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31 Best Things To Do in NYC August 2024 with Kids: Summer Streets, Nickelodeon, and More!

During Summer Streets, kids and adults take over seven miles of NYC streets to play, run, walk, and bike. Photo courtesy of NYC DOT
During Summer Streets, kids and adults take over seven miles of NYC streets to play, run, walk, and bike. Photo courtesy of NYC DOT
7/28/24 - By Drew Kristofik

Summer's not over, and there are so many fun things to do in New York City this August! Enjoy outdoor movies and concerts, summer festivals, and the best beach days.

Back-to-school season is right around the corner, but it's not here yet. August is the perfect time to coast down traffic-free Summer Streets, chill with Nickelodeon at the Paley, cheer athletes at the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Fest, and catch the Harry Potter exhibit before it leaves town on August 11. Light up the East River at the always lovely Hindu Lamp Ceremony, take in the Battery Dance Fest, and discover your inner Michaelangelo while making sand sculptures on Coney Island.

Plus, Kids' Night on Broadway is back, we have a cool deal for you at American Dream, and you can play with MommyPoppins at the Seaport on August 17!

We’re adding more events to our Family Activity Calendar every day, so don’t forget to check it frequently.

Get our picks for every weekend in your inbox—sign up for our newsletters.

 

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Summertime in NYC means it's time for the annual Sand Sculpting Competition at Coney Island. Photo by Jody Mercier
Summertime in NYC means it's time for the annual Sand Sculpting Competition at Coney Island. Photo by Jody Mercier

Top Things To Do in NYC with Kids this August

Fencing Across America at Grand Central Terminal

Midtown East – FREE
Daily through Sunday, August 4, 2024
Pick up a blade to experience the thrill of fencing and receive a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to duel against Olympic legends. READ MORE

Harry Potter: The Exhibition

Midtown West
Closes Sunday, August 11, 2024
A unique in-depth exhibition aims to delight Harry Potter fans with powerful storytelling and innovative, interactive technology. Original props and costumes from the films are on display, as well.  READ MORE

BAAND Together Dance Fest at Lincoln Center

Midtown West/Upper West Side – FREE
Daily through Saturday, August 3, 2024
See five of NYC’s most iconic dance companies—Ballet Hispánico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem—together on one stage as the BAAND Together Dance Festival returns to Damrosch Park for five midsummer nights. READ MORE

Brooklyn Beach Sports Festival

Coney Island, Brooklyn – FREE
Saturday, August 3, 2024
Kick off your sandals and enjoy some time playing at the beach. NYC Parks hosts this calisthenics competition featuring athletes from all over the world. Adults and kids can participate in clinics and free play featuring a variety of sports. READ MORE

Celebrate the Caribbean

Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Saturday, August 3, 2024
Celebrate Caribbean history and cultures with a day of dance, games, stilt walkers, live music, art-making, steel drum performances, and delicious food!  READ MORE

Summer Streets

Manhattan: August 3, 10, and 17, 2024 – FREE
Brooklyn & the Bronx: August 24, 2024 – FREE
New York's favorite car-free street festival returns this July and August, as Summer Streets opens miles of NYC streets for people to play, run, walk, and bike across multiple weeks and in all five boroughs. READ MORE

Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Flushing, Queens
Saturday & Sunday, August 3 & 4, 2024
This annual sporting and multicultural event is held to celebrate the fifth moon (or the fifth month) of the lunar calendar. In addition to providing audiences with traditional Chinese foods and performances, the festival hosts dragon boat teams from across North America. READ MORE

Teen Voices Festival at NYPL

Midtown West – FREE
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Calling all teens! The NY Library's flagship location is hosting workshops, art exhibits, giveaways, and an afternoon of teen creativity—all free. READ MORE

Hudson River Park's Blues Barbecue

Midtown West
Saturday, August 10, 2024
The 24th annual Hudson River Park Blues Barbecue Festival returns to Pier 76 for a day filled with smoky goodness and great music. Pit powerhouses like Blue Smoke, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Jase’s BBQ, Kimchi Smoke, and Big Papa Smokem fire up their smokers while you take in live blues and roots performances. READ MORE

Arte Pa' Mi Gente: Latiné Children’s Music Day at Teatro SEA

Lower East Side – FREE
Saturday, August 10, 2024
Teatro SEA’s annual festival of Latin American arts and culture brings together a lineup of Latiné children’s artists for a day of free family celebration. This year’s festival theme is “Latiné Children’s Music Day,” highlighting the importance of Latiné music created by and for children.  READ MORE

Hindu Lamp Ceremony in Brooklyn Bridge Park

Dumbo, Brooklyn – FREE
Saturday, August 10, 2024
The 12th annual Aarti Hindu Lamp Ceremony returns to Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pebble Beach! Guests are invited to decorate palm leaf lamps and release them along the East River. Special guest artists are in attendance displaying their works. READ MORE

New Victory Theater: Ephrat Asherie + Barkin/Selissen Project in Bryant Park

Midtown West – FREE
Saturday, August 10, 2024
The finale of Bryant Park's first-ever 'Family Day' features dance performances by renowned dance companies Ephrat Asherie Dance and Barkin/Selissen Project as well as fun, interactive moments specifically chosen for younger audiences. READ MORE

Nickelodeon Animation Celebration at the Paley

Midtown West
Saturday & Sunday, August 10 & 11, 2024
The Paley Museum celebrates Nickelodeon's long history of animation excellence, with live-gaming tournaments, special meet-and-greets with Dora, SpongeBob, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, screenings of the brand-new series, Dora, and more. READ MORE

Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governors Island

Governors Island
Saturday & Sunday, August 10 & 11, 2024
Don your best period garb and hop the ferry to Governors Island for its annual Jazz Age Lawn Party. The festival is the world’s original and largest prohibition-era-inspired gathering. READ MORE

43rd Annual Battery Dance Festival in Battery Park

Battery Park – FREE
August 11-17, 2024
The Battery Dance Festival presents an entire week of free evening performances, featuring top-tier dancers from the US and around the globe, including debuts and premieres. READ MORE

The Comedy of Errors in Central Park

Central Park – FREE
Monday, August 12, 2024
The Public Theater’s Mobile Unit pops up in communities across New York City, including many NYC Parks locations, with a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy. READ MORE

Fanatics Fest

Midtown West
Friday-Sunday, August 16-18, 2024
Fanatics Fest NYC features sports legends, A-list celebrities, limited-edition merch drops, immersive brand and league activations, rare collectibles, live breaking, and more. READ MORE

House Fest on Governors Island

Governors Island – FREE
Friday-Monday, August 16-19, 2024
Governors Island hosts a weekend-long creative celebration that features free dance and music performances, outdoor installations, interactive workshops, open studios, panel discussions, and more. READ MORE

Shakespeare at the Beach: A Midsummer Night's Dream

Rockaways, Queens – FREE
Wednesday-Sunday, August 16-20, 2024
Shakespeare's most kid-friendly comedy takes over the Beach 94th Street Amphitheater. Bring a blanket and a picnic. READ MORE

Seaport Kids x Summer Bash

Seaport – FREE
Saturday, August 17, 2024
Summer crafts. Balloon twisting. Basketball tricks. And a sprinkler zone sponsored by American Dream. The Seaport has partnered with Mommy Poppins and Brooklyn Bridge Parents to bring neighborhood kids hours of unleashed creativity and interactive fun. READ MORE

Sprinkler Day at Asphalt Green

Upper East Side– FREE
Saturday, August 17, 2024
Don’t let the soaring summer temperatures discourage you from enjoying the outdoors. Cool off by splashing around in Asphalt Green’s high-powered sprinklers and slip and slides. READ MORE

32nd Annual Coney Island Sand Sculpting Contest

Coney Island, Brooklyn – FREE
Saturday, August 17, 2024
Hundreds of sand sculptors descend on Coney Island annually to create amazing works of art using all-natural elements at the beach.  READ MORE

FlyNYC 2024 in Riverside Park

Upper West Side – FREE
Saturday, August 17, 2024
Music and kites fill the air at this festival for all ages! Kite kits are provided free for children (while supplies last), or bring your own favorite kite from home. READ MORE

Ballet Fest at the Joyce

Chelsea
Saturday, August 17, 2024
The Joyce Theater's Ballet Festival returns this summer with UNITE for a one-week celebration of ballet in all its splendor. Creatively directed and curated by Calvin Royal III, Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre, this year's festival showcases performances by Royal and his community of world-renowned artists and influential choreographic voices from American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and more.   READ MORE

Show Up, Kids at Q.E.D. Astoria

Astoria, Queens
Saturdays, beginning August 17, 2024
The outrageously interactive family comedy Show Up, Kids! makes its Queens debut. This semi-improvised musical show puts a wildly comedic twist on the traditional kids’ show: When the main attraction doesn’t show up, the host enlists the help of the kids (and their grownups) to control everything from plot to props, characters to costumes, and settings to sound in a one-of-a-kind, 45-minute laugh-fest.    READ MORE

Big Top Science at the Staten Island Children's Museum

Snug Harbor, Staten Island
Sunday, August 18, 2024
Step into three rings of fun as chemistry and physics demos explain how a bed of nails can provide a great night’s sleep or how important balance can be to a tightrope walker. Watch super-secret “Snooberfish” eggs hatch, and take an amazing high dive that won’t make a splash!  READ MORE

Kids Night On Broadway : Summer Edition!

Midtown West
Tuesday, August 20
Kids’ Night on Broadway returns this summer, marking the program’s second summer outing since its inception in 1996.. READ MORE

Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at the US Open

Flushing, Queens – FREE
Saturday, August 24, 2024
The 26th edition of this great day of family fun offers interactive games, face painting, balloon artists, prizes, music, special guests, and more. Kids can step onto the US Open courts, just like the pros, with tennis activities for all ages and abilities.  READ MORE

Broadway Magic Hour at the Broadway Comedy Club

Midtown West
Saturday, August 24, 2024
The Broadway Magic Hour features master magicians Jim Vines and Carl Mercurio in a performance that includes mind-boggling mysteries and hilarious comedy for all ages.  Witness magic, mind-reading, comedy, and grand illusions! READ MORE
Deal 40% Off Tickets!

Battle of Brooklyn Family Day at Green-Wood Cemetery

Greenwood, Brooklyn – FREE
Sunday, August 25, 2024
Commemorate the Battle of Brooklyn, fought in 1776 on land now a part of Green-Wood Cemetery, during this family-friendly afternoon event which includes a parade up to Battle Hill. READ MORE

Beat the Heat & Save Big at American Dream

East Rutherford, NJ
Through Monday, September 2
American Dream is home to Nickelodeon Universe, the largest indoor theme park in the Western Hemisphere. It also includes DreamWorks Water Park, the largest water park in North America, and Big Snow, the only indoor ski resort in North America.  READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Harry Potter, The Exhibition
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
The New York Public Library - Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Hudson River Park - Pier 76
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Seaport Square, South Street Seaport
Staten Island Children's Museum
Broadway/Times Square Theater District