New York City is a multicultural hub with dozens of museums, hundreds of parks and millions of people. The number of potential things to see and do can feel overwhelming, but NY1 has you covered with some of the highlights taking place this weekend across the five boroughs.
Head to the Beach
- Beaches open Saturday
- Across the city
- More information here
Beaches open across the city for Memorial Day weekend and will stay open through the weekend after Labor Day.
Lifeguards will be on duty every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Swimming is prohibited during their off-hours.
Mark your calendars: NYC beaches officially open for the season on May 23. Get ready for boardwalk walks, post-swim snacks, ocean breezes, and long summer days by the water! pic.twitter.com/VI7ZXboNL8
— NYC Parks (@NYCParks) May 12, 2026
Loisaida Festival
- Sunday, May 24
- Along Avenue C from Fifth Street to 12th Street
- More information here
“Our AmeRícan Thing” is the theme for the 39th annual Loisaida Festival, which honors the Nuyorican and immigrant histories of the Lower East Side.
Organizers say the theme is “inspired by the spirit of Jesús ‘Tato’ Laviera,” and seeks to highlight the neighborhood through energy, hope and imagination.
Visitors can expect Latin music, food, performances and more in celebration of the culture.
Camping 101
- Saturday, May 23 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- Baisley Pond Park, Queens
- More information here
As the unofficial start to summer arrives, some New Yorkers may be planning camping trips. If you’ve ever wanted to go but weren’t sure how to do it, NYC Parks is hosting an event to teach those without experience everything they need to know.
Urban Park Rangers will explain how to prep a campsite, detail what equipment to bring and share tips for how to get the most out of your adventure in the natural world.
5/23 🏞️Learn tips and tricks that will enhance your knowledge of the natural world with the Urban Park Rangers: https://t.co/qnTh2E41Xr
— NYC Parks (@NYCParks) May 21, 2026
Ancestral Ecologies
- Open through Oct. 25
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- More information here
A new set of installations at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was created in part by a local artist to explore ancient Latino and African beliefs “around the intelligence of the natural world that understand matter, memory, and multispecies forces as interconnected, adapted, and communicative.”
Four outdoor installations will be on display: the “Serpentine Specter” in the Native Flora Garden; the “Sonic Strands” in the Woodland Garden; the “Animist Capsules” in the Woodland Garden; and the “Earthen Tiles” in the Native Flora Garden exterior. See photos here.
(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Photoville
- Open through May 30
- Brooklyn Bridge Park and other sites
- More information here
Photoville, a free photography festival, has returned to the city for its 15th year.
Works from more than 300 photographers are on display at sites including Brooklyn Bridge Park.
(Spectrum News NY1/Roger Clark)
’45 Years of Pac-Man’
- Exhibit open through May 31
- Paley Center for Media, Manhattan
- More information here
The Paley Center is celebrating 45 years of Pac-Man with an exhibit that includes two floors of memorabilia related to the iconic arcade character.
Visitors will see items dating back to his creation in Japan in 1980, including Pac-Man lunchboxes, mini-games and Pac-Man-inspired products like Oreos, Krispy Kreme donuts and ramen noodles. There are also opportunities to play many of the various Pac-Man games themselves, according to the Paley Center.
Outwit, Outplay, Outlast: Celebrating 50 Seasons of ‘Survivor’
- Open through May 31
- Paley Center for Media, Manhattan
- More information here
The Paley Center for Media is also marking the 50th season of “Survivor” with an exhibit celebrating the reality juggernaut’s history.
Fans can check out props from the show like torches and hidden immunity idols, take a seat at Tribal Council, view rare behind-the-scenes photos and see a timeline of the show’s most iconic moments.
Stories and Set Designs for ‘The Sopranos’
- Open through May 31
- Museum of the Moving Image, Queens
- More information here
A new exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria draws from the personal archive of David Chase — showrunner for “The Sopranos” — to present “scripts, notes, and research material that document the development” of the series as it moved from a pilot into the first season.
The exhibit also showcases how four of the series’ main settings — Dr. Melfi’s office, the Soprano home, the Bada Bing strip club, and Satriale’s Pork Store — were created “through a mix of on-location filming in New Jersey and constructed sets at Silvercup Studios in Queens.”
Keith Haring Exhibit
- Runs through May 31
- Brant Foundation Art Study Center, Manhattan
- More information here
A new exhibit on display at the Brant Foundation Art Study Center in the East Village features pieces created by renowned artist Keith Haring during his formative years, including his well-known subway chalk drawings.
The gallery itself sits inside a unique location: a former Con Edison substation on East 6th Street.
(Spectrum News NY1/Roger Clark)
Queens Night Market
- Saturdays from 4 p.m. to midnight through Aug. 22
- Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens
- More information here
The Queens Night Market has returned for its 11th season.
The market is a family-friendly, open-air event that features 100 independent vendors selling merchandise, art and food. There are also performances that organizers say, along with the vendors, celebrate “the rich cultural diversity and heritage of NYC and Queens.”
(Spectrum News NY1)
Smorgasburg
- Open for the season
- Thursdays and Fridays: World Trade Center
- Saturdays: Marsha P. Johnson State Park, Williamsburg
- Sundays: Prospect Park, Brooklyn
- More information here
The city’s annual warm weather food frenzy is back, and organizers say it features one of their biggest lineups yet.
More than 70 vendors offering global bites, longtime favorites and experimental new concepts will set up in Manhattan every Thursday and Friday — and then in Brooklyn every weekend — through October.
If you can’t make it out to one of their sites, you can still enjoy dining al fresco at a restaurant near you, as the city’s roadway dining program has officially returned for the season.
Luna Park
- Open for the season
- Coney Island, Brooklyn
- More information here
Luna Park in Coney Island is open for the season, with its full lineup of rides, treats and “high-flying excitement.”
Visitors can ride the iconic Cyclone roller coaster, play arcade games, get food or shop around.
‘For the Win’
- Now open
- American Museum of Natural History
- More information here
A new exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History celebrates “the objects that define athletic greatness.”
There are more than 70 items covering over 150 years of sports history, including gold medals, trophies and championship rings.
(Spectrum News NY1/Roger Clark)
New Museum
- Open Tuesday to Sunday
- 235 Bowery, Manhattan
- More information here
The New Museum in Manhattan has reopened following a 60,000-square-foot expansion. The new space features twice the gallery size, new elevators, new venues, an entrance plaza and an atrium staircase, among other additions.
Alongside several new commissions, “New Humans: Memories of the Future” will be the inaugural exhibition. The museum says it showcases “works by more than 200 artists, writers, scientists, architects, and filmmakers to explore how dramatic technological and societal changes have spurred new conceptions of what it means to be ‘human.’”
‘Greater New York’
- Open through Aug. 17
- MoMA PS1, Queens
- More information here
MoMA PS1 calls its annual “Greater New York” exhibit a “signature survey of artists living and working in the New York City area.”
This year’s sixth edition spans all levels of the museum’s school building and features the work of more than 50 multidisciplinary artists.
Whitney Biennial 2026
- Open through Aug. 23
- Whitney Museum, Manhattan
- More information here
The Whitney Museum says its biennial exhibit is the “the longest-running survey of contemporary art in the United States.”
The 82nd edition features the work of 56 artists and reflects the current moment by examining “interspecies kinships, familial relations, geopolitical entanglements, technological affinities, shared mythologies, and infrastructural supports.”
Buddha Sculpture on the High Line
- Installed until spring 2027
- The High Line at West 30th Street and 10th Avenue, Manhattan
- More information here
Although many New Yorkers are still mourning the loss of the pigeon “Dinosaur,” “The Light That Shines Through the Universe” — a 27-foot-tall sandstone Buddha sculpture — has taken its place in the regularly rotating exhibition.
Created by Tuan Andrew Nguyen in in Vietnam, the fifth commission for the Plinth program is an homage to the ancient Bamiyan Buddhas, two sixth century statues in central Afghanistan that were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
‘Noguchi’s New York’
- Open through Sept. 13
- The Noguchi Museum, Queens
- More information here
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City has launched “Noguchi’s New York.”
The exhibit focuses on the relationship between Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi and New York City.
New Yorkers may recognize some of his works, like the Red Cube at 140 Broadway and Liberty Street, and the Sunken Garden at Chase Manhattan Bank Plaza in Lower Manhattan.
(Courtesy of Miguel de Guzman and Rocio Ro
mero)
‘Inspired by MetroCard’
- Open through Oct. 26
- New York Transit Museum at Grand Central
- More information here
The life of the MetroCard as New York City’s primary transit tool may have come to an end, but the icon lives on in the form of art.
The “Inspired by MetroCard” exhibit at the Grand Central location of the New York Transit Museum features paintings, collages, mosaics and even clothing made from the payment method introduced in 1994.
(Spectrum News NY1/Roger Clark)
‘The Battle of Brooklyn: Fought and Remembered’
- Now open through Dec. 31, 2026
- Center for Brooklyn History
- More information here
Nearly 250 years after the pivotal Revolutionary War battle, the Center for Brooklyn History is spotlighting the Battle of Brooklyn with a new exhibit.
Although they were outmatched by British troops, a dramatic overnight evacuation led by George Washington in August 1776 helped preserve the revolutionary cause.
The exhibition brings the battle to life through artifacts, including uniform buttons and a cannonball, alongside artwork and historical interpretations that trace how the conflict unfolded across Brooklyn.
(Spectrum News NY1/Roger Clark)
‘He Built This City’
- Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends
- Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays
- Museum of the City of New York, Manhattan
- More information here
It took Joe Macken more than 21 years to build by hand, but his 50-by-27-foot model of New York City is now on display at the Museum of the City of New York.
The model, made from balsa wood and foam board, includes more than 320 sections. Macken says it began with 30 Rockefeller Plaza in 2004.
(Spectrum News NY1/Roger Cl
ark)
‘FAREwell, MetroCard’
- Now open
- New York Transit Museum, Brooklyn
- More information here
After more than three decades in use, the MetroCard is retiring. A new exhibit at the New York Transit Museum invites visitors to learn about its history, including its debut in 1994, the technology behind it and its lasting legacy.
At Chelsea Market in Manhattan, art made from MetroCards is hanging on the walls near the Ninth Avenue entrance, including framed creations of cats, the five boroughs and a school bus.
Street Food City
- Open Thursdays to Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.
- Museum of Food and Drink, Brooklyn
- More information here
An exhibit at the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) in Brooklyn is dedicated to the city’s smallest food businesses and the immigrant entrepreneurs who have shaped the city’s flavor and culture.
Organizers say Street Food City “traces the challenges faced by street food entrepreneurs of the past to today’s fight for vendor rights.” The exhibit’s curator, Catherine Piccoli, and MOFAD president Nazli Parvizi also joined NY1 to discuss the exhibit.
Purchase tickets here.
Studio Museum in Harlem
- Open daily 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- 144 West 125th St., Manhattan
- More information here
The Studio Museum in Harlem has reopened after being closed for nearly eight years.
The museum, which is dedicated to presenting and collecting the work of Black artists, returns with a variety of exhibits on display.
(Spectrum News NY1/Roger Clark)
‘Impact: The End of the Age of Dinosaurs’
- Now open
- American Museum of Natural History, Manhattan
- More information here
A new exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History looks at the impact of the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
The exhibition also explores how the Earth recovered from the event, including how it paved the way for new species.
(Spectrum News NY1/Roger Clark)
‘Encounters in the Milky Way’
- Now open
- American Museum of Natural History, Manhattan
- More information here
“Encounters in the Milky Way” is a new show at the Hayden Planetarium that gives visitors a “front-row seat to spectacular moments in our solar system’s past and future.”
Narrated by Pedro Pascal, the show takes viewers through the paths of stars, comets and other interstellar debris. It’s part of the Rose Center for Earth and Space’s celebration of 25 years since its opening.
🚀A new Hayden Planetarium Space Show, narrated by Pedro Pascal, is opening June 9! In Encounters in the Milky Way, you’ll get a front-row seat to spectacular moments in our solar system’s past and future, including the paths of stars, comets, interstellar debris, and more. pic.twitter.com/jZtZLeaHFq
— American Museum of Natural History (@AMNH) May 20, 2025
