We’ve officially made it through a quarter of 2018. In our book, that’s something to celebrate, and there’s no shortage of ways to do it!
Learn about S and M, autism, or Japanese culture. Catch an orchid evening at the Bronx Botanical Garden, or find a new plant friend of your own.
Eat good at Smorgasburg or the World Fare, jam out at the Brooklyn Folk Festival or with Lily Allen, or drink up at the NYC Craft Beer Fest or Margarita Rumble.
Go to a parade, see a movie or 10, or even have a pillow fight! If you want a full calendar this month, then thanks to us, you’ve got one!
1. Smorgasburg Opening Weekend 2018 (90 Kent Ave, April 1 @ 11 AM)
What better way to celebrate the beginning of spring than by dropping by one of the city’s most famous and most delicious outdoor markets?
Enjoy some of NYC’s best eats along with a beer, wine and cocktail bar all against the scenic backdrop of Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.
If you plan on heading out, enter here for a chance to win some Smorgasbucks and a $50 bar tab!
2. Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival ( 5th Ave btwn 49th and 57th St, April 1 @ 10 AM)
Celebrate NYC’s creative over the top spirit by attending one of its most whimsical events.
Every year, hundreds of city dwellers trek down 5th Avenue wearing some of the craziest bonnets imaginable.
Watch the silliness from the sidelines, or don your own maddest hat and join the procession yourself!
3. World Autism Awareness Day (405 East 42nd St, April 5 @ 8 AM)
If you or someone you love is on the autism spectrum, you may be interested in attending the United Nations’ observance of World Autism Awareness Day.
This year’s program will focus on the importance of empowering women and girls with autism, and will feature a keynote address by Julia Bascom, debate on hard hitting topics like education, employment, and violence, and even an appearance by movie star Dakota Fanning for a discussion on women with autism in film.
4. NVRsleep #taxseason (772 Dean St, April 4 @ 9 PM)
Join NVRsleep, Brooklyn’s trending “music platform and party for today's creative class,” for its 23rd installment.
They’re helping you decompress from all your tax season woes with “an evening of hip-hop and R'n'B vibes inspired paper chasing” featuring beats from Rodney Hazard, FabRoc, and SilkyBlack, and topping it all off with a special prosecco punch. Free with RSVP!
5. Little Cinema; Man Who Fell To Earth (200 Eastern Pkwy, April 4 @ 7:30 PM)
Little Cinema is collaborating with the Brooklyn Museum to celebrate the life and legacy of David Bowie by presenting his star turn in 1976 sci-fi masterpiece The Man Who Fell To Earth like it’s never been seen before!
The cult film will be newly enhanced with video remixing by Chnnls, dance choreography by Katherine Crockett, vocals by Daisy Press, and more. $20 tickets also include museum admission!
6. Brooklyn Institute: Sado-Masochism: Economies of Desire and Recognition (167 Bowery, every Thursday @ 6:30 PM)
S and M may be your idea of a good time with your boo, but did you know concepts of domination and submission are also crucial to understanding our political landscape?
This four-week course will explore how the “erotic language of S&M is embedded in the theoretical frameworks we use to approach questions of knowledge, pleasure, and power.”
Be prepared to use that noggin of yours to study works by greats including Hegel, Lacan, the Marquis de Sade, Adorno and Horkheimer, and Susan Sontag.
7. Orchid Evenings (2900 Southern Blvd, April 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, & 21 @ 6:30 PM)
Enjoy April flowers at their very best with help from New York Botanical Gardens and Daniel Ost.
On select evenings, this installment of the Belgian Floral artist’s yearly Orchid Show exhibition of “living sculptures” will be open after hours for 21+ guests to revel in special performances by “Live Orchid Dancers,” music by DJ X-Ray and specialty cocktails like the Dancing Lady.
There’ll even be a fire pit alight to help you keep warm!
8. Brooklyn Folk Festival (157 Montague St, April 6-8 @ various times)
St Ann’s Church will be celebrating all things folk with their 10th annual three-day bash featuring “40+ bands, workshops, film screenings, and a world-famous banjo toss contest.”
The event is all ages and family friendly, with children under five admitted free.
Seating is first come, first serve, and you can grab tickets for individual sessions or a full festival pass if you don’t wanna miss a beat.
9. International Pillow Fight Day 2018 (Washington Square Park, April 7 @ 3 PM)
Thought pillow fights were only for kids? Think again! Grab your softest feather-free pillow and join a crowd of your young at heart neighbors to whack each other silly!
Once you’re all riled up, you can continue the fun at an official afterparty at a location TBA.
This year’s theme is “Space Ponies,” and pajamas are welcome!
10. She/Her/Them: Identifying Female (119 Ludlow St, April 11 @ 7 PM)
Explore what it means to be a woman and delve into some astonishing work from the female-identifying artists of Con Artist Collective, NYC’s largest collective of emerging artists.
If you can’t make this unforgettable exhibit, check out some of the other receptions going on at their Lower East Side location, taking place every Wednesday!
11. TRAP Karaoke: R&B Live (204 Varick St, April 13 @ 8 PM)
If you’ve got a voice you want to show off, don’t miss your chance to give it your all in front of an audience, trap style!
You’ll get an email with instructions on how to sign up for a slot two days before the event if you’ve purchased a reservation.
Singers will be accompanied by a live R'n'B band, and if you’re losing your voice, then you’re doin’ it right!
12. NYC Plant Swap & Chat (114 5th Ave, April 14 @ 3 PM)
Aside from all the other awesome things about April, did you know that it’s Earth Month?
If you’re a garden geek getting bored with your current roster of greenery and want to meet some fellow botanic fanatics, bring a plant you’re willing to part with to Lululemon’s Hub 17 in Midtown and see if someone else brought the flower of your dreams!
Attendees will also enjoy yummy plant-based nibbles, kombucha mocktails, and a green-thumb goodie bag!
13. Tribeca Film Festival (April 18-29, various times and locations)
Be the first to see some of the best new films out there at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Besides loads of great screenings, you’ll also get a chance to check out virtual reality and interactive installations in Tribeca Immersive, live music events, the Tribeca ESPN Sports Film Festival, various Tribeca Talks featuring celebs like Jamie Foxx and Alexander Payne, and free panels for working and aspiring filmmakers!
14. NYC Craft Beer Festival (125 West 18th St, April 20 and 21 w/ two sessions per day)
All you beer snobs out there, this is the event for you!
Grab a general admission “beer hall” ticket for access to unlimited tasting from 75 breweries of 150 craft beers, ciders, meads, and spirits along with shopping and food vendors.
If you want an even swankier experience, you can get a pricier ticket that grants admission to the VIP Loft, which will also feature exclusive craft cocktails, live music, and an oyster bar.
15. 420: A Ganjapalooza (2 Wyckoff Ave, April 20 @ 6:30 PM)
Brooklyn’s House Of Yes can always be trusted to throw some of NYC’s most unique events, and 4/20 is no exception.
They’re celebrating the “holiday” with Ganjapalooza, an immersive “exploration into the experience of cannabis presented as a disjointed spectacular of entertainment.”
It promises to be fun for the sober and the stoned alike, and rumor has it there’ll even be some special brownies for sale.
16. NOTxNORMAL | Drugs in Black America | Ronald A. Draper (175 Walnut Ave, April 21 @ 4 PM)
Join artist Ronald Draper in his new RD showroom for an artwork series that will explore the shared experience and hidden strength of black people in America and aim to liberate them from their resigned acceptance of the injustice and suffering they have come to view as “normal.”
Drinks will also be available from the Harlem Brewing Company to help keep that revolutionary energy flowing!
17. Bronx River Clean Up (Soundview Park, April 21 @ 10 AM)
In honor of Earth Day, help take care of your Mother Nature and join United By Blue and the Bronx River Alliance in keeping Soundview Park’s stunning “Gateway to the Bronx River” as clean as it can be.
Registration begins at 9 AM with cleanup from 10 AM -12 PM, and a shuttle will be running between the Morrison and Soundview subway Station and Soundview Park from 9 AM - 9:30 AM to help volunteers make their way over!
18. 2018 Tour De Staten Island (8 Navy Pier Ct, April 22 @ 8 AM)
Join 2,000 other adventurous cyclists in exploring one of NYC’s most underappreciated boroughs on this epic bicycle journey through Staten Island!
Sign up for a 50 or 35-mile route and experience some natural hidden gems like Freshkills Park, Great Kills Park, Historic Richmond Town, and the ocean front's striking views at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and New York Harbor.
Def sounds like a ride to remember!
19. Lily Allen At The Music Hall Of Williamsburg (66 North 6th St, April 23 @ 9 PM)
Looking for an unforgettable evening of pop music jamz?
Join Brit Award-winning, and Grammy nominated musical sensation Lily Allen, best known for hits like “Smile,” “Fuck You,” and “The Fear,” as she takes NYC by storm.
Love life music? Check out the April concert guide for other awesome concerts this month.
20. The World’s Fare (123-01 Roosevelt Avenue, April 28 and 29 @ 12 PM)
What better way to celebrate the equality and diversity of New York City and pay homage to the great fair of 1964 than with a ton of delicious food?
Ticket holders will get access to a takeover of Queens’ iconic Citi Field by food vendors from over 100 cultures, as well as diverse live music throughout the weekend, World Champion Sumo Wrestling Demonstrations, and art installations including LEGO Art, 4-dimensional drawings, street art and painted scripture.
Folks 21 and over can also buy a separate ticket to an international beer garden featuring tastings of over 80 craft beers from about 45 breweries for some extra partying!
21. NYC Margarita Rumble (64 Dobbin St, April 28 @ various times)
Nothing says spring quite like a nice cold margarita.
Thanks to this epic competition from Don Julio Tequila, you can sample the tastiest margarita's NYC has to offer as over 15 bars and restaurants send their best cocktail forward for the chance to be named the official “Best Margarita in NYC.”
Entertainment TBA, a portion of all proceeds will go to charity Free Arts NYC, and food will be available for purchase to keep you from getting too tequila’d!
22. Sakura Matsuri 2018 (1000 Washington Ave, April 28 and 29 @ 10 AM)
Join the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens for cherry blossom season and nearly 60 events and performances that celebrate traditional and contemporary Japanese culture.
Enjoy traditional and modern music and dance, tea ceremonies, fashion shows, games, shopping, art and samurai demonstrations, and a ton more!
Buy your ticket now or at the door, or just become a BBG member and get in for free!
23. The Virgin Suicides With Peach Schnapps (308 Bedford Ave, April 29 @ 5 PM)
Sunday afternoons are a great time to chill out with some bittersweet movies, like Sofia Coppola’s acclaimed 1999 masterpiece The Virgin Suicides.
To help you get through this dark tale that investigates the “impenetrable, life-altering secrets of American adolescence,” screening venue Videology will pair each ticket with a mini-bottle of “Schuller’s Original Peach Schnapps.”
And if you need more help coping after the film, you can redeem your stub at the bar for $2 off another drink.
24. National Symposium on Solutions to End Youth Homelessness (60 Washington Square South, April 30 and May 1 @ 8 AM)
Last but certainly not least, join Point Source Youth and NYU’s Silver School of Social Work for a star-studded symposium dedicated to combatting one of the most heartbreaking social issues of our time – youth homelessness.
Hear from professors, experts, and executives on practical topics like “Family Strengthening Lessons from the Field, Rapid-Rehousing for Youth in Practice, Innovations in High Impact Job Training,” and many more.