NYC Festivals Calendar

San Gennaro spreads through Little Italy, with the feast on Mulberry Street and adjoining stretches of Hester and Grand streets.

The 2026 calendar adds performances throughout the run, including opera, singers and orchestras, so you can plan around a performance as well as walking through the neighborhood.

Its Grand Procession is scheduled for September 26 at 2pm, with floats and the statue of San Gennaro.

The religious observance and the entertainment have separate schedules; the procession is one part of the longer street feast.

Sources checked 2026-10-12

Musicians, community artists and food vendors give you several ways into the 116th Street Festival’s celebration of Puerto Rican and Hispanic culture. Its 2026 program included live performances on three stages.

The festival takes place on 3rd Avenue between East 106th and East 122nd streets in East Harlem. Merchants and nonprofit organizations join the food vendors across its 20-block footprint.

The 41st anniversary edition ran June 13, 2026. Founded in 1985 as Abrazo Fraternal, the festival commemorates Puerto Rican heritage in El Barrio and serves as a prelude to the National Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Sources checked 2026-10-09

Winter Lantern Festival invites you to take an evening walk through an outdoor setting illuminated with art. The organizer describes a combination of tradition and technology.

It’s a limited-time event framed around the cold season. The walk itself is the central activity in the festival’s description.

The next New York edition’s dates and location haven't been announced.

Sources checked 2026-10-16

JAPAN Fes is a food-focused festival where you browse vendors and choose what to eat as you go.

The organizer describes its format as bringing together more than 25 Japanese food vendors, with ramen, takoyaki, yakitori and sweets among the offerings.

Its New York schedule includes multiple editions, so the event name alone isn’t enough to plan a trip.

Use the individual NYC listing to find the street and date; the wider New York program also includes events outside the five boroughs.

Sources checked 2026-10-16

Food Network stars are part of NYCWFF’s draw, alongside the food, wine and spirits you sample at its events. Your ticket covers the food and beverages consumed at the event.

The festival takes place in the Seaport neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. Every NYCWFF event is restricted to guests 21 and older.

The announced 19th edition runs October 15 to 18, 2026. Choose an event by its program, then check its individual schedule and ticket terms.

Sources checked 2026-10-16

Global Citizen brings a day of live music to Central Park’s Great Lawn, with a ticket system linked to the organization’s advocacy campaigns.

Fans complete actions in the Global Citizen app to earn points, then use those points for chances to win festival tickets.

The 2026 event also offers an instant-ticket route using 300 points and a $25 charitable donation, alongside paid ticket tiers.

That makes admission planning part of the experience: a free-ticket opportunity does not mean you can arrive at the park and walk in.

Check the current lineup and entry rules on the festival’s NYC page.

Sources checked 2026-10-11

Hanami Nights gives you illuminated cherry blossoms to enjoy with family and friends on Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Cherry Esplanade. Its program also includes origami, other Japanese crafts, bonsai, live performances and specialty food and drinks.

You can stroll along Cherry Walk and through the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden during Hanami Nights. Weekends in Bloom offers a different program: pop-up music and dance, morning activities for children and families in the Discovery Garden, and Garden tours.

The 2026 Hanami Nights ran April 21 to 24, from 5 to 8:30pm. The 2026 Weekends in Bloom dates were May 3 and May 10, from 10:30am to 4pm.

Sources checked 2026-10-09

West Side Community Garden plants more than 13,000 tulip bulbs each year, giving you a specific reason to visit its spring flowers. The tulip festival is one of the garden’s recurring events.

Enter on West 89th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues. The garden is free and open to everyone daily, from dawn to dusk.

The garden’s dated account of the 2020 Tulip Festival describes tulips and other spring flowers planted for the occasion. With the garden closed to visitors then, it shared photographs of the flowers.

Sources checked 2026-10-16

Veteran players and the next generation of jazz artists share the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival’s program, giving you live performances honoring the saxophonist. The celebration is free.

Shows take place at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem and Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, neighborhoods where Parker lived and worked. The 34th-edition program describes three days of live jazz.

That program names the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for opening night, with music direction by alto saxophonist Sherman Irby and guests Marquis Hill and Ekep Nkwelle. Separately, the festival marked Parker’s 100th birthday in 2020 with an all-day digital presentation.

Sources checked 2026-10-09

Winter Jazzfest centers Black American music, with a program that lets you hear musicians across multiple stages. Its 2025 itinerary featured more than 600 musicians on 24 stages in Downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The announced 2027 festival runs January 12 to 19. A Manhattan Marathon pass is listed for January 15, 2027.

A pass doesn't guarantee entry to any particular venue or a seat once you're inside. I’d keep that limitation in mind if one specific performance is your main reason for going.

Sources checked 2026-10-16

Dragon-boat racing is the center of this two-day festival at Meadow Lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

The organizer’s program includes open, youth, charity, nonprofit and corporate race categories, with races starting in the morning and continuing into the early evening.

Away from the water, a main stage hosts live music and martial-arts demonstrations.

An international food court and an arts-and-crafts area give spectators more to explore between races.

Watching from the festival grounds is separate from registering a team to compete.

Sources checked 2026-10-09

The New York Comedy Festival spreads its program across venues around the city, with tickets sold for individual shows.

Its 2026 program is billed as ten days across five boroughs, with more than 100 shows and 200 comedians.

The lineup spans large theater and arena appearances as well as other live comedy events, so you can pick a performer and venue that suit your evening.

The festival dates describe the overall program; each show has its own booking page, location and start time.

Use the official lineup to compare the individual events.

Sources checked 2026-10-16

The Brooklyn Book Festival pairs a literary marketplace with a program of book events around Brooklyn Borough Hall and neighboring venues.

Its main Festival Day gives you a reason to browse books and move between literary events in one part of Downtown Brooklyn.

Children’s Day has its own program of readings, workshops, performances, book signings and art projects.

Bookend events extend the festival to locations across all five boroughs, while a separate virtual day brings programming online.

Those strands have different dates and venues, so choose the part you want to attend before setting out.

Sources checked 2026-10-12

The West Indian American Day Carnival Association celebrates Caribbean people, music, food and traditions, with a parade you can watch along Eastern Parkway. The organizer’s history places its route from Utica Avenue to Grand Army Plaza.

The wider carnival program includes New York Panorama, a steel pan competition. Brass Fest brings together musicians and artists from across the diaspora.

The celebration began with Jessie Wardell and West Indian friends in Harlem in the 1930s. The organizer traces its move to Labor Day to the 1940s; dates for the next edition haven't been announced.

Sources checked 2026-10-16

NYC’s queer community, families, small businesses and nonprofits come together at PrideFest, where you can join a free street celebration in Greenwich Village. The March is a separate event moving down Fifth Avenue.

Both sit within NYC Pride’s annual commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. The March began as a demonstration honoring Stonewall and continues to combine celebration with LGBTQIA+ advocacy.

The 2026 March took place June 28, 2026. PrideFest also returned to Greenwich Village for its 2026 edition.

Sources checked 2026-10-16

Museum Mile Festival brings an evening of free admission to participating museums along Fifth Avenue.

Eight institutions took part in 2026, including The Met, the Guggenheim, Cooper Hewitt, the Museum of the City of New York, El Museo del Barrio and The Africa Center.

Visitors could explore museum exhibitions during the evening; The Met also scheduled a brass-band performance on its steps.

The experience is spread between institutions, so it helps to choose a few stops and check their programs rather than assume every museum offers the same activities.

Sources checked 2026-10-09

Snug Harbor’s Autumn Moon Festival brings a Mid-Autumn celebration to the New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden.

The organizer describes performances, demonstrations and crafts for all ages, with the garden providing the setting for the afternoon.

A College of Staten Island account of the 2026 edition describes cultural performances, interactive demonstrations and hands-on crafts, along with opportunities to explore the garden.

This is a scheduled festival with its own admission prices, so ordinary garden-opening information alone will not tell you when the performances take place or which ticket to buy.

Sources checked 2026-10-09

Better Chinatown’s Lunar New Year Parade gives you a public celebration to watch in Chinatown. The organizer says its events are free and open to everyone.

The next parade is scheduled for February 21, 2027, at 1pm. That is the parade’s start time.

The organizer also lists a previous parade on February 16, 2025, with a 1pm start in Chinatown. Use the 2027 announcement when planning your next visit.

Sources checked 2026-10-16

The Ninth Avenue Association’s food festival turns a stretch of Hell’s Kitchen into a place to explore the neighborhood through its merchants.

Its official site lists previous participants ranging from Greek bakeries and Taiwanese bubble tea shops to Mexican, Indian, Brazilian, Italian and French restaurants.

That list illustrates the festival’s range; it is not a confirmed lineup for a future edition.

The 2026 festival covered Ninth Avenue from 42nd to 57th streets over two days, giving visitors a long street-festival route to browse.

Sources checked 2026-10-09

Governors Ball is a multi-stage music festival at Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

For its 2026 edition, the organizer advertised more than 60 artists across three stages over three days.

The format lets you build a day around several performers and move between stages, with food from NYC restaurants and selected Queens Night Market vendors between sets.

Ticket upgrades offer additional lounges and viewing options.

Check the announced schedule before choosing a day, since the festival’s full artist roster does not mean every performer appears on every date.

Sources checked 2026-10-09

Ferragosto brings a street-festival afternoon to the Bronx’s Little Italy on Arthur Avenue.

The 2026 edition occupied the stretch between East 187th Street and Crescent Avenue, with food, drinks and merchandise available to buy.

Admission was free, so visitors could enter the festival and choose their purchases along the way.

The Belmont Business Improvement District describes it as a gathering of neighbors, customers and supporters that has taken place for more than 25 years.

It’s a separate event from Manhattan’s Feast of San Gennaro.

Sources checked 2026-10-16

Coney Island USA’s Mermaid Parade moves through the neighborhood’s streets and onto the boardwalk, with visitors able to watch or register to join the march.

The verified 2026 route began at West 21st Street and Surf Avenue, headed east to West 10th Street and continued to Steeplechase Plaza beneath the Parachute Jump.

An official beach ceremony followed as part of the summer celebration.

Watching the route, marching in the parade and taking a seat in the judges’ stands are different ways to participate, with separate arrangements.

Sources checked 2026-10-09

DanceAfrica combines a dance-performance program with events beyond the theater at BAM in Fort Greene.

The 2026 edition focused on Uganda, with the Ndere Troupe featured in the performance program and an outdoor bazaar held over Memorial Day weekend.

FilmAfrica provided a companion cinema program highlighting Ugandan culture and artistry.

Earlier activities included a Tribute to the Ancestors and Community Day.

Choose the part of the festival that interests you: a theater performance, a film and a visit to the bazaar have separate schedules and admission arrangements.

Sources checked 2026-10-09

Flavors of the World brings a food-and-performance festival to Queens County Farm Museum.

The organizer describes food from around the world, live cultural performances and handcrafted goods from artisans representing a range of cultures.

The 2026 ticket page also lists the Corn Maze Adventure and Pumpkin Patch among the general-admission inclusions.

You can combine time around the food vendors and performances with those farm activities, but the admission ticket should not be read as an all-you-can-eat offer.

Check the ticket page for what is included and what you’ll buy separately.

Sources checked 2026-10-16

LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival spreads performances and activities through the Lower East Side’s community gardens.

The 2026 program advertises more than 50 events across 30 gardens, including music, poetry, puppetry, workshops, theater, opera, dance and spoken word.

Rather than one large festival site, you choose individual events and travel between the gardens hosting them.

The organizer says every event is free, with no tickets or registration required.

The ten-day festival dates describe the whole program; they do not mean every garden has activities all day or on every date.

Sources checked 2026-10-12

Queens County Farm Museum’s agricultural fair brings country-fair activities to a working farm within the city.

The 2026 program includes corn-husking contests, hayrides and square dancing, alongside live music and theatrical performances on the main stage and in family entertainment tents.

Blue-ribbon competitions cover vegetables, baked goods, arts and crafts, while local vendors sell food and handmade goods.

Newton Shows supplies carnival rides and merry-go-rounds.

You can spend the visit moving between performances, competition displays and activities rather than following a single show.

Sources checked 2026-10-11