Four people on a roller coaster making silly faces.
Photograph: Courtesy Luna Park
Photograph: Courtesy Luna Park

The best things to do in NYC this weekend

The best things to do in NYC this weekend include Luna Park's reopening, Gilded Age walking tours, a 24-Hour Femme DJ Marathon, waltz classes, and a 'Power Broker'-themed comedy show.

Rossilynne Skena Culgan
Contributors: Adam Feldman & Ian Kumamoto
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Looking for the best things to do in NYC this weekend? Whether you’re the group planner searching for more things to do in NYC today or you have no plans yet, here are some ideas to add to your list for this weekend: Luna Park's reopening, Gilded Age walking tours, a 24-Hour Femme DJ Marathon, waltz classes, a 'Power Broker'-themed comedy show, and free events around town. All you have to do is scroll down to plan your weekend!

Start planning a great month now with our round-up of the best things to do in March

RECOMMENDED: Full list of the best things to do in NYC
RECOMMENDED: The best New York attractions

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Time Out Market New York

We’ve packed all our favorite restaurants under one roof at the Time Out Market New York. The DUMBO location in Empire Stores has fried chicken from Jacob’s Pickles, pizza from Fornino, inventive ice cream flavors from Sugar Hill Creamery and more amazing eateriesall cherry-picked by us. Chow down over two floors with views of the East River, Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline.

Things to do in NYC this weekend

  • Theater & Performance

The thing about watching Steve Cohen perform a magic trick is that no matter how closely you think you’re watching his hands and how easy you think it’ll be to discover what makes the trick work, it's impossible. Cohen is a masterful magician whose sleight of hand work defies logic and inspires awe in even the surliest New Yorkers. 

This weekend, Cohen’s solo magic show Chamber Magic will celebrate 25 years in New York City—a rare feat of endurance and skill for any performance. Donning his signature tuxedo, Cohen has performed mystifying parlor magic for royalty, celebrities, world leaders and everyday New Yorkers, earning him the nickname The Millionaires' Magician. It’s a show you've got to see to believe—and once you see it, you won't believe your eyes.

Tickets typically start around $183. The show is hosted at the Lotte New York Palace hotel at 50th and Madison in Manhattan. Remember to dress up!

  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

It's the surest sign of warmest weather ahead: Luna Park in Coney Island has set its opening date for the 2025 season. The iconic amusement park will open for the season on Saturday, March 29. Opening day festivities kick off at noon in front of the beloved Cyclone roller coaster with entertainment, speeches and the coaster's traditional egg cream christening ceremony. Even better, to celebrate the Cyclone's 98th birthday, the first 98 guests will get a free ride on the coaster and an egg cream treat, the classic Coney Island treat.

As for the rest of the season, expect new arcade games, renovated retail outlets, and a new patio at Salt & Sizzle. Luna Park will also offer expanded hours.

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  • Shopping
  • Shopping & Style

New York just got a taste of Paris: Printemps, the French chain of high-end department stores that first debuted in Europe back in 1865, has officially opened its first location in Manhattan at One Wall Street, a debut that's just as beautiful, luxurious and fashion-forward as you’d expect.

Spanning 55,000 square feet over two floors of the historic Art Deco building, the new Printemps blends Parisian elegance with New York’s vibrant energy, offering a curated selection of designer fashion, accessories and home décor—plus five food and beverage experiences that will basically force you to spend all day inside the shop.

In a way, Printemps feels like a small Paris in downtown Manhattan.

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  • Dance

Get your groove on at Country Dance New York with a full day of waltz workshops on Saturday, March 29 at The Church of the Village, followed by open waltzing with live music by Larry Unger (guitar and banjo), Minda Cowen (fiddle), Dominique Gagné (flutes) and Marco Brehm (bass). Waltzing will be followed by an evening of contra dance, an American folk dance that also has live music.

Worried about having two left feet? Don’t be—no previous experience is required, you don’t have to come with a partner, and all moves will be guided with expert instruction by waltz teacher and contra caller Gaye Fifer. It's just $8 to get in on the fun. No need to register in advance, just show up at the door. 

  • Nightlife
  • Nightlife

It's already been an entire year since Animal first opened in Williamsburg at 307 Meeker Avenue, and it’s throwing a big rager next Sunday, March 30, to celebrate its first birthday.  

During its nearly 12 months, Animal has created many iconic moments, including its New Year's Eve celebration, where Kevin Aviance rang in the new year and performed “Cunty” (which Beyoncé sampled in Renaissance) while dressed as Animal from the Muppets. 

The anniversary will take place from 2pm until 4am and will involve drink specials throughout the day. There will be DJs of course, starting with Theoretic from 4pm to 8pm; special guests from 8pm to midnight; and Mark Holcomb from midnight to 4am. 

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

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.

  • Comedy

What happens when the master builder of New York, Robert Moses, loses his power and attempts to host a late night talk show? This one-hour comedy show on March 29 was inspired by Moses and his 1974 biography, The Power Broker by Robert Caro, explores just that, with a host of comedians and special guests to help fuel your New York housing-market hatred. 

Tenant rights lawyer Liam McSweeney and comedians DC Pierson and Amanda Maryanna Gordon take to the stage alongside the late Moses himself, with live music from Josh Nasser and a special performance from The Triborough Authority Players, including Adrienne Ianniciello, Fallon Boles and Will Jacobs.

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

It's hard to imagine now in our globalized world, but many of the young American soldiers who headed onto massive ships like the USS Intrepid during World War II had never even seen the ocean before. They’d soon be navigating the Pacific, launching planes off of aircraft carriers and battling Axis enemies. 

Now, the stories of those military members are on display in a new permanent exhibit at the Intrepid Museum, the historic aircraft carrier docked along the Hudson River in Hell’s Kitchen, which served from 1943 to 1974. The new 10,000-square-foot exhibit includes 50 never-before-seen artifacts, crew member oral histories, videos and photos showcasing the ship's history.

Plus, you’ll get to see the museum’s newest WWII aircraft acquisition, a legendary fighter-bomber called the FG-1D Corsair. Planes just like it often flew off of Intrepid’s flight deck during the war.

  • Nightlife

There's gonna be no better way to close out Women's History Month than with Support Women DJ's 24 hour party. Support Women DJs has made a name for itself for booking all-women and femme lineups, and their big event at the end of the month on March 29 will take place at the collective's studio at 260 Meserole Street in Brooklyn.

All proceeds from the party will go towards supporting the Violence Intervention Program (VIP), a Latina-led organization providing critical resources to survivors of domestic and sexual violence in NYC. The event will also be live-streamed on Twitch, bringing our mission to a global audience.

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  • Things to do

Bad bitches to the left! Actually, bad bitches to the left, to the right and all over the place at the Stonewall Inn on Saturday, March 29, as the historic bar plays host to Bad Bitch Brunch in celebration of International Women's History Month. From 2pm to 4pm, the interactive variety show will feature an all-female lineup of queer talent performing comedy, drag, music and more "for an empowering, slutty and wild afternoon."

And if you're feeling really feeling like a bad bitch, you can opt for a VIP ticket and take part in the afternoon's saucy series of interactive, sex-positive activities.

  • Things to do

Watermark's Pink Pier has been given a cherry blossom-themed makeover. Celebrate all things pink and all things spring at the Spring Fling Cherry Blossom Festival at Watermark Pink Pier now through the end of April. 

For the first time, the 10,000-square-foot outdoor bar and restaurant at Pier 15 in NYC's Seaport District has been transformed into a breathtaking (and very Instagrammable) cherry blossom wonderland. Expect lush pink blooms, vibrant floral installations, and sweeping views of the Brooklyn skyline, along with themed food and drinks. Prices range from $13-$550, with some ticket prices including food.

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  • Drama
  • Midtown WestOpen run

The spectacularly designed stage prequel to Stranger Things expands the universe of the popular Netflix show with an original story set in the late 1950s.

The play depicts the early years of central series characters including Joyce Maldonaldo, Jim Hopper, Bob Newby and Dr. Martin Brenner; playwright Kate Trefry, a longtime staff writer for the TV version, has devised the story with series creators Matt and Ross Duffer and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child playwright Jack Thorne. 

  • Comedy

Jenny Hagel, an Emmy-nominated writer-slash-performer for Late Night with Seth Meyers, loves two things: comedy and telling people what to do. In her live show "Jenny Hagel Gives Advice," which is coming to Union Hall for several dates this spring (March 29, April 30, May 17, June 28), she hilariously gets to do both at the same time

Hagel invites audience members to submit written questions about their relationships, careers and finances, then she and a special guest (the March 29 show will feature Justin Guarini—yes, that Justin Guarini) will give their best and most delightfully unhinged life advice. To humorously cap things off, our host then invites a real-life therapist on stage to either double down on the advice given or instruct the audience to totally ignore everything they heard over the past hour.

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  • Art
  • Art

The Brooklyn Museum is celebrating a big birthday. As the museum turns 200, it’s marking the occasion with a sprawling exhibition that celebrates the museum's history, showcases artists from the borough and highlights new gifts in the collection. The massive show highlights hundreds of paintings, sculptures, and photographs pulled from the impressive museum’s full collection of 140,000 items. 

Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200” is now open through February 22, 2026.

  • Things to do
  • City Life

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of their iconic album Dressed to Kill, KISS is launching a free, self-guided walking audio tour that takes fans through the band’s history via iconic NYC landmarks.

Narrated with interviews from band members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, plus photographer Bob Gruen, the tour is now live at kissonline.com.

We hear through the grapevine that some superfans are already planning to meet at West 23rd Street and 8th Avenue—where the album cover was originally shot and where the tour officially begins—to experience it together but, if you can't make it, feel free to listen to it from anywhere else. The audio file is basically an oral history of the band's deep ties to New York City.

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  • Art
  • Art

Back in 2021, New York City-based composer Michael Gordon filled the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's cherry esplanade with sounds of seven vibraphones every hour as part of a specially commissioned sound installation meant to honor those lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Titled “loved.,” the five-minute-and-31-second audio program will once again take over the cherry esplanade this year, playing sounds hourly through March 30, from 10am to 5pm, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the pandemic.

  • Comedy
  • Midtown West

David Mamet's 1983 vivisection of American hustle has proved perennially popular with both audiences and actors looking to get drunk on the play's punchy language.

The play's third Broadway revival in 20 years is directed by Patrick Marber (Closer) and headlined by four big names: Kieran Culkin—the latest in a succession of Succession stars to hit the Great White Way—as hotshot Ricky Roman; Bob Odenkirk as the creaky Shelley "The Machine" Levine; and, two of their colleagues at a crummy sales firm, stand-up star Bill Burr and comedy mainstay Michael McKean. 

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  • Comedy

From writer-comedian Lily Blumkin (The Daily Show) comes a hilarious solo show about growing up and getting worse. “Nice Try” comes to New York City Fringe on Saturday, March 29 at Caveat, offering up an honest look at how we use the past to make sense of our present. When Lily heads home to pack up her childhood bedroom, she encounters objects that remind her of characters from her personal history: a well-meaning dad, a self-indulgent rabbi, a critical cosmetics employee, an inanimate clump of hair, etc. She looks back on these adolescent humiliations fondly, until her younger self comes barging into the scene.

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  • Musicals
  • Midtown WestOpen run

On the heels of his Tony-winning performance in last season's Merrily We Roll Along, Broadway sweetie Jonathan Groff returns to star as pop and nightclub star Bobby Darin, who peaked in the late 1950s with such hits as "Dream Lover," "Beyond the Sea" and "Mack the Knife." Alex Timbers (Moulin Rouge!) directs an immersive production at Circle in the Square, with a cast that features Michele Pawk, John Treacy Egan and Caesar Samayoa. The hits are strung together through an original book by Warren Leight (Side Man) and comic essayist Isaac Oliver (Intimacy Idiot).

  • Art

Running through May 11, Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature is the first comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the German Romantic artist held in the United States. Thanks to unprecedented loans from more than 30 lenders in Europe and North America, the exhibition features more than 75 works by Friedrich, spanning oil paintings, finished drawings, and working sketches from every phase of the artist’s career.

"Friedrich's art evokes a watershed moment in the development of human understanding of the natural world," said Alison Hokanson, the exhibition's curator. "His landscapes mark the rise of the Romantic entwinement of nature and the self—a sensibility that intersected with the start of the industrial revolution and the growth of what we now call ecological awareness."

The show was organized in cooperation with the Alte Nationalgalerie of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and Hamburger Kunsthalle.

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  • Things to do

If your mastery of the Irish language doesn’t go much past proclaiming “Sláinte!” after ordering a Guinness (guilty!), you can have a crash course in the beautiful dialect as part of the St. Patrick’s Day programming at the Irish Arts Center.

Held on Saturday, March 29 from noon to 6pm, this year’s Féile na Gaeilgethe IAC’s annual bilingual event open to speakers of all levels, including absolute beginners and those simply curious about Irish cultural heritagewill focus on the music of Ireland’s past, and what it can tell us about the present. Traditional musician, academic and television presenter Doireann Ní Ghlacáin will join for a full day of workshops, performances, conversation circles and film, including a screening of Seán Ó Riada—Mo Sheanathair, a documentary about her grandfather, the iconic composer and arranger Seán Ó Riada.

  • Art
  • Art

Amid the hustle and bustle of Chelsea, where moving fast is a requirement, the Museum at FIT invites us to slow down and peek into its gigantic cabinet of curiosities.

Fashioning Wonder: A Cabinet of Curiosities,” a free exhibit now on view through April 20, features more than 200 garments and accessories inspired by the many objects you might have found within these encyclopedic collections, typically owned by the wealthy back in the 16th–18th centuries. 

Some of the objects on view are being showcased for the very first time. All of them are meant to pique curiosity through their rarity, beauty or originality.

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  • Things to do
  • City Life

If space is looking pretty good to you right now, there’s a chance to escape to the wide expanse even if only for an hour. INTER, the experiential, multi-sensory museum in Soho, has been reimagined to be an immersive intergalactic adventure, opening to the public on Friday, March 21.

From the creative minds behind the Museum of Ice Cream and photography center Fotografiska, INTER, inside the old First National City Bank of New York, first opened in a beta version in November 2022 but officially opened in May 2023, with abstract digital art of images evoking natural phenomena like earth, fire and water, its own floral tunnel, an infinity room and a water installation.

But now, it has more than 10 immersive exhibits using light, sound and digital projection to transport you to another galaxy.

  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

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 now open through April 27. Don't miss Orchid Nights, 21+ events on select nights that feature cumbia music, dancing, and drinks. 

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  • Things to do

March Madness is back! If you are still hunting for the best place to watch your team dominate the bracket, Time Out Market New York is the place to be. 

Throughout the tournament, Time Out Market New York will be screening the game on all screens across both floors. On the ground floor, you can head to The Local Corner, the ultimate destination for beer and sports, to catch all the conference games and track your bracket. For the Final Four and the National Championship game, the 5th Rooftop Bar will be screening the game on a projector with audio. For each game, the market will have a lineup of drink specials for you and your crew, think pitchers and buckets courtesy of Sam Adams, Truly and Bacardi. Reserve your spot here.  

  • Art
  • Art

On a February morning in the early aughts, an ambitious public art project called “The Gates” filled Central Park with flowing orange flags that visitors could walk beneath. It was open for just two weeks, bringing some much-needed levity to the city. More than 4 million people visited Central Park during the show's short run, and it generated an estimated $254 million in economic activity across the city.

Now, in celebration of these beloved artworks by the late artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, a cutting-edge augmented reality experience on the Bloomberg Connects app will allow New Yorkers to discover The Gates once again. It's available to view in Central Park, along with a complementary exhibition at The Shed, through April 16.

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  • Drama
  • Midtown West

While her ertswhile Succession brother Kieran Culkin gets down and dirty in Glengarry Glen Ross a few streets away, Sarah Snook takes a walk on the Wilde side in a solo adaptation of Oscar W.'s fanciful Victorian gothic novel about the ultimate demon twink. Snook plays more than 25 characters in a production helmed by adapter-director Kip Williams; her performance in the West End, which our London critic called "astonishing", earned her a 2024 Olivier Award.

  • Art

The nuclear industry can be a complicated topic to understand, but a new exhibit at Poster House in the Flatiron District will help. "Fallout: Atoms for War & Peace" explores the global development of the nuclear industry through poster art that promoted and protested its use through the second half of the twentieth century. 

In a series of 60 posters, the exhibit digs into how scientists around the world developed the nuclear bomb and nuclear power stations following World War II. It also looks at how the development of nuclear energy led to the threat of nuclear war and—later—the development of harnessing nuclear energy for peace as an inexpensive electricity source.

A few highlights of the show include the entirety of Erik Nitsche's iconic General Dynamics series which promoted President Eisenhower’s slogan "Atoms for Peace" in six languages. Also featured are numerous anti-nuclear protest posters by the celebrated British designer Peter Kennard. 

See it through September 7, 2025.  

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  • Musicals
  • Midtown WestOpen run
  • Recommended

If you were alive in the late 1990s, you probably remember the ubiquitous 1997 album Buena Vista Social Club, which reunited elderly musicians to recreate the atmosphere and songs of a Havana nightspot before the Cuban Revolution.

This original musical by Marco Ramirezdirected by Saheem Ali and choreographed gorgeously by Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck—brings their story to Broadway, in slightly fictionalized form, after a highly enjoyable debut at the Atlantic last year. This lively celebration of Cuban music offers an irresistable tropical getaway.

  • Art
  • Art

The New Yorker, one of the most revered New York-based publications in the country, is officially turning 100 years old, and the New York Public Library is stepping in to celebrate the occasion.

The library has debuted a new exhibit titled “A Century of The New Yorker” showcasing the magazine's history from its 1925 launch to the present, highlighting the stories and ideas that have defined it throughout the years. The exhibition will be mounted for a full year.

Attendees will have the opportunity to view old covers, rare manuscripts, photographs, founding documents and, of course, an archive of cartoon art that defines the magazine's aesthetic. 

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  • Dance
  • Burlesque
  • Bushwick
  • Recommended

Lewis Carroll's trippy Alice in Wonderland books have inspired many theatrical spectacles, but Company XIV's seductive Queen of Hearts is a singular sexcess: a transporting fusion of haute burlesque, circus, dance and song. Your fall down the glamorous rabbit hole begins upon entering the troupe's louche Bushwick lair, where scantily clad server-performers slink about in flattering red lighting.

A cursory knowledge of the source material will help you make sense of the show’s three-act cavalcade of Alice-inspired routines, as our blue-haired heroine embarks on an NC-17 coming-of-age journey under the guidance of the White Rabbit.

The show runs on weekends this spring.

  • Musicals
  • Midtown West

Having taken the U.K. by storm in productions about the country, culminating in a well-received foray into the West End, this scrappy musical comedy about a wacky real-life British spy operation in World War II now invades New York City. The entire original company of five re-ups for the Broadway production: co-authors David Cumming, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts—who wrote the show with Felix Hagan, their comrade in the comedy troupe SpitLip—as well as Claire-Marie Hall and Olivier Award winner Jak Malone. Robert Hastie directs the military mayhem. 

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  • Music

On Sunday mornings at 11am in Manhattan, GatherNYC creates the community and spiritual nourishment of a religious service, but the focus here is music. All are welcome at these hour-long performances of classical music by celebrated local artists. Coffee and pastries are included in the ticket price.

These upcoming events are held at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in Columbus Circle. Shows are scheduled through June 2025. Here’s what’s on the calendar:

• March 30: MATA
• April 13: Deborah Buck (violin) and Orli Shaham (piano)
• April 27: ETHEL and Layale Chaker (violin)
• May 11: Solomiya Ivakhiv (violin) and friends: Music from Ukraine
• May 25: Rupert Boyd (guitar)
• June 8: Orpheus and Boyd Meets Girl

  • Art
  • Art

It was only a matter of time until Flaco, NYC's fallen owl king, became the subject of his very own exhibit. The beloved Eurasian eagle-owl used to fly around the city after escaping from the zoo, until he passed away about a year ago. 

"The Year of Flaco," a new exhibit at The New-York Historical, is open through June 6. Featuring photos and videos "documenting Flaco's flight and his new life in the city, along with letters, drawings and objects left at a memorial beneath Flaco’s favorite oak tree following his death one year ago," the program will also examine "the dangers faced by birds in urban environments, legislation inspired by Flaco's legacy and practical steps for creating a safer city for wildlife."

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  • Musicals
  • Midtown WestOpen run
  • Recommended

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.

  • Art

Journey back in time to April 15, 1874 in Paris, when Impressionist painters began creating their groundbreaking work. Through the art and science of virtual reality, you can now join them as they break away from traditional academic painting, focusing instead on capturing light, color and atmosphere in new ways.

Titled "Tonight with the Impressionists: Paris 1874," this VR exhibition will take you back to the streets of 19th-century Paris to meet the artists behind the paintings and experience key moments in the Impressionist movement. Meet Monet, Renoir, Morisot, Degas, and others as they depict everyday life and outdoor scenes with spontaneous brushstrokes and vibrant colors. Expect to spend about 45 minutes fully immersed in their world thanks to your VR headset.

The exhibition was created by Excurio in collaboration with the renowned Musée d’Orsay in Paris. See it at Eclipso, located at 555 West 57th Street. Tickets range in price from $30-$44 depending on the date. 

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

Depending on what you learned in high school history class, you might be surprised to discover that Brooklyn—an area firmly in the northern Union states—actually has significant ties to slavery. A new exhibit coming to the borough digs into that painful history.

Titled "Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn," the exhibit is now open at the Center for Brooklyn History. While there are few firsthand testimonies from enslaved people in Brooklyn, the exhibit offers clues to what they endured. It also sheds light on the often-overlooked narratives of enslaved individuals in Kings County and the generational legacies of inequality. The exhibit is free to visit through August 30 in the center's Fransioli Gallery.

Expect to see archival documents, rare personal accounts from enslaved Brooklynites and artwork that helps visitors visualize this period in Brooklyn's development. The exhibit also delves into genealogy and celebrates the work of family historians, researchers, and artists who trace their roots through this difficult past.

  • Things to do
  • City Life

One of the most visited historical sites in Europe, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, has opened an exhibition in New York for the first time. Find it at the Center for Jewish History in the Flatiron District through April 30, 2025.

New Yorkers can now walk through a full-scale re-creation of the rooms where Anne Frank, her parents Otto and Edith, her sister Margot, the Van Pels family and Fritz Pfeffer (all Jews) spent two years in hiding from the Nazis during World War II. Inside the re-created annex itself, every object displayed in glass cases is original—things that Anne, her family and fellow hideout Jews touched and used daily, alongside exact replicas of other items.

Brace yourself for a deeply emotional experience.

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  • Things to do
  • Weird & Wonderful

Want to feel like you can practically defy gravity? You can do just that at Lush Spa with their Wicked-themed book-a-bath experience. 

In partnership with Universal Studios, the Upper East Side spa is completely decked out with Wicked vibes. There's vivid green and glimmering gold decor, including taper candles and even wallpaper that says Oz. During the bath, you’ll get to enjoy a pink-and-green bath bomb, a soap shaped like the Emerald City, and a cleanser picked for your skin type. Instrumental versions of the Wicked soundtrack will play while you relax in the tub. 

It's bookable now for $75 with appointments through late 2025.

  • Musicals
  • Midtown WestOpen run
  • Recommended

The notion of robots discovering love—in a world where nothing lasts forever, including their own obsolescent technologies—could easily fall into preciousness or tweedom. Instead, it is utterly enchanting. As staged by Michael Arden (Parade), Maybe Happy Ending is an adorable and bittersweet exploration of what it is to be human, cleverly channeled through characters who are only just learning what that entails.

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  • Art
  • Art

ARTECHOUSE, the immersive art experience in Chelsea, typically features the work of a single artist exploring a single topic, such as Afrofuturism, AI·magination and outer space. But for their new installation, ARTECHOUSE has turned over the venue to dozens of emerging artists for a wide-ranging, year-long art extravaganza.

Titled “Submerge,” the show will feature more than 100 artists over the course of 2025. The work of artists from across the globe will rotate every four months amid an open call for submissions. Expect to see everything from 3D animation to AI innovation to multimedia storytelling—anything that takes creativity out of confines of computer screens and onto an IRL canvas. Submerge is open to all ages through December 31 with tickets starting at $23.85.

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  • Things to do
  • City Life

Think pink at Watermark, the classic American restaurant on Pier 15 by the Seaport. The venue has transformed into an immersive pink wonderland where you can keep the Valentine's Day celebrations going.

The 10,000 square-foot outdoor bar and restaurant will be lit up in pink hues and be decorated with red flowers, heart installations and mesmerizing twinkling lights. Pink Pier is now open until mid-April.

  • Hotels

Get cozy at TWA Hotel's Runway Chalet pop-up that feels like a 1960s après ski experience. For the winter, the hotel's Pool Bar transforms with flannel decor, a fireplace and seasonal cocktails.

Soak in the outdoor pool, which becomes a steamy "pool-cuzzi" heated to 95 degrees, while you watch jets take off and land on the tarmac below. Plus, enjoy some themed cocktails like hot toddies and hot cocoas, as well as aviation-themed drinks. 

The Runway Chalet is open for hotel guests and visitors alike, just be sure to book your spot in advance. 

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  • Things to do
  • City Life

If you’re a fan of the Harry Potter franchise, then you’re already familiar with snowy owls, the cute and charismatic birds that served as the wizard’s closest companion.

Now, New Yorkers will be able to see the rare and mystical animals in the flesh: a pair just of them just set up home at the Bronx Zoo. You can go check out the snowy owls in the Birds of Prey section of the Bronx Zoo, which also houses king vultures, golden eagles and the Cinereous Vulture, the largest eagle in Eurasia, with a 10-foot wingspan. 

  • Nightlife
  • Nightlife

Common Country, a spanking new 3,400-square-foot country-themed bar in the middle of Manhattan will make you feel like you're somewhere in the south, complete with real deer taxidermy mounts and farmhouse beams imported from Kentucky. 

Their menu will transport your tastes buds, too: the drinks focus on a selection of Tennessee and Kentucky-forward whiskey, craft beer and cocktails inspired by the South, including Spiked Sweet Tea. There’s also a selection of Tex-Mex food, including elote fritters, cornbread, bloomin’ onion, and Texas twinkies, which are breaded jalapeños stuffed with cheese. Expect plenty of country-forward programming, too: on any given night, you’ll be able to line dance, sing your favorite pop country anthems during karaoke or enjoy live bands and DJ sets, all within theme.

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  • Art
  • Art

When you think of Franz Kafka, there are a few words that likely come to mind: Lonely, tortured, isolated. But this depiction doesn’t actually tell the full story of Kafka, a new exhibit at The Morgan Library & Museum argues. Yes, the Czech writer known for his surrealist literary masterpieces like The Metamorphosis, did have a difficult life before dying at the age of 40 from tuberculosis.

But he was also known to be funny, a brilliant love letter writer, a good friend, and even a playful spirit. In fact, many of the solo photos we see of Kafka were really photos with other people who have been cut out of the scene over the years, Sal Robinson, curator at The Morgan explained during a tour of the new exhibit. The show, simply titled "Franz Kafka," is now on view through April 13, 2025.

  • Musicals
  • Midtown WestOpen run
  • Recommended

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.

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  • Things to do
  • Upper West Side

A new exhibit at The New York Historical showcases the ways the role of our furry friends has changed since the 1700s, becoming ingrained in the city’s evolution from the wilderness to an urban environment. The exhibit, titled “Pets and the City,” gathers together countless works of art, documents and memorabilia in order to paint a complete picture of New York’s animal history through the years.

Brought together by Roberta J.M. Olson, the museum’s curator of drawings emerita, this show brings you to early portraits of our favorite pets and their owners and images that capture the expanding definition of household animals and pop culture’s fascination with our four-legged friends. 

  • Things to do

If Netflix’s Squid Game is one of your favorite shows, you’ll want to try your hand at some of the challeneges at Squid Game: The Experience here in NYC.

Set within Manhattan Mall (100 West 33rd Street by Sixth Avenue), you get into teams of up to 24 people each to complete challenges across 60 minutes, including those that appeared on the TV show (yes, you’ll get to try your hand at the iconic Red Light Green Light) plus a number of brand-new ones built specifically for the experience. Once done playing, you can enjoy a night market offering a variety of Korean and international sweet and savory foods, plus drinks. 

Get tickets here.

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  • Art
  • Art

Explore the legacy of Belle da Costa Greene (1879–1950). The Morgan’s first director, she is one of the most prominent librarians in American history. American financier J. Pierpont Morgan hired her as his personal librarian in 1905. After Morgan’s death in 1913, Greene continued as the librarian of his son and heir, J. P. Morgan Jr., who transformed his father’s library into the public institution we know today.

A new exhibition about her, "Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian's Legacy" runs through May 4, 2025 at The Morgan. 

  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

As the Revolutionary War came to a close, British Loyalists and soldiers evacuated the colonies in droves. But the evacuation was more complicated for Black Loyalists, some of whom joined the British cause in response to offers of freedom. 

In 1783, the new government formed a special committee to review the eligibility of some Black Loyalists to evacuate with the British Army, and that committee met at Fraunces Tavern in Lower Manhattan. A new permanent exhibit at the Fraunces Tavern Museum explores this important moment in history. 

The exhibition first opened last year, and officials are now moving it to a larger permanent gallery within the museum. The new space will offer a chance to include recent new discoveries of significant information concerning the identities of individuals participating in the Birch Trials and their inclusion in the Book of Negroes.

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  • Things to do
  • Walks and tours

This fascinating 90-minute tour introduces you to all the secrets of the 200-year-old Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral. Enter areas off-limits to the public, including the Henry Erban Organ, the cemeteries, and top it all off with an exclusive walk-through of the Catacombs themselves.

Even better, you will experience the whole tour by candlelight (romantic, if you ignore the dead bodies part). This unique and historic site serves as the final resting place for many prominent New Yorkers, including the Delmonico Family, General Thomas Eckert (a confidant of Abraham Lincoln), Honest John Kelly of Tammany Hall and the first resident Bishop of New York, Bishop John Connolly. 

  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

On October 27, 1904, New Yorkers dressed in their finest clothing and hosted dinner parties to celebrate the big news of the year. After four years of messy, sometimes controversial construction, a subway had opened in New York City. Officials didn't know if people would show up for its debut, but more than 100,000 people descended beneath the ground that evening to traverse the system's 9 miles and 28 stations. The next day, a Sunday, more than 1 million people showed up on the subway's first full open day. 

It may not seem like a big deal to us now, but the subway was revolutionary—and it still is. A fascinating new exhibit at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn digs into the history and the future of our underground rail system. Titled "The Subway Is...," the exhibition brings together artifacts, photos, multimedia installations, old advertisements, train models and more to tell the story of our city's subway system. 

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  • Music
  • Cabaret and standards
  • Lower East Side
  • Recommended

PJ Adzima, who currently plays the hopeful but hopelessly repressed Elder McKinley in Broadway's The Book of Mormon, hosts a neovaudevillian monthly variety show at the Slipper Room that proffers an eclectic mix of musical-theater, comedy, drag, circus and burlesque performances. A down-and-dirtier version of the show also plays there every week on Saturdays at midnight.

  • LGBTQ+

Pieces Bar has been a West Village staple for more than three decades. And for 18 years of that tenure, the historic spot has played host to one of New York City’s best bingo nights.

Every Sunday, guests can enjoy Happy Hour Drag Bingo hosted by drag queen Chaka Khanvict, with seating starting at 5pm and the game starting at 6pm. Grab your game board$5 for a single, $10 for a page of four or $20 for three sheets of four boards for the best chances to win big—and play for amazing prizes like tickets for two to the Broadway Comedy Club, merchandise from Absolut Vodka and Andrew Christian, and a VIP Pieces Card, which gets you a free drink every day for a month.

Speaking of drinks, happy-hour specials include $6 margaritas, mimosas, bellinis and Bloody Mary, plus $8 Long Island Iced Teas from 2pm to 8pm.

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  • Things to do

Pop on over to American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey for an immersive experience dedicated to bubbles. This surreal and colorful world promises to delight all ages with themed rooms, fantastic landscapes, and VR tech. 

Bubble Planet promises to challenge imagination, amaze with the magic of science, and unleash the inner child in all. Expect to see oversized bubbles, balloons, and more in this sensory playground.

  • Things to do
  • City Life

When Robert A. Caro's The Power Broker was first published 50 years ago, the book's release was met with great anticipation. Excerpts in The New Yorker gained lots of attention—including from the biography's subject, NYC government official Robert Moses, who described the deeply researched book as "venomous." Even so, it was impossible to predict whether a 700,000-word biography would resonate with readers. 

The book quickly earned acclaim, winning the Pulitzer Prize and finding a home on bookshelves across America, especially among New Yorkers. Now, five decades later, the monumental work still resonates for its look at NYC’s past and the lessons it holds for our future. The book and its tenacious author are the subject of a new exhibit at The New-York Historical titled “Robert Caro’s The Power Broker at 50." See it at the Upper West Side museum through August 3, 2025. 

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

Fancy gowns and celebrity outfits are no strangers to museum collections. But the everyday clothing found in closets across America typically gets overlooked by fashion exhibits.

A new show coming to The New York Historical, titled "Real Clothes, Real Lives: 200 Years of What Women Wore,” changes that. The newly announced exhibit will feature everyday women’s clothing from the past two centuries, including a well-worn Depression-era house dress, a college girl’s psychedelic micro mini, and an Abercrombie & Fitch wool suit bought off-the-rack in NYC in 1917 that was remade into a Relief uniform worn behind enemy lines in France. See the exhibition through June 22, 2025.

  • Time Out Market
  • DUMBO

Start your weekend off right at Time Out Market New York’s stunning rooftop! Friday Night Vibes gets the party going on the fifth floor at 7pm with tunes from DJ Stretch (on the first and third Friday of every month) and DJ Price Is Right (on the second and fourth Friday).

Dance the night away with specialty cocktails from the Market’s awesome bar and grab bites from one of two dozen kitchens including, Jacob’s Pickles, Bark Barbecue and Wayla. Enjoy it all to the incredible views of the East River, the NYC skyline and the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. 

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  • Things to do
  • City Life

Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building has been giving us murders to solve for three seasons, and now as the fourth season debuts, it’s giving us one more mystery to solve—in person. Hulu and The Escape Game, located in midtown, have partnered up to create The Only Murders in the Building Escape Game.

The escape game is played across a couple of rooms that have been outfitted to look like the Arconia hallway and Charles’ apartment. You have 60 minutes to escape and if you need a clue, there’s a red button you can smash that plays a snippet from the theme song when you push it. Staffers then shell out an idea for you to try. There also may have been hidden bookcase doorways, a laser and even a water feature puzzle. Check it out now because it’s on for a limited time!

  • Drinking

As Edgar Allan Poe once wrote, "What care I how time advances? I am drinking ale today." His words serve as the toast to kick off the weekly Literary Pub Crawl, which highlights the fascinating literary history around New York City, particularly in Greenwich Village.

Though the Literary Pub Crawl has a long history in New York City—25 years, 200 authors and 2,000 beers—it remains one of the more under-the-radar walking tours around town. This Saturday afternoon activity offers a chance to learn a lot while sipping your drink of choice, bringing a whole new definition to "get lit."

The tour runs about three hours, totaling a mile of walking. Tickets cost $49/person, plus bring along some cash if you'd like to buy drinks. You'll leave having learned something, having sipped a few drinks, and hopefully feeling inspired to go read.

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  • Things to do
  • Bushwick

This sprawling 16,000-square-foot space in Bushwick, designed to double as a concert venue and nightclub for up to 1,200 people, is the city’s first new wooden roller skating rink in over a decade.

Xanadu is decorated with a giant black-and-white photo of a group of young Black skaters taken over 40 years ago, a model for the energy in the room today. There’s also a rinkside bar, serving drinks with names like Skaterade and Purple Rain with direct sightlines of all the action on the wood. And in the bathroom, a surprise DJ spins a soundtrack for patrons to dance to as they wash their hands, a cheeky setup Kataria calls, “Club Flush.”

  • Museums
  • Financial District

Mercer Labs, Museum of Art and Technology is a unique new immersive museum created by Roy Nachum, the artist behind Rihanna’s famous 2016 “Anti” album cover, and his business partner Michael Cayre, a real estate developer. 

The 36,000-square-foot space opened in early 2024 at 21 Dey Street, inside the bank building that used to be part of the now-nextdoor Century 21. There are a total of 15 different rooms to explore, each one attacking all the senses upon entrance.

Some outstanding installations include the one that the staff refers to as "The Dragon," where a total of 500,000 individual LED lights hung on strings adorn a room and are lit up to created 3D videos, including one of a galloping horse, that will catch your attention.

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  • Art

This museum serves as a love letter to the enigmatic street artist known only as Banksy. The Lower Manhattan venue features the largest collection of Banksy’s life-sized murals and artwork in the world. 

After passing through an industrial door, you'll see a city of walls a.k.a. Banksy's ideal canvas. By its nature, street art is impermanent, but this museum offers a long-term space for the ephemeral. Many of the re-creations at the museum no longer exist on the street. Expect to see more than 160 works on display in this celebration of the artist.

Just a programming note: The production at the museum is unauthorized and unaffiliated with the artist.

  • Comedy
  • Comedy

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.

The club has debuted "The Second City Presents The Mainstage Revue 1: Ruthless Acts of Kindness," a completely original NYC revue, which has been created in conversation with the audience over the last ten-weeks.

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.

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  • 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 featuring women-owned businesses to focusing on handmade items to spotlighting international wares. The market runs both indoors and outdoors each week all year long.

  • Art
  • Art

Think bugs are creepy? Think again. That's the message of IMAGINARI, an immersive art and science experience in Manhattan. 

The year-long exhibition called The Insect World shows just how cool—and important—bugs actually are. You’ll get to walk through fields of 6-foot flowers, come face-to-face with Picasso bug artwork, and see a mantis partying under a disco ball. Larger-than-life ladybug sculptures dot the floor, and 200 faux monarch butterflies perch on a 12-foot cherry blossom tree. It all adds up to an important message of environmental stewardship. Tickets are on sale now for $36; the all-ages exhibition will be on view for one year.

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  • Nightlife
  • Nightlife

Puttery is an adults-only mini-golf and nightlife destination that just opened at 446 West 14th Street by Washington Street in the Meatpacking District and is backed by, among others, Irish professional golfer Rory McIlroy.

The first location of its kind in New York, Puttery spans 24,000 square feet over five levels that feature an underground lounge and a total of three bars, including a rooftop one that will be open year-round (yes, there will be heat lamps on site). 

  • Comedy

Head to a beloved West Village music shop for a banging musical comedy blowout every Friday night. This variety show mixes music, comedy, and characters with apperances by Stephen Sihelnik (NY Comedy Festival), Natan Badalov (Adult Swim), Alexander Payne (Netflix), and surprise guests.

Fun fact: The event's set in New York's oldest continually-run music and record store, Music Inn World Instruments. It's been in operation since 1958 and has been heavily featured in the first two seasons of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

Show up early, save a seat and BYOB: You're in for a party.

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  • Art
  • Art

Beautiful, buoyant, beguiling bubbles are back at the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) in Queens. The beloved bubbles exhibit, which had been closed for five years, has returned bigger, better and bubblier than ever.

The Big Bubble Experiment encourages kids of all ages to experiment and discover through the joy of playing with bubbles. That includes blowing, stretching, popping and looking closely to see what happens at each move. 

The exhibit features 10 stations, each one with different tools and methods for exploring bubble solution.

  • Art
  • Art

When Jack Kliger, President & CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Battery Park City, and his team started working on a new kid-friendly exhibit about the Holocaust almost four years ago, they could not have imagined the chaotic world order that the show was eventually going to premiere in.

"Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark" tells the story of the Danish Rescue, when citizens of the European country came together to usher nearly 7,000 Jews to safety and away from concentration camps during World War II.

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  • Things to do

"How you doin'?" If you read that in Joey Tribbiani's voice, then you've got to get yourself to "The FRIENDS Experience: The One in New York City." The immersive, walk-through experience in the Flatiron District features photo ops, props from the show, and Easter eggs at every turn.

There’s a chance to pose with the "Pivot" couch, a backdrop that looks like the Vegas chapel, and a photo opp with Phoebe’s grandma's taxi. You can even pose on top of Pat the Dog, snap a photo with the giant poking device and take a selfie in Monica's apartment. Using high-quality cameras, staff take photos at each spot, which you can purchase at the end. But staff will also take free photos with your cell phone if you ask. 

It's not just a selfie museum, though. There's a fascinating display featuring the show's costume designer Debra McGuire where you'll learn about her sartorial choices for each character. Another exhibit spotlights artist Burton Morris, whose Pop art pieces decorate Central Perk. Other display cases feature set designs, signed scripts and a statement from the show's producers, Marta Kauffman and David Crane.

Here's our full review.

  • Circuses & magic
  • Midtown EastOpen run
  • Recommended

There's a reason Chamber Magic has remained a staple in NYC's magic scene for more than two decades: It dazzles, show after show, with tricks that'll still leave you awestruck days later. 

The charming Steve Cohen, billed as the Millionaires’ Magician, conjures high-class parlor magic in the marble-columned Madison Room at the swank Lotte New York Palace. Dress to be impressed (cocktail attire is required); tickets start at $125, with an option to pay more for meet-and-greet time and extra tricks with Cohen after the show. If you've come to see a classic-style magic act, you get what you pay for.

Sporting a tuxedo and bright rust hair, the magician delivers routines that he has buffed to a patent-leather gleam: In addition to his signature act—"Think-a-Drink," involving a kettle that pours liquids by request—highlights include a lulu of levitation trick and a card-trick finale that leaves you feeling like, well, a million bucks.

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  • Things to do

The name really says it all: Make bonsai in a bar! These teeny tiny trees are the definition of "happy little trees." 

The pros from Bonsai Bar will teach you the fundamental skills and techniques behind the art of bonsai while you sip your drink and have some fun with your friends. The teachers will also help you as you pot, prune and design your very own bonsai tree. 

Bonsai Bar events pop up all over the city at locations like Brooklyn Brewery, the Bronx Brewery and SingleCut Beersmiths Queens Taproom.

  • Things to do

If you're not a paint-and-sip kind of person, try Act & Sip, a beer-fueled acting workshop in an Off-Broadway Theater with expert instructors. They pair students off with partners and hand over the pages to a scene from a well-known iconic NYC sitcom or movie, offering tips along the way to help performers conquer stage fright and discover their inner actor.

This event is perfect for bachelorette parties, after-work outings, or just a fun night with friends to get on stage with a little help from liquid courage. You don't need any experience, but you must be 21 or older and BYOB.

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  • Sports and fitness
  • Sports & Fitness

Wild Captives, the nation’s first female- and LGBTQ-owned archery studio, is now open. It's a place where everyone can "be their own superhero." The studio in Brooklyn’s Industry City offers empowering and fun hour-long introduction to archery classes every weekend for $45/person. 

Each intro class includes a chance to learn about different parts of the bow and safety requirements. After the lesson, each participant gets a chance to shoot the bow trying to pop a balloon pinned onto the bullseye. Intro-to-archery classes are available each Friday, Saturday and Sunday, bookable online for anyone over age 12.

  • Things to do
  • City Life

America’s first Black popular music icon is getting his due with a massive new center that houses a 60,000-piece collection and a venue for live music, lectures and screenings.

NYC’s Louis Armstrong House Museum has now opened its new facility, the Louis Armstrong Center—and it’s a big deal!

The space acts as a permanent home for the 60,000-piece Louis Armstrong Archive (the world’s largest for a jazz musician containing photos, recordings, manuscripts, letters & mementos) and a 75-seat venue for performances, lectures, films, and educational experiences.

The Center and the historic house are now open to the public Thursdays through Saturdays. Tickets can be purchased at louisarmstronghouse.org. Tours have limited capacity, so book in advance.

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  • Things to do
  • City Life

Muggles, take note: You won’t need to travel through Platform 9¾ to get to Hogwarts. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is right here in New York City for a limited time.

The touring show, “Harry Potter: The Exhibition,” is now open in Herald Square, and it’s going transport you. Through the use of dramatic lighting, set design, interactive technology and even scent, the exhibit will make you feel like you are actually there—in Hagrid’s hut, in potions class, dining in the Great Hall, learning how to fight the dark arts, fighting the Battle of Hogwarts and more.

Tickets are on sale now, starting at $29 for adults.

  • Art
  • Art

On a typical visit to the Museum of Modern Art, crowds surround the most precious paintings, and it can be tough to squeeze your way in for a photo, let alone to admire the artwork’s brushstrokes. But now, thanks to these new exclusive tours by GetYourGuide, you can get in before the museum opens for a guided tour of amazing artwork. 

The new MoMA Before Hours Tour with Art Expert is available now; tickets are on sale here for $99/person. Few New York City experiences compare to the absolute thrill of gazing at famed works of art uninterrupted for as long as you like.  

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  • Movies
  • Movies

With a full restaurant, craft cocktails, comfy reclining seats and even more bells and whistles, this new movie theater in Hell's Kitchen elevates the movie-going experience. LOOK Dine-in Cinemas is now open in VIA 57 West, the pyramid-shaped building located at West 57th Street and 11th Avenue. 

With a 15-year lease, LOOK's operating in a 25,000-square-foot venue that used to house Landmark cinema until it closed in 2020. This is the company's first New York City location. At this fancy theater, you can relax in a heated seat while ordering dinner directly to your seat in the theater. 

  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

Find your latest read at The Free Black Women’s Library, a new free library in Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy neighborhood, which also serves as a social art project, a reading room, a co-working space and a community gathering center. The library "celebrates the brilliance, diversity and imagination of Black women and Black non-binary authors." All 5,000 books in the library's collection are written by Black women and non-binary authors.

Here's how it works: Anybody can visit the space to read, work or hang out. If you want to take a book home, simply bring a book written by a Black woman or Black non-binary author, and you can trade. Whether you decide to bring the book back after you're done reading or keep it for your collection is up to you.

The library is currently open four days per week (Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) at 226 Marcus Garvey Boulevard. In addition to offering a space to read or work, the library has also hosts a book club, art shows and workshops on topics like writing, drawing, poetry, painting and sewing. All are welcome. 

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  • Things to do
  • Weird & Wonderful

On a typical tour of Manhattan, the big tourist attractions—Times Square, the Empire State Building, Central Park—get all the attention. But on these new walking tours by a local author, you'll see fascinating historical sites that you won't find in a typical guidebook. 

K. Krombie's Purefinder tours, "Death in New York," "The Psychiatric History of New York" and "Hell Gate," explore the city's darker side through meticulously researched and theatrically presented historical narratives.

Each tour covers about 2.5 miles in about two-and-a-half hours. “Death in New York” and “The Psychiatric History of New York” are offered weekly, while “Hell Gate” is offered twice per month. Tours cost $32-$34 per person; you can book one here.

  • Theater & Performance

From amazing costumes to Broadway history to fun photo opps, this long-awaited new museum is a must-see for theater buffs.  

You can expect the new museum to highlight over 500 individual productions from the 1700s all the way to the present. 

Among the standout offerings will also be a special exhibit dubbed "The Making of a Broadway Show," which honors the on- and off-stage community that helps bring plays and musicals to life multiple times a week. 

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  • Comedy

This is the only stand-up comedy show in a Brooklyn Boathouse, boasting some of the best local talent for free on the shore of the Gowanus Canal. Cuba Libre BYOB but beer, seltzers and non-alcoholic beverages are available for donation. Go see it every Friday night; check the group's Instagram for the weekly lineup.

  • Art
  • Art

The New York Public Library dug through its expansive and centuries-spanning archive to stage an impressive free exhibition filled with cultural artifacts. "The Polonsky Exhibition of New York Public Library’s Treasures" spans 4,000 years of history and includes a wide range of history-making pieces, including the only surviving letter from Christoper Columbus announcing his “discovery” of the Americas to King Ferdinand’s court and the first Gutenberg Bible brought over to the Americas.

New treasures were just added to the exhibit this fall, including a signed, first edition copy of "Passing" by Nella Larsen, a selection of manuscript pages from "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot, and a miniature early 19th-century Qur’an, produced in Turkey.

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  • Things to do
  • Weird & Wonderful

Part visual splendor, part olfactory wonder and part ooey-gooey sensory fun, Sloomoo Institute’s slime museum re-opened this fall after a renovation. This captivating playground welcomes all ages to its home in SoHo—or “SooHoo,” in Sloomoo parlance (see what they did there?).

Here are five things not to miss at Sloomoo, including a chance to get slimed and a DIY slime making activity.

  • Nightlife
  • Nightlife

Have some fun this weekend and go check out Gamehaus, a giant new arcade and beer hall just opened in Long Island City. This 5,000-square-foot multifunctional space features a dozen large-screen TVs, classic video games and loads of beers.

Classice arcade games include Atari Pong, Ms. Pacman, Jurassic Park, Pop-a-Shot and Skee Ball. 

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  • Nightlife
  • Nightlife

A new nightlife venue called Deluxx Fluxx has taken over the former Studio at Webster Hall location, a 4,200-square-foot space beneath the famed music venue in the East Village, inspired by early arcades, punk rock, hip-hop and graffiti culture.

The venue brings "an immersive visual and audial art space and arcade" that promises to reinvigorate the artist-centric venues that defined New York City nightlife in the early 2000s. Part interactive art project and part performance venue, expect live entertainment, DJs, pinball machines, "artfully weird" video games, custom video work, costumed performers, floor-to-ceiling blacklight art interiors and a day-glo design palette. Some of the arcade games offer their own New York City flair, like Crown Heights King where pigeons battle to be the king of the neighborhood.

Here's more about the nightlife venue.

  • Things to do
  • City Life

Still working on that screenplay? Say goodbye to writer's block (hopefully) at Soho's newest coffee shop and creative space.

The Lost Draft, a newly opened film-inspired multipurpose space at 398 Broome Street (between Mulberry Street and Cleveland Place) promises to be a refuge for those eager to finally get those creative ideas on paper. Or on screen. 

Stop procrastinating and start writing, because The Lost Draft is open seven days a week from 7am-9pm, offering plenty of time to be creative. Here's our full story on the new cafe.

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  • Things to do
  • City Life

A bucolic 1920s English country golf club is on its way to NYC's concrete jungle! But with a twist. Swingers NoMad, a "crazy mini-golf course" and entertainment complex straight from London brought with it three nine-hole golf courses across 23,000 square feet under 20-foot-high ceilings.

"Crazy golf" is a British spin on mini-golf, but it's for a 21-and-over audience since craft cocktails are served by caddies on the course. Plus, there are plenty of food options to pair with your drinks.

  • 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, which you certainly wouldn’t find in just any vintage clothing store or record store in the city.

The food selection is also top-notch since the creators also operate one of the city’s best food markets: Smorgasburg

The Brooklyn Flea DUMBO is now open for the season. Brooklyn Flea also operates in Chelsea year-round on Saturdays and Sundays.

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  • Nightlife
  • Nightlife

It's not every day that a new nightclub opens in New York City, especially one that harkens back to an old sort of New York—when nightclubs were the city's premiere destinations for some after-hours fun. That's why Daphne, a new subterranean spot under Hotel 50 Bowery in Chinatown, is so special. 

Upon entering the massive 2,500-square-foot space, patrons are pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful silk pink flower installation by art studio Floratorium. Dazzling disco balls also permeate the premises, calling back to a time when the dance club you frequented was just as important as where your apartment was located. 

  • Things to do
Shake Rattle & Roll Dueling Pianos
Shake Rattle & Roll Dueling Pianos

Every Saturday night, two piano men battle it out to prove who is truly the master of all 88 keys, with a playlist decided entirely by the audience. Whether you’re in the mood for Billy Joel, Christina Aguilera or current chart toppers, these pianists are up for the challenge. But they expect you to do your part by singing along, but from home. Grab a ticket and request songs in advance.

More things to do in NYC this weekend

  • Things to do
The 50 best things to do in NYC for locals and tourists
The 50 best things to do in NYC for locals and tourists

Every day, our staffers are eating, drinking, partying, gigging and generally appreciating their way throughout this fair town of ours. Which makes pinning down the most essential New York activities kinda…tough. We need to include the classics, naturally—art museums in NYC, stellar New York attractions, killer bars and restaurants in NYC—but also spotlight the more recent or little-known gems that we truly love. Consider the below your NYC Bible.

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