NYC events in May 2024

Described as "a huge 'Arigato!' from the Japanese community to New York City," the Japan Parade brings dance performances, musicians, marching bands, martial arts and traditional costumes to Manhattan.

The parade marches along Central Park West between 81st Street and 67th Street (heading south toward 67th Street) on Saturday, May 11 starting at 1pm.

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 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. 

Here's the festival's schedule for May: May 5 on the Upper East Side; May 11 in Chelsea; May 19 in Park Slope; May 26 in Greenwich Village. 

Smorgasburg, the food bazaar spectacular, is back for 2024 with dozens of great local vendors across three locations.

In fact, with more than 70 vendors, it's the largest Smorgasburg lineup since 2018! Vendors this year will serve up fragrant Ethiopian stews, Hawaii-style street comforts, explosive pani puri, potato puff poutine, and lots more.

Smorgasburg WTC runs on Fridays; Williamsburg is on Saturdays; and Prospect Park is on Sundays. Each location is open from 11am-6pm and operates weekly through October. 

Six open-air night markets will pop up around town this summer, from the Bronx to Brooklyn and Manhattan to Queens. Plus, the Vegan Night Market and Latin Night Market are back! We've rounded up details on all six, so grab some cash and make plans to eat locally—and deliciously.

Screaming and crying girls. Innumerable hotel rooms. Nonstop camera flashes. A group of four Liverpudlian guys in the middle of it all. Beatlemania made an indelible mark on history and on our lives.

Sir Paul McCartney, the group’s bassist and one of two lead singers, is showcasing more than 250 of his own photographs that illustrate the intensity of this historical moment, but also the quiet, personal moments unseen by millions of fans in “Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm” at the Brooklyn Museum. The show opens on May 3.

Inside are photos illustrating the demands of touring, the constant media attention as well as McCartney’s band members, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, who were undergoing an extremely life-changing era. The exhibit gives a highly personal look into their lives much like a family album, according to the museum.

If you know anything about hip-hop, then you understand that it’s not just a genre of music—it’s an entire lifestyle, complete with its own lexicon, fashion and accessories. 

The American Museum of Natural History is going to pay homage to some of the most iconic custom-made jewelry in hip-hop history with its exhibit “Ice Cold,” which opens May 9 in celebration of the genre’s 50th anniversary. 

The exhibition will showcase jewelry from the 1980s until today and will include Slick Rick’s gem-encrusted crown, the Notorious B.I.G.’s gold ‘Jesus piece’, Nicki Minaj’s sparkling ‘Barbie’ pendant, and pieces from Erykah Badu, A$AP Rocky, Joey Bada$$, A$AP Ferg, and Tyler, the Creator, among many other legendary pieces of bling.

Art nerds can’t wait until the Whitney Biennial, which happens every two years. It’s always a gigantic showcase of some of the coolest, newest, and most provocative art at a big New York City museum. It’s the Whitney Museum of American Art’s landmark exhibition series and the longest-running survey of American Art, on view through August 11.

This year, the Biennial is themed “Even Better Than The Real Thing” and features the work of 71 artists and collectives. It does a lot in this iteration. The survey examines rapidly advancing technologies and machine learning tools; the body and subjectivity as it pertains to queer identity, body sovereignty, motherhood, the aging body, and the trans body; material agency and the use of unstable media; and lots more.

Overarching is the focus on “the real,” an extremely present topic these days with the onslaught of incorrect ChatGPT answers, horrifying deep fakes and art made by AI. 

Head in the Clouds, an epic music festival that highlights Asian-American talent, is coming back to New York City on May 11 and 12 at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. 

This is the second time 88Rising, the recording company that represents top Asian artists like Joji and Keith Ape, is having its festival in New York following the success of last year’s event. Tickets for the festival start at $259.50.

Artists in this year’s lineup include the viral Internet girl group ATARASHII GAKKO!, R&B artist thuy, K-Pop group Young Posse, and many others. 

Shop 'til you drop at FAD Market, a curated fashion, art and design pop-up marketplace, which is back for 2024. Expect to see your favorite makers plus brand new creatives to help you live smarter, gift better and support local businesses. 

FAD—which stands for Fashion, Art and Design—takes over different venues with a horde of independent vendors and creators. Admission is free and dogs are welcome!

Here's the schedule for May: 
— May 4-5: Brooklyn Brewery Market at Brooklyn Brewery
— May 11-12: Mother's Day and Made in NYC Market at Empire Stores in Dumbo
— May 18-19: NYCxDesign Market at The Invisible Dog Art Center

The Hester Street Fair is back for its 15th season bringing together extraordinary local vendors for a bustling outdoor marketplace. The market features handmade jewelry, ceramics and candles, pet accessories, vintage clothing, seasonal pies, soju-spiced cocktails and lots more.

Find all the fun at the Seaport at Pier 17 (89 South Street). Here's what's on the schedule for May:
— Classic Market, May 11: Stroll through the shops and pick up a gift for the mother figures in your life in advance of Mother's Day.
— Made in NYC Market, May 12: Shop local from vendors who represent NYC.
— Memorial Day weekend, May 25-26: Kick off the summer season with this market that welcomes summertime. 

For a full rundown of vendors, check out Hester Street Fair's website.

Average New Yorkers who can't get into the Met Gala or, perhaps, refuse to condone all that the event of the season stands for should pay attention to an eclectic yet honorable alternative: the Debt Gala. Proceeds help people facing debts, including medical bills.

The inclusive fest is returning to Brooklyn’s Bell House on May 5, the day before the Met Gala takes over the Met. Tickets to the event are currently on sale right here.

Just like its celebrity-filled counterpart, the Debt Gala features an annual theme. This year, it will be “Sleeping Baddies: Slumber Party,” where guests are encouraged to transform sleep-related materials and garments into edgy and exciting fashion statements.

Returning for its fifth year, the largest and longest running AAPI comedy festival is back with a star-studded lineup that includes Jes Tom (Netflix, Our Flag Means Death), Youngmi Mayer (podcaster, writer, author) Yuhua Hamasaki (RuPaul’s Drag Race), The Fung Brothers (YouTube), and more.

It's not just stand-up, either. Comedians will perform improv comedy and even musical comedy. This year's festival will be held at Sugar Mouse in the St. Mark's neighborhood (47 3rd Ave.) on May 7, 14 and 15. Asian Comedy Fest will also donate a portion of its profits to the AAPI non-profit Welcome To Chinatown.

This quirky fair that considers itself a hybrid between an art fair and a piece of conceptual performance art returns for its 10th edition May 1-5 in the Seaport. As the event celebrates 10 years, this year's theme is The Big Birthday Party: Swans of the Seaport. 

See it at the 33 Seaport Hotel (33 Peck Slip). Expect an eclectic range of works in varied media, including painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, and video installations. Events kick off with a birthday bash on May 1, including a parade, bobbing for apples, pin-the-tail on Fridge, and birthday surprises. 

Tickets are free, but be sure to RSVP here.

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.

At Sip & Stitch, create your very own custom handbag with the guidance of purse pro Anthony Luciano. As a longtime handbag artisan and a fashion expert, Luciano will share tips and tricks for making a handbag that's perfect for your personal style. 

The lively workshops are held in Luciano’s Garment District studio, which is packed with vintage ephemera, beautiful decor, and plenty of purses to spark your inspiration. The class begins with a chance to pick a leather color and texture of your choosing—just nothing boring, as Luciano admonishes. Once that’s sorted, he’ll guide you through each step of the process, from cutting to gluing to making final touches. While the workshop is called Sip & Stitch, there’s technically no “stitching” involved, so don’t be intimidated. Even if you’re not a crafty person, Luciano and his team will make sure you leave with a handbag you’re proud to carry. 

Several workshops fall under the Sip & Stitch umbrella, from a classic handbag to a unisex option. Prices range from $175 to $275, with adult beverages and snacks provided at the higher price point. The team plays pop and disco tunes in the background, making a fun and fashionable night for all.

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz are more often associated with their musical artistry, but the NYC-native couple has also amassed an impressive visual art collection. This winter, you'll be able to see their collection at the Brooklyn Museum in a new exhibit called "Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys."

The exhibition will feature more than 100 major artworks by important Black American, African, and African diasporic artists including Gordon Parks, Kehinde Wiley, Hassan Hajjaj, Barkley L. Hendricks, Lorna Simpson, and Amy Sherald. The show featuring giants in the art world runs through July 7, 2024. 

The New York Botanical Garden is getting in on the Mad Hatter fun with a new, garden-wide exhibition for 2024 titled “Wonderland: Curious Nature.”

On view from Saturday, May 18 through Sunday, October 27, 2024, the enchanting display will “feature horticultural and contemporary art installations that evoke the spirit of exploration and uncanny nature of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” per the NYBG.

Inspired by the classic tale and its 1871 sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, the immersive exhibition will be a true sensory adventure, with visitors able to explore a variety of mind-bending experiences set throughout the botanical garden’s iconic glasshouse, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library Building and across its stunning 250-acre grounds.

For more than a century, the Statue of Liberty has offered inspiration as a beacon of freedom, equality, and democracy. And for just as long, she has also served as an inspiration for tattoo artists. 

A new exhibit at City Reliquary, a jewel box of a museum in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood, features vintage Statue of Liberty tattoos. As the first show devoted to Lady Liberty ink, it also traces tattooing history in NYC since the 1800s. "Liberty the Tattooed Lady: The Great Bartholdi Statue as Depicted in Tattooing" is now open through January 12, 2025.

The exhibition spotlights antique flash, vintage photographs, drawings, and other ephemera that show how Lady Liberty has been a popular subject in tattooing for as long as she’s stood in New York Harbor. You'll even get to see vintage tattoo art that's never been on display before.

A Gowanus block will transform into a street festival on Saturday, May 4 to support Badass Animal Rescue, a non-profit that rehabilitates dogs that are coming from high kill shelters. The festival will include food, pup meet-ups, dog magicians, raffles, and many other forms of entertainment for canines and their humans. It's free to attend and promises fun for all — canine and human.

Let’s face it: Between all the noise, how expensive everything is, and how fast we all gotta move, New York isn’t the most conducive for fostering great mental health, which is why any event that prioritizes our psychological wellbeing always feels refreshing.

Sound Mind Music Festival for Mental Health is the perfect example of an event that wants to get serious about mental health while still having fun, and it’s been going strong for several years. On Sunday, May 18, the festival is returning for its sixth year of celebrations that will include a free, open-air event in the streets of Brooklyn. 

The festival will take place on Jefferson Street between Irving Avenue and Wyckoff Avenue in Bushwick starting at 12pm, and will feature sets from musician Kevin Morby, MisterWives, Bailen and SHAED. 

Celebrate all things design at this annual festival that brings in the city’s designers, makers, and manufacturers, along with cutting-edge design businesses and districts, and leading cultural and academic institutions. The festival covers all areas of design, from architecture and urban design to product design and entertainment design.

The eight-day festival from May 16-23 will take place at different venues across the five boroughs, so make sure to check out their website for updates on programming. 

One of the surest signs of spring: Beloved amusement park Luna Park in Coney Island reopens! Amusement park staples will still entertain you this summer, but new rides and upgrades are also in the works.

First off: Electric Eden Raceway, a completely new attraction featuring sustainable, electric-powered Go-Karts, will open later this season. Plus, the park's restaurants and concession stands "will be elevating their menus with even more delicious food and beverage options," park officials said.

Bryant Park Picnic Performances are coming back for 2024. There's a long list of 25 live music, dance, and theater events that’ll occur May 31 to September 13.

For May, head to the park on May 31 to enjoy New York City Opera's Puccini Celebration. As usual, there are no tickets required (it’s free) and there will be more than 700 picnic blankets for audience members to borrow and chairs available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Great authors help readers understand the world, and this upcoming literary festival invites everyone to understand their fascinating writing process. 

The PEN World Voices Festival is back for its 20th edition running from May 8 to 11 in New York City, with most events in Greenwich Village. With 100 writers featured in 35 events, the festival celebrates the power of literature both to transport and galvanize. The festival features literary superstars like Roxane Gay, Min Jin Lee, Tara Westover, Joyce Carol Oates, and Jodi Picoult. 

Here's the full event list. Festival passes are available for $75, though you can also buy one-off tickets to each event.

Digital art and poetry will combine for a dive into Afrocentricity and Afrofuturism at this new immersive exhibit in Chelsea. "Aṣẹ: Afro Frequencies" is now open at ARTECHOUSE and runs all summer.

The digital art exhibition promises a "vibrant reflection upon the past, present, and future of the Black experience." It's told through the perspective of London-based Afro-surrealist digital artist Vince Fraser alongside evocative poetry by ursula rucker.

Both artists worked to honor the legacy, struggles, and complexities of the Black experience in their work. Even the exhibition's title, "Aṣẹ" stems from a powerful mantra, affirmation, and philosophical belief held by the Yoruba people of West Africa, meaning "so will it be." (By the way, that's pronounced as AH-shay.)

Poster House, the country's first museum dedicated entirely to the global history of posters, turns its lens on its hometown for its latest exhibit. "Wonder City of the World: New York City Travel Posters," highlights 80 works that capture NYC's landmarks in vibrant color and detail. 

The exhibit explores how New York City was represented to thousands of travelers, immigrants, and tourists during the 20th century. A 19th century marketing strategy coined the phrase "Wonder City," and it appeared in dozens of newspaper and magazine advertisements, as well as articles, postcards and souvenir booklets. New York’s massive growth during this time ultimately led to the creation of more travel posters than were designed for any other city in the world. The images included scenes of the city as seen from the water, from the ground, and, eventually, from the air. 

The show was curated by Nicholas D. Lowry, and it's on view through September 8.

The Rubin Museum, that legendary building in Chelsea that has housed the largest collection of Himalayan art in the world for two decades, is permanently closing its physical space later this year. As sad as this is for New York’s culture scene, New Yorkers at least get to enjoy the museum until October, and you should definitely plan to make the most of it until then. 

The museum’s last exhibit, “Reimagine: Himalayan Art Now,” will be an appropriate, forward-looking nod to 32 contemporary artists from the Himalayas and the Asian diaspora whose work will be shown in dialogue with objects from the museum’s existing collection.

The exhibit will continue all the way through the museum's physical closing on October 6. Expect to see 32 new commissions and work across mediums, including painting, sculpture, sound, video, performance and more.

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.

In the TV show "The Masked Singer," celebrity contestants disguise themselves head to toe in elaborate costumes to shield their identities. The concept has captivated audiences of all ages for 11 seasons, and now you can see the incredible costumes up-close and in-person. 

The Paley Center for Media will present " Spotlighting the Costumes That Captivated America" at its midtown museum from through Sunday, May 19. 

The costumes on display, which helped the show win two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Costume Design, merge fashion, fantasy, and artistry. Each is a fantastical creation, extraordinary in its intricacy, originality, and scale. Some of the fan-favorite costumes include Miss Monster, Flamingo, Chameleon, and Gazelle.

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 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. 

Featuring 60 works from The Met's collection, this exhibition traces the history and transformation of product photography, and delves into the techniques and messaging that brands have used throughout time. The photos include an ad for Panama hats in 1916, lipstick from the 1940s, shoes from the 1950s, and so much more.

"The Real Thing: Unpackaging Product Photography" is on view through August 4.

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.

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.

This is more than your garden-variety art exhibition–None Whatsoever: Zen Paintings from the Gitter-Yelen Collection is, yes, a tranquil display of Zen Buddhist artwork. But it will also feature in-gallery activities like meditation sessions, calligraphy workshops, a tea ceremony demonstration and an ikebana (floral arrangement) workshop.

Spanning over 400 years and drawn from the Gitter-Yelen Collection, the exhibit explores the origins of Zen Buddhism through more than 50 works by Buddhist painter-monks, including the 18th-century master Hakuin Ekaku.

Check out the show through Sunday, June 16 at the Japan Society. 

Known for his large-scale, multimedia artworks, New York’s own Brian Andrew Whiteley is taking over Brooklyn’s Invisible Dog Art Center for a one-day installation of Dirty Secret Volume IV.

The performative, interactive “Human Petting Zoo” experience “will go further down the spiral into an even more intense labyrinth and playland,” organizers promise. We’re talking “furry fountains,” human cages, hay bales and projection art, as well as live music and electronic sets by Brian Wenner with select instrumentalists. Attendees can truly choose their own adventure, immersing themselves in a unique atmosphere where they can pet, play and connect with live performers in furry outfits.

See it on Thursday, May 9. It's recommended that you RSVP in advance here; if you do, you'll get a basket of food you can feed to the furries. 

You can do better than a dozen carnations for Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 12) this year to show Mom how much you love her and how well you know her. After all, she brought you into the world, so the least you can do is show your appreciation. Check out this list of things to do on Mother’s Day including the best restaurants in NYC to take her to, the best shops in NYC for gifts, spas in NYC for a relaxing day, flower shops for the perfect bouquet—basically, how to spoil the most important lady you know.

Ahoy, sailors! Fleet Week NYC 2024 is a celebration in New York City honoring the members of the United States Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps. From May 22-28, the weeklong party includes discussions, ship tours, performances and military fun.

On Memorial Day 2024, NYC will kick off the start to summer with tons of events. Memorial Day isn’t just about day-drinking and savoring the long weekend—it’s also about honoring the men and women who have died while serving in our armed forces. So before you chow down on the best BBQ in the city and line up for the best Memorial Day sample sales, remember the sacrifices made for the red, white and blue.