All Weekend

The Feast of San Gennaro – Little Italy
One of our September Go List picks! While this annual festival is technically a religious celebration, most revelers go for the delicious food, cannoli-eating contest, live music, games and rides, including a Ferris wheel. At night it's a real party scene so families should visit during the day. Free admission but there are additional fees for certain activities.  

Saturday, September 14

Morningside Lights Workshops – Morningside Heights
Another Go List pick: This weeklong series of no-cost collaborative art sessions kicks off this weekend. Families can help craft massive lanterns out of wire, papier-mâché, cheesecloth and tissue paper to be used in the Morningside Lights public art parade in Morningside Park next Saturday, September 21. This year's theme is the Luminous Deep, so expert fanciful aquatic designs. Raven and her daughter participated in the workshops and the procession last year and had a blast—check out the awesome pics on our Facebook page. Ages 8 and up. Advance registration is a must! FREE

Brooklyn Kite Festival – Brooklyn Heights
B.Y.O.K. (bring your own kite) to Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn and let it soar in front of the glorious Manhattan skyline. Don't have a kite? Some will be available for purchase. Afterward, explore everything Brooklyn Bridge Park has to offer, including a historic carousel and awesome playgrounds. FREE

September Celebration – Staten Island
Head to Staten Island's historic Conference House for a reenactment of the 1776 Peace Conference, an important event in the Revolutionary War. Kids can meet Ben Franklin and other Founding Fathers, take tours of the house, and try Colonial-era crafts, dancing and cooking. $5 for adults, $3 for children under age 13

Hands-on History: Reading, Writing & 'Rithmetic – Jamaica
Celebrate the back in school season at the King Manor Museum, where kids can learn what education was like in the olden days, write with a quill pen and make their own book. FREE

Stories at the Statue: The Ugly Duckling – Upper East Side
At this special edition of this weekly storytelling series at the Hans Christian Andersen statue in Central Park, the 19th-century author (a.k.a. Danish actor Rolf Stang) will share an interactive version of The Ugly Duckling. Afterward, stick around for juice and cookies. FREE

Hands-on Nano Demos – Midtown East
Head to the Sony Wonder Technology Lab to learn about nanoscience and nanotechnology, and participate in activities that explore the properties, structures, materials and scale of this field of science. Ages 7 and up. Afterward, stay and play at the interactive tech museum at no cost. FREE

Family Art Labs: A Parade for Ganesh – Chelsea
Hit the Rubin Museum of Art's education center for a family day focused on the Hindu deity Ganesh. Hear stories about the god with the elephant head, hunt for him in the galleries and make clay statues to take home. $16 per adult-child pair

See all Saturday events.
 

Sunday, September 15

Flatbush Frolic – Flatbush
Enjoy rides, live music and vendors at this 10-block annual street fair. Don't miss the special kids' area at the Tot Lot Playground on the corner of Argyle Road hosted by Midwood Martial Arts with hands-on science projects, karate demos, live music, a magic show and a visit from Sparkle the Fairy Princess. FREE

92nd Street Y Streetfest – Upper East Side
The venerable Upper East Side institution sponsors this 15-block street fair. Check out the Y's fall programming and classes, and enjoy family performances, arts and crafts, sports and games, and lots of vendors. Be sure to hit the Kid Central zone on 84th and 85th Streets featuring performances, art projects like snacklaces, braid lanyards and an American Girl-themed craft, demos by the 92Y Gymstars Gymnastics Team and a Tiny Tumblers Toddler Obstacle Course. FREE

Washington Square Park Folk Festival – Greenwich Village
The iconic downtown green space was a folk music hotspot back in the day. Celebrate its tuneful history at this afternoon concert featuring folk legends like the Down Hill Strugglers with John Cohen, and Hubby Jenkins of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. FREE

Preservation Detectives: Chocolate Meltdown – Lower East Side
Welcome the Jewish New Year with a sweet homemade treat at the Museum at Eldridge Street, where families can make chocolate, do arts and crafts and explore the historic synagogue scavenger hunt-style. $15 per family

DayLife Street Festival – Lower East Side
Just a few blocks away, Orchard Street will be transformed into a three-block AstroTurf oasis where families can play backyard games like croquet and badminton. Local merchants and restaurants will also set up tables and pushcarts, and there will be live music, dancing and other amusements. FREE

Autumn Moon Festival – Staten Island
Celebrate Chinese culture at Snug Harbor's lovely Chinese Scholar Garden with traditional and contemporary Asian music and dance performances, martial arts and tai chi demos, calligraphy lessons and ethnic eats. $10 for adults, $8 for students, free for children under age 6

See all Sunday events.
 

Outside of NYC

Apple picking season is in full swing! Check out our Pick-Your-Own Guide to find family-friendly orchards that are less than an hour away from NYC by car. Or head a bit further afield to Terhune Orchards in Princeton, NJ for its 25th annual Apple Day festival, a weekend of fall fun like wagon and pony rides, face painting, pumpkin painting, make-your-own scarecrows and, of course, apple picking.

Head to the Hallockville Museum in Riverhead, Long Island for its annual Fall Festival & Craft Show featuring live animals, tractor displays, craft demos, hayrides, live music and kids' activities.

Remember: You can find even more cool things to do in NYC in our jam-packed Event Calendar.