The annual Blues BBQ Festival returns to Pier 76 with barbecue, live blues music and family-friendly fun.<\/p>\n
The free festival will feature performances across two stages, dance lessons, a festival marketplace, hot sauces and activities for all ages. Local restaurants will also serve up barbecue and desserts throughout the day.<\/p>\n
Coney Island Sand Sculpting Competition<\/p>\n
- \n
- Saturday, Aug. 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.<\/li>\n
- Coney Island Beach at West 21st Street and Surf Avenue, Brooklyn<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Sand artists of all skill levels will compete to create elaborate sculptures at the annual Coney Island Sand Sculpting Competition.<\/p>\n
The free event is open to all ages, with categories for solo artists, adult groups, families and semi-professional artists. The day will also feature live entertainment, giveaways and family-friendly fun, with winners eligible for cash prizes and tickets to local attractions.<\/p>\n
4th International Puppet Fringe Festival 2026<\/p>\n
- \n
- Ongoing through Sunday, Aug. 16<\/li>\n
- The Clemente Soto V\u00e9lez Cultural and Educational Center, Manhattan<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The fourth annual International Puppet Fringe Festival<\/a> features five days of exhibitions, workshops, panels, film screenings and more than 100 performances by puppeteers from around the world.<\/p>\n
The festival will showcase groups from 10 countries, along with exhibitions including a tribute to the iconic marionette Pinocchio.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Puppet_Festival_Roger_Clark_2.jpeg\")
\n‘Summer Streets’<\/p>\n- \n
- Saturday, Aug. 15 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.<\/li>\n
- From the Brooklyn Bridge to Broadway and Dyckman Street, Manhattan<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Summer Streets continues this weekend, giving pedestrians and cyclists car-free space to explore the city.<\/p>\n
The walk- and bike-friendly route will feature music, activities and family-friendly fun.<\/p>\n
The following streets will be closed to car traffic from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Lafayette Street and Park Avenue between Brooklyn Bridge and East 110th Street<\/li>\n
- East 110th Street between Park Avenue and Broadway<\/li>\n
- Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard between West 110th Street and West 113th Street<\/li>\n
- Broadway between West 110th Street and Dyckman Street<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/blockquote>\n
Meet Daniel Tiger at the Bronx Zoo<\/p>\n
- \n
- Through Sept. 7<\/li>\n
- Bronx Zoo<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Families can step into the world of “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” at the Bronx Zoo, with activities inspired by the popular children’s show.<\/p>\n
Kids can explore a life-sized, accessible Trolley, make music at a replica of the neighborhood’s music wall, learn about zoo workers and compare themselves with wildlife. Children can also hop like frogs and spread their feathers like peacocks while exploring the “Land of Make-Believe.”<\/p>\n
Head to the Beach<\/p>\n
- \n
- Open for the summer<\/li>\n
- Across the city<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Beaches across the city will stay open through the weekend after Labor Day.<\/p>\n
Lifeguards will be on duty every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Swimming is prohibited during their off-hours.<\/p>\n
\n
Mark your calendars: NYC beaches officially open for the season on May 23. Get ready for boardwalk walks, post-swim snacks, ocean breezes, and long summer days by the water! pic.twitter.com\/VI7ZXboNL8<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 NYC Parks (@NYCParks) May 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Luna Park<\/p>\n
- \n
- Open for the season<\/li>\n
- Coney Island, Brooklyn<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Luna Park in Coney Island is open for the season, with its full lineup of rides, treats and \u201chigh-flying excitement.”<\/p>\n
Visitors can ride the iconic Cyclone roller coaster, play arcade games, get food or shop around.<\/p>\n
Queens Night Market<\/p>\n
- \n
- Saturdays from 4 p.m. to midnight through Aug. 22<\/li>\n
- Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Queens Night Market has returned for its 11th season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The market is a family-friendly, open-air event that features 100 independent vendors selling merchandise, art and food. There are also performances that organizers say, along with the vendors, celebrate “the rich cultural diversity and heritage of NYC and Queens.”<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Queens_Night_Market_VO.jpeg\")
\nSmorgasburg<\/p>\n- \n
- Open for the season<\/li>\n
- Thursdays and Fridays: World Trade Center<\/li>\n
- Saturdays: Marsha P. Johnson State Park, Williamsburg<\/li>\n
- Sundays: Prospect Park, Brooklyn<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The city’s annual warm weather food frenzy is back, and organizers say it features one of their biggest lineups yet.<\/p>\n
More than 70 vendors offering global bites, longtime favorites and experimental new concepts will set up in Manhattan every Thursday and Friday \u2014 and then in Brooklyn every weekend \u2014 through October.<\/p>\n
If you can’t make it out to one of their sites, you can still enjoy dining al fresco at a restaurant near you, as the city’s roadway dining program<\/a> has officially returned for the season.<\/p>\n
Movies Under the Stars<\/p>\n
- \n
- Events throughout summer<\/li>\n
- Across the city<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Movies Under the Stars is back at NYC Parks. The city agency is putting on more than 150 family-friendly film screenings across the five boroughs.<\/p>\n
Bring your own blanket, chairs and snacks and find a free event near you here.<\/a><\/p>\n
\n
Join us for a free flick near you! Bring your blankets to cozy up to one of our Movies Under the Stars across the five boroughs all summer long! pic.twitter.com\/pkBmRu4COJ<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 NYC Parks (@NYCParks) May 28, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
SummerStage<\/p>\n
- \n
- Shows through Oct. 1<\/li>\n
- Across the city<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
More than 60 shows \u2014 most of them free \u2014 will take place at 13 locations across the five boroughs this summer as the city’s annual SummerStage program returns for its 40th year.<\/p>\n
Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield hosts many of the shows, including\u00a0benefit concerts that support the City Parks Foundation.<\/p>\n
For those interested in the history of the annual event, a new exhibit at the Arsenal Gallery<\/a> in Central Park showcases photographs dating back to the concert festival’s founding. It will be open until Aug. 21.<\/p>\n
<\/blockquote>\n
‘Greater New York’<\/p>\n
- \n
- Open through Aug. 17<\/li>\n
- MoMA PS1, Queens<\/li>\n
- More information h<\/a>e<\/a>re<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This is the last weekend to catch MoMA PS1’s “Greater New York” exhibit, a “signature survey of artists living and working in the New York City area.”<\/p>\n
This year’s sixth edition spans all levels of the museum’s school building and features the work of more than 50 multidisciplinary artists.<\/p>\n
Whitney Biennial 2026<\/p>\n
- \n
- Open through Aug. 23<\/li>\n
- Whitney Museum, Manhattan<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Whitney Museum says its biennial exhibit is the “the longest-running survey of contemporary art in the United States.”<\/p>\n
The 82nd edition features the work of 56 artists and reflects the current moment by examining “interspecies kinships, familial relations, geopolitical entanglements, technological affinities, shared mythologies, and infrastructural supports.”<\/p>\n
<\/blockquote>\n
Sotheby’s ‘Botero in New York’ Exhibit<\/b><\/p>\n
- \n
- Jul. 22 to Sept. 7\u00a0<\/li>\n
- Sotheby’s Breuer Building<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Presented at one of the \u201cworld\u2019s most vibrant art capitals,\u201d the exhibition will include important works of art on loan from The Botero Foundation until Sept. 7.<\/p>\n
In addition, a collection of work featuring Fernando Botero\u2019s voluminous, ironic figures will be available for sale.<\/p>\n
‘Self-Made: A Century of Inventing Artists’<\/p>\n
- \n
- Open through Sept. 13<\/li>\n
- American Folk Art Museum, Manhattan<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This exhibit at the always-free American Folk Art Museum on the Upper West Side takes a look at how artists without formal training have depicted and defined themselves on their own terms.<\/p>\n
There are 60 artists featured, with paintings, sculptures, photos and other forms, all on display. The selection showcases those who have worked outside the lineage of artistic networks.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Self_Made_Art_PKG_CLEAN_FIX_137028206_2111.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n(Spectrum News NY1\/Roger Clark)<\/p>\n
BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!<\/p>\n
- \n
- Events through Sept. 19<\/li>\n
- Manhattan venues and Brooklyn Bowl<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
A slate of annual free performances at Prospect Park has returned for the summer as the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! festival enters its 47th season.<\/p>\n
There will be\u00a015 free shows and three benefit shows, all of which support Prospect Park. This year\u2019s lineup includes Common, Patti LaBelle, Katie Yamasaki, Lady Wray, Victory Boyd, and Reggae with Wayne Wonder and Lila Ik\u00e9.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/roger_clark_bric_celebrate_brooklyn_061726.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n(Courtesy Edwina<\/p>\n
Hay)<\/p>\n
‘Flower Power’ at NYBG<\/p>\n
- \n
- Open through Oct. 18<\/li>\n
- New York Botanical Garden, the Bronx<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This recently-opened exhibit at New York Botanical Garden celebrates flowers as a cultural symbol of peace and love.<\/p>\n
In addition to flowers, visitors can expect to see all things related to the “flower power” movement \u2014 like art and fashion from the ’60s, including works from Andy Warhol and Milton Glaser. There are also painted Volkswagen vans, giant peace signs and large hand-painted fabric canopies.<\/p>\n
Plenty of activities are scattered throughout the exhibit, including friendship bracelet-making and ticketed liquid light shows<\/a> with live bands.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/roger_clark_flower_power_new_york_botanical_garden_052126.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nFlower Power is a new exhibition at the New York Botanical Garden, opening May 23. (Spectrum News NY1)<\/p>\n
‘Uptown Visions’<\/p>\n
- \n
- Open through Nov. 1<\/li>\n
- Hispanic Society Museum & Library, Manhattan<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This year’s selection for the\u00a0Hispanic Society Museum & Library’s “Art on Audubon Terrace” exhibit, “Uptown Visions” by Harlem-based painter Tom Sanford is meant to capture the “joy, rhythm, and layered experience of Uptown summer life.”<\/p>\n
Featuring scenes of basketball, cart vendors and\u00a0communal energy, the work was inspired by Joaqu\u00edn Sorolla\u2019s mural series, “Vision of Spain,” which depicted the people and customs of the country.<\/p>\n
<\/blockquote>\n
MoMI LAB<\/p>\n
- \n
- Now open<\/li>\n
- Museum of the Moving Image, Queens<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Queens’ Museum of the Moving Image has opened a free new space for people to check out newly emerging technology.<\/p>\n
The MoMI LAB is located in the museum’s lower level, and welcomes the public to “discover, create, and reflect in this space where people from varied backgrounds can interact with new technologies and each other.”<\/p>\n
<\/blockquote>\n
‘For the Win’<\/p>\n
- \n
- Now open<\/li>\n
- American Museum of Natural History<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
A new exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History celebrates “the objects that define athletic greatness.”<\/p>\n
There are more than 70 items covering over 150 years of sports history, including gold medals, trophies and championship rings.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_0779-2.jpeg\")
\nNew Museum<\/p>\n- \n
- Open Tuesday to Sunday<\/li>\n
- 235 Bowery, Manhattan<\/li>\n
- More information here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n