101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
Warm weather is back, along with your will to go outdoors and explore NYC. Lucky for you, we've rounded up the best things to do in the spring.
Fri Mar 1 2013
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101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
21. Make a day of it in Beacon
Pictured: Long Dock Park, Beacon, NY
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Photograph: Jim Kiernan
101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
22. Wear green at the St. Patrick's Day Parade
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101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
23. Get taken for a free ride on opening day at Coney Island
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Photograph: Courtesy New York Yankees
101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
24. Kick off baseball season with NYC’s MLB teams
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Photograph: Courtesy of Stillsmoove.com
101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
25. Don't fool around on April 1, attend the April Fools Comedy Show
Pictured: JB Smoove
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Photograph: Kenneth Noland
101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
26. Ponder bravery at PEN World Voices Festival
Pictured: Jamaica Kincaid
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101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
27. Ride during Bike Month
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Photograph: Gene Schiavone
101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
28. Catch premieres during American Ballet Theater's spring season
Pictured: Symphony #9
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101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
29. See gents gyrate at the Second Annual New York Boylesque Festival
Pictured: The Evil Hate Monkey
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Photograph: Courtesy of the James Beard Foundation
101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
30. Check out Torrisi and Carbone's new spot, the Lobster Club
Make a day of it in Beacon
- Critics choice
Spring means you may finally be ready to venture outside for fun again, which in turn means: day trip! For a winning combination of art, booze, fine dining and natural beauty, take the Metro-North to Beacon, New York (off-peak one way $14), one of the Hudson Valley’s more happenin’ towns. Start off at Dia:Beacon (3 Beekman St at Wolcott Ave; 845-440-0100, diabeacon.org), a contemporary-modern art gallery built inside the shell of a 300,000-square-foot former Nabisco factory that provides ample room for large-scale works by artists like Louise Bourgeois, Andy Warhol and Joseph Beuys. After wandering along the river on the Beacon Shoreline Trail, settle in for dinner at Swift at the Roundhouse at Beacon Falls (2 E Main St at Main St; 845-765-8369, roundhousebeacon.com), a New American restaurant offering picturesque views of an adjacent waterfall. Top off your day at the Hop (458 Main St between Schenck and Tioronda Aves; 845-440-8676, thehopbeacon.com), a high-class beer spot boasting a bottle list of more than 150 craft brews, plus more on tap.
Wear green at the St. Patrick's Day Parade
- Critics choice
- Free
No St. Patty’s Day in NYC would be complete without staking out a spot at this parade, which makes its 252nd march up Fifth Avenue. (The event is even older than the United States; it was started by a group of homesick Irish conscripts from the British army in 1762.) More than 2 million onlookers are expected to show up for the annual spectacle, whose 2013 grand marshal is Alfred E. Smith IV—philanthropist, former Wall Streeter and great-grandson to former Gotham mayor Al Smith.
- Fifth Ave from 44th St to 86th St
- Until Sat Mar 16
Get taken for a free ride on opening day at Coney Island
- Critics choice
Brooklyn’s beachfront diversions always open on Palm Sunday, so this year’s early Easter means you won’t have to wait too much longer to take a stomach-churning ride. Luna Park, the most recent addition to the shore (although Big Mark’s Action Park may open this summer), boasts two modern roller coasters, the Soarin’ Eagle and the Steeplechase, as well as the Sling Shot, which hurls two people 220 feet into the air, and the Zenobio, a spinning arm with two freewheeling cars at either end. Before you do anything, though, get in line for the rickety (but totally safe) Cyclone—on opening dat the first 100 people ride for free (normally $9). Take your time reaching Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, which opens on the same date—a turn on the eponymous Ferris wheel is free all day.
- Sun Mar 24
Kick off baseball season with NYC’s MLB teams
- Critics choice
No foolin’—April 1 is opening day for both the Yankees and the Mets. The Bronx Bombers face off against their ancient rivals, the Boston Red Sox, and the Amazin’s lock horns with the San Diego Padres. Even if you’re not a sports nut, nothing says spring like the rising strains of the pipe organ as you savor that first bite of hot dog.
- Yankee Stadium and Citi Field Roosevelt Ave, at 126th St, 11368
- Until Mon Apr 1
Don't fool around on April 1
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
This annual April Fools Comedy Show trots out an overstuffed lineup sure to keep the entirety of MSG doubled over. In addition to boisterous performers such as JB Smoove and Tracy Morgan, there will be time with SNL’s resident Denzel, Jay Pharoah, and a favorite local, the straight-talking Damien Lemon.
- Theater at Madison Square Garden 4 Pennsylvania Plaza (Seventh Ave), between 31st and 33rd Sts
- Mon Apr 1
Ponder bravery at PEN World Voices Festival
- Critics choice
This massive festival, now in its ninth year, brings together writers from around the globe to contemplate change, international politics and the value of free speech. This year's theme, bravery, will bring a cast of scribes including Ursula Krechel, Jamaica Kincaid (pictured), Eduardo Galeano, Téa Obreht and Fran Lebowitz.
- Various locations
- Mon Apr 29 - Sun May 5
Ride during Bike Month
- 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 New York (May 3, 4) and the TD Five Boro Bike Tour (May 5), plus a heap of classes where you can learn to ride or improve your road skills and confidence. Locations and times vary; visit bikemonthnyc.org for details.
- Various locations
- Sat May 25 - Fri May 31
Catch premieres during American Ballet Theater's spring season
- Price band: 3/4
- Critics choice
ABT returns to the Metropolitan Opera House with the premiere of Alexei Ratmansky's Shostakovich trilogy, as well as the company debut of Frederick Ashton's A Month in the Country and a new production of Le Corsaire. Dancers include Roberto Bolle, Irina Dvorovenko—in her final season with the company—Marcelo Gomes, David Hallberg, Paloma Herrera, Julie Kent, Cory Stearns, Ivan Vasiliev, Natalia Osipova and the newest principal, Hee Seo.
- Metropolitan Opera House (at Lincoln Center) Lincoln Center Plaza, at 65th St
- Sat May 25 - Sat Jul 6
See gents gyrate at the Second Annual New York Boylesque Festival
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
The idea of boylesque may not have the shock appeal that it once had—by now, most burlesque aficionados realize that the fellas like to show a little skin too. Still, with a lineup that includes Tigger!, Mr. Gorgeous, Jonny Porkpie, Go-Go Harder and sequined stars from around the world, it’s safe to say that these two night’s will have the talent to quicken the pulse.
- Gramercy Theatre 127 E 23rd St, between Park Ave South and Lexington Ave
- Fri Apr 26 - Sat Apr 27
Check out Torrisi and Carbone's new spot
- Critics choice
Following nouveau-Italian Nolita hits Torrisi Italian Specialties and Parm, downtown wunderkinds Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone expand their empire to Greenwich Village with the Lobster Club, a 12-seat sandwich shop and restaurant (down the street from their other highly anticipated spring opening, retro pasta joint Carbone). By day, classic triple-deckers will be the focus, and true to the name, the menu will feature lobster-stuffed clubs available with two sauces—a creamy white and a spicy red. For dinner, oysters from a raw bar and seafood platters will be on offer, while cocktail whiz and former Death & Company head bartender Thomas Waugh mixes libations from an extensive drinks list.
- 169 Thompson St between Bleecker and W Houston Sts
- Opens late March
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