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Memorial Day Weekend Fun for NYC Kids: Fleet Week, DanceAfrica, Festivals, Parades

A New York City Fire Department vessel honors the Statue of Liberty with a water salute for Fleet Week. Photo courtesy of Fleet Week New York
A New York City Fire Department vessel honors the Statue of Liberty with a water salute for Fleet Week. Photo courtesy of Fleet Week New York
5/22/19 - By Drew Kristofik

Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer, is here at last! New York City's big seasonal attractions open on Saturday, like local beaches, Prospect Park's Splash Pad, and the Victorian Gardens in Central Park. If it reaches 80 degrees, the city's playground sprinklers might be on, too.

On tap this weekend only: Fleet Week, Marine Day in Prospect Park, DanceAfrica, and a passel of parades, including the always entertaining Loisaida on Sunday, and Memorial Day marches on Monday in Brooklyn and Queens. Mamapalooza rocks Riverside Park's Pier 1 on Sunday, and Much Ado about Nothing sets the stage for this summer's Shakespeare in the Park productions.

This holiday weekend is also the perfect time to visit the FREE Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens or The Yard, an adventure playground open for the season on Governors Island. By the way, Governors Island also hosts weekend programs where kids can make slime and superhero art. If you're hopping ferries anyway, why not check out the new Statue of Liberty museum?

Our NYC Parks and Playgrounds Guide is always a safe bet for staycations, as is our Indoor Play Spaces Guide for the possible rain headed our way. Unless... thinking about a last-minute getaway? We've pulled together great family day trips in the Hudson Valley, as well as our favorite nearby beaches and those down the Jersey Shore. You might also try a day at a nearby amusement park or water park for early summer fun!

Read on for our top picks for Memorial Day weekend events for kids in NYC. Even more family fun can be found via our Event Calendar, Spring Fun Guide, and our fresh-out-of-the-oven Summer Fun To-Do List.

However you spend the three-day holiday weekend, we hope you have a blast!

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

Celebrate Memorial Day at the Children's Museum of Manhattan. Photo courtesy of the museum
Celebrate Memorial Day at the Children's Museum of Manhattan. Photo courtesy of the museum

All Weekend

Fleet Week NYC

Citywide — most events are FREE
The US Navy, US Marine Corps, and US Coast Guard's celebration of sea services invites families to tour ships, watch the Parade of Ships, and enjoy exhibits, military band concerts, and aviation events throughout the week.   READ MORE

The 24th Annual Lower East Side Festival of The Arts Street Fair & Youth Program

Lower East Side — FREE
The Lower East Side Festival of the Arts is an annual celebration of the rich artistic culture and ethnic diversity of this area. For three days over Memorial Day Weekend, TNC produces a cabaret-style festival featuring over 100 performing groups from the Lower East Side. READ MORE

Living History: Civil War Weekend

Upper West Side
Learn about life on and off the battlefield during the Civil War. Living Historians portraying various soldiers in the Union Army are stationed at the Museum on Saturday and Sunday. READ MORE

Memorial Day Weekend at CMOM

Upper West Side
The museum is open all weekend, and Monday, for Memorial Day fun. READ MORE

Family Art Project: In the Flow

Wave Hill, The Bronx
Wave Hill overlooks the Hudson River, a tidal estuary where salty sea water meets fresh water running off the land. Use wax resist and inks to find your flow as you make artwork inspired by this bountiful ecosystem. READ MORE
The U.S. Marine Corps will host Marine Day at Prospect Park. Photo courtesy of the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
The U.S. Marine Corps will host Marine Day at Prospect Park. Photo courtesy of the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service

Saturday, May 25

Marine Day in Prospect Park

Prospect Park, Brooklyn — FREE
The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) will host Marine Day in Prospect Park featuring interactive and aviation static displays, demonstrations, and a performance by the USMC Battle Color Detachment.  READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Christopher Robin (PG)

Soho — FREE
NYC Parks and the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment host a free outdoor screening of Christopher Robin, in which Winne the Pooh ventures into London to turn a middle-aged Christopher Robin's life around with the help of Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger. READ MORE

Memorial Day Fair in Sunnyside Gardens Park

Sunnyside, Queens
Sunnyside Gardens Park hosts its annual Memorial Day fair featuring world-class entertainment, including lively Americana music, a magician, and performers suitable for all ages. READ MORE

The Rock and Roll Playhouse Presents the Music of the Beach Boys For Kids

Sunset Park, Brooklyn — FREE
The Rock and Roll Playhouse (RRPHKIDS), a family concert series hosted at Industry City, allows kids to get down to songs created by the most iconic musicians in rock history. This week, kids get their groove on to the music of The Beach Boys. READ MORE

Therapy Dog Children's Author Nancy Roe Pimm

Midtown East — FREE
Nancy Roe Pimm, author of Smoky, the Dog That Saved My Life: The Billy Wynne Story, and WWII veteran Bill Wynne stop by the AKC Museum of the Dog for story time. READ MORE

Family Fun Day

Jamaica, Queens — FREE
Join NYC Parks and Council Member Rory Lancman for a fun afternoon of crafts, games, inflatables, face painting, and more. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Jaws (PG)

South Beach, Staten Island — FREE
An enormous great white shark terrorizes a summer resort town, where a police chief, a fisherman, and a marine biologist realize they're "gonna need a bigger boat" to battle the bloodthirsty beast. READ MORE
The Loisaida Festival celebrates Puerto Rican and Latinx culture with music, cuisine, and art. Photo courtesy of the Loisaida Fest
The Loisaida Festival celebrates Puerto Rican and Latinx culture with music, cuisine, and art. Photo courtesy of the Loisaida Fest

Sunday, May 26

32nd Annual Loisaida Street Festival

East Village — FREE
The Loisaida Festival starts at 11am with a Carnival Parade featuring the work of Garbagia , an eco-urban recycled arts initiative that spent the last month creating instruments, flower masks, ‘vejigantes,’ paper mache animal masks, and other props—with an emphasis on recycled and found materials. READ MORE

Mamapalooza Festival

Upper West Side — FREE
Fierce feminist families celebrate all mamas and the people who love them at the annual Mamapalooza festival, featuring music, family-focused vendors, wellness activities, face painting, art, and a pop-up playscape. READ MORE

FilmAfrica BAMkids Matinee

Boerum Hill, Brooklyn
Enjoy a feature selected from this year’s FilmAfrica festival.  READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Mary Poppins Returns (PG)

Forest Hills , Queens — FREE
Mary Poppins returns during Michael's most desperate hour to lend him a helping hand. With his house in danger of being repossessed, she whips up a little magic to remind him of the importance of family. READ MORE

East Coast Slimers Convention

Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn
Slime fans of all ages will have an opportunity to meet takented slimers and vendors, attend slime Q & As, participate in slime workshops and contests, and more. READ MORE
Check out the Kings County Memorial Day Parade on Monday. Photo courtesy of the parade
Check out the Kings County Memorial Day Parade on Monday. Photo courtesy of the parade

Monday, May 27

152nd Kings County Memorial Day Parade

Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn — FREE
This Memorial Day Weekend, the United War Veterans Council encourages the public to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom, and to salute America’s veterans for their service and sacrifice. READ MORE

Memorial Day Concert at Green-Wood Cemetery

Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn — FREE
Bring a blanket and enjoy this free early summer performance (now in its 21st year!) featuring the ISO Symphonic Band and Orchestra. Each year's concert features the works of Green-Wood’s permanent residents like Fred Ebb, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and Paul Jabara. READ MORE

Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Day Observance

Upper West Side — FREE
The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Association hosts this year’s annual Memorial Day observance at the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument. Built in 1902, the Monument paid homage to New Yorkers who served the Union in the Civil War. More than one hundred years later we now gather in memory of all those who have served our country, and in the spirit of Memorial Day as a ritual of reflection, celebration and remembrance. In conjunction with New York Fleet Week, active duty Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen will also participate. At 10:00 am, the United States Navy Band will... READ MORE

Opening Day of Splash Pad

Prospect Park, Brooklyn — FREE
The Splash Pad, with over 20 water jets, provides state-of-the-art water play and summertime cool, all for FREE. READ MORE

97th Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade

Fresh Meadows, Queens — FREE
Service members participate in NYC's largest Memorial Day parade.  READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Various locations
New York Historical Society DiMenna Children's History Museum
6th Street and Avenue C
Aviator Sports and Events Center Floyd Bennett Field
LeFrak Center at Lakeside Splash Pad
Northern Blvd between Jayson Ave & 245th Street