Are people who FaceTime while walking down the street literally insane?

The New York City Saint Patrick's Day Parade is coming up, and NYC's parade is a really big deal. It's the oldest and largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the world. The first NYC parade was held in 1762, and it's been a time-honored tradition of Irish pride ever since. From pipe and drum bands to dancers and performers in regalia, midtown Manhattan transforms into a big party with a sea of green revelers every year for this festive affair. More than 150,000 people march in the parade every year, with more than 2 million spectators cheering them on.

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade takes place on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. The parade begins at 44th Street at 11am, marching up Fifth Avenue and ending around 4:30pm. Anywhere on Fifth Avenue will provide a good view of the festivities. Spectators can begin lining up as early as they would like. For the best views, get there early!

NYC has an amazing independent film scene, with some of the best arthouse cinemas in the world. (Just check out Time Out's new global list of the 100 Greatest Cinemas in the World for proof.) And now New Yorkers can take advantage of it for free with a new campaign out of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment: Running from March 20 through 26, the inaugural Art House Cinema Week will offer up 5,000 free tickets to 30 participating independent theaters around town, including Film Forum, Metrograph, IFC Center, the Angelika and more.

So, how exactly do you get said tickets? You have to be among eligible New Yorkers, including NYC teachers, CUNY students, U.S. active-duty military personnel and veterans, people with disabilities, SNAP/EBT cardholders and NYC families registered with the nonprofit Cool Culture, which provides free access to cultural spaces. Simply present valid forms of identification at the box office. 

Advance tickets are currently available to all for purchase and additional information can be found on the Art House New York website. 

What does American art look like right now? According to the 2026 Whitney Biennial: complicated. Opening on March 8 at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the exhibition gathers 56 artists navigating everything from AI belief systems to climate grief and geopolitical power.

Co-organized by Marcela Guerrero and Drew Sawyer, the exhibition spans most of the museum’s galleries and extends into performance and public programming. The curators resisted the urge to build the show around a tidy thesis. “Rather than coming to our research for the Biennial with a preconceived container, Marcela and I let our conversations with artists guide us,” Sawyer said during an official preview. 

The participant list reflects that breadth. In addition to artists working across 25 states, the Biennial includes artists from Afghanistan, Chile, Iraq, Okinawa, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Vietnam—“places marked by the reach of U.S. power,” as the museum noted. The definition of “American art” here feels elastic and deliberately complicated.

Stone Street's St. Patrick's Day celebration is pretty legendary—outside of the official parade itself, it's New York's biggest annual Paddy's party. And this year, the spirited street festival is spanning Friday, March 13 through Tuesday, 17 with live Irish bands, traditional bagpipers, DJ sets and more, keeping the fun going from noon to 10pm daily. A dozen outdoor bars will be set up along the block and selling both food (classic Irish pub specials, Mexican street food, Caribbean treats and more) and drinks, including beer on draft (Guinness, duh), green “Shamrock” margaritas, green jello shots and other specialty drinks, as well as non-alcoholic options.

Few arrivals have captured NYC’s imagination quite like Dinosaur, the colossal aluminum pigeon by Iván Argote that has perched on the High Line’s Spur for the past year and a half. Now, as the viral sculpture prepares to fly the coop in early April, the park is giving its feathered icon a lively New York goodbye.

On March 21, the High Line will host Farewell, Dinosaur, an afternoon celebration marking the end of her 18-month run on the High Line Plinth. From 12pm to 4pm, the Spur will transform into a pigeon-themed playground, complete with a live DJ set from Tommy Sparks, family workshops scattered throughout the space and rounds of trivia for those who consider themselves amateur ornithologists—or at least committed pigeon fans.

There’s also a bingo session hosted by Miriam Abrahams, winner of the city’s delightfully niche pigeon impersonation pageant with plenty of pigeon prizes. Meanwhile, Argote himself will be signing limited-edition Dinosaur posters at a pop-up from the High Line Shop, alongside a flock of themed merchandise. Attendees are encouraged to dress for the occasion in full-on pigeon-core. Professional photos will be taken at the foot of the sculpture so visitors can document their moment with the city’s favorite oversized bird. 

On May 4, 1912, at the age of 16, Lee rode on horseback in an honor guard leading a massive parade up Fifth Avenue as part of the Women’s Suffrage Movement. However, despite her activism, Lee was impacted by the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigrants from obtaining citizenship. Lee’s narrative is among many other real-life women’s stories linked to New York City and shared by the She Shapes History tour, “Badass Women of New York.”

Beginning March 21, the walking tour will run on weekends from 10am to noon. The two-mile experience starts from Grand Central Terminal and ends at Central Park. The tour brings to life the stories of women who shaped New York City in many ways. Their influence stretches across many attributes that NYC is often associated with, including publishing, politics, civil rights, the arts and finance. One of them was Frances Perkins, the first woman to serve as a secretary within the U.S. Cabinet.

Hiroshi Hiraoka, one of the most respected ramen chefs in Japan and the chef-owner behind Sapporo’s Japanese Ramen Noodle Lab Q, is heading to New York City this month for a series of limited-time pop-ups at two Manhattan restaurants. The events will bring his refined “tanrei” style ramen, rarely experienced outside Japan, to diners at Towa in Flatiron and nonono in NoMad.

First up is an elegant collaboration at Towa, where Hiraoka will join chef Masaya Shirai for a special “ramen-kaiseki” tasting menu running March 21–22 and March 28–29. The multi-course experience will feature two different types of Hiraoka’s signature ramen (one warm and one chilled) woven into the progression of dishes. Prices are $125 per person at the sushi counter and $75 in the dining room.

After the Towa collaboration wraps up, Hiraoka will continue his New York visit at nonono, Hand Hospitality’s yakitori and ramen izakaya. From March 30 through April 4, guests can order his ramen a la carte during lunch and dinner service. The pop-up is also part of a bigger transition for nonono, as Hiraoka is working with the team on a refreshed ramen program that relies on the chicken-based broths. The dishes developed during the collaboration will remain on the menu after the chef returns to Japan.

If you need a reminder that creativity doesn’t come with an expiration date, head to the 2026 JASA Art Show on Wednesday, March 18. Hosted at the Evelyn & Louis Green Residence at Cooper Square (200 East 5th Street), the free evening exhibition shines a spotlight on artwork created by older New Yorkers who are proving that talent can bloom at any stage of life.

The show features pieces by participants in JASA’s programs. The organization, which serves more than 40,000 older adults every year, offers art classes and creative workshops designed to bring people together while encouraging self-expression. The results will be on full display here, from paintings and textile work to other handmade pieces that reflect the artists’ personal stories and styles.

Everything on view will be available for purchase, and every sale goes back into the community. Proceeds support JASA’s programs, including senior wellness services, housing assistance and social activities that help older adults stay connected and engaged in city life.

On March 21, get ready for an afternoon filled with fresh, vibrant brews for our Spring Beer Festival at Time Out Market. We've curated a selection of seasonal spring beers from the best local breweries—think bright flavors, crisp profiles and limited-edition warm-weather favorites. And it all lines up with the best season for basketball fans: March Madness. Throughout the fest, we will stream all the tournament action on our large projection screen.

Thirsty? You can expect tastings of exclusive spring brews from top local breweries, all-day specials on beer buckets and pitchers and live music by DWAI. Naturally, when hunger kicks, you can grab delicious bites from our line-up of vendors at Time Out Market. Whether you're a craft beer connoisseur or simply looking for a fun, lively way to welcome the season, this festival is for you.

Tickets are just $15! Reserve yours here. 

Opening March 16 at the New York Transit Museum’s Grand Central Gallery & Store, "Inspired by MetroCard" explores how the humble fare card evolved into a creative canvas for artists, designers and institutions across the city. The free exhibition pulls from contemporary artworks and the museum’s own collection to show how MetroCards have been transformed into fashion pieces, sculptures, paintings and collages, as well as limited-edition cards.

Rather than treating the MetroCard solely as transit technology, "Inspired by MetroCard" presents it as an accessible design object, one handled by almost every New Yorker and that material artists repurposed in strikingly personal ways. The show includes rare art MetroCards, fashion collaborations and works created from expired or discarded cards. Among the highlights are works by artists as different as Nina Boesch, Barbara Kruger, Nina Vishneva, Thomas McKean and VH McKenzie, who have turned the cards into everything from mosaic tiles to canvases and even a wedding dress.