by BCB Property Management | Mar 8, 2018 | New York City
The snow is finally melting and that means one thing across New York City: a multitude of great springtime festivals that cater to every interest. As we look for more reasons to spend time outside, there’s no shortage of great events to plan those longer days around. Here are just a few of the offerings at hand for the warmer months ahead.
source: blouartinfo.com
Frieze New York
May 3-5
While NYC’s many art museums are generally open year-round, Frieze New York is a weekend-long festival that offers the chance to see high art while simultaneously enjoying the spring weather, a rare opportunity. While it’s primarily a showcase for collectors and dealers, this tented art fair on Randall’s Island welcomes art lovers of every stripe to enjoy the thousands of works on display. More than a simple market, the Frieze Fair features site-specific and groundbreaking new works. For NYC’s rapidly evolving art scene, nothing less will do.
source: worldwanderingkiwi.com
9th Avenue Food Festival
May 19-20
Stretching all the way from 42nd to 57th Street (Times Square-area to Columbus Circle-area, roughly), this long-running food fest has enough room for the best tastes from around the globe. From French Crepes to Indian Curry to South America Pupusas, New York’s international character perhaps sees its best representation in Ninth Avenue’s bustling yearly fair. If the good isn’t enough to entice you, there are vendors and games to keep you around even after you fill up on the goods.
source: 6sqft.com
Macy’s Flower Show
March 25 – April 8
Nothing says spring like flowers, and nothing says NYC like Macy’s, so what better way to celebrate the season by enjoying the best of both? Macy’s isn’t just the host of the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade down 5th Avenue, but their cherished flower show festoons the aisles of their landmark Herald Square location with a spectacular array of fresh flower arrangements from floor to ceiling. This parade-worthy display is only up for two weeks, so hop on the train and pay them a visit-no purchase necessary.
source: eventbrite.com
Bloody Mary Festival
April 8
For 5 years running, this celebration has drawn the crowds looking for the most creative takes on breakfast’s favorite cocktail. Featuring live music, food tastings and more, this event promises the best brunch of the spring. This year’s event will host 17 masters of the Mary at Park Slope’s regal Grand Prospect Hall, so feel free to dress in your Sunday best as you sip the finest vodka-and-tomato juice cocktails the city has to offer.
source: nydailynews.com
Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival
April 1
Since the 1870s, New Yorkers have shown off their finest at this Easter celebration where too much decoration is almost never enough. This solemn holiday celebration has morphed over the years into a colorful display of creativity with bonnets with every color and ornamentation imaginable, even with live animals festooning some of the more outlandish designs. Centering (naturally) around St. Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th Avenue and 50th Street, the festival is just part of a larger parade that runs up to 57th Street. Even if you can’t make it into Mass, getting to the church is enough to take part in or simply witness the festivities.
by BCB Property Management | May 16, 2017 | History, New York City
Want to combine your sophisticated affinity for natural history with your childish love of sleepovers and Ben Stiller flics? New York City’s American Museum of Natural History has a solution for adults hankering to bunk beneath the blue whale: a Night at the Museum sleepover series, which has officially returned this spring.
2017 won’t be the first year the AMoNH lets grown-ups stay overnight in the historic museum for a night to remember. This year will be the fourth to celebrate this swanky tradition, but could be the spookiest yet considering the museum’s current Mummies exhibit. Scared of sarcophagi at night? Rest assured that if the museum’s contents were to come to life, the dinosaurs would probably get you first anyway.
As always, the grown-up iteration is classy affair for 21+ adults only. Imagine this: the night begins with a champagne reception and music by the acclaimed 12th Night Jazz Trio in the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall. Guests are free to roam the floor to view dinosaurs, exotic mammals, and more by night and without the usual pack of kids pressing their noses to the glass. Though with champagne in the mix, we can’t guarantee adults won’t do the same.
A delicious buffet dinner along with wine and beer will also be enjoyed by nocturnal explorers, along with a fossil factfinder tour by flashlight and, bringing literal life to the museum, a live-animal special exhibition. After a nighttime snack, cots are provided for a gentle slumber beneath the 94-foot blue whale in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life. In the morning, you’ll get a light breakfast snack and memories to last a lifetime.
If this sounds too good to be true, you won’t be surprised that the experience comes with a somewhat-hefty price tag. Members pay $300 for admission, non-members pay $350. For some, this may be a big ask—but if you think about all that’s included (food, drinks, museum activities, boarding), plus the fact that proceeds help support the museum, for those who can afford it the benefits are clear.
The first sleepover took place on May 5, and the next will go down on June 30th. For adventurers with disposable incomes who don’t fear the dark, purchase tickets here.
by BCB Property Management | Apr 10, 2017 | Brooklyn, Neighborhoods, New York City
New York is finally starting to thaw out from a nasty, wet, snowy winter. The days of warm afternoons and late sunsets are upon us again, and that means that plenty of fun happenings are taking place, whatever you’re into. Here are some exciting events where you can best take advantage of the turn of the season.
Governor’s Ball Music Festival
For the young and the young at heart, there’s nothing like an outdoor music festival to make the best of the warm weather. This year’s Governor’s Ball (June 2-4) boasts a star-studded lineup with headliners including the red-hot Chance the Rapper, perennial indie favorites Phoenix, and the return of 90s rock legends Tool to the NYC area after 11 years. Not to mention an undercard of over 60 bands representing every genre from dance-pop to experimental hip-hop, rock and soul. Single-day tickets are available too if you don’t feel like making a weekend of it.
Hanami Cherry Blossom Festival
Long a favorite destination for Brooklynites, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden pulls out all the stops at their yearly Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival (April 29-30). The stunning cherry blossoms promise to be in full glorious bloom while you stroll through the picturesque grounds taking it all in. The Festival also includes several exhibitions of historic Japanese culture including Taiko drummers, samurai sword displays, a Japanese tea room, and art gallery. There’s also a flea market so you can take a little bit of the celebration home with you.
Affordable Art Fair
Whether you want to pick up something to class up your apartment or just enjoy the scenery, the Affordable Art Fair (March 29-April 2) has something you’ll enjoy. Over 70 artists from Buenos Aires to Tokyo will be there to exhibit their works, with prices a touch cheaper than the usual art-world fare. Even if you’re not the type to drop more than $100 on some museum-quality artwork, feel free to grab a cocktail and take a stroll through the gallery. At $18 a ticket, it’s cheaper than a trip to MoMA. Workshops for kids are also available, so feel free to bring the whole family.
Five Boro Craft Beer Fest
The NYC craft beer scene is one of the most robust in the country, and the vendors at the Five Boro Craft Beer Fest (May 12) will be more than happy to show you why. Beer mavens from local breweries ranging from the renowned Brooklyn Brewery to up and comers like Long Island City’s Big Alice Brewing will be at the Bushwick fest to meet and greet and, most importantly, imbibe. All-you-can-drink 2 ounce tastings, a home brew contest, and live music make this an event no beer lover will be willing to skip.
NYC Taste of the Nation
If you’re looking to give back a little while you enjoy yourself, you can indulge while helping a great cause at NYC Taste of the Nation (April 24). Benefitting No Kid Hungry, a national charity devoted to ending childhood hunger, this festival brings together over 50 chefs and bartenders to curate a wide-ranging culinary experience. Sample different dishes as well as unique attractions like the Candy Carnival and Donut Derby. You won’t leave hungry, and your ticket will help ensure that kids around the city won’t be, either.
by BCB Property Management | Apr 15, 2016 | Brooklyn, Neighborhoods, New York City
Though both meteorologists and the groundhog agreed spring would come early this year, after a brief warm spell New York City is experiencing an unseasonably chilly early April. Still the flowers are blooming and the sun is out — the temperature, surely, is not far behind. And even a brisk 50-something degrees is fine enough for New Yorkers to get out of the house and start enjoying longer days, brighter skies and fresh-aired adventures.
For Brooklynites, there are an abundance of events right in the borough that either celebrate the season or compliment it. Here’s a sample of some of the most notable events taking place in various Brooklyn neighborhoods.
Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
The brilliant pink and white trees known as cherry blossoms bloom in New York in April every year. There is perhaps no better place to view this spectacle than the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, its 52 acres located just east of Prospect Park touching Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Crown Heights and Prospect Heights in length.
2016 marks the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens’ 35th anniversary of the festival, called Sakura Matsuri for its celebration of traditional and contemporary Japanese culture. The festival takes place on Saturday April 30 and Sunday May 1, offering 60 events and performances. Tickets cost $25 for adults and are free for children under 12.
Cherry blossom trees change at different rates by the day, so you can check them out at BBG and elsewhere during surrounding dates. To track bloom process, simply check out the website here.
Hot Sauce Festival at the Brooklyn Expo Center
The weather might not be hot just yet, but that doesn’t mean you mouth can’t be. Hot sauce enthusiasts flock from near and far for the Hot Sauce Festival, held at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on April 24th and 25th.
Dozens of local vendors participate in numerous categories, including Louisiana style, chipotle, fruit-based, jalapeno, habanero, all-natural, chicken wings, spicy salsa, and even best label art. Attendants can sample a wide variety if their taste buds can handle it. General admission is $10, while $55 can get you five beers and a lunch platter and $100 can get you an all-access pass.
If lovers of spice miss this one and are willing to wait out the summer, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden’s annual Chili Pepper Festival is right around the corner on October 1.
Pop Music Festival
If you’re not into BBQ or cherry blossoms, music is a near-universal attraction. There are, of course, hundreds of music events during any given season in the city that never sleeps — one needs only throw a stone at the nearest bar. For those specifically interested in indie pop, the Pop Music Festival may be the springtime event for you.
Also hosted at several Manhattan venues, Brooklyn locations include Baby’s All Right, the Knitting Factory and Littlefield, where a stellar lineup of up-and-coming bands will rock out from the afternoon to the evening, followed by after parties into the wee hours of the morning.
Who knows? Your next favorite band may be there, prepping your next warm weather jam.
The Brooklyn Flea
There’s nothing quite like an open-air flea market. After months of stuffy indoor fleas, the Brooklyn Flea gets some fresh oxygen: starting in early April, the popular flea market celebrates its ninth outdoor season.
You can find the Brooklyn Flea in various neighborhoods across the Brooklyn borough. The Fort Green Flea is open every Saturday, and the DUMBO Flea every Sunday. An offshoot of the Brooklyn Flea called Smorgasburg occurs every Saturday in Williamsburg and Sunday in Prospect Park, featuring culinary vendors of all flavors.
Mermaid Parade
This Brooklyn event may require a long subway ride south, but it makes up for distance in nautical nonsense. Coney Island’s annual Mermaid Parade takes place on June 18th, at the tail end of the season (the summer solstice is June 20).
Began in 1983, the Mermaid Parade honors the early 20th century Coney Island parades: like Mardi Gras, but with flippers. Floats, groups, and individuals are showcased in the parade, and even onlookers get in on the action by dressing as close to marine life as their closets and budgets will allow.
Even better, admission is free! Just be prepared to swim through some fishy crowds, and possibly get a little wet and glittery in the process.
Featured image: Katie Killary via Flickr
