Free Highlights: Things to Do in NYC, March 2025
Role-playing games, jazz, ice skating, and other New York City events this March
Unbelievably for me, I’ve been looking for an event every day of the month for over two years now. (Though not originally on Substack.) The depth of what NYC has to offer constantly astounds me—both what I include and what I decline to include.
This month, I call out a few of my favorite highlights happening this March, along with some similar options for each of the highlights. Most of these events are taken from the more expansive March 2025 Blankman List.
Disclaimer: before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.
Get Exercise
Every year is of course different, but March can be an exceptionally pleasant time of the year in NYC. Green trees. Sweater weather. The beginning of March also marks the last whispers of winter, at least from an NYC Parks Department perspective. March 2 is the last day you can sign up to go ice skating at Bryant Park.
Through Sunday, March 2: Ice Skating at Bryant Park Winter Village
Final day for public ice skating at the Bryant Park Winter Village ice rink; slots available between 7:50 am and 8:50 pm
$26–$38
Bryant Park Winter Village
Between 40th & 42nd St along 6th Ave (Bryant Park, Manhattan)
Sunday, March 2 & Sunday, March 23: Skaterobics
All-levels roller skating class for adults wanting to learn how to dance on wheels; 6 pm
$24 (does not include skate rental)
Xanadu Roller Arts
262 Starr St (Bushwick, Brooklyn)
Saturday, March 15: City Tri Runs Brooklyn 5k/10k/Half Marathon
Running races organized by Du City Tri Runs around Prospect Park; 9:30 am
$50 (5k) / $75 (10k) / $105 (half marathon)
Start by the LeFrak Center at Lakeside
171 East Dr (Prospect Park, Brooklyn)
Every Friday: Adult Ninja Night
Open play on ninja warrior courses and obstacles, with refreshments and alcohol for sale; 8 pm
$28
Ferox Ninja Park
72 Noble St (Greenpoint, Brooklyn)
Meet People
I started this project out of loves for art, lists, and internet research. The events I go to can be insular: go somewhere then sneak into the background. But years of persistent event research has led to me meeting people who have encouraged me and offered new perspectives. I’ve learned that not everyone yearns to be so insular. I keep my eyes out for spaces and events aimed at meeting new people. The event app Luma and of course longtime stalwart Meetup.com have been great resources for this, with events like the Billion Oyster Project, a science professional meetup organized by the nonprofit devoted to restoring oysters to NYC.
Tuesday, March 4: DeSciNYC: The Billion Oyster Project
Professional meetup for people interested in and working in science, followed by talk on the Billion Oyster Project, a nonprofit devoted to restoring oysters to NYC’s harbor; 6:30–8:30 pm
Free
Meetup in Manhattan
Address available upon registering
Monday, March 10: Bored of Dating Apps Singles Event
Singles mixer at a bookstore promoting “conversations about books, life, love, and pretty much everything”; 6 & 9 pm
$35
Book Club Bar
197 E 3rd St (East Village, Manhattan)
Wednesday, March 12: The Williamsburg Book Club: Martyr!
Book club meeting discussing Martyr!, the 2024 debut novel by Iranian American poet Kaveh Akbar; 7:30–9 pm
$1 suggested donation
Kent Ale House
41 Kent Ave (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
Every Wednesday: Dungeons & Dragons at Gamestoria
Weekly casual Dungeons & Dragons at a gaming store; 7 pm
$10
Gamestoria
42-11 Broadway (Astoria, Queens)
Rhapsodize Bohemian
This—this—is what I live for. My brother has this itch, too; it feels like something in our genes. We love the abstract, the unconventional, the indie, the cult, the avant-garde. We strive to have an open mind to all forms of expression. Until my dying breath I will be an evangelist for the arts. If you care to dip your toe into the NYC bohemian life, perhaps I can interest you in Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary, a contemporary silent film with live musical accompaniment?
Thursday, March 6: Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary and Guy Maddin Rarities
Screening of the 2002 silent film Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary and other short films by director Guy Maddin with live musical accompaniment by the duo The Flushing Remonstrance; 8 pm
$17
Film Forum
209 W Houston St (West Village, Manhattan)
Tuesday, March 12–Sunday, March 23: Mariana Valencia: Jacklean (In Rehearsal)
Experimental performance art by dancer Mariana Valencia and sound artist Jazmin “Jazzy” Romero that uses improvisatory choreography, music, and language
Free with museum admission, which is $30 adult / $22 senior / $17 student
MoMA [The Museum of Modern Art]
11 W 53rd St (Midtown, Manhattan)
Through Thursday, March 20: Bodies of Water: Black Geographies and Maternal Legacies
Exhibition of artworks by Debra Cartwright examining the interconnected narratives of the Black female body, geography, and medical history
Free
Welancora Gallery
33 Herkimer St (Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn)
Tuesday, March 25: أحمد [Ahmed]
Modern UK jazz quartet reimagining the work of the late musician Ahmed Abdul-Malik; 8 pm (7 pm doors)
$25 in advance / $30 at door / $20 student/senior
Roulette
509 Atlantic Ave (Boerum Hill, Brooklyn)
Hear Music
I’ve waxed poetic many times about the diversity of sound that can be found among NYC’s five boroughs. I’m at a loss for a genre of music I won’t listen to, though I do of course have my favorites! I’ve discovered and grown to love quite a few acts as a result of writing these lists, in fact. This month I learned about Castle Rat, a “medieval fantasy doom metal” band, which has already wormed itself into a few playlists for me, and I’m frankly embarrassed to admit that I’d never heard of Cécile McLorin Salvant until seeing events with her name on it last year.
Tuesday, March 4: C.R.O. Malos Cantore World Tour
World tour stop of Argentinian trap artist C.R.O.; 7 pm doors
$40
Sounds of Brazil (S.O.B.’s)
204 Varick St (Soho, Manhattan)
Tuesday, March 25: Rebekah Heller: Righteous Rage – Music for Bassoon
Program of new music for bassoon choir by composers from the African diaspora; 6 pm (5:30 pm doors)
Free (includes drink)
Columbia University, Miller Theatre
2960 Broadway (Morningside Heights, Manhattan)
Thursday, March 27: An Evening with Cécile McLorin Salvant
Jazz ballads performed by French-American vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant with a genre-defying orchestra; 8 pm
$27–$135
Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
881 7th Ave (Midtown, Manhattan)
Sunday, March 30: Castle Rat
Performance by Brooklyn-based “medieval fantasy doom metal” band; 8 pm
$20 in advance / $25 day of
Le Poisson Rouge, Main Space
158 Bleecker St (West Village, Manhattan)
Go to the Theater
To the Broadway fan, March is a joyful time. It’s the beginning of a new season, and a ton of new shows open up. There are quite a few I’m eager to see—Smash and Boop! are high on the list—but I’m especially counting down the days until The Last Five Years’ first Broadway run, starring Adrienne Warren and Nick Jonas and beginning previews on March 18.
Through Monday, March 3: Everybody
Performance of Everybody by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a 2018 retelling of the 15th-century morality play Everyman; opens Feb 27
$15
Provincetown Playhouse
133 MacDougal St (Washington Square Park, Manhattan)
Monday, March 10: Shakespeare in Yiddish
Scenes from Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and other Shakespeare plays at an off-off-Broadway theater in Yiddish with English captioning; 7 pm
$18–$23
Under St Marks Theater
94 St Marks Pl (East Village, Manhattan)
Beginning Tuesday, March 18: The Last Five Years
Broadway production of Jason Robert Brown’s 2001 nonlinear musical about a five-year relationship, starring Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren
$99–$376
Hudson Theatre
141 W 44th St (Times Square, Manhattan)
Friday, March 21–Tuesday, March 25: Arsenic & Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring
College production of the 1941 dark comedy Arsenic & Old Lace about a family of homicidal maniacs
$15
Brooklyn College, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, Don Buchwald Theater
2900 Ave H (Flatbush, Brooklyn)
Wonder at the World
There is of course no end to what one can learn in the world, and NYC offers a staggering number of ways to do so. One of my favorite places to look for talks is the National Museum of Mathematics, which showcases mathematicians and their pursuits all year long, such as Allen Butler’s March 12 talk on using Bayes’ Theorem to recover gold from a 19th-century shipwreck.
Wednesday, March 5: The Cabbage Salon: The Self . . . and Other Drugs
Conversation-driven philosophy salon inspired by the texts of Thomas Nagel and others on the topics of the self and “other drugs”; 7–9 pm
$15
Heaven and Earth
290 Nassau Ave (Greenpoint, Brooklyn)
Wednesday, March 12: Bayes’ Theorem: Looking for Gold in All the Right Places
Talk by mathematician Allen Butler on Bayes’ Theorem and how it was used in the location and recovery of the 19th-century “Ship of Gold”; 4 & 7 pm
Free
National Museum of Mathematics
225 5th Ave (Madison Square Park, Manhattan)
Wednesday, March 12: Speaker Series: Osamu Kasho
Talk by Japanese puzzle box designer Osamu Kasho, followed by an opportunity to try top shelf puzzle boxes; 7:15–8:30 pm
$33
69 Atlantic
69 Atlantic Ave (Cobble Hill, Brooklyn)
Tuesday, March 18: Astronomy on Tap
Scientists and educators bring astronomy-themed talks, trivia, and games to a bar setting; 7 pm; third Tuesday of every month
Free entry (drinks are $5–$14)
Pete’s Candy Store
709 Lorimer St (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)