NYC events in April 2025

Need a vacation? Head to The Bronx for The Orchid Show: Mexican Modernism at New York Botanical Garden. The sprawling floral exhibition, with its vibrant colors, flowing waterfalls and thousands of orchids, makes for a transportive tropical escape. 

This year's show, presented in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, was inspired by the art of the Mexican modernist architect Luis Barragán. Throughout your floral adventure, you'll learn about the late artist's ethos as you stroll through meditative spaces, explore minimalist designs and notice contrasting details. The Orchid Show: Mexican Modernism is open from February 15-April 27. Don't miss Orchid Nights, 21+ events on select nights that feature cumbia music, dancing, and drinks. 

This new immersive art exhibit is like a playground on steroids—and you can visit, climb on it and snap some incredible photos for free. In a tongue-in-cheek nod to Jeff Koons' iconic balloon animal sculptures, the exhibition by artist Cj Hendry is titled "Keff Joons." 

Imagine if a tangled mess of balloon animals expanded in size to fill a warehouse. That's what Hendry has created with "Keff Joons." It's a wild sight to see—and experience—and you can see it for yourself from April 11–20 at 50 Gold Street in Brooklyn's Vinegar Hill neighborhood from 10am-5pm daily. Just be prepared to wait in line. 

As an artist, Hendry is known for her playfulness and sense of humor in creating truly immersive exhibits. In this exhibition, long, oversized balloons in pink, red, yellow, green and yellow hues fill the warehouse from floor to ceiling. They look almost like giant sprinkles or wiggly worms. When climbing through the colorful display, you'll feel the squish of balloons under your feet and notice that nostalgic, rubber-like aroma of a bounce house. It's impossible not to smile as you get your bearings, climb and explore.

Portraits of American First Ladies typically don't tell us much about the personality of the person. Maybe we can see a steely determination in her eyes or get a sense of her style, but we don’t learn much about who she is. Amy Sherald’s portrait of Michelle Obama changed all of that by focusing on the essence of the subject.

You can now see this iconic portrait and many other renowned works by Sherald in a new exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art located in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. The exhibition, titled “Amy Sherald: American Sublime” is open April 9-August 10, 2025. With nearly 50 paintings, it’s the most comprehensive exhibition of the American artist’s work, which includes a portrait of Breonna Taylor, as well as paintings that center everyday Black Americans. 

Cherry blossoms tend to steal the spotlight this time of year—and deservedly so. But another pastel flower is worthy of our attention, too: the tulip. These colorful flowers are about to make their seasonal debut, emerging from bulbs deep underground that have survived the winter freeze.

One of the best spots to see these botanical marvels is at the West Side Community Garden, a hidden oasis of springtime splendor that is home to more than 10,000 tulips. The volunteer-run garden will host its 47th annual tulip festival from April 12–April 27. Best of all, the massive festival is free and open to all.

Enter through a wrought iron gate on West 89th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues to find the secret garden, open daily from dawn 'til dusk.

Grab your paddles, pickleball fans, because the popular sport is back in Central Park all spring and summer long. CityPickle is now open at the park's Wollman Rink through the early fall. 

This is the third season for pickleball on 14 courts in the center of Manhattan—the largest pickleball offering in the Northeast. This tennis/ping-pong/badminton hybrid has become the country's fastest-growing sport, with more than 130,000 New Yorkers flocking to Wollman Rink's courts in past years. All skill levels are welcome for court rentals, clinics, open play, and private events from 8am to 9pm daily. Plus, expect summer camps, events, and special free programming. 

Those who lived through the Cold War era will remember the horrors of the time: Wearing identification tags to school, practicing duck-and-cover drills and facing the constant threat of nuclear war. Though we’re only a few decades removed from that generation, it can be hard for younger people to wrap their minds around those terrors. 

A new exhibit at NYC’s Poster House titled “Fallout: Atoms for War & Peace” sheds light on the Nuclear Age, exploring its potential for scientific innovation and its use as a dangerous weapon. The exhibit chronicles the past through a visually stunning collection of 60 posters, including artwork by General Dynamics as well as activist pieces protesting nuclear war; it also offers important lessons for our future. “Fallout” is the debut point-counterpoint exhibition at Poster House, which is the first museum in the U.S. dedicated to the history of posters. Find the exhibit in the Flatiron District museum through September 7, 2025.

Revel in warmer weather at the annual Macy’s Flower Show. NYC will be budding with blooms all over, but nothing beats roaming the sweet-smelling foliage that suddenly appears at one of the city’s best department stores: Macy’s Herald Square.

This year's theme hasn't been announced yet, but Macy's says the show will transform the store's main floor, balcony and windows. Expect "a whimsical oasis featuring the beauty and fragrance of spring as thousands of plants, flowers and trees bloom on the iconic store's main floor," Macy's officials said in a press release.

The Flower Show runs from Sunday, April 27 to Sunday May 11, 2025. 

The Easter Bonnet Parade & Festival is one of the highlights of Easter in NYC.

This parade is all about the hats—lavishly decorated, from the exquisite to the outlandish. Anyone is welcome to join, just show up near St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 10am on Easter Sunday to watch or saunter with the group up Fifth Avenue. The free tradition dates back to the 1870s, so you might even see some participants in period costumes. But the highlight is the elaborate bonnets, some of which are truly over-the-top.

If you want to participate, put on your creative thinking cap and get started on your work of chapeaux art ASAP. 

There's nothing like a day of worshipping our planet to put an optimistic spin on dwindling resources, rising sea levels and the alarming acceleration of climate change. This year's events offer a chance to give back to mother nature.

Hitting a Yankees game couldn’t be more quintessentially New York. The Major League Baseball team, which won the World Series in 1978, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009, made it to the World Series again in 2024! To date, the Yankees have won 27 World Series in 42 appearances, the most in the MLB in addition to major North American professional sports leagues.

Even if you're not a big sports fan, going to a game is a bucket list activity with hot dogs, fun cheers, and great energy.

Sure, you can learn about the American Revolution in history books. Or you can experience it in real life—in the actual place where history was made—during this upcoming exhibit at Fraunces Tavern Museum in Lower Manhattan. 

The museum is set to debut “Path to Liberty: The Emergence of a Nation” in honor of America’s 250th anniversary. The exhibit opens on April 22, 2025 inside Fraunces Tavern, a historic building that served as a meeting place for the Sons of Liberty, hosted Washington's farewell to his officers and even was hit by a cannonball during the Revolutionary War. 

Shop 'til you drop at FAD Market, a curated fashion, art and design pop-up marketplace, which is back for 2025. 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 April schedule: 

• April 5-6: Brooklyn Creates at Empire Stores in Dumbo
• April 26-27: Earth Month pop-up at Center for Brooklyn History in Brooklyn Heights

Walk in the footsteps of the Astors, Vanderbilts and other elite New Yorkers who lived during the Gilded Age on this new walking tour. Titled “Fifth Avenue in the Gilded Age: Address to Impress,” the tour will whisk visitors back to the late 1800s for a stroll along Manhattan's most prestigious avenue. 

Tours, bookable here for $49/person, run on five Saturdays this spring: March 29; April 12 and 26; and May 10 and 24. Events are run by New York Historical Tours in partnership with the Fifth Avenue Association.

On the tour, you'll learn how Fifth Avenue transformed from a quiet residential street into America's grandest address. Highlights include a chance to gaze at the ornate architecture of surviving mansions, peek inside lavish hotels, and visit historic cathedrals.

In the 1950 film masterpiece Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood glamour is a dead-end street. Stalled there with no one coming to find her—except perhaps to use her car—is Norma Desmond: a former silent-screen goddess who is now all but forgotten.

Secluded and deluded, she haunts her own house and plots her grand return to the pictures; blinded by the spotlight in her mind, she is unaware that what she imagines to be a hungry audience out there in the dark is really just the dark.

You may not yet know the name Amy Sherald, but you have definitely seen her work. She's the artist who created those iconic portraits of First Lady Michelle Obama and Breonna Taylor—two of the most recognizable and significant paintings made by an American artist in recent years. You'll get to see those artworks and much more as The Whitney presents a show titled "Amy Sherald: American Sublime," the artist's first New York museum solo show.

With 50 paintings, the exhibition explores Sherald's career to date, her signature portrait style, and her depictions of American life. Dedicated to American realism and portraiture, her work corrects an evident absence of Black Americans the work of early American realists. 

The show's on view from April 9–August 10, 2025.

Not even Charli xcx could have predicted the massive success of Brat last year, when she sold out Madison Square Garden on her joint tour with Troye Sivan. Now she's coming to Brooklyn for four consecutive nights from April 30 to May 4—this time by herself—for any of us who might have missed her the go around. 

The impact of Brat will likely be felt in the music industry for years to come, and we're excited to catch Charli perform our favorite songs in her post-Grammys glow.

More than 100 classic cars will fill a 60,000 square-foot rustic warehouse at Brooklyn Navy Yard for Wheels of NYC on Saturday, April 19. If past events are any indication, you can expect to see vintage Audis, BMWs, Porsches, Lamborghinis and much more.

"We have one of NYC's largest classic car communities, primarily catering to the younger generation of car collectors and enthusiasts," event organizers say. "We're known for our events, which attract a creative, diverse, and young audience." 

While cars are in the spotlight here, the event also includes music from Cement Sound, a menswear marketplace from Alfargo's Marketplace, art cars from CART Dept, a toy car racetrack by Candylab, and a kids' zone. As for food vendors, look for cocktails by Honey's,  coffee by Kefi, bagels by Leon's Bagels, sandwiches by Compton's, pizza by Nate's Detroit Pizza, and dessert by Davey's Ice Cream

Find it all at Agger Fish Warehouse at Brooklyn Navy Yard. Tickets cost $30 in advance and $35 at the door.

Celebrate Holi on the Hudson on Saturday, April 19 during this family-friendly outdoor event hosted by Akṣarā at Riverside Park near Pier I Cafe. Your ticket will include a kite, so you can join fellow revelers in filling the sky with vibrant colors. In addition to flying kites, also expect activities and performances to keep the whole family engaged and learning.

The event marks Holi, a Hindu festival of spring that is celebrated by people of all religions and backgrounds in India. "At the core, the festival spreads messages of love, goodness, and renewal," event organizers explain. A heads up that, while use of Holi colors is prohibited in the park, guests are encouraged to dress in Indian-inspired festive clothes. There will be special giveaways for best-dressed couples and families. 

Tickets cost $33.85 and include entrance for a family of four, one adult kite, one kids kite, and access to all creative stations.

The pun, that most democratic of jokes: At its best, it’s sublimely satisfying to the reptilian part of our brains that loves easy comedy. At its worst, it produces a groan so gut-deep, it’s almost as good as a belly laugh. The form is mined for all it’s worth at this monthly tournament, hosted by Rodney Dangerfield impersonator Fred Firestone and his daughter, Jo.

A fixture on the NYC comedy landscape for more than a decade, this show at Littlefield in Brooklyn is like a rap battle, only much nerdier. Hear pun pros face-off in the All-Star Tournament of Pun Champions where punsters deliver two-minute pun-stand-up routines, after only two minutes of preparation.

Here's the lineup of 2025 shows: April 30, July 9, September 3, and October 29. 

Heading to Madison Square Garden to watch the Knicks play makes for an iconic night out in NYC. The basketball team made the playoffs recently in the 2020-21 season led by forward Julius Randle and RJ Barrett. 

Catch them at MSG now!

Explore the overlap between abstract art, weaving, craft, and fashion at this MoMA exhibit. "Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction" delves into the dynamic intersections between weaving and abstraction. See 150 works in a range of mediums—from textiles and basketry to painting, drawing, sculpture, and media works.

The exhibition seeks to challenge long-held notions of the weave as a function of textile alone, exploring the many forms both warp and weft have taken when explored by abstract artists over the past 100 years.

It's on view April 20–September 13, 2025.

The fabulous fighting gals of Sailor Moon, the mega-popular Japanese manga and animated series that captured our hearts and imaginations in the 1990s, are coming to life in a live show right here in Times Square this April.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live, which debuted in Tokyo in August 2018, in Paris in November 2018, in Washington, D.C. and in New York in March 2019, is back in town at Palladium Times Square Theater on April 24-26 to conclude its North America tour, “rocking the stage with love, justice and friendship.”

The show is a 2.5D musical, which means it’s based on the 2D manga (Japanese comic book) art form, rather than 3D theater.

The Australian rock band formed in 1983, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, has cycled through many eras, and this might be one of their most iconic yet. Last year, they released their 18th studio album, Wild God, which topped the charts across Europe and was praised for its over the top and poisitive vibes. Catch them at Barclays Center on April 17. 

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.

How is she? Ever since it was confirmed that Audra McDonald would star in the latest revival of Gypsy, Broadway fans have speculated about how Audra would be as Mama Rose—or, more nervously, whether Audra could be Mama Rose, the implacable stage mother who sacrifices everything to make her two daughters into stars. So let’s get that question out of the way up front. How is Audra as Rose? She’s a revelation. 

So, too, is the rest of George C. Wolfe’s deeply intelligent and beautifully mounted production, which comes as a happy surprise.

Following its 2020 closure, the Frick Collection will officially reopen on April 17 inside its historic Gilded Age mansion at 1 East 70th Street by Fifth Avenue. When it reopens, visitors will get to experience even more of the museum's extensive collection by stepping inside restored spaces on the first floor while also walking around a new roster of galleries on the mansion's second floor, open to the public for the very first time.

According to The Frick, the second floor used to be the Frick family’s private living quarters, but later became staff meeting rooms and administrative offices. So yes, you’ll be able to walk into the original bedroom of Henry Clay Frick.

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 massive annual food festival just announced its 2025 dates, and the 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.

In April, the event pops up on April 5 in the East Village; April 6 on the Upper West Side; April 19 on the Upper West Side; April 20 in Chelsea; April 26 in Chelsea; and April 27 in Astoria.

Following a sold-out debut at Projectorfest, Aarushi Agni’s solo show "EMOJI: The Hieroglyphs of Our Time, or how I learned to stop worrying and send the risky text 🤷🏽‍♀️" is coming to the NYC Fringe Festival at Under St. Marks Theater with shows on April 5, 10, 18, and 19.

Billed as an "ADHD-friendly, chaotic TED Talk," this sharp and funny mix of music, comedy and multimedia explores risky texts, emoji semiotics, and how we navigate love, longing and global crises through connections both digital and deeply human. "Expect laughs 🤣, existential dread 🫠, and maybe even the courage to send that text 💣💖" at this show directed by Dominique Nisperos.

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

Smorgasburg WTC runs on Fridays; Williamsburg is on Saturdays; and Prospect Park is on Sundays. Each location is open weekly through October. 

Millennials: are you as sick of dating apps as the rest of us? Great, us too. While we didn't birth online dating, our generation certainly became the target market, from the early days of OkCupid to the birth of Tinder, Bumble, Hinge and more. But if the idea of downloading another app just to have dead-end conversations makes you want to throw away your phone, we have the perfect event for you. 

On April 29, ditch the apps and meet fellow Millennial singles in IRL at Millenial Speed Dating. Held at Time Out Market New York's ground floor bar, The Local Corner, the speed dating will gather 30 singles to meet, greet and hopefully make a connection. There is a bit of technology involved, but worry not, it's all geared toward finding your perfect match. Before the big day, participants will receive an email prompting them to create a matching profile on SpeedMatchApp (which only takes two minutes to sign up). As you mingle throughout the evening, you can use the app to select your matches in real-time, from "friend,” “date,” or “none.” The next morning you’ll receive a text with all your matches.

Tickets cost $38. Participants must purchase one food or drink item from the market to participate. Reserve your spot here.

If you don't already know Shakespeare's poetry, this is a great chance to get your iambs wet. In the 15th annual edition of this free event, 154 readers participate in a marathon reading of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets in numerical order. It makes for an unparalleled poetic survey of love in all its shades of wonder, joy and despair.

The talent includes actor Rachel Handler from "Interview With the Vampire." You can join her as a reader by signing up here.

Shakespeare’s Birthday Sonnet Slam will be held Wednesday, April 23 from 1–4pm at The Riverside Church in Morningside Heights in the 9th floor Lounge. It's free to attend.

Willful Pictures artistic director Melinda Hall created the Sonnet Slam for the people of New York to celebrate Shakespeare. "I wanted to create a unique opportunity for the Sonneteer and Shakespeare to be together, even if it's only for a minute," she says.

For neurodiverse audiences, the world of performing arts is not always a welcoming place. So in its seventh annual Big Umbrella Festival, Lincoln Center is inviting that world to come to them.

From April 4 through April 20, 2025, the arts complex will host companies from the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Mexico and Peru in programs specially designed to entertain and engage with children, teens and adults with autism, sensory and communication disorders or learning disabilities. The festival's events cover a spectrum of theater, music, dance, comedy and visual art.

Celebrating 4/20 is always a buzz, but the holiday in NYC has become an even bigger deal now that cannabis is legal for adult use in New York.

If you want to celebrate 4/20 in a big way this month, we know just the places to elevate your roll. You may gain some extra inspiration from watching the best stoner movies and listening to the best weed songs.