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Gapstow Bridge in Central Park in early spring NYC
Photograph: By John A. Anderson / Shutterstock | Gapstow Bridge in Central Park in early spring NYC

NYC events in March 2024

Make the most of the last month of winter with the best NYC events in March including flower shows with pretty blooms.

Written by
Rossilynne Skena Culgan
Contributors
Christina Izzo
&
Ian Kumamoto
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The city is just beginning to warm up and thaw out from its winter slumber with some incredible NYC events in March, including St. Patrick's Day and Women’s History Month. For sure, we'll all be heading to the best Irish pubs in the city, but there's more to do from the powerful Harlem Renaissance exhibit at the Met to the fashion-forward Orchid Show at NYBG. And finally, we can start fantasizing about packing away that puffy coat and gearing up best things to do in spring.

RECOMMENDED: Full NYC events calendar for 2024

What to see in NYC in March 2024

  • Art
  • Art

With their vibrant colors, delicate ruffles, and dramatic shapes, orchids love to show off their looks. This spring, the New York Botanical Garden is giving the divas of the plant world their moment in the spotlight as part of “The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion.”

Three up-and-coming designers created massive installations inspired by these fashionable flowers. In one, you'll see orchids turned into avant-garde clothing. Another features a regal orchid queen. The final section draws upon AI to create anthropomorphic creatures who don floral outfits. Florals in Fashion is on view through April 21 at NYBG in the Bronx; adult tickets cost $35.

  • Art
  • Art

The Harlem Renaissance had an indisputable impact on American culture, but chances are that you probably didn’t spend much time learning about it in school. That’s because, even though it shaped global literature, music, and art, Black Americans’ historical contributions have been systematically erased or gone unacknowledged for centuries.

A groundbreaking exhibit opening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art hopes to be a part of rectifying the erasure and celebrating Black artists and intellectuals in its newest exhibit. "The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism." 

The exhibit presents 160 works by Black artists from the Harlem Renaissance and delves into many different aspects of the movement, mostly through the lens of paintings and sculpture. You can get your tickets here; the show's on view through July 28.

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  • Art
  • Art

The author and illustrator who ignited our childhood imaginations with tales of cuddly bunnies, mischievous squirrels and daring ducks is getting a well-deserved spotlight in NYC.

The wholesome and beautiful works of beloved children’s author and land conservationist Beatrix Potter are now on view at The Morgan Library & Museum through June 9.

Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature” is the most darling show in the city right now. The exhibition even features a delightful recreation of Potter’s home that you can actually sit and read in. 

  • Comedy
  • Comedy

Need a laugh? The Second City—the renowned comedy club with locations in Chicago and Toronto—just opened in Brooklyn, and you will definitely laugh out loud there. The New York City venue, which opened on the legendary club’s 65th anniversary, offers hilarious live comedy every single night of the week.

Some of the funniest names in comedy got their start at Second City. Just a few Second City alumni include: Bill Murray, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Amber Ruffin, Keegan-Michael Key, Chris Farley, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Aidy Bryant. You might just see the next comedy star on this stage.

The venue offers sketch shows and improv performances, along with a great restaurant and no drink minimums in a beautiful venue. Tickets start at $39.

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

Eat your way through Japan without ever leaving New York City at JAPAN Fes, the massive foodie festival, which is back and bigger than ever for 2024. The organization is hosting 30 outdoor events this year stretching from March through November in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Event organizers say it's the largest Japanese food festival in the world, attracting 300,000 visitors and featuring 1,000 vendors every year.

Expect dishes including takoyaki, ramen, matcha sweets, yakisoba, karaage, okonomiyaki, and lots more. They're even hosting a ramen contest and a konamon contest this year to crown the best of the bunch. Vendors hail from New York City, as well as other states and other countries. 

The first JAPAN Fes of the season is on March 23 in the East Village.

  • Things to do

The Easter Bonnet Parade & Festival is one of the highlights of Easter in NYC.

This parade is all about the hats—lavishly decorated, from the exquisite to the outlandish. Anyone is welcome to join, just show up near St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 10am on Easter Sunday to watch or saunter with the group up Fifth Avenue. The free tradition dates back to the 1870s, so you might even see some participants in period costumes. But the highlight is the elaborate bonnets, some of which are truly over-the-top.

If you want to participate, put on your creative thinking cap and get started on your work of chapeaux art ASAP. 

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  • Things to do
  • City Life
Cherry blossoms in NYC offer New Yorkers a brief but gorgeous pop of beauty, which is why we flock in droves to see them when they bloom each spring.
From the Brooklyn Botanical Garden to Central Park and even some hidden spots around town, we've rounded up the best places where you can gaze at the delicate pink flowers, take the perfect warm-weather-ready photo for your Instagram feed, and check off your bucket list with these best things to do in spring.
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  • Art

Guest curated by Valeri Larko, this mixed-media exhibition at Red Hook’s Basin Gallery & Studios spotlights the original works of four female artists: Rodriguez Calero, Airco Caravan, Daina Higgins and Arlene Rush.

In their own way, each of the creators addresses women’s rights and social justice issues throughout their art. For example, Calero’s acrollage paintings like “A Life Cut Short” and “Target of Prejudice” respond to hate crimes and acts of humanity against people of color, while Caravan comments on racism, sexism, misogyny and way through her bold, colorful series featuring humorous household products, like pest-spray bottles. The powerful art show will fittingly debut on International Women’s Day on March 8 and run through April 21, 2024.

  • Things to do
  • City Life

A historic performance venue is on the brink of making history again with its reopening.

Brooklyn Paramount will officially reopen on March 27, with a new capacity of 2,7000 guests following a multi-million dollar renovation of the 100-year-old space. 

The venue originally opened in 1928, as the world’s first theater to show talking movies and a hotspot for world-famous performers. Now, for the first time in 60 years, the venue will be a hub for live music again. Here's more info on upcoming shows tickets.

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

Board the gigantic aircraft carrier docked along the Hudson River for a trip to space this spring. The Intrepid Museum will soon host "Apollo: When We Went to the Moon," the largest temporary exhibition in its four-decade history. 

The exhibit, which runs from March 26 through September 2, blasts off into an exploration of the space race, both as a scientific feat and as an inspiration for millions. The new exhibit is included with museum admission.

Visitors can climb aboard a lunar rover model, leave footprints on the Moon via a virtual moonwalk, and see Apollo artifacts. "Apollo: When We Went to the Moon" spans 9,000 square feet in the museum’s Space Shuttle Pavilion where it'll join the Space Shuttle Enterprise. 

  • Things to do

The Brooklyn Museum isn’t just a world-class spot to experience art—it’s also a great place to shop, thanks to its partnership with Brooklyn Pop-Up. Every month, the museum plays host to a weekend artisan market stocked with local vendors offering one-of-a-kind, handmade artwork, contemporary and upcycled fashion, wellness and apothecary goods, homewares and more.

The final wintertime market will be held inside the museum on March 9 and 10.

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

We predict a lot of tasty pasta in your future. That is if you snag tickets to this event. 

The Standard East Village has partnered with the food-themed futuristic card deck, The Pasta Tarot, for red sauce celebrations throughout March. 

Every Tuesday, the hotel's restaurant will become an Italian American oasis with red checkered tablecloths, flickering candelabras, and plenty of nosy nonna vibes for a four-course meal.

Reservations for the recurring event on March 5, 12, and 26 are open from 5pm-10:30pm via Resy.

  • Art
  • Art

"Giants," the Brooklyn Museum's latest exhibition, fits its name in many facets. First of all, the show relies on the art collection of two titans in the music industry, Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean). Much of the artwork itself is massive, taking over major swaths of the museum. The exhibition features artists who have made and continue to make a significant impact on the art world and contemporary culture.

Finally, and most importantly, the exhibit encourages big conversations that celebrate Blackness, critique society, and imagine a collective future.

"Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys" runs through July 7, 2024. The show features 98 artworks by Black American, African, and African diasporic artists including Gordon Parks, Kehinde Wiley, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mickalene Thomas, Hassan Hajjaj, Barkley L. Hendricks, Lorna Simpson, and Amy Sherald. 

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  • Art
  • Art

The Harlem Renaissance changed the trajectory of American culture, and no other artist encapsulates the spirit of that era better than poet Langston Hughes. He wrote unapologetically about Black life at a time when segregation was law and few Black artists were allowed into the American cultural zeitgeist.

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is honoring Hughes and his friendship with photographer, filmmaker, and U.S. Foreign Service Officer Griffith J. Davis in its exhibit "The Ways of Langston Hughes." The free exhibit at the Schomburg Center's Latimer Gallery in Harlem will include photographs of Hughes and Davis, who met in Atlanta, as well as more of Hughes' friendships through letters, artwork and other memorabilia. See it through July 8.

  • Art
  • Art

When Komal Shah starting collecting art more than a decade ago, she noticed something startling: "The art world does not treat women artists equally" compared to male artists. 

She decided to do something about that by founding the Shah Garg Foundation with her husband, Gaurav Garg. The organization champions artwork by women and seeks to remedy the imbalances facing marginalized artists. Nearly 100 pieces of art from their collection are now on view in a powerful and diverse show called "Making Their Mark: Art by Women in the Shah Garg Collection" in Chelsea (548 West 22nd Street). It's free to visit through March 23, 2024; hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-6pm.

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  • Art
  • Art

As she donned the black robe for her role on the Supreme Court, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was known to adorn the traditional garment with a wide array of collars and necklaces. 

Now, her fashion is getting the spotlight in a new photography exhibit called "RBG Collars: Photographs by Elinor Carucci." See it at The Jewish Museum on the Upper East Side through May 27, 2024. 

The installation features two dozen photographs of the late justice’s collars and necklaces taken shortly after Ginsburg died in 2020. This is the first time the Carucci’s photographs are being shown at the Jewish Museum since the images were acquired in 2021.

  • Art
  • Art

Miranda Priestly once famously said, "Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking." But at Color Factory, florals for spring are actually groundbreaking as the interactive art experience in Soho takes flowery themes to immersive new levels. 

Color Factory's "Colors in Bloom" is now open—exactly at the time when we could all mercifully use a break from the gray landscapes and cold nights.

At this all-ages venue dedicated to the art and science of color, visitors can stroll through a variety of different rooms, all decked out for spring. For example, there's the Central Park Confetti Room, complete with larger-than-life pink cherry blossoms inspired by the city's first sign of spring.

Tickets start at $38/person for the experience, which runs through mid-May. 

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  • Music
  • Music

Forget the gown, tux, and fancy shoes. For this new concert series at Carnegie Hall, stretchy pants, cozy sweaters, and comfy footwear is welcomed. 

The iconic venue is hosting five intimate concerts this winter that combine elements of mindfulness and meditation with world-class musical performances. These hour-long Well-Being Concerts cost between $15-$30 and run through April.

During the show, audience members are encouraged to get comfortable while reclining on floor mats and cushions. A host will share prompts, lead breathing exercises, and ask guests to share thoughts and reflections with their fellow audience members. Guest may even be encouraged to sing. 

This month, bear from Grammy-nominated performer Nathalie Joachim who works in genres of pop, electronic, classical, and beyond. Tickets cost $15 for the show on March 15.

 

  • Art

Kick off Women’s History Month with "Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” an exhibition bringing together 18 women curators and thought leaders, including Hall Rockefeller (Less Than Half), Monika Fabijanska (Contemporary Art Projects Curator) and Hanne Tierney (Director of Five Myles). The arts leaders are highlighting works by women or nonbinary artists that address the current historical context for women and gender marginalized individuals in the arts.

The works of Bang Guel Han, Andrea Bowers, and Rusudan Khizanishvili, among others, will be on display in the gallery space, while the lower level will be activated by The Feminist Institute's Memory Lab, during which female and nonbinary artists can book 90-minute digitization appointments to transform their creations. 

See it at Manhattan's Pen & Brush Gallery from March 7 through April 20.

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  • Art

Deep-dive into the works of American ceramist and painter Toshiko Takaezu with this retrospective and monograph coming to the Noguchi Museum in Queens from March 20 to July 28, 2024.

The first nationally touring retrospective of Takaezu’s work in twenty years, Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within will feature about 200 pieces from private and public collections around the country, including her rarely-seen acrylic paintings and weavings, ceramic sculptures including her signature “closed forms,” Moons, Garden Seats, Trees, and select works from her late masterpiece, the Star Series. 

Following its presentation at The Noguchi Museum, the exhibition—which is organized with assistance from the Toshiko Takaezu Foundation and the Takaezu familywill travel to several additional venues across the United States.

  • Art
  • Art

Inside a venue dating back 100 years into the past, a new art show explores a question of the future: How can human creativity and artificial intelligence coexist?

ARTECHOUSE, located inside an old boiler room at Chelsea Market, has debuted its latest digital art exhibition, "World of AI·magination;" tickets are on sale here starting at $21/person. To create the exhibition, ARTECHOUSE Studio developed original visual elements with generative AI systems. Designers hope to inspire visitors to consider AI as a "creative associate rather than a mere tool for innovation." 

World of AI·magination centers around a 20-minute cinematic experience with six scenes. One scene, called the Library of Magical Portals, features colossal books brimming with dreams and algorithms. Another scene called Symphony of Illusions constantly morphs, while the Infinite Maze immerses visitors into multiple parallels.

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

Explore "The End of Fossil Fuel," the latest pop-up from the NYC Climate Museum. It's free to visit in Soho and offers a bevy of eye-opening activities for all ages.

Inside the gallery, a collection of maps will put climate change issues into perspective, alongside text panels about the history of the fossil fuel industry. The exhibits trace the origins of the climate and inequality crises and how we got to where we are today. Other activations include a sticker wall where visitors commit to specific climate actions and a kids' corner with books and drawing materials.

Find the pop-up at 105 Wooster Street in Soho through April 30. The museum is free to visit and open to all. It's open Wednesdays-Sundays from 1-6pm. 

  • Art

Taking over the Asia Society from February 13 through August 11, 2024, this immersive photography and video exhibition will bring together the works of more than 50 photographers and video artists from China and around the world to visualize the causes and consequences of the climate crisis.

The showwhich will take attendees from deep within coal mines to the melting glaciers of the greater Himalaya—is co-curated by photographer Susan Meiselas and international exhibition designer Jeroen de Vries, and led by Orville Schell, Asia Society Vice President and Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations.

Along with the artworks themselves, the exhibition will feature a series of speaker events, performances, films and more throughout the run of the exhibition. 

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  • Museums

The Grolier Club is America's oldest society for bibliophiles, and they're showcasing decades' worth of bookbinding magic at their 60th Street headquarters. Highlights of the exhibit include silver filigreed and jeweled binding from the 1600s, as well as bindings that date back all the way to the 1540s.

The exhibition highlights more than 100 historic and fine bindings, tracing the evolution of decorated bindings and celebrating the works as three-dimensional art objects. The oldest in the collection is pigskin binding with etched brass cornerpieces and central boss, while the newest is a 2019 free-drawn gilded design in a polychrome palette. 

"Judging a Book by Its Cover: Bookbindings from the Collections of The Grolier Club, 1470s-2020" runs through April 13, 2024. It's free to attend, but make sure to book a tour or attend a talk for the full experience.

  • Things to do

Make your worries disappear at New York's sexiest comedy variety show, "Love, Sex, and Magic." Comedian Jenny Gorelick hosts this evening of delights and promises she has a few tricks up her sleeve. She's invited guests in burlesque, circus, musical comedy, drag, and of course, magic to share the stage.

See the show at Arlo Williamsburg in the Mirror Bar. Upcoming dates are on March 7, April 4, May 2, and June 6.

 

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Looking for more things to do?

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  • Health and beauty
  • Spas

It’s no secret that New Yorkers are stressed, but when it comes to unwinding, we’re pretty competitive about that too—that’s where the best spas in NYC come in. The city boasts some of the most luxurious spas in the country, but affordable spa treatments also abound. So get inspired with birthday party ideas in NYC or date night ideas in NYC and book yourself a treatment at one of our favorite New York City spas.

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