Festivals

There are street fairs and then there are street fairs. We don't mean those random ones that sell irregular socks and fried Oreos; we're talking about true community festivals. Each one is unique and reflects the character of its neighborhood, and many feature rides, performances, activities and food.

The hard part, of course, is knowing which ones are which, 'cause while we all love to stock up on cheap socks, we're not going to drag our family across town to do so. We've gone through the city's list of street fairs for the month of May and picked out the most promising ones, adding a few of our own favorites from years past and some new events that sound particularly cool. Best of all most of these festivals are FREE or are just a couple of bucks.

There are a lot of analog games we enjoyed in our youth that our plugged in kids don't get to try much these days like pogo sticks, hippity hops and stickball. That's why I love the New York City Parks Department's FREE Street Games festival, which is all about celebrating that kind of old-school fun.

The fifth annual Street Games takes place this Saturday, April 28 in East Harlem's Thomas Jefferson Park. Last year I went with my then-five-year-old daughter and a friend with two tweens and we all had a total blast. The kids loved trying challenging new activities, and watching skateboard and pogo stick pros show off their tricks, and we parents enjoyed a serious wave of nostalgia.

One of our favorite annual NYC events, the Tribeca Film Festival, is set to take over downtown April 18-29, and as always there are lots of fabulous activities for families. The popular Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair will take place on Saturday, April 28. While Mommy Poppins won't have a booth like we did last year, many of us plan on attending with our families. Yes it's always crowded, but it's also packed with surprises, great things to do and cool entertainment.

In addition to the Family Festival and the concurrent Tribeca ESPN Sports Day, there will be free "drive-in" movies as well as flicks you can watch online. Tribeca/NYFEST Soccer Day, a new addition to last year's festival, returns for the second year in a row. Here's the scoop on all of these great events, all of which are FREE.

There's no more delightful way to enjoy the onset of spring than seeing the beautiful cherry blossoms flowering all over New York City. I think everyone knows about the Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, but there are several other places where you can enjoy gorgeous cherry blossoms without the crowds.

In Japan, cherry blossom viewing is taken to almost religious heights. The blooming flowers are carefully watched, enjoyed and celebrated. Sakura Hanami parties are traditionally held throughout Japan to celebrate the season, and feature eating and drinking and music.

Here are the best places to see cherry blossoms in New York City this spring. You might also enjoying looking at our cherry blossom slideshow.

NYC families are gearing up to celebrate Easter, Passover and spring break. But you know what else is coming up? A new season of outdoor festivals, street fairs and carnivals, big annual favorites like the Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Cherry Blossom Festival, as well as smaller community happenings.

These spring fests are a great way to entertain your family for just a few bucks—sometimes even for free. Spend the day playing old-fashioned games, chowing down on homemade treats and watching live performances by kiddie bands, puppet troupes and more. Plus, these events aren't just fun, they foster community by bringing folks together to support a school, playground or other common cause.

Festival season doesn't kick off for a few weeks, but we're happy to help you start planning now. Here are 10 awesome events to put in your April calendar.