New York's best festivals: The city's top parades, fairs and fetes
Whether you're a cinéaste, a foodie or just looking for a good party, check out our rundown of NYC's best festivals.
Mon Oct 15 2012
Each week we sort through New York City's events in fashion, film, food, nightlife and theater to find the best festivals in the five boroughs. From street-shuttering parades to blow-out parties to eye-catching art fairs, we collect the biggest celebrations happening in town.
Lower East Side Festival of the Arts
- Critics choice
- Free
Poets, playwrights, puppeteers and other performers in and around the Lower East Side will partake in this annual gathering centered at the Theater for the New City.
- Theater for the New City 155 First Ave, between 9th and 10th Sts
- Sat May 25 - Sun May 26
Coney Island Mermaid Parade
- Critics choice
- Free
Glitter-covered seminude revelers, aquatically adorned floats and classic cruisers fill Surf Avenue for this annual art parade. The party has grown quite a bit over its three decades and now draws an audience of more than half a million, with well
- Location TBA
- Sat Jun 22
Museum Mile Festival
- Critics choice
- Free
A 23-block stretch of Fifth Avenue becomes a car-free promenade when ten of the city’s most prestigious art institutions—including the Guggenheim, the Met and the Museum of the City of New York—open their doors to the public free of charge for three
- Various locations
- Tue Jun 11
Governors Island
- Critics choice
- Free
The gratis ferry runs to this carless oasis through September, transporting New Yorkers to bike rental, concerts and art events. This year, New-York Historical Society curates the exhibit “WWII & NYC: Photography and Propaganda,” Empire Historic
- Governors Island Governors Island
- Sat May 25 - Sun Sep 29
Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks
- Critics choice
- Free
For this mother of all pyrotechnic displays, Macy's will explode more than 40,000 fireworks choreographed to a 25-minute patriotic score. Stake out a nice spot along the Hudson to watch, and bring your own picnic basket with beverages to toast our
- Location TBA
- Thu Jul 4
Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival
- Critics choice
- Free
Experience culture clash at this Lower East Side block party, which celebrates the Chinese and Jewish communities who’ve called the neighborhood home.
- Museum at Eldridge Street 12 Eldridge St, between Canal and Division Sts, 10002
- Sun Jun 9
Bike Month NYC
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
Each year, Transportation Alternatives and several biking businesses and nonprofits collaborate to make May the most cycling-friendly time of year. The full schedule is still to be announced, but look out for pedal-powered events such as Bike Expo
- Various locations
- Fri May 24 - Fri May 31
Howl! Festival
- Critics choice
- Free
The spirit of poet Allen Ginsberg informs this annual arts festival in the East Village.
- Various locations
- Fri May 31 - Sun Jun 2
Red Bull Music Academy: 12 Years of DFA
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
The still-fab-after-all-these-years DFA label celebrates a birthday in the rather bizarre setting of the Grand Prospect Hall ("We make your dreams come true!"). Main man James Murphy will be on the decks, of course; he'll be joined by Shit Robot,
- The Grand Prospect Hall 263 Prospect Ave , between Fifth and Sixth Aves
- Sat May 25
Bastille Day
- Critics choice
- Free
E 60th St between Fifth and Lexington Aves (bastilledayny.com).Indulge your inner Francophile during this celebration of France’s independence. Held on three avenue blocks closed to traffic, the fest boasts tasty treats like crêpes and cheeses,
- Location TBA
- Sun Jul 14
National Puerto Rican Day Parade
- Critics choice
- Free
Salsa music blares, and scantily clad revelers dance or ride colorful floats at this freewheeling celebration of the city’s largest Hispanic community. Fifth Ave from 44th St to 79th St. Subway: D, F to 42nd St–Bryant Park; E to Fifth Ave–53rd St;
- Location TBA
- Sun Jun 9
City of Water Day
- Critics choice
- Free
Locations vary; visit cityofwaterday.org for details. Anyone who’s spent time in landlocked parts of the country will tell you that a city without water is like…erm, a city without water. The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance celebrates NYC’s best
- Location TBA
- Sat Jul 20
Figment NYC
- Critics choice
- Free
This two-day art happening takes over Governors Island, turning it into a Seussian wonderland filled with fantastical installations and sculptures. This year’s schedule is still in the offing, but last year’s included offerings such as a
- Governors Island Governors Island
- Sat Jun 8 - Sun Jun 9
Make Music New York
- Critics choice
- Free
The first official day of summer gets off to a tuneful start, with musicians swarming sidewalks, parks and other outdoor spots to serenade New Yorkers in all five boroughs throughout the day. Notable shows this year include a performance of Song
- Various locations
- Fri Jun 21 - Sat Jun 22
West Indian American Day Carnival
- Critics choice
- Free
This Caribbean celebration, known for having lively music and lots of skin, is never short on costumed stilt dancers, floats blaring soca and calypso music, and plenty of flags from countries such as Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. Look
- Location TBA
- Mon Sep 2
Columbus Day Parade
- Critics choice
- Free
He may be one of the most popular failures in history, but 35,000 marchers and nearly 1 million spectators are expected along Fifth Avenue to mark the day when Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas and to celebrate the heritage of the
- Location TBA
- Mon Oct 14
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
- Critics choice
- Free
For the 87th year, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will usher in the holiday season with familiar sights like giant balloons, high-kicking Rockettes and Santa’s sleigh, plus celebrity appearances. Begins at W 77th St and Central Park West; for
- Location TBA
- Thu Nov 28
Village Halloween Parade
- Critics choice
- Free
Sixth Ave from Spring St to 16th St. We usually forget about this annual masquerade and drunken circus until the moment we get on the 1 train and find ourselves surrounded by hundreds of proton-packed Ghostbusters, inebriated not-so-Real Housewives
- Location TBA
- Thu Oct 31
Big Apple BBQ Block Party
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
- Free
Head to Madison Square Park for the 11th edition of this smoked- and grilled-meat blowout. Top pit masters from restaurants all over the country—including Blue Smoke, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Texas’s famed Salt Lick and more—will dish out exceptional
- Madison Square Park E 23rd St to E 26th St, between Fifth and Madison Aves
- Sat Jun 8 - Sun Jun 9
ANT Fest 2013
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
The busy bees at Ars Nova have combed through a heap of open submissions, piling dozens of the best into a performative anthill teeming with drama, dance, vaudeville and musical comedy. Go to arsnovanyc.com for a complete lineup and the schedule for
- 511 W 54th St, between Tenth and Eleventh Aves
- $5–$15
- Mon Jun 3 - Sat Jun 29
New Museum Block Party
- Critics choice
- Free
The downtown art institution hosts this street fair with activities including performances by Sxip Shirey and High Priest of Antipop Consortium, family-friendly workshops and free tours of the museum for attendees.
- Sara D. Roosevelt Park Chrystie St, between Canal and E Houston Sts
- Sat Jul 20
Midsummer Night Swing
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
The Midsummer Night Swing festival fills Lincoln Center Plaza with three weeks of outdoor music and dance parties. The floor opens at 6pm. Then from 6:30 to 7:15pm, pros teach you moves, so when the live music starts 15 minutes later, you’ll be
- Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center W 62nd St, between Columbus and Amsterdam Aves
- Tue Jun 25 - Sat Jul 13
Rubén Blades
- Critics choice
- Free
Lincoln Center Out of Doors. There's a good reason that Panamanian singer, songwriter and bandleader Rubén Blades is one of salsa's most durable icons: Simply put, few other performers can speak to your mind, touch your heart and move your ass all
- Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center W 62nd St, between Columbus and Amsterdam Aves
- Wed Aug 7
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