Spring is on its way, so why not enjoy the best the city has to offer before those April showers start hitting? Whether you’re a beer snob, a foodie, an art geek, or a cinephile, you’re sure to find something on this list that’ll have you in the mood to go out and about and enjoy the best that NYC has to offer, all thanks to us!
1. Live Art Night (1628 Jefferson Ave, March 1 @ 7 PM)
Looking to get inspired? Starting today and continuing every Thursday, enjoy the company of models, dancers, fashion designers and artists as they create 15' tall still lifes and installations that attendees can use as a “reference to draw from life.”
Entrance is free before 8 pm and only $10 after, so you don’t have to break the bank either. This season’s collaborators will include The Skin Project, Mark Ash, Jimi Lucid, Virginia Slims, @tigermomdragonlady and more!
2. Beer And Pizza Tour (Tompkins Square Park, Various Dates/Times)
Beer and pizza; a match made in heaven.
But why enjoy them alone on your couch when you can instead enjoy them with help from a licensed tour guide who’ll steer you toward the best varieties of the famous food and drink the East Village has to offer in between informative stops at historic NYC sites like the home of Allen Ginsberg and the iconic Tompkins Square Park?
While today is your first chance to join in the fun, these tours will run through all of March and beyond!
3. March Madness 2018 (Various Locations and Dates/Times)
New York City is the “birthplace of major college basketball,” so it’s no surprise that many of the biggest events in the NCAA Division Men's Basketball Tournament, better known as March Madness, are taking place right where we want 'em.
Tomorrow kicks it all off with the big 10 tournament at Madison Square Garden, but other events throughout the month will include the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament on March 6th, Big East Basketball on the 7th, and the National Invitation Tournament on the 27th.
Slam dunk!
4. Spring Revolution Festival (80 North 6th St, Various Dates/Times)
There may be no better way to celebrate the start of spring than by joining “unparalleled, artist-led, non-profit” Brooklyn venue National Sawdust in their annual two-week festival celebrating Stravinsky’s iconic work, The Rite of Spring.
The proceedings kick off with a show on March 2nd from one-woman studio band L’Rain and finish off on the 11th with a performance by the Aakash Mittal’s Awaz Trio, with plenty more amazing stuff in between.
You can buy tickets to individual shows or grab a festival pass for access to five of your choice!
5. The Orchid Show (2900 Southern Boulevard, Various Dates)
Feeling flowery? Starting on Saturday, March 3rd, you can join the Bronx’s famous New York Botanical Gardens for its 16th year of The Orchid Show, which will showcase “thousands of dramatically displayed orchids in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory featuring a series of installations crafted by Daniel Ost.”
Adults 21 and over can also enjoy the show on Orchid Evenings, which will add to festivity with musical performances and specialty cocktails.
6. 2018 Women’s Jazz Festival (515 Malcolm X Boulevard, March 5, 12 & 26)
What better way to kick off your Women’s History Month than hearing some tunes from some of the best-known and unsung female performers in jazz today?
On four consecutive Mondays, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture will be jazzin' it up with:
“Celebration of Alice Coltrane” on March 5th, “Fostina Dixon And Winds Of Change” on March 12, “For The Love Of Abbey Lincoln” on March 19th, and a closing night performance on the 26th.
Why not just catch em all?
7. The Poetry Brothel (2 Wyckoff Avenue, March 6 @ 8 PM)
This March, experience poetry like you’ve never experienced it before at Brooklyn’s hip House Of Yes!
An expert cast of poetry “whores” will be available to “impart their work in public readings, spontaneous eruptions of poetry, and most distinctly, as purveyors of private poetry readings on beds, chaise lounges and in private rooms,” all within the unforgettable atmosphere of an “immersive cabaret that will feature burlesque, live music, vaudeville, aerials, visual art, magic, and mysticism, with newly integrated themes, performances and installations.”
Whew, that was a mouthful. Check out their website for more deets!
8. Yeah She Did: Stories About Women You Should Know (21A Clinton St, March 7 @ 9 pm)
Want to find out about some of history’s baddest bitches? Join Caveat for a “most kickass kick-off to International Women’s Day as a lineup of extraordinary comedians, writers, and storytellers celebrate some of the greatest women the world has ever known.”
All proceeds from the event will go to the Malala Fund, an organization that advocates for girls' education, so you’ll be helping fire up the next generation as well.
9. Rendez-Vous with French Cinema (165 W. 65th Street & 144 W. 65th Street, Various Dates/Times)
Why settle for the same old Americana when there’s a whole 'nother culture of cinema out there just waiting for your eyes?
From March 8-18, The Film Society of Lincoln Center will be highlighting the variety and vitality of contemporary French filmmaking with showings of movies like Montparnasse Bienvenüe, Petit Paysan, Tomorrow and Thereafter, and so many more!
Special passes are also available for students and “Salut les jeunes day” on March 12! Ooh la la!
10. New York Times Talk; Ava DuVernay (63 Fifth Avenue, March 8 @ 7 pm)
Why spend an evening alone when you can spend it with “Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated director, producer and screenwriter Ava DuVernay as she discusses 2018's most anticipated film, "A Wrinkle in Time"?
As the first woman of color to direct a film with a budget of over $100 million, she’s sure to go down in history much as the literary space and time-bending masterpiece her film is based on, so why not catch her while you can?
11. Mansions, Money, & Scandal, Part 1: From Frick To Audrey Hepburn (488 Madison Ave, March 10 @ 11 am)
Curious about the scandals, history, and architecture of New York in the Gilded Age?
Join the Municipal Art Society Of New York and Alan M. Engler for a walking tour that will take use NYC landmarks to show you “how names like Frick, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and the architects Richard Morris Hunt, Warren and Wetmore, and McKim, Mead and White, among others, have left their mark in these neighborhoods.”
This is only the first in a series of four tours, so keep an eye out for the follow-ups!
12. Metropolitan Opera: Madama Butterfly ( 30 Lincoln Center Plaza, Various Times/Dates)
Few experiences are as elegant and enjoyable as a night at the opera.
On March 3, 8, 13, and 16, join the famous Metropolitan for Anthony Minghella’s stunning production of Puccini’s heartbreaking opera Madama Butterfly, in which Ermonela Jaho will star as “a young Japanese geisha who clings to the belief that her arrangement with a visiting American naval officer is a loving and permanent marriage."
Maybe it’ll help you out of your own cultural cocoon!
13. House of Vogue (2 Wyckoff Avenue, March 14 @ 10 pm)
The House Of Yes is at it again, this time throwing a Vogue Ball, an “intentional space for queer and trans people of color." White or straight allies are welcome, as long as they remain respectful and mindful of the space they take up.
DJing will be MikeQ and Shyshaker and the featured MC will be Leggoh, and a $10 presale or $15 ticket will put you in the running for $300 in cash prizes!
14. CineKink NYC (52 Walker St, Various Dates/Times)
In the mood for some movies that’ll appeal to your wilder side?
From March 14-18, you can revel in the 15th anniversary of NYC’s sexiest film festival in week of parties and screenings of seductive new flicks like “Pillow Talkies”, “Schwinging” and “F*ck Yes: Threesome”.
Buy individual tickets to the event of your choice or an all-access pass if you don’t wanna miss a thing!
15. Queens World Film Festival (Various Locations and Dates/Times)
Ready for some “exciting, topical, bold and entertaining features & shorts including narratives, documentaries, LGBTQ and animated work”?
Good thing the Queens World Film Festival or QWFF will be back and better than ever at the Museum of the Moving Image and Kaufman Astoria Studios for its 8th year.
Check out the schedule, which is organized into thematic “blocks” to create specific emotional impact, here.
16. Womarch (224 Manhattan Ave, March 17 @ 4 pm)
The go-getter gals among us may want to join the creative networking platform Womarch to get inspired at an “electrifying night of healing, commemoration, and community empowerment.”
Enjoy Elliot Ashby’s MC skills, music by Olivia Dope, and performances by Samira Gibson, Cynthia Amoah, Riki Stevens, and Saba Jenga at this 21+ night to remember!
17. St. Patrick’s Day Parade (5th Avenue between 44th Street and 79th Street, March 17 @ 11 am)
Looking for touristy, holiday plans? Start off the celebration with the oldest and largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the world, dating all the way back to 1762 and yearly drawing approximately 150,000 marchers and 2 million spectators.
Loretta Brennan Glucksman, co-founder of Glucksman Ireland House at New York University and Chair Emeritus of the American Ireland Fund, will serve as Grand Marshal, and will be joined by a cohort of aides from all over New York state.
18. Dessert Goals (4-40 44th Drive, Various Dates/Times)
As almost any scroll through the Instagram of an NYC foodie could tell you, New York is basically the dessert capital of the world.
So why not experience all the heavenly sweets you could dream of gathered in one place at Sound River Studios in Long Island City?
Experience exclusive desserts with trendy staples from Supermoon Bakehouse, Rebecca's Cake Pops, Mochidoki, and over 20 more, not to mention a savory salt bar to cleanse your palate between treats and an Instagram Garden to help you get the shot of your dreams yourself!
19. Affordable Art Fair (125 W 18th St, Various Dates/Times)
If you aren’t a high roller but still want to collect art with the best of them, your time has come.
This bi-annual fair kicks off with a swanky evening private view on March 21 and continues until the 25th.
Enjoy its “inspiring and friendly” atmosphere in which to browse “thousands of original contemporary paintings, sculptures, photographs and prints showcased by over 70 local, national and international galleries”, or take one home yourself for between $100 and $10,000.
20. NYC March For Our Lives (Address and Time TBA)
While most of the rest of this list is dedicated to good plain fun, now it’s time to get serious.
In the wake of tragedies like the recent shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, taking action to ensure school safety is more crucial than ever.
Show our legislators how much NYC cares by taking to the streets with the wokest of them and marching for gun control. The future of our children may depend on it.
21. NYC Craft Distillers Festival (335 Bowery, March 24-25 @ 12 pm)
Party like it’s 1925 with the 5th official NYC craft distiller’s festival!
This all-day, all-night prohibition era inspired speakeasy fête at the East Village’s Bowery Hotel will feature 20 specially curated craft distillers offering samples of over 60 craft spirits for your tasting pleasure alongside a 1920’s style jazz band there to keep things jivin’.
Grab a VIP ticket for early admission if you’re really in the mood to get down.
21. NYC Food Truck Fest 2018 (100 West 77th Street, March 25 @ 10 am)
Hungry for everything from “fresh lobster sandwiches to freshly made pizza, hot mac n' cheese to sweet crepes, to award-winning empanadas and stuffed french toast”?
Join the Grand Bazaar NYC and New York Food Truck Association for all this and more from 12 of NYC’s best gourmet food trucks!
Once you’ve eaten your fill, you can browse the market’s legendary 100+ vendors for the best of everything you can imagine from local “artists, designers, craft-makers, and independent vintage/antique dealers.”
Our mouths are already watering!
22. New York International Auto Show (655 W. 34th St, Various Dates/Times)
NYC may be known for it’s traffic jammed streets, but that doesn’t mean we can’t show them how it’s done when it comes to the vehicular realm.
March 30th is the kickoff of this year’s iteration of this famous auto show dating back to 1902, which will feature over four floors of displays of nearly 1,000 of the “newest vehicles and latest futuristic concept cars” from automakers worldwide.
Time to grease up them wheels!
[Feature Image Courtesy Instagram]