Spring has returned to New York City and Gotham’s inhabitants are ready to enjoy the city’s also returning outdoor festivals, shows, and charitable events. Here are five of the top guaranteed fun and interesting things to do in the Big Apple in April of 2018.
#1. The Brooklyn Folk Festival
Beautiful soothing folk music, an incredibly beautiful church, what could be more relaxing, inspiring, and a fitting tribute to the wonderful renewal of spring? This year the Brooklyn Folk Festival returns on April 6th through April 8th to St. Ann’s Church at 157 Montague Street in Brooklyn, New York, for its tenth-annual rendition. With the church’s incredible vaulted ceilings the acoustics are expected to be top-notch. The acts presented at the famous church will bring together a diverse assortment Americana and blues as well as exotic sounds from as far off as places like the Middle East and Guinea. The three-day event will also include a fun banjo tossing competition – Don’t drop it!
The band lineup includes Pokey LaFarge, Jerron Paxton, Spirit Family Reunion, Michael Daves & Chris “Critter” Eldridge, East River String Band with R. Crumb, Elizabeth Mitchell & Suni Paz, Innov Gnawa and Women’s Raga Massive. Tickets can be bought at http://brooklynfolkfest.com/tickets/. Prices are $85 for a three-day pass or $40 for the day if bought separately for Saturday and Sunday. Tickets for the Friday evening, Saturday afternoon, and the Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon shows can be purchased for $25. Tickets for the Sunday evening show can be purchased for $20. Public transportation routes to the Folk Festival are the 2, 3, 4, 5 to Borough Hall and the R to Court St.
#2. The New York Cherry Blossom Festival
This annual festival of flowering spring beauty is happening on April 28, 2018, and Sunday, April 29th. The event, also commonly known as Sakura Matsuri will illuminate the best of Japanese culture in a wonderful outdoor show of nature and spring. 60 interesting and entertaining activities and performances are scheduled at the event at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Activities include Elegant and colorful Kabuki Buyo dance, taiko drumming, martial arts masters, Japanese pop 60s Go-Go music, magic shows, stand up comedy and so many other great fun things that they’re too numerous to list them all in this one post.
Tickets for the event are reasonable at $30 dollars for Adults. For seniors 65 and over the tickets are reduced to $25 dollars per person. Students 12 years of age and up with proper student ID are also $25 dollars per person. Children under 12 and BBG Members are both free. The event will be held rain or shine so don’t forget an umbrella if the sky looks cloudy. The BBG normal free hours and reciprocal admissions are suspended during the festival days. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is located at 990 Washington Ave, in Brooklyn. The best way to get there on public transit is on the subway’s 2/3 train to Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum.
#3. ArtExpo New York
The New York ArtExpo brings over 35,000 art fans and industry art experts each year to the city. On April 19th through the 27th they will once again be offering both individuals and businesses the opportunity to get great deals on hundreds of artworks to adorn any business, office, waiting room, or private residence with the finest art possible for a reasonable price. The expo is the largest international gathering of qualified trade buyers in New York City and includes gallery owners, interior designers, art dealers, architects, corporate art buyers, and also art and framing retailers.
The ArtExpo New York has been going on strong every year for the last 40 years. The event will host over 400 plus, paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, photographs, ceramics, lithographs, and glass works – all under one roof at Pier 94. The pier is located at 711 12th Ave in New York City. Registration can be made at “Click Here” and the event hours are from 12 PM to 7 PM on the 19th of April and the Trade Day Preview Party is from 5 PM to 7 PM.
#4. The FIRST Robotics Competition
FIRST New York City is hosting 51 First Robotics competition teams at the New York City Regionals from April 5th through April 8th. The competing teams will be coming to the Big Apple from all over the World. They will all compete for the FIRST POWER UP in NYC and the winning teams go on to compete in the global competition. As an added bonus, there will also be a Tech oriented job fair full of college representatives and Fortune 500 companies who want to talk to you about your future in a technology career. The exciting event is a blast for young and old alike, and it will be held at The Armory Track and Field Center at 216, Fort Washington Avenue in New York City. The event is free to the public.
The sixth annual 9/11 Memorial and Museum 5K Run/Walk and Community Day is taking place on Sunday, April 22nd at 8 AM in lower Manhattan and will take its runners through Battery Park City with a great view along the route of the One World Trade and the Iconic Statue of Liberty. Registration ends on April 19th at 11:59 PM so sign up sooner, rather than later if you want to participate. The run will end up finishising across from Memorial Plaza where the Community Day part of the event will be held. Community Day events are free to the public and will host events and activities for all ages.
The registration price for the run is $45 dollars with all proceeds going to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Children 12 years and under can join the run for free as long as they are accompanied by a registered adult. Discounted registration tickets are also available for students, military, and first responders.
Corporate teams and businesses that want to participate and/or want to fundraise for the event can contact 5krun@911memorial.org. Registered participants can run with strollers in the run, but, no pets, and even service dogs are not permitted in the run. Presenting your race bib to certain vendors and restaurants also will gain you a discount at participating businesses.
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