Things to do on a Sunday in New York

Spring is finally arriving, and what better way to celebrate than by joining the Broadway Green Alliance and Times Square Alliance for the festive return of the Broadway Celebrates Earth Day concert?

On Saturday, April 26 from 11am–3pm, head to Times Square’s Pedestrian Plaza for the free outdoor performances, which will serve as a marquee event for the NYC Department of Transportation’s city wide “Car-Free Earth Day” and will highlight the theatre community’s ongoing efforts to combat the climate crisis with actionable steps.

Taking to the stage will be hosts Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley (Stars in the House), Tony Award winner Shaina Taub (Suffs), Tony nominee Stark Sands (Kinky Boots) and Grammy nominee Merle Dandridge (Hadestown), among others, as well as 75 musically inclined students from the tri-state area. 

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 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.

For the sixth year, House of Yes is celebrating Earth Day with eco-action, creativity and dance. Open to all ages, the free event will take place at the Bushwick venue on Sunday, April 27 from noon to 6pm and will offer both indoor and outdoor festivities “designed to inspire sustainable living and creative expression,” organizers say.

Along with the fest’s diverse array of creators and speakers, climate experts, ocean conservationists, and sustainable designers, the lineup will include an electrifying live performance by Hila The Earth and immersive experiences curated by partners such as DJs for Climate Action, Future Sound of Music, Zero Waste Daniel, Absurd Conclave, and Future Meets Present.

“Green your life, move to the grooves, get inspired, and fall in love with our planet all over again,” as event planners say. Don’t mind if we do!

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 April 26, May 10 and 24. Events are run by New York Historical Tours in partnership with the Fifth Avenue Association.

Open Streets: Car-Free Earth Day will close down 54 streets and plazas to vehicular traffic across all five boroughs from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, April 26. Expect community programs and public art activations in the areas as well. 

The idea is a simple one: by turning a portion of our city into a car-free zone, officials hope to promote activism and education about sustainable modes of transportation, climate change and environmentalism. This year, the NYC DOT has also commissioned five artists to come up with temporary, environmentally-focused works of different mediums along certain routes, including some by New York-based illustrators Ishita Jain and Caitlin Keegan. 

You can look through a map of all the streets and plazas set to go car-free right here. 

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!

Peruse handmade jewelry, apparel, skincare products, tableware, artisanal packaged food, and more. Whether you're shopping for you or a friend (or even getting an early on that holiday shopping), there are plenty of local gems to pick up.

This weekend, April 26-27, find the market's Earth Month pop-up at Center for Brooklyn History in Brooklyn Heights.

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. The free festival officially kicks off on Saturday, April 26.

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

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.

Calling all Francophiles! The Cultural Center of the Lycée Français de New York will host the fourth edition of its annual (and free!) French cultural fair, “En Français, Oui But Why?” on Saturday, April 26 from 9:30am to 4:30pm, at the Upper East Side school.

The vibrant celebration of all things Français will showcase the diversity of the French-speaking world via performances by local artists, creative workshops for children ages 2 to 12, pétanque games for adults, roundtable discussions and book signings with renowned writers, and a live performances in French of Le Mariage de Figaro, by L’Atelier Théâtre NY.

And if that's not enough, there will be Belgian waffles to snack on!