People pack into the Uptown Food Market.
Photograph: Courtesy of Uptown Night Market
Photograph: Courtesy of Uptown Night Market

The best street fairs NYC has to offer

Soak up the sun while attending these NYC street fairs with live music, great grub, and fabulous shopping.

Rossilynne Skena Culgan
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If you need another reason to get outside this summer, NYC street fairs take over various blocks in all five boroughs when the weather gets warmer. While frolicking along the city's sidewalks, snack on sensational eats from the best restaurants in NYC, score stellar throwback wares, and shop local.

As enjoyable as eating and shopping can be, there are many more things to do outside, from rocking out at music festivals to admiring some outdoor art. Take advantage of the beautiful weather, including awesome free things to do, while the streets are full of fun.

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to things to do in the summer in NYC

Best street fairs in NYC

  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs

Grand Bazaar is one of NYC’s oldest and largest marketplaces where you can buy vintage treasures, antiques, clothing and more goodies from more than 100 local merchants. Photographers, jewelers and furniture designers sell their best on Sundays between 10am and 5pm on the Upper West Side (77th Street at Columbus Avenue). 

Each week offers a different theme, from women-owned businesses to handmade items to international wares (find all the themes here). The market runs both indoors and outdoors each week all year long.

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In case you’re already missing the Winter Village at Bryant Park, fear not: A spring iteration is popping in the midtown green space all month long. With more than 175 local vendors, it's set to be Urbanspace's largest, longest market ever!

Urbanspace's Makers Market at Bryant Park is popping up in 2025 on weekends from Friday, April 18 through June 1; the market will be open on Fridays-Sundays from 11am-7pm, as well as Memorial Day, Monday, May 26. Expect to find new vendors—including sellers of eco-friendly personal care products, handcrafted mosaic art, and chic home decor—along with longtime favorites.

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  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs

The Brooklyn Flea is undoubtedly one of the most popular flea markets to hit in NYC if you're looking for the best selection of throwback wares and records.

Find Brooklyn Flea in DUMBO on the cobblestone streets of Pearl Plaza, where it spotlights roughly more than 40 vendors who display their goods beneath the Manhattan Bridge. Brooklyn Flea operates on Saturday and Sundays, March through December. Brooklyn Flea also operates in Chelsea year-round on Saturdays and Sundays.

  • Shopping

The Brooklyn Flea's newest flea market returns to the underpass of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway along Meeker Avenue between Union and Lorimer Avenues. Every Sunday from 10am to 5pm, peruse a trunk-style market where vendors sell vintage finds, cool collectibles, and handmade goods right out of their cars, with a lineup curated by the people behind the beloved and renown Brooklyn Flea.

Along with being a great spot to hunt for hidden gems, the BQ Flea is also a perfect weekend stop for good local food and a lackback community vibe.

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At this massive grub hub, there’s only one rule: Come hungry. 

For its 15th year of outdoor food and fun, Smorgasburg will be returning with more than 70 vendors. The food festival will be filled with fragrant Ethiopian stews, Hawaii-style street comforts, explosive pani puri, potato puff poutine and lots more.

In 2025, 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. 

Our pro tip? Make sure you peruse the lineup before you go—those mouthwatering scents and the bevy of choices can make you dizzy (and the dense crowds can make you hangry).

  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

Forget the 14-hour flight from NYC to Tokyo, you can now discover the tastes of Japan with just a short subway ride to JAPAN Fes. The 2025 schedule is packed with events.

The organization is hosting nearly 30 outdoor events in NYC this year. What used to be just a summertime festival is now a year-round celebration across 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.

Vendors hail from New York City, as well as other states and other countries. Past festivals have featured foods like takoyaki, ramen, matcha sweets, yakisoba, karaage, okonomiyaki and lots more. 

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

Dragon Fest, New York's largest Chinese food and cultural festival will bring multiple days of limitless food and entertainment across Manhattan and Queens in 2025. In addition to six designated "Dragon Fest" days, the festival added four "Panda Days," which will bring adorable panda-themed food, art and photo-ops.

Here are the 2025 dates: April 13 – Astor Place (Panda Day); April 20 – 6th Ave (30th–31st St); May 10 – 6th Ave (30th–31st St); May 24 – Astor Place (Panda Day); July 20 – 7th Ave, 56th–57th St, (Panda Day); August 16 (night market) – Queens Blvd, Forest Hills (Panda Day); September 20 – Broadway (113th–114th St); October 4 – 4th Ave (12th–13th St); October 5 – 6th Ave (31st–32nd St); and October 12 – Broadway (81st–82nd St).

For a full slate of events, visit Dragon Fest's Instagram or website.

  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs

Since 2017, the Bronx Night Market has been the longest-running event series in the Bronx. You can find it in Fordham Plaza on the last Saturday of each month through October. Among the 35 vendors you can find refreshing drinks from Aguas Frescas Tlaxcalita, smoked chorizo from Casallas Kitchen and grilled lobster tail from Keez 2 The Kitchen. 

Other activities include a pop-up bookstore curated by Bronx is Reading, which will host a bunch of literary activities for folks of all ages; a new general store filled with fresh products sourced locally called Fordham Farmers Market; Bronx Native's beloved Tiny Desk concert series; and a vegan bazaar that will promote the sort of healthy foods that the "traditional" market does not regularly pay attention to.

Dates for 2025 are: April 26, May 31, June 28, July 26, August 30, September 27, and October 25.

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  • Things to do

The massive foodie fest at Uptown Night Market is back in Harlem, running monthly into the fall. Expect more than 50 food, beverage and merch vendors showcasing the talents of locals in the community.

The free-to-attend outdoor event series runs on the second Thursday of the month—that's May 8, June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11, and October 9. Find the all-ages event at 133rd and 12th Avenue in West Harlem.

This super popular event draws a crowd of 8,000 people time after time for foods like Mexican-style hot dogs, tacos, empanadas, shish kebabs, and lots more.

  • Things to do

It’s hard to get good food on the cheap, but for ten years, Queens Night Market has prided itself on offering the city’s best eats for just $5-6.

Ranked one of the best food festivals in the U.S., the festival runs on Saturday nights through the summer at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The foodie festival runs on Saturday nights through the summer at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. 

There will also be other items for sale besides food, including vintage apparel, handmade jewelry, ceramic products, locally produced art pieces, crochet toys, stationery, and much more.

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  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs

Shop 'til you drop at FAD Market, a curated fashion, art and design pop-up marketplace. Expect to see your favorite makers plus brand new creatives to help you live smarter, gift better and support local businesses. Peruse handmade jewelry, apparel, skincare products, tableware, artisanal packaged food, and more. 

FAD—which stands for Fashion, Art and Design—takes over different venues with a horde of independent vendors and creators. Here's the full list of upcoming events. Admission is free and dogs are welcome!

  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs

Hundreds of food and craft vendors and multiple stages close down a busy Brooklyn artery for Atlantic Antic each fall. Spanning 10 blocks and cutting through four neighborhoods, it's billed as Brooklyn's largest street fair, so there’s more to see than stands hawking pashminas and MozzArepas. The eclectic musical lineup brings together diverse local talent and you can graze on grub from a delicious variety of artisanal vendors—washed down with some fab locally brewed ale, of course.

The annual affair, hosted by the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation, has been happening since 1974. Activities run along Atlantic Avenue from Fourth to the Waterfront. This year, it's on Sunday, October 5 from 12-6pm, rain or shine. The 1.5-mile festival stretches through Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights, and Downtown Brooklyn.

Ready to do some outdoor day-drinking?

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