Year-round, New York City hosts a wide range of festivals, parades and performances. You can eat your way through Chinatown during a new art exhibit or check out an underground speakeasy paired with pole dancing.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art explores Vincent Van Gogh’s obsession with cypress trees in this major summer exhibit.
International Fringe Festival
New York City is a cultural melting pot that celebrates diverse traditions throughout the year. Street festivals and parades mark iconic holidays like St Patrick’s Day and Thanksgiving, while dance, music and theatre events entertain year-round. New York also boasts a wealth of world-class museums, including the National Comedy Center and Dia:Beacon, plus incredible sculpture parks like Storm King Art Center on Jones Beach in Long Island.
One of the most popular annual festivals in New York is the Fringe Festival, which features hundreds of shows each August. This wildly creative event attracts performers and audiences from around the globe. Shows take place in pop-up or non-traditional spaces that are repurposed to showcase theater, music, cabaret and everything in between. Many artists develop their shows at the Fringe and often go on to Broadway or Off-Off Broadway success.
While Broadway and Off-Off Broadway take a break in the summer, Fringe is the premier destination for theatergoers to discover new talent. More than 75,000 people swarm the streets and venues to attend shows that would never play on the mainstream stages. A highlight of the festival is the Fringe Encore Series, where a select number of the most popular productions return for a second run.
As a bonus, most shows at the Fringe are just $18 each. Check out the website for a complete list of performances, then book tickets to the ones you want. The festival also offers workshops and conferences, so you can learn more about the arts while enjoying the festivities.
The Brooklyn Book Festival is one of the most prestigious literary and literacy events in America. This free event showcases a diverse range of authors and publishers from around the world, from emerging voices to established literary superstars. The festival also has panels and discussions on important social issues, such as feminism and the environment.
The Brooklyn Book Festival also features a series of literary and social events, including a kids’ reading festival that allows children to meet authors in person. A number of special events are also hosted at the festival, such as author talks and book signings.
Sixth Fest
If you love the artisanal wares of food, drink and art, make sure to check out Sixth Fest, an independently produced psychedelic music and arts festival. The event brings indie bands and attendees from across the globe to NYC’s Red River Cultural District and east side venues. In addition to the live music, this fest features interactive art activities and a full slate of food and drink.
The City’s love for design is celebrated each year during NYCxDESIGN, which showcases a range of exhibitions and events that celebrate local creativity. The festival features tours, talks and trade shows highlighting the best in contemporary design, including BKLYN Designs, Collective Design and Frieze New York.
For architecture buffs, the month of October is Archtober, a program that highlights the City’s diverse architectural heritage through tours, lectures and other special celebrations. During the event, museums, galleries and private homes open their doors for visitors to get an insider’s view of some of the world’s most iconic buildings.
If the outdoors are your thing, you can’t miss the annual New York Boat Show, a one-of-a-kind showcase of yachts and fishing boats. Thousands of visitors head to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center to check out the latest equipment, and to learn from experts in the field.
To celebrate African American heritage, you can’t go wrong with Kwanzaa, which typically takes place December 26 to January 1 each year. In addition to the feast and gift-giving ritual, you can find music, dance and other family-friendly activities at venues like Harlem’s Apollo Theater.
A city that loves to eat and drink gets even more gastronomical during the Bronx Week festivities, which take place in August each year. The events include cooking demonstrations, food and drinks from local restaurants, and a variety of other fun activities.
Whether you’re looking for a great bargain or just a fun way to spend the day, the City’s street fairs are a must-see. Check out the Grant Park Music Festival, a free event that presents classical music in an alfresco setting all summer long. Or try the Silver Room Block Party, a neighborhood street fair in Oakwood Beach featuring live music, food and shopping. You can also sample the offerings at Tacos y Tamales, a Pilsen fest modeled after a traditional Mexican market.
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival was founded in 2002 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The festival is designed to promote the cultural and economic revitalization of lower Manhattan through a variety of filmmaking and entertainment events. The festival includes juried narrative, documentary and short film competitions, restoration of classic films, panel discussions and concerts. The festival also features immersive presentations and virtual reality exhibits.
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival celebrates Juneteenth, the commemoration of the end of slavery in America. The event will feature several films that explore the legacy of black freedom and civil rights. These include the world premiere of All Up in the Biz, a documentary about New York hip-hop legend Biz Markie, and the world premiere of Cinnamon, directed by Bryan Keith Montgomery Jr. The latter film stars Pam Grier as a heavy metal biker cowgirl, a far cry from her glamorous performances in Coffy and Foxy Brown.
For the first time ever, more than half of this year’s feature film selections are directed by women. The festival also features 43 first-time directors, making it the most diverse lineup in its history. In addition, nearly half of the feature films are helmed by BIPOC filmmakers. The 2023 festival also has a series of gala events and premieres featuring popular artists such as Carrie Underwood, Cyndi Lauper, and French Montana.
During the festival, the New York Film Academy will hold the seventh annual THROUGH HER LENS, an immersive program for emerging women filmmakers. The program provides one-on-one mentorships, and intimate participant masterclasses. The festival also hosts an online pitching competition where project creators can present their creative ideas to a broad audience of potential partners and investors.
The festival’s TV and NOW section will feature eight series premieres, including Max’s Full Circle, which follows an investigative reporter; Apple TV+’s The Horror of Dolores Roach starring Dennis Quaid and Claire Danes; and BET+’s Diarra from Detroit written and executive produced by Kenya Barris. This year’s event will also feature the world premiere of a documentary about Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee.
SummerStage
The annual Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage music series will bring nearly 90 free concerts, dance performances and film screenings to Central Park and neighborhood parks across the five boroughs this summer. The lineup features a mix of genres, from reggae to indie rock and Afrobeat, plus some of the best emerging artists in the scene. The festival kicks off on June 10 with a bus-themed event at the New York Transit Museum, where attendees will be able to board vintage buses from over 90 years of NYC transit history.
Besides the festival’s flagship venue at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park, other venues include Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, Von King Park in Brooklyn, Coney Island Amphitheater in Brooklyn, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and Stapleton Waterfront Park in Queens, and Crotona Park in Staten Island. In addition to the concert schedule, SummerStage offers art workshops and family activities in each location.
This year’s lineup includes many artists who are known for embracing diversity and equality in their work. Several of them are women-led, including folk singer-songwriter Andy Shauf, indie rock band Shea Rose and Pacific Northwest indigenous indie rock band Black Belt Eagle Scout. Many of the performers are masters of their craft, whether legendary jazz musicians like Herbie Hancock or newcomers that are taking the music world by storm.
In addition to promoting the best of music, SummerStage also promotes the city’s diverse neighborhoods and cultural communities. The festival partners with nonprofits and media outlets to present events that celebrate the best of the five boroughs. This year, it partnered with THIRTEEN – the city’s flagship PBS station – and ALL ARTS – a media company that promotes arts and culture to all New Yorkers.
The festival is committed to gender and racial equity in its programming, and this year’s lineup included 85% BIPOC artists and 84% female-led groups. It has also partnered with the PRS Foundation’s international Keychange pledge to promote a 50:50 gender balance for featured artists at its concerts. It is also the only local festival to stream all of its concerts live.
