Since I’ve attended a number of Lincoln Center performances over the years, including ones in recent times that are kid-focused, I am on their email list and get notifications about upcoming events and festivals. Last year, I attended two different orchestra performances for their recent annual Summer in the City series of performances, and I knew I wanted to check out the performance line-up for this year and attend a few more. This year, I got the notification they’d be doing it again this summer, and it would be even more varied. This year, they would have a really interesting mix of orchestra, opera, theater, and dance. I asked a few friends if they’d like to join, and so I was able to get tickets for two different performances so far.

Alas, the pay-what-you-wish performance ticket purchasing wasn’t as simple as it was last year. I still remember that I was able to buy tickets a week or so after, and I had my pick of seats to choose from. This time, when I logged into their site just minutes after General Admission opened up, there was already an online queue! When I got in, I was person 367 on the list, and they gave me an estimated wait time of over 40 minutes before I’d be able to go in and choose seats for a specific performance. One of the performance dates I wanted had already sold out by the time I got in, and it asked me to choose a different date. Luckily, the friend who wanted to go with me to see this modern opera was flexible, so we ended up choosing a date two days later.

Free or low-cost events certainly do exist in New York City; they are actually quite plentiful if you know where and how to look. You just have to be ready to deal with the crowds, even if some of those “crowds” can be virtual. I actually prefer the online queue versus waiting hours on end in a real, physical line for admittance or for a performance to start. It’s a lot less hectic this way!