• email
• print
• Tweet
  
  
• 
  
  

There's always something exciting to do and see around the five boroughs that doesn't cost a dime. See our weekly picks below, and visit our calendar and special offers section for more free events.

March 14–20

Wednesday, March 14
Brucennial 2012
The Bruce High Quality Foundation and Vito Schnabel present this biennial exhibition, which coincides with the Whitney Biennial (the Bruce High Quality Foundation was featured in the 2010 edition of the Whitney show). The Brucennial, with a roster of nearly 450 artists, places pieces from relative unknowns beside works by marquee names like Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince, Dan Colen, Rene Ricard, Ryan McGinley, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat—all with the logic that, as the collective told artinfo.com, "Artists are artists. The young ones, the old ones, live ones and dead ones. And we're invested in forging a community among all of them." While most of the pieces are paintings, other works include sculpture, neon light installation and video.

Thursday, March 15
High Line: The Inside Story of New York City's Park in the Sky
Before the High Line became an elevated park, it stood as an abandoned freight railway. In fact, tracks are still visible throughout the structure, originally designed to avert the frequent accidents between freight trains and cars that took place before the tracks were completed in 1934. But no trains had run on the High Line since 1980. And while its distant past tells a revealing story of Manhattan's west side, its transformation into the lush landscape we know today is equally (if not more) impressive. Between 2004 and 2009, the multistage effort involved hiring landscape architects, horticulture experts and public artists, lifting rail tracks, installing pigeon deterrents and building street-level access points and pathways. Section 1 of the High Line opened to the public on June 9, 2009; the second section opened two years later. On March 15, the park's co-founders, Joshua David and Robert Hammond, discuss the celebrated project at the Tenement Museum at 6:30pm.

Friday, March 16
BAMcafé Live: Magos Herrera
Magos Herrera made waves throughout Latin America with her jazzy blend of Cuban, Brazilian and Mexican sounds even before the release of her sixth album, Distancia, for which she received a 2009 Grammy nomination for Best Vocal Jazz Album. The soulful performer has been based in New York since 2007, but her career started long before that—Herrera's musical résumé includes performances at international arts centers and festivals as well as playing host for two music-themed programs on Mexican TV. Herrera brings her vocal mastery to BAMcafé Live at 9pm as part of the series' ongoing lineup of free concerts.

Saturday, March 17
St. Patrick's Day Parade
Join in on the celebration of all things Irish at the annual New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade, the biggest of its kind in the world. The parade, which was first held on March 17, 1762, is the City's oldest and largest. The procession celebrates Irish culture and the Catholic faith; to this day, it is still reviewed by the archbishop of New York. (Neither cars nor floats are allowed.) The marchers travel up Fifth Avenue led by members of the National Guard's 69th Infantry Regiment, or "Fighting 69." It all starts at 44th Street at 11am and ends at 86th Street—and typically draws more than 200,000 participants and 2 million onlookers. For even more ideas on how to observe the holiday, see our "Authentic Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in NYC"  slideshow.

Sunday, March 18
A Road Once Traveled Tour
Nowadays, the Harlem Meer serves as a quiet landscape just off of Fifth Avenue and West 110th Street, surrounded by rocky terrain and grassy meadows. This topography is exactly what made the area's diverse northern points so essential to the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. During those conflicts, soldiers used this highlands vantage point to scan the East River for approaching enemy troupes. As part of this tour, you can get a sense of the Meer's historic past and discover the natural spaces that were so most essential during wartime. Participants should meet at the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center at 12:30pm.

Monday, March 19
Shelley's Ghost: The Afterlife of a Poet
Never before have parts of the manuscript from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein been on public display in the United States. In this new exhibition at the New York Public Library's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (on display through June 24 in the Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III Gallery), you can get a rare look at the life and work of iconic English writers Percy Bysshe (P.B.) Shelley and Mary Shelley—as well as that of her parents, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft—in vivid detail. Presented in partnership with Oxford University, Shelley's Ghost features manuscripts, letters, artifacts from the family's past and the fascinating stories that tie them all together. A free 45-minute tour of the exhibition is offered Monday through Saturday at 12:30 and 2:30pm; those participating should gather outside of the Gottesman Exhibition Hall.

Tuesday, March 20
Tim Green: Pinch Hit
It's no secret that Tim Green knows sports. The eight-year star defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons got his start as a Little League baseball player, and after hanging up his football helmet, Green took his talents to FOX Sports and National Public Radio as an analyst and commentator, respectively. The father of five has also become an accomplished author, particularly of young-reader novels. On March 20, the author will talk about his latest project, Pinch Hit, at 10:30am at the Barnes & Noble at Lexington Avenue and East 86th Street. The tale follows twin boys—one a movie actor and the other an up-and-coming baseball star—who switch places to live out their dreams.