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NYC Free: Virtual Events This Week

POSTED BY
Evelyn Kanter

earth day events new york cityTake a break from the bad news headlines, stay home safely, and enjoy these special weekday events from the NYC cultural institutions we cannot visit in person right now, including museum tours  concerts and live chats with experts, all FREE. 

You can still enjoy spring and the best of New York City, virtually.

Stay home and stay safe with these online events, this week, April 21-24.

nyc free met opera opening nightLincoln Center at Home

Lincoln Center is live-streaming different concerts every day, including Met Opera performances.

Today’s virtual concert is:

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: 30th Anniversary Gala

Live from Lincoln Center – Beverly Sills hosts a star-studded event honoring the 30th anniversary of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Originally broadcast on October 14, 1998.

  • 5:30pm, Tuesday, April 21
  • Click here to Watch  

Virtual Earth Day Events

Join the American Museum of Natural History for an all-day online EarthFest on Wednesday, April 22, starting at 10am.

The schedule includes

  • family-friendly botany and climate science workshops with hands-on activities that viewers can participate in using household items,
  • live virtual guided flights over Earth and through the universe with space scientists,
  • a YouTube watch party and live chat with Museum scientists, and
  • an Earth-themed online trivia night with special guests.

Find the full schedule here.

world book day in new york cityWorld Book Day virtual event

Celebrate World Book Day, April 23, 2020 with a virtual celebration of world literature in translation.
 
24 Hours of Sant Jordi NYC is a FREE three-day festival of events from Catalan, Spain, live-streamed in English, during which participants have access to literature from a broad range of countries and languages.
 
From a Parisian café to an Icelandic hot pot to a Mediterranean souk, book lovers worldwide can access and experience the festival’s 24 hours of immersive content by visiting santjordinyc.org.
 
24 Hours of Sant Jordi NYC is inspired by the renowned Catalan festival of books and Sant Jordi’s Day, a time when love and literature come together in what some call “a Valentine’s Day for nerds.”
 
The festival’s lineup of international writers and translators range from Arabic to Danish, from Catalan to Swahili, from German to Uighur, and even a mash-up of Galician and Icelandic.
 
Programmed in eight-hour blocks over three days, April 23-25, participants can access readings, conversations, and pop-up events in celebration of world literature, with concerts and live music complementing the book-focused content.
 
The authors and translators scheduled to appear in 24 Hours of Sant Jordi NYC include the next wave in international literature, long-established writers, and promising up-and-comers, including
  • Sophie Hughes, who will read from her award-winning new translation, Hurricane Season, 
  • Mexican writer Fernanda Melchor;
  • renowned Lebanese-French writer Amin Maalouf, who will discuss his new novel, The Disoriented, with critic Maya Jaggi and translator Frank Wynne;
  • Rodaan Al-Galidi, an Iraqi author residing in the Netherlands in conversation with his Dutch translator, Jonathan Reed, about his memoir of immigration, Two Blankets, Three Sheets;
  • Bergur Ebbi, author, performer, and public intellectual from Iceland, who will read from and riff on Screenshot, his view of society and technology;
  • translator Tess Lewis, who will chat with Judith Keller of Switzerland, author of the new The Questionable Ones.
  • The Catalan contingent — the home team — will include Jordi Puntítalking soccer with Simon Critchley, Jordi Nopca discussing his new book Come On Up, with his translator, Mara Lethem, a conversation with multiple award-winning essayist, Marta Marín-Dòmine, and Adrian Nathan West reading from his new translation of Sergi Pàmies.
Background n Sant Jordi’s Day,
Catalans celebrate one of the most beautiful book fairs in the world. According to legend, Sant Jordi killed a dragon to save the king’s daughter. For centuries, in honor of St. George, the dragon slayer, Catalan gentlemen would give their beloved a rose. In the 1920s the Catalan Booksellers’ Association added books into the mix and thus the Sant Jordi Book Festival was born.
 
In modern times, love, books, and the tale of St. George are celebrated in conjunction with the United Nation’s World Book and Copyright Day, which coincides with the date of birth or death of many writers, among them William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes. In Catalunya and around the world, millions of Catalans celebrate literature and love by exchanging books and roses, making this holiday one of the most important for authors and publishers, who sell 10% of their books on this day alone.

virtual events in NYC this weekBrooklyn Virtual Hangout

Support local businesses and connect with local Brooklyn residents and businesses at The Brooklyn App’s Virtual Hangout

It’s a virtual meet-up for those who live in Brooklyn or love Brooklyn, which means everybody.

It’s a great way to connect, network and meet other creatives in the city, and a chance to win hundreds of dollars in Brooklyn Gift Certificates during the event that can be used on future things like  photography lessons at BRIC Music lessons, Galas, Barclay’s tickets, workshops and more.

Mon Valley Medium

Tune in to this one-man play, a compelling murder mystery written and peformed by a Alec Silberblatt, a Pittsburgh native now living here in NYC to further his theater career.

The play has been performed at the Pittsburgh Public Theater, and I saw a showcase performance last year here in NYC.

Part one is Thursday, April 24.  Part two is Friday, April 25, both at 7pm, with a pre-show dance party both nights.

HOW TO TUNE IN:

  • Visit PPT.ORG/PLAYTIME
  • Look for Click here to join us – and you’ll be sent to Zoom. If you don’t have a Zoom account, you’ll have the chance to create one here.
  • Click OPEN ZOOM  and enjoy! Showtime is officially 7:00pm, but if you stop by a few minutes before, you’ll join our pre-show dance party!

Full disclosure – Alec is a relative of mine.  But even if he weren’t, this is an entertaining way to spend a couple of stay-at-home evenings.

ny philharmonic free concertsLive from Lincoln Center

Mahler’s New York: A Digital Festival continues through April 30 with daily New York Philharmonic performances exploring the life and work of the composer / conductor who served as the Phil’s tenth Music Director.

The musical festival is in partnership with Lincoln Center at Home.

Performances are on Facebook and YouTube  and on demand afterward.

As part of Mahler’s New York: A Digital Festival, the Philharmonic will present Mahler Grooves: A Day-Long Celebration on Thursday, April 23.

The day will allow fans of all ages to engage with Mahler’s life and work through food and drink, visual art, a virtual walking tour, and performances by Philharmonic musicians.

The full schedule is available here.

The day’s main event will be Mahler Grooves, a broadcast at 7:30 p.m. EDT featuring Mahler’s Piano Quartet — performed by Philharmonic violinist Quan Ge, Assistant Principal Viola Cong Wu, cellist Nathan Vickery, and pianist Eric Huebner — and the Adagietto from Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, performed by musicians of the Orchestra.

The first chapter of the New York Philharmonic Archives exhibit in partnership with Google Arts & Culture is now available to explore. The exhibit tells the story of Mahler’s New York in five chapters: his arrival in 1908; his Philharmonic tenure (1909–11), including the repertoire he performed and his relationship with management, musicians, and critics; and the city’s influence on his music.

The first Mahler-related Learning @ Home activity guide for kids and families is also now available here.

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