Spring is a wonderful time to visit our parks and gardens. The flowers are popping in Central Park, there’s an awesome art exhibit at the New York Botanical Gardens, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens has pop up entertainment, and visit some of Long Island’s historic mansions and gardens. The Amas Musical Theatre has a wonderful virtual show coming up. And celebrate International Jazz Day with a virtual performance honoring Louis Armstrong. Our roving photographer captures the hustle and bustle of Alphabet City in the East Village today. And Valerie Smaldone has the scoop on an experimental theatre company that creates intimately immersive experiences.

April 14. Join us for a FUN FREE Zoom Event

April 28^th @ 7:00pm. Amas Musical Theatre Presents….

A virtual performance that brings this heartfelt story alive with the music and rhythms of Cuba. Through song and story, Found in Translation explores the loss of home, and the discovery of the added richness in being a blend of two cultures. Luis Santeiro left Cuba when he was twelve. After that traumatic transition, he was determined to become all-American and leave his Latin past behind. He found that it was not so simple. The rhythms of your youth are indelibly stamped on your soul. Get details and tickets.

Alphabet City

Now I know my ABCs….Head to Alphabet City for the hustle and bustle. Energy abounds from the many cafes, bars, community mom and pop shop and vibrant street art. The East Village neighborhood gets its name from containing the only avenues in Manhattan with single letter names. 

Our roving photographer, Nicole Freezer Rubens is the author of “The Long P:ause and the Short Breath,” photos and poetry from NYC’s pandemic.

April 30 @ 7PM. Celebrating Louis Armstrong

In celebration of International Jazz Day, Flushing Town Hall is live streaming the David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band. This concert will be honoring the historic legacy of jazz that is a part of the borough of Queens and also celebrating the next generation of jazz musicians which Flushing Town Hall has been encouraging and supporting with its Louis Armstrong Legacy Monthly Jazz Jams. Tickets are just $5.00.

Opens April 10. NYBG Presents Yayoi Kusama

Head to the New York Botanical Garden and experience Yayoi Kusama’s profound connection with nature. She is one of the most popular artists in the world, drawing millions to experience her immersive installations. Exclusively at NYBG, Kusama reveals her lifelong fascination with the natural world, beginning with her childhood spent in the greenhouses and fields of her family’s seed nursery. Her artistic concepts of obliteration, infinity, and eternity are inspired by her intimate engagement with the colors, patterns, and life cycles of plants and flowers. GET TICKETS

Central Park is Blooming

Spring is a perfect time to visit Central Park. Everything is starting to bloom, so take a stroll and enjoy one of the most beautiful parks in the world.  Get this guide to what’s blooming when.

Starting April 17. Brooklyn Botanic Gardens Celebrates Spring

Saturday & Sunday afternoons from April 17–May 9 the Brooklyn Botanic garden welcomes the return of spring with casual, pop-up music and dance performances on weekends. On April 17 the Japanese dance company Sachiyo Ito and Company will perform three works. All programs free with Garden admission. Get the details .

The Planting Fields on Long Island

Just an hour from NYC the Planting Fields in Oyster Bay is well worth a visit. Planting Fields, an early 20th century 409-acre estate, originally landscaped by the Olmsted Brothers. The grounds feature 409 acres of greenhouses, rolling lawns, formal gardens, woodland paths and outstanding plant collections. The original historic estate buildings remain intact including Coe Hall, a 65-room Tudor Revival mansion designed by Walker and Gillette.  Get the details.

Old Westbury Garden

Another quick trip from the city, Old Westbury Garden is another wonderful visit. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is the former home of John S. Phipps, his wife, Margarita Grace Phipps and their four children. Completed in 1906 by the English designer, George A. Crawley, the magnificent Charles II-style mansion is nestled amid 200 acres of formal gardens, landscaped grounds, woodlands, ponds and lakes. Westbury House is furnished with fine English antiques and decorative arts from the more than fifty years of the family’s residence.  Get the details.