Cherry Blossom Festival
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Saturday May 2 & Sunday May 3
10AM-6PM (rain or shine)
Events are free with Garden admission, kids under 12 free

Concerts by some of Japan's hottest J-pop stars, taiko drumming, anime and manga, bonsai pruning workshops, a traditional kimono show, Japanese doll-making demos and many more demonstrations and workshops for all ages: this festival has so much going on that's fun and interesting that the cherry blossoms could just be a pretty backdrop. But be sure to snap some photos of the kids with the cherry blossoms and enter our The Kids of Hanami Photo Contest for a chance to win a Mother's Day Luncheon at the gardens, a huge gift package and BBG passes! Deadline to enter is May 5. There will be shelters in case of rain. 

7th Annual Future Brooklyn Greenway Bike Tour
Meet at the northern end of Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint
Saturday, May 2
10AM
FREE

A 10-mile ride at a family pace, starting in Greenpoint and ending at Red Hook's waterfront to imagine the future Brooklyn Greenway. Includes a restroom/water stop and updates about the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. Bring a helmet, water, spare tube, sunscreen and a camera. The tour is free, but donations are welcome.

3rd Ward Block Party
Sunday, May 3
195 Morgan Ave, Brooklyn
2PM-8PM
FREE

3rd Ward's massive block party will have live music bike competitions, bike films & performances, music videos from Moviehouse, a photobooth, badminton, BBQ & drinks, live screen-printing, free workshops and more! There may be Colt 45, but this event is kid-friendly. And starting in May, when you sign up for a 3rd Ward membership you get a free bike!

Wildflower Week
Various Locations Citywide
Saturday, May 2 & Sunday, May 3
Various times

Learn about native plants through fun events staged throughout all five boroughs. In Manhattan, events take place at Solar One at East River and New York Restoration Project; in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Children's Museum; in Queens at the Alley Pond Environmental Center; in Staten Island at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden; and in the Bronx at the Point CDC. There will be an interactive plant fair, Family Plant Walk, creating bracelets with flower pigment and mini compost bins, perfume making and more. Check the site for exact locations, times and for more information. 

Sixth Annual Swing-a-Ring Day
Riverside Park (Hudson Beach, on the lower level of the Park at 105 St)
Saturday, May 2
1PM-4PM
FREE

Learn to swing on the traveling rings. Just grab a ring and then swing from one ring to the other, building speed and momentum until you feel like you're flying. Great exercise and fun. Accomplished performers will provide free demonstrations and individual instruction in ring swinging, unicycling, juggling, hula-hooping, slacklining, acrobatics, and other circus arts. There will also be free ice cream live music and sand sculpting.

Cobble Hill Playgroup Spring Fair
Carroll Park at Court St, Brooklyn
Saturday, May 2 (rain date Sunday May 3)
10AM-4PM
Free admission with $1 activities ticket

Bouncy castle, pony rides, face painting, Mothers' Day present crafts, games, races, a book sale, flea market, bake sale and lots of great games and food!

Columbia Greenhouse Preschool Fair 
11AM-4PM, Saturday, May 2 (rain date Sunday, May 3)
116th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Morningside Drive.  

Broadway Presbyterian Church Nursery School Fair
12AM-3PM, Saturday, May 2 (rain date Saturday, May 9)
West 114th St between Broadway and Riverside

An Upper West Side staple, offering all-day entertainment, yummy food, a terrific rummage sale, a giant maze made of boxes that kids can both climb in and paint on, and games & arts galore.   Performers include headliner & Smithsonian Folkways Recording artist Elizabeth Mitchell, the wacky and wonderful Dave Jay, singer-songwriter Valerie Eskridge, teenage rockers Saffire, New York's own Twilight of the Idle, and Danna Banana.

Saver's Week - Kiddy Karnival
ING DIRECT Café
968 3rd Ave, Manhattan
Saturday, May 2
1PM
FREE

ING bank lures you in with carnival games for kids, free cotton candy, popcorn and beverages so they can tell you how you can save money for your kids using...drumroll...ING products. Hey, you're saving already with this free event. They must be good. 

Also going on this weekend is the Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair and ESPN Day (Saturday, May 2, 10am-6pm, Greenwich St btwn Hubert and Chambers). I went last year and though highly crowded (though maybe not so much this year due to the weather forecast), it is really a lot of fun. This year there will be performances by the Dirty Sock Funtime Band, Hot Peas 'n Butter, Shrek the Musical, plus activity stations like kite-making, a bubble garden, scratch DJ academy and much more.

And don't forget Family Day at the Rubin Museum where you can have fun celebrating TIbet. 

And if all that isn't enough, this Saturday is Free Comic Book Day. Just walk into a participating store and get a free comic book! 



Photo Credit: WhatDaveSees