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21 Best Spring Festivals and Fairs in NYC this April for Families

Celebrate spring at the Queens County Farm Museum's Apple Blossom Children's Festival. Photo courtesy of the QCFM.
Celebrate spring at the Queens County Farm Museum's Apple Blossom Children's Festival. Photo courtesy of the QCFM.
3/29/24 - By Drew Kristofik

Spring festivals abound this April as New York City's festival season kicks off with nearly two dozen fun and mostly FREE fairs, festivals, parades, and carnivals. Of course, it helps that April not only brings showers, it also brings plenty of fun holidays to celebrate with their accompanying spring festivals!

Annual Mommy Poppins favorites taking place this April include the Big Umbrella Festival, Car-Free Earth Day, and Mommy Poppins' own Babytopia!

Read on for our top picks for NYC spring festivals this April and bookmark our Family Activity Calendar and Spring Fun Guide for all our seasonal must-do's.

Click through to our listings for all the details, including address, time, and recommended ages.

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Celebrate Earth Day 2024 in Union Square and at other locations across NYC! Photo courtesy of the event
Celebrate Earth Day 2024 in Union Square and at other locations across NYC! Photo courtesy of the event

Best Spring Festivals for Families in NYC in April 2024

New York Tartan Day Parade

Midtown West – FREE
Saturday, April 5, 2025
The NYC Scottish cultural event of the year features thousands of clans, pipers, dancers, and Scottish pups marching up Sixth Avenue. READ MORE

Earthfest at the American Museum of Natural History

Upper West Side
Saturday, April 5, 2025
The American Museum of Natural History hosts a full day of family-friendly activities, performances, and lectures showcasing local and international efforts devoted to preserving planet Earth. This year’s event invites guests to bring in their own specimens and artifacts for scientists to attempt to identify and to get an up-close look at rarely seen specimens from the Museum’s collections.  READ MORE

Celebrate Eid al-Fitr at the Brooklyn Children's Museum

Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Saturday, April 5, 2025
Celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan at Brooklyn Children’s Museum! Enjoy a day of music, dance, food, and art that honors cultural traditions from across the Muslim world.    READ MORE

Celebrate Holi in Prospect Park

Prospect Park
Sunday, April 6, 2025
Mixed Masala and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music celebrate Holi with picnicking and colored powder at Long Meadow (near Grand Army Plaza). Bring a blanket and snacks and enjoy a free concert, then join in the traditional celebration of throwing colored powder.  READ MORE

Indieplaza Fest

Midtown West – FREE
Saturday, April 12, 2025
A big celebration of independent music, merchandise, and workshops stretches across Rock Center's expansive outdoor plazas. Swedish rock icons The Hives headline, followed by live performances from Scowl, experimental hip-hop group Clipping, reggae/dub artist Pachyman, singer-songwriter Zsela, Chicago post-punk outfit Lifeguard, indie newcomers Slippers, and DJ sets from Chanel Beads, Yuno, and Confines + Ohaileigh (Saint Vitus). READ MORE

Woodlawn Family Fun Day in Van Cortlandt Park

Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx – FREE
Saturday, April 12, 2025
Get a head start on Earth Day with tons of natural fun in Van Cortlandt Park.  READ MORE

Big Umbrella Festival at Lincoln Center

Midtown West – FREE
Friday, April 12-Sunday, April 14, 2024
The popular Big Umbrella Festival blooms as a free campus takeover at Lincoln Center full of relaxed spaces with multi-sensory experiences, performances, installations, and workshops specifically welcoming neurodivergent audiences and their families. READ MORE

BABYTOPIA: A World of Fun for Toddlers & Preschoolers

Downtown Brooklyn – FREE
Saturday, April 13, 2024
Get ready for BABYTOPIA, the ultimate world of fun for babies through preschoolers! Bring your littlest New Yorkers for a day packed with FREE activities including musical & theater performances, art activities & face painting, let your little ones play in the play area, try out parent & me demo classes, plus, enjoy sampling & giveaways for the whole family! READ MORE

Celebrate Jackie Robinson Day at the Jackie Robinson Museum

Soho
Saturday, April 13-Monday, April 15, 2025
On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the color barrier in modern Major League Baseball. Commemorate Robinson’s enduring legacy on and off the baseball diamond with fun-filled events for fans of all ages featuring special museum tours, hands-on activities, games, and more.   READ MORE

Earth Day 2025 in Union Square

Union Square – FREE
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Union Square's annual Earth Day New York event is a fantastic way to connect to environmental campaigns, green lifestyle products, and interesting people doing great green work!   READ MORE

Eggstravaganza at the New York Botanical Garden

Bronx Park, Bronx
Saturday, April 19, 2025
Kick off Easter festivities with an egg rolling competition (the eggs are made from mycelium), and stay for face painting and crafts. Kids can also learn all about how birds build their nests, and what they use to do it, have a meet and greet with Peppa Pig and her little brother George, and cavort to live music.  READ MORE

Spring Festival at St. James Park

Fordham, Bronx – FREE
Saturday, April 19, 2025
NYC Parks and Council Member Pierina Sanchez host a spring festival event at St. James Park with family games, sports, arts & crafts, and more. READ MORE

Spring Family Day at Carnegie Hall

Midtown West – FREE
Sunday, April 19, 2025
Carnegie Hall celebrates families with FREE, interactive, and fun musical activities at its Spring Family Day. Enjoy a spring sing, watch mainstage performances, participate in a collective art project, and more. READ MORE

Harlem Grown's Earth Day Celebration

Harlem – FREE
Saturday, April 19, 2025
Celebrate the resilience of our planet and learn how to live more sustainably. Stop by for food tastings, music, dance, movement, and more. READ MORE

Queens Easter Festival in Gantry State Park

Long Island City, Queens – FREE
Saturday, April 19, 2025
Gantry Park's annual Easter Fest includes age-specific Easter egg hunts, live entertainment, and carnival games. READ MORE

Kai's Confections Easter Party at Space Bushwick

Bushwick, Brooklyn
Sunday, April 20, 2025
Hop into some Easter fun with games, treats, and good vibes. The fun includes a crafting corner, an egg hunt, selfies with the Easter Bunny, cupcake decorating, live entertainment, and face painting. READ MORE

Climate Arts Festival at the Queens Botanical Garden

Flushing, Queens
Saturday, April 26, 2025
The Queens Botanical Garden celebrates Earth Day with fun, hands-on activities, art exhibits, music, interactive performances, tours, demonstrations, and more! While you're there, be sure to check out the Sustainable Vendor Fair and support local businesses. READ MORE

Car-Free Earth Day

Citywide – FREE
Saturday, April 26, 2025
Open Streets: Car-Free Earth Day is an annual car-free event hosted by NYC DOT. Programming is presented at signature locations citywide to promote activism and education surrounding climate change, sustainability, and other relevant topics. READ MORE

Earth Day: S.T.E.A.M Dream in Battery Park City

Battery Park – FREE
Saturday, April 26, 2025
Kids are invited to pick up S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) at this special Earth Month-themed open air fair featuring a variety of engaging activities and a pop up lab with BioBus to help K-12 and college students discover, explore, and pursue science.  READ MORE

Earth Day Festival on Randall's Island

Randall's Island – FREE
Saturday, April 26, 2025
RIPA’s Earth Day Festival ushers in the warmer months, celebrates the earth, and gives visitors the opportunity to appreciate the park’s spring beauty—especially the cherry blossoms. READ MORE

Earth Day Festival in Fort Greene Park

Fort Greene, Brooklyn – FREE
Saturday, April 26, 2025
Fort Greene Park's Earth Day Festival 2025 features family-friendly activity stations and sustainable swaps.  READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Van Cortlandt Park - E. 233rd Street Bocce Courts
Harlem Grown's 134th Street Farm
Multiple locations around NYC
Battery Park City - Rockefeller Basketball Court

About the Author

Drew Kristofik
Drew Kristofik’s career took a twist from editing teen magazines to a seven-year stint at MacNeil/Lehrer, followed by a long run at Nickelodeon/Viacom as Director of Content for Nick Online and Editor-in-Chief of ParentsConnect.com. A founding member of the Webby Award-winning GoCityKids, she’s written for Family Fun, Vanity Fair, and New York. Her middle school novel, The Time Boat, is available on Amazon Kindle. Drew keeps the MommyPoppins New York Events calendar spot-on and can be reached at events@mommypoppins.com.
Recent Articles By Drew Kristofik:
Read more articles by Drew Kristofik.