The best things to do in spring in NYC

The Orchid Show—NYC’s ode to springtime—should not to be confused with the season’s other stupendous garden party, the Macy’s Flower Show. However, both bloom fests are worth a visit. If you’re not familiar, The New York Botanical Garden’s Orchid Show exhibits thousands of species of beautiful blossoming orchids, and it’s one of the best NYC events in March, which lasts through April.

Over the course of five decades, David Bowie drafted the new rules of rock & roll—and the rest of us are still trying to keep up. After breaking ticket records at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the touring exhibition “David Bowie Is” hits NYC in March, with more than 400 objects from the celestial pop icon’s life, including costumes, lyric sheets and performance clips. Here’s what you should look (and listen) for in this celebration of all things Thin White Duke.

Sakura Matsuri, one of Brooklyn's best spring festivals, is an annual celebration of Japanese culture. At the Cherry Blossom Festival, NYC-folk and out-of-towners can partake in a bunch of activities while being surrounded by blooming, pink-petal trees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which beckons the beloved tradition as one of the best things to do outside in the city.

New Yorkers and out-of-towners alike flock to this floral-filled exhibition, where jaw-dropping arrangements decorated to fit a specific theme are on display for two weeks. The theme for this 44th annual installment at the megachain’s Herald Square location is "Once Upon A Springtime," so expect to see a lot of plays on fantasy-inspired settings and storybook scenes.

NYC offers a bevy of ways you can show solidarity for your sisters during Women’s History Month. New York ladies are getting in formation by hosting a series of cool events that range from nabbing beauty services at one of the best blow dry bars to an all-female jazz festival, comedy show and more. You can even attend a global protest to fight for women’s rights!

Every May, Randalls Island becomes the epicenter of the art world for four days thanks to Frieze New York, the art fair housed under a massive tent. Every year since 2012, dealers and deep-pocketed collectors have descended on the fair from all over the planet, and Frieze New York will be no different, as more than 200 art galleries bring bushels of artworks of every conceivable size and medium and then some.

Robert De Niro and co.'s Tribeca Film Festival has long shown a spotlight on local indie features, documentaries, foreign films, the latest from big-name talent and the greatest from up-and-coming filmmakers. We've got your complete one-stop-shopping guide to Tribeca Film Festival: our personal must-see picks, movie screenings, ticket info, a list of nearby bars and restaurants and oh-so-much more.

Some of the city's sharpest comedians and drag queens gather to toast the legacy of the eternal, indelible Carrie Fisher at this fund-raiser for the International Bipolar Foundation. Show up in your finest look from Fisher's numerous film roles—or dress as Debbie Reynolds to one-up your competition—and gag to performances by Brita Filter, Sherry Vine, Jan Sport, Elizabeth James, Bobby Hankinson, George Civeris and other acts.

Trick out your brunch-time cocktailing at this afternoon fest hosted by the tomato-and-vodka obsessed Bloody Mary Liberation Party. Sample various inventive pours from New York watering holes over the course of 2.5 hours while getting down to beats by a live DJ.

We all know spring is the season for garden parties, and it’s hard to think of a lush green space more perfect for a booze-filled afternoon than the New York Botanical Garden. Take in the fairy-tale–like scenery of 300,000 freshly planted daffodil bulbs while sipping glasses of New York and out-of-state wine from your souvenir chalice and listening to live music. And don’t stop there: Your ticket grants entry to all of the NYBG’s 250 acres, including the Perennial Garden, with its colorful tulips and pansies, as well as the Native Plant Garden, which is filled with wildflowers and ferns.