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Memorial Day Weekend 2024 in NYC: Fleet Week, Prospect Park Zoo, and More To Do in NYC with Kids

The Bethpage Air Show returns to Jones Beach on Memorial Day weekend, featuring performances by its showstopping headliners, the United States Navy Blue Angels. Photo by U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ian Cotter
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5/24/23 - By Drew Kristofik

Looking for the best things to do in New York City this Memorial Day weekend? Here are some family-friendly events and activities to add to your list for this long holiday weekend.

Memorial Day weekend heralds the return of Fleet Week, and NYC is looking positively ship-shape. In addition to visiting some super cool vessels, families can trek to Jones Beach for the Bethpage Air Show and hop in a rowboat for FREE in Hunts Point. Memorial Day parades are back in Brooklyn and Queens, and 14 miles of NYC beaches open to welcome sandcastle builders, waders, and body surfers. The Lower East Side Festival of the Arts is creative nirvana with a pile of FREE performances, the Prospect Park Zoo is reopening, and Bluey's Big Play entrances little ones at Kings Theatre.

 

More Things To Do in New York City This Week With Kids

Be sure to click through to each listing for all the details, including recommended ages and time.

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Best Things To Do in NYC this Weekend with Kids

Fleet Week NYC

Citywide–Mostly FREE
Wednesday, May 22-Tuesday, May 28
The U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. 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

Movies under the Stars: The Little Mermaid in St Vartan Park

Midtown West–FREE
Friday, May 24
Bring a blanket and a picnic for an evening screening of Disney's live action, 2023 version of The Little Mermaid, rated PG. READ MORE

Water Safety Day at Goldfish Swim School

Upper East Side–FREE
Friday, May 24
May is Water Safety Month, and what better way to celebrate than with educational demonstrations, fun prizes and the option to join for open swim. READ MORE

Free Movie Night on the Intrepid: Top Gun Maverick

Midtown West–FREE
Friday, May 24
Bring a blanket, deck chairs, and a picnic and watch a movie on the ship’s flight deck, under the stars! Enjoy views of the Hudson River and city skyline while you watch Top Gun - Maverick on the big screen. READ MORE

2024 Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach

Oyster Bay
Friday-Sunday, May 24- 26
The Bethpage Air Show returns to Jones Beach on Memorial Day weekend, featuring performances by its showstopping headliners, the United States Navy Blue Angels. READ MORE

Lower East Side Festival of the Arts Street Fair

Lower East Side–FREE
Friday-Sunday, May 24-26
NYC's Lower East Side Festival of the Arts is a cabaret-style festival featuring more than 100 performing groups from the Lower East Side. READ MORE

BAM DanceAfrica Community Workshop in Brooklyn Bridge Park

Dumbo, Brooklyn–FREE
Saturday, May 25
Join the BAM DanceAfrica Community Workshop in Brooklyn Bridge Park for a fun-filled, hands-on workshop led by a BAM teaching artist Dánice Jones, featuring rhythms and movement from Cameroon. READ MORE

Memorial Day Fair

Sunnyside, Queens
Saturday, May 25
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

Geometric Flowers Family Workshop at Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum

Pelham Bay, Bronx–FREE
Saturday, May 25
Bartow-Pell Museum Educator Robin Vernuccio leads a family-friendly workshop crafting geometry flowers. As part of the museum’s Bartow is Blooming theme this year, basic geometric shapes are creatively transformed into petals, leaves, and stems for you to take home. READ MORE

Next Stop, New York City! Subway by Christoph Niemann at the Skyscraper Museum

Battery Park City–FREE
Saturday, May 25
Kids explore forms of transportation and New York City’s subway system through a read-aloud of Christoph Niemann’s picture book, Subway. READ MORE

Pond Crawlers at Clay Pit Ponds State Park

Rossville, Staten Island–FREE
Saturday, May 25
Help scoop for critters that call the park's ponds their home, then investigate the health of the pond. A one mile hike is part of the fun. Register online in advance. READ MORE

Pinkster Celebration at Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum

Flatbush, Brooklyn–FREE
Saturday, May 25
The Wyckoff House Museum and Elite Learners join forces for a special Pinkster Festival with live music, carnival activities, drumming, and more. READ MORE

Spring Family Movies at Hudson Yards

Midtown West–FREE
Saturday, May 25
Kickstart your mornings with springtime outdoor movie screenings featuring family-friendly favorites on the 30 foot Big Screen.   READ MORE

Open Studio: Sound at the Noguchi Museum

Long Island City, Queens
Saturday, May 25
Explore how art can activate the unseen in Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within and create mixed media artworks to experiment with different qualities of sound. READ MORE

Waves, all that Glows Sees at Flushing Town Hall

Flushing, Queens
Saturday & Sunday, May 25 & 26
A charming “postcard from an imagined beach” with music, poetry, and silence, Waves, all that Glows Sees is a magical, mesmerizing, theatrical sea story with live music.   READ MORE

Bluey's Big Play at Kings Theatre

Flatbush, Brooklyn
Saturday & Sunday, May 25 & 26
Grab the sticky geckos, break out the duck cakes, and alert the grannies! The Heeler family is coming to Kings Theatre with the Bluey live show, Bluey’s Big Play.   READ MORE

Family Art Project: Herbal Arts at Wave Hill

Riverdale, Bronx
Saturday & Sunday, May 25 & 26
Using your sense of smell and touch, discover the world of herbal and botanical arts. Decorate your own perfume bottle and then create a scented blend using lavender and other plants, inspired by Wave Hill’s Herb Garden. READ MORE

Prospect Park Zoo Re-Opening Weekend

Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Saturday-Monday, May 25-27
The Prospect Park Zoo celebrates its reopening with a fun program of special activities, including animal enrichment chats, Turtle Time & Conservation stations, sea lion feedings with narration, and more!    READ MORE

Free Community Rowing in Hunts Point Park

Hunts Point, the Bronx–FREE
Season opens Saturday, May 25
Explore the Bronx River! Free Community Rowing gives New Yorkers of all ages the chance to get out on the water aboard Rocking the Boat's student-built wooden row boats accompanied by trained staff. Learn to row and experience the beauty of New York City's only freshwater river.   READ MORE

The Rock and Roll Playhouse Presents the Music of Taylor Swift for Kids

Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Sunday, May 26
Kids can rock out to the music of Taylor Swift at the Brooklyn Bowl's Rock and Roll Playhouse. READ MORE

97th Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade

Little Neck, Queens–FREE
Monday, May 27
Service members participate in NYC's largest Memorial Day parade.  READ MORE

157th Brooklyn Memorial Day Parade

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn–FREE
Monday, May 27
Brooklyn’s 157th Memorial Day Parade steps off on 3rd Avenue and 78th Street, proceeds down 3rd Avenue to Marine Avenue, up to 4th Avenue, and over to John Paul Jones Park. READ MORE

Memorial Day Concert in Green-Wood Cemetery

South Slope/Sunset Park, Brooklyn–FREE
Monday, May 27
Green-Wood’s much-loved Memorial Day concert returns for its 24th year! Bring a blanket, picnic, and welcome back the talented high-school musicians of the ISO at Third Street Symphonic Band, led by music director Paul Corn and hosted by guest conductor Brian P. Worsdale. READ MORE

31st Annual Memorial Day Concert

Upper West Side–FREE
Monday, May 27
Music Director Jaap van Zweden conducts a Memorial Day concert that includes Wagner’s Prelude to Act I of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Copland’s Quiet City and Brahms’ Symphony No. 4.    READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Various locations
Northern Blvd between Jayson Ave & 245th Street