which will be held at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center.
Also, the competition is being reduced from the normal 2,000 dogs, to limited to around 600.This number will, of course, decrease as the competition progresses.
Other online options include Hulu’s Live TV subscription program, and YouTube TV (also a paid, subscription-based service).
FREE Ice Skating in Bryant Park
The annual Winter Village has returned for the season, with holiday shops and the magical ice skating rink, now open daily .
New this year is that reservations are required for skating sessions.
More information here.
Ice Skating in Rockefeller Center
The iconic rink has opened for the season. Reservations are now required for skating sessions.
More information here.
- The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is being decorated. Lighting is Dec. 4.
NYC Holiday Trees Lighting Ceremonies
The Atlantic Avenue Holiday Tree Lighting is Tues., Nov. 24
The annual Origami Tree at the American Museum of History is unveiled for the season on Wed., Nov. 25.
See our calendar of holiday tree lighting ceremonies.
NYC Museums & Attractions Now Open Include:
- National September 11 Museum at the 9/11 Memorial
- New York Aquarium at Coney Island
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
- American Museum of Natural History
- The Guggenheim
- New York Historical Society
- The Rubin Museum of Art
- The Museum of Jewish Heritage
- Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum
All museums and attractions have advance ticketing requirements for social distancing, and mask-wearing requirements.
FREE admission to the Jewish Museum through Dec. 31.
See the full list here.
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Ongoing Events
Shakespeare in the Park – Much Ado About Nothing
For the first time in over more than four decades, PBS Great Performances presents a Public Theater production recorded live at the free Shakespeare in the Park in Central Park.
After a highly successful, critically acclaimed run at the outdoor Delacorte Theater in New York City’s Central Park, “Much Ado About Nothing” is a bold interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedic masterpiece featuring Danielle Brooks as Beatrice.
- Streaming now
- Link to watch
Central Park Virtual Walks
These FREE virtual walks with a Central Park expert showcase some of the flowers and trees currently in bloom, share Park history, and give you the mid-week recharge that we all so desperately need.
Sign up now to access the FREE live Zoom program and learn the history of this incredibly significant site.
- Wednesday, 12:30p.
Carnegie Hall Fridays
Each week for the the forseable future, Carnegie Hall is streaming a concert from its archived recordings.
- Watch each week’s livestream from Friday 3am through Monday at 3 AM
- Watch here on medici.tv
Metropolitan Opera Live Streams
Every night of the week, the world-famous Met Opera is streaming a different performance from its repetoire of recorded performances, including operas by Puccini, Verdi and Mozart, and legendary stars including Luciano Pavarotti and Renée Fleming.
Each day, a different encore presentation from the company’s Live in HD series is being made available for free streaming on the Met website, with each performance available for a period of 23 hours, from 7:30 p.m. EDT until 6:30 p.m. the following day.
The schedule will include outstanding complete performances from the past 14 years of cinema transmissions, starring all of opera’s greatest singers.The streams are also available through the Met Opera on Demand apps for Apple, Amazon, and Roku devices and Samsung Smart TV.
This is the 35th week of live streaming nightly operas.
Met Stars Live in Concert
If you enjoy the Nightly Opera Streams, be sure not to miss our acclaimed pay-per-view concert series, presenting opera’s greatest stars performing live via satellite from striking locations across Europe and the U.S.
Support the Met and Protect its Future
Hundreds of thousands of people have been tuning in daily to our free performance streams, and many of them have kindly been asking how they can help the Met during this economically perilous time. In response, we have added a “Donate Now” button below. We thank you for your help.
Supplementary content—including synopses, articles, and more—is available here.
This week – appropriately – features family drama operas.
Week 37
Family Drama
Monday, November 23
Verdi’s Il Trovatore
Starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Dolora Zajick, Marcelo Álvarez, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, conducted by Marco Armiliato. From April 30, 2011.
Tuesday, November 24
Nico Muhly’s Marnie
Starring Isabel Leonard, Iestyn Davies, and Christopher Maltman, conducted by Roberto Spano. From November 10, 2018.
Wednesday, November 25
Thomas’s Hamlet
Starring Marlis Petersen, Jennifer Larmore, Simon Keenlyside, and James Morris, conducted by Louis Langrée. From March 27, 2010.
Thursday, November 26
Strauss’s Elektra
Starring Nina Stemme, Adrianne Pieczonka, Waltraud Meier, and Eric Owens, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. From April 30, 2016.
Friday, November 27
Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor
Starring Natalie Dessay, Joseph Calleja, Ludovic Tézier, and Kwangchul Youn, conducted by Patrick Summers. From March 19, 2011.
Saturday, November 28
Wagner’s Die Walküre
Starring Christine Goerke, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Jamie Barton, Stuart Skelton, Greer Grimsley, and Günther Groissböck, conducted by Philippe Jordan. From March 30, 2019.
Sunday, November 29
Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra
Starring Kiri Te Kanawa, Plácido Domingo, Vladimir Chernov, and Robert Lloyd, conducted by James Levine. From January 26, 1995.
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