Three Kings Day Parade and Celebrations for NYC Kids 2013

Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa may be over, but Three Kings Day is coming up this Sunday, January 6. Also know as Epiphany, Three Kings Day is the last official day of the Christmas season, or the "12th day of Christmas" as the song goes.

The holiday, which is especially popular in the Hispanic community, commemorates the Three Wise Men coming to visit baby Jesus. The main event in New York City is East Harlem's 36th annual Three Kings Day Parade on Friday, January 4, which is sponsored by El Museo del Barrio. We've got the scoop on this procession and six other ways to celebrate Three Kings Day with kids in NYC.

Three Kings Day Parade – East Harlem
Begins at 106th and Madison Avenue, heads east to Third Avenue, then north to 116th Street where it turns west and ends at Park Avenue.
Friday, January 4 at 10:30am
FREE
This colorful procession is organized by El Museo del Barrio and features costumed school kids, live camels and sheep, floats, twirling dancers and a trio of 12-foot-tall Magi puppets, all accompanied by parrandas, Afro-Venezuelan-influenced drum music. The Three Kings themselves (or at least the local celebrities playing them), will lead this merry band. It's a small community affair, but worth seeing for the live animals and exuberant elementary schoolers who participate.

Camels and Kings: A Gift-Giving Workshop – Morningside Heights
Cathedral St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street
Saturday, January 5 10am-noon
$8 per adult-child pair
At this workshop, families can learn about the history of the holiday, and then craft gift boxes, costumes and crowns inspired by the tale of the Three Wise Men. Call for reservations: 212-932-7347.

Three Kings Day Community Celebration – South Bronx
P.S. 5, 564 Jackson Avenue at East 149th Street
Saturday, January 5 at noon
FREE
Although the Bronx no longer has a parade (it used to years ago), it still has a holiday celebration for families. State Senator Rubén Díaz and other local officials invite children ages 1 to 9 to enjoy live music and performances in the schoolyard of P.S. 5. The first 500 kids to arrive will receive a small toy and a book bag with school supplies.

Three Kings Day Celebration – Lower East Side
Teatro SEA, 107 Suffolk Street between Delancey and Rivington Streets
Sunday, January 6 3-5pm
FREE
NYC's only Latino children's theater company throws its annual Día de los Tres Reyes Magos fete with crafts and live Latino musical performances. Every child receives a free gift from the Three Kings themselves.

Three Kings Day Parade in Brooklyn – Williamsburg
Starts at Meeker and Graham Avenues and ends at Graham Avenue and Broadway.
Sunday, January 6 at 2pm
FREE
Yup, Kings County has its own parade, which kicks off right under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and continues along Graham Avenue to Broadway. (Lineup is at 1pm, start is at 2pm.) The main attraction is the Three Kings and their live camels. Floats, music and hundreds of local public school children accompany this spectacle.

Meet the Holiday: Three Kings Day Celebration – Crown Heights
Brooklyn Children's Museum, 145 Brooklyn Avenue at St Marks Avenue
Saturday, January 5-Sunday, January 6 at 2:30pm
Free with admission: $9
The preschool set can celebrate the holiday by crafting jeweled crowns and learning about the importance of the Three Kings in the Nativity story.

Three Kings Day Show Pa'lante Place – Williamsburg
El Puente Center for Arts & Culture, 850 Grand Street at Bushwick Avenue
Sunday, January 20 at 1 and 5pm
FREE
This community organization's annual celebration features live music and an original show about a disaffected young girl, Taina, who learns about the history of her community and the holiday. All kids will be given books about Three Kings Day and snack-filled goody bags.