Best things to do in spring in NYC

Things get super tropical at New York Botanical Garden just in time for spring. The theme for the 17th annual flora festival is The Orchid Show: Singapore. The display features thousands of orchids in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. As usual, there will be special Orchid Evenings during which visitors can enjoy the attraction after dark and see the Supertrees, including a gorgeous display of lights, among the orchids. There will be alcoholic beverages and snacks for purchase, as well as live entertainment. 

Women’s History Month in NYC means it’s time to attend some incredible panels, movie screenings, parties and more hosted by badass females that are making New York a better place to be. Many of these lady-led affairs are considered the best NYC events in March, so get your tickets, blast your favorite feminist songs and go to show your support for women everywhere. You can also get involved by volunteering at women's shelters or donating to nonprofits like Planned Parenthood. 

Witnessing the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s picturesque cherry blossoms is just the icing on the millennial-pink cake when you attend the always crowded Sakura Matsuri. Taiko drummers, samurai-sword masters, J-rock bands and stand-up comics grace the festival’s two stages. You’ll also find a Japanese tearoom, an art gallery, and a mini flea market that hawks mouthwatering Raaka Chocolate, wall scrolls, silk wraps and a profusion of pretty flowers.

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 subject for 2019's installment at the megachain’s Herald Square location is Journey to Paradisios. Translation? It's a cosmic dream offering revelers an out-of-this-world representation of outer space. Flower arrangements are designed to show off the "mystery of the cosmos," so we imagine there will be nods to comets, stars, planets and more astrological wonders.  

Technically, it’s “Play it fucking loud!”—at least that’s what Bob Dylan famously instructed his band to do after being heckled for going electric at a gig in ’66—but we understand why the mighty Met would want to scrub out the cursing. To toast the greatest genre of music—that’s rock & roll, of course—New York’s art-institution powerhouse turns it up to 11, displaying posters, costumes and other historical ephemera, not to mention around 130 guitars, drums and other instruments used by everyone from Chuck Berry and the Beatles to Van Halen and St. Vincent.

The late poet turned singer-songwriter’s legend lives on in this tribute, which makes its way to the States from Cohen’s homeland of Canada. In it, a dozen artists have been commissioned to create new works that interpret the lyricist’s themes. Spread over two floors, the exhibit, which was green-lighted by Cohen before his death, will also feature original drawings by the man himself, as well as a multimedia area where you can listen to Cohen covers by the likes of the National, Feist, Moby and Sufjan Stevens.