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The Best Annual Family Festivals in NYC for Kids—and Most are Free

The Atlantic Antic is Brooklyn's biggest annual street fair. Photo courtesy of the event.
The Atlantic Antic is Brooklyn's biggest annual street fair. Photo courtesy of the event.
5/4/22 - By Rosalind Muggeridge

With so much going on in NYC, it can be overwhelming to sift through all the events to land on something that's truly special. There are many family festivals in New York City that make a great jumping-off point for a day of fun. Some New York City celebrations are so great they're worth going every year, like the interactive, art-filled Figment, which shifts to Snug Harbor on Staten Island this year, the adorable Sheep Shearing Festival at the Queens County Farm Museum, and Street Games, the Parks Department's tribute to old-school pastimes.

I know I'm not the only mom out there who likes to plan ahead, and since the festival season kicks into high gear this month, we figured it was a great time to round up our top annual family festivals in NYC. Every single pick on our list is worth your time and money—and in many cases, they don't cost a penny.

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Watch the Sheep Shearing Festival at the Queens County Farm Museum. Photo courtesy of the museum
Watch the Sheep Shearing Festival at the Queens County Farm Museum. Photo courtesy of the museum

Family-Friendly Spring Festivals in NYC

Street Games 2022

East Harlem
April; 2023 date TBD
NYC Parks hosts the 13th annual Street Games at Thomas Jefferson Park in Harlem! Street Games re-introduces classic, low-tech games played in the city in the '60s and '70s to a new generation of kids. The event is open to all ages and abilities. READ MORE

Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival

Prospect Park, Brooklyn
April; 2023 date TBD
Sakura Matsuri, the annual cherry blossom festival at BBG, offers more than 60 events and performances that celebrate traditional and contemporary Japanese culture. READ MORE

Urban Wildlife Festival

Washington Heights–FREE
Saturday, May 14
Get up close and personal with NYC’s wild residents. Learn about squirrels, turtles, raccoons, opossums, and coyotes, and discover the best places in New York City and New York state to watch wildlife. READ MORE

Brass Bands Festival

Brooklyn Heights–FREE
Saturday, May 14
Brooklyn Bridge Park brings back its summer kickoff event for a second year, featuring both roving and stationary live musical sets by a diverse and energetic range of NYC’s brass band community. READ MORE

Sheep Shearing Festival

Floral Park, Queens
Saturday, May 14
Visit the Queens County Farm Museum on the Nassau-Queens border to see the sheep get their annual haircuts. Move to the foot-stomping rhythms of live music, and enjoy farmer-led tours and a plant sale all day.  READ MORE

Apple Blossom Festival

Floral Park, Queens
Saturday, May 7-Sunday, May 8, and Sunday, May 15
Celebrate the beauty of spring at Barton Orchards for two weekends of apple blossoms, live music, entertainment, food, and fun. Activities for kids include a petting zoo, gem stone mining, a dog park, and wooden playground. Enjoy a walk through the orchard to see the blossoms until dusk. The tap room and restaurant are also open.  READ MORE

Lower East Side Festival of the Arts Street Fair

Lower East Side–FREE
Friday May 27-Sunday, May 29
NYC's Lower East Side Festival of the Arts is a cabaret-style festival featuring more than 100 performing groups from the Lower East Side. The theme for 2023 is The Heat Is On. READ MORE

Figment Festival

Staten Island–FREE
Saturday, June 4-Sunday, June 5
Attracting tens of thousands of visitors for the past 12 years, this family-friendly festival is an explosion of creative energy and imagination, perfect for adults and kids alike. READ MORE

Drums Along the Hudson: A Native American Festival

Inwood–FREE
Sunday, June 5
The annual Drums Along the Hudson: A Native American Festival and Multicultural Celebration marks its 21st anniversary as Manhattan’s only open-air pow wow. The all-day event features Native American crafts, storytelling, and traditional food and dance. READ MORE

Irish Arts Center’s Irish Dance and Music Festival

Tribeca–FREE
Saturday, June 11
This celebration honors National Immigrant Heritage Month while featuring music and dance performances, céilís, workshops, and cultural activities. READ MORE

Museum Mile Festival

Upper East Side–FREE
Tuesday, June 14
NYC's biggest block party returns, bringing art outside (and in) on Fifth Avenue between 82nd Street and 105th Street. A collection of New York City’s finest cultural institutions are open free to the public throughout the evening, with outdoor events along the way. READ MORE
On three consecutive Saturdays in August, nearly seven miles of NYC’s streets are closed to cars and opened for people to play, run, walk and bike. Photo courtesy of the DOT
On three consecutive Saturdays in August, nearly seven miles of NYC’s streets are closed to cars and opened for people to play, run, walk and bike. Photo courtesy of the DOT

Top Family-Friendly Summer Festivals in NYC

City of Water Day

Multiple Locations
Saturday, July 16
City of Water Day celebrates NYC's long history as a port and water-bound metropolis. Festivities include boat tours on all kinds of vessels, from tall ships to tugboats; free rowing, kayaking, paddleboarding, and more. READ MORE

Make Music New York

Citywide–FREE
Tuesday, June 21
Make Music New York puts the beat under city feet as musicians of diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, sexual orientations, physical capabilities, and skill levels represent New York City’s remarkable creativity and diversity. READ MORE

Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival

Flushing, Queens–FREE
Saturday, July 30-Sunday, July 31
This annual sporting and multicultural event is held to celebrate the fifth moon (or the fifth month) of the lunar calendar. In addition to providing audiences with traditional Chinese foods and performances, the festival hosts dragon boat teams from across North America. READ MORE

Little Island Storytelling Festival

Chelsea
July; 2022 date TBD
A celebration of storytelling takes over Little Island in July, where singer-songwriters, musicians, poets, and more show how stories can be told in a variety of art forms. READ MORE

Summer Streets

Upper East Side to City Hall–FREE
Saturdays in August; 2022 dates TBD
New York's favorite car-free street festival returns this July and August, as Summer Streets expands to open miles of NYC streets for people to play, run, walk, and bike across multiple weeks and in all five boroughs. READ MORE

BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Concert Series

Prospect Park, Brooklyn
July and August
BRIC's Celebrate Brooklyn! The Festival features a wide array of FREE, world-class performances at the Prospect Park Bandshell. READ MORE

Fall Festivals in NYC for Families

The Medieval Festival at Fort Tryon Park

Washington Heights–FREE
Sunday, October 2
Experience the culture of a bygone era against the backdrop of The Cloisters and the Hudson River during autumn's peak. The Medieval Festival transforms Fort Tryon Park into a medieval market town, decorated with bright banners and processional flags. READ MORE

48th Annual Atlantic Antic

Downtown Brooklyn–FREE
Sunday, October 2
The largest street fest in New York City, the Atlantic Antic, is a mile long and spans four neighborhoods from 4th Avenue to Hicks Street. The fest features more than 500 merchants and vendors and hosts 10 stages of live performers. READ MORE

Little Red Lighthouse Festival

Washington Heights–FREE
Saturday, October 8
Celebrate Manhattan’s only remaining lighthouse with Urban Park Ranger presentations, readings of The Little Red Lighthouse and The Great Gray Bridge children’s book, fishing clinics, live music, food vendors, and activities for the whole family! READ MORE

Open House New York

Citywide–FREE
Saturday, October 22-Sunday, October 23
This year's Open House NYC once again offers a hybrid of virtual experiences, self-guided explorations, and in-person tours. Enjoy food trucks, pop-up eateries, outdoor activations, and more. READ MORE

Blessing of the Animals and the Feast of Saint Francis

Morningside Heights–FREE
October; 2022 date TBD
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine welcomes families to a day of music, prayer, joy, blessings, and fun in honor of Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals and the environment. READ MORE

Morningside Lights: The Open Book

Morningside Heights
September and October; 2022 dates TBD
Morningside Lights returns for its 12th year, illuminating the night in a procession of awe-inspiring handmade lanterns floating through Morningside Park to Columbia's campus. This year, each of the 50+ community-built lanterns pays tribute to a book that inspires, enlightens, and shapes how we see the world. READ MORE

Winter Festivals in NYC for Families

Winter’s Eve at Lincoln Square

Upper West Side
Late November; 2022 date is TBD
Winter’s Eve celebrates 20 years of merrymaking, transforming the Upper West Side into a small town for one evening. READ MORE

Winter Jam

Central Park–FREE
February; 2023 date TBD
Presented by NYC Parks, the Olympic Regional Development Authority, I Love NY, and I Ski NY, Winter Jam is a free winter sports festival for New Yorkers of all ages! The team from Gore Mountain blows lots of snow in the heart of Manhattan, creating an urban snowfield for all to enjoy! READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Pier 17, South Street Seaport
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Little Red Lighthouse (in Fort Washington Park)
Citywide and online
Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
Miller Theater at Columbia University