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All aboard for a day of fun when vintage transit vehicles take over Brooklyn Bridge Park for the New York Transit Museum's annual bus festival. Photo courtesy of the museum
All aboard for a day of fun when vintage transit vehicles take over Brooklyn Bridge Park for the New York Transit Museum's annual bus festival. Photo courtesy of the museum
8/29/25 - By Drew Kristofik

Labor Day kicks off September's activities, launching New York City's season of apple picking, fall festivals, pumpkin patches, and corn mazes.

September is here, and even though the kids are heading back to school, there's still plenty of time for fun. The West Side County Fair provides some end-of-summer thrills with rides, games, and plenty of live music. Broadway salutes New York's 400th birthday with a massive free concert. And, Morningside Lights and San Gennaro light up the town from the Heights to Little Italy.

Meanwhile, we're hosting a very special Back-to-School Fall Fest in Chelsea. And, by month's end, things are getting spooky—read on for all the seasonal picks!

More Things To Do in NYC this September with Kids

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Jack Skellington and friends return to the New York Botanical Garden for a spooky walking trail. Photo courtesy NYBG
Jack Skellington and friends return to the New York Botanical Garden for a spooky walking trail. Photo courtesy NYBG

Best Things To Do in NYC in September with Kids

Soka Tira Osoa: High Wire Performance at the Seaport

South Street Seaport – FREE
Thursday, September 4, 2025
As part of the Down to Earth International Festival of Multidisciplinary Performance in Public Spaces, Seaport Square and Pier 16 transform into a stage for the sky. Catch a breathtaking, one-night-only performance by French acrobatic troupe Compagnie Basinga and internationally renowned tightrope artist Tatiana-Mosio Bongonga.  READ MORE

Corn Fest at the Queens County Farm Museum

Floral Park, Queens
Saturday, September 6, 2025
The Queens County Farm Museum hosts Corn Fest to celebrate the grand opening of the 2025 Amazing Maize Maze. The event is jam-packed with a-maize-ing activities, games, and food.  READ MORE

Founded by Broadway Concert in Times Square

Midtown West – FREE
Sunday, September 7, 2025
Broadway celebrates NYC's 400th anniversary with a free concert featuring cast members from 23 Broadway shows. Head to the red stairs in Duffy Square to catch all the action. READ MORE

West Side County Fair

Upper West Side
Sunday, September 7, 2025
Rescheduled due to last weekend's rainy weather, Summer on the Hudson's biggest event of the season—the West Side County Fair—brings with it a full afternoon of county fair magic in Manhattan. READ MORE

99th Annual Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy

Little Italy
Thursday, September 12-Sunday, September 22, 2025
The Feast of San Gennaro honors Italian Americans in professional baseball this year with its blocks-long street festival dubbed the "Feast of all Feasts!" Enjoy food, entertainment, and vendors along Mulberry Street from Houston to Canal.  READ MORE

Arte Museum Opening Week

Chelsea
Opens Friday, September 12, 2025
Inspired by nature, immersive media artworks transform the city's vibrant energy into breathtaking digital landscapes. The experience is heightened by evocative soundscapes from acclaimed composer Young-gyu Jang and custom-crafted fragrances by master perfumer Marianne Nawrocki Sabatier.    READ MORE

FAMChella on Fifth

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Saturday, September 13, 2025
Brooklyn Bridge Parents and the 5th Avenue BID host a free family-friendly block party inspired by the fun and flair of Coachella, turning the car-free stretch of 5th Avenue from 68th to 81st Street into a lively festival zone filled with free kids' activities, including a bouncy house, arts and crafts, Lego play, water fun, DIY bedazzled headbands, and more.   READ MORE

One Bite Pizza Festival on Randall's Island

Randall's Island
Saturday, September 13, 2025
The greatest gathering of pizzerias ever features all-you-can-eat pizza from over 40 iconic pizzerias. Enjoy delicious Italian bites in the Ferraro Foods Piazza, sweet treats in the Italian Dessert Village, unlimited Pepsi products, and access to interactive pizza experiences, saucy brand activations, and tons of surprises along the way. READ MORE

Morningside Lights at Columbia University

Morningside Heights – FREE
Saturday, September 13-Saturday, September 20, 2025
Morningside Lights returns for its 14th year, illuminating the night in a procession of awe-inspiring handmade lanterns floating through Morningside Park to Columbia's campus. READ MORE

Red Riding Hood: The Musical at 92Y

Upper East Side
Opens Sunday, September 14, 2025
92Y's hit version of the beloved classic Little Red Riding Hood comes to life in dance and song. The Y's family-friendly take on this classic tale features an original score. READ MORE

Brooklyn Book Festival

Downtown Brooklyn – FREE
Sunday, September 14-Monday, September 22, 2025
Dive into some great books at the 2025 Brooklyn Book Festival. Kid-friendly programming abounds during Children's Day on Saturday, September 20. READ MORE

Battery Park City Block Party

Battery Park City – FREE
Saturday, September 20, 2025
The beloved neighborhood tradition returns to Battery Park City, with children’s games and family activities, live musical performances, local business and restaurant vendors, contests, prizes, and much more! READ MORE

Fall Arts Weekend: Sun Turning at Wave Hill

Riverdale, the Bronx
Saturday, September 20-Sunday, September 21, 2025
The autumn equinox is the start of fall and a rare moment when day and night are in perfect balance. Learn about the sun’s movements in the sky and make sundials to discover a simple way of telling time. READ MORE

Jim Henson Birthday Celebration at the Museum of the Moving Image

Astoria, Queens
Saturday, September 20-Sunday, September 21, 2025
The Museum of the Moving Image commemorates Jim Henson's 89th birthday with special guests and screenings, a book signing, a puppet workshop, a costume contest, live music in the courtyard, and more.   READ MORE

Flatbush Frolic

Flatbush, Brooklyn
Sunday, September 21, 2025
One of NYC's largest street fairs, featuring thousands of visitors and hundreds of vendors, the Flatbush Frolic dizzies up Cortelyou Road with food, games, pony rides, carnival rides, music, and more.  READ MORE

Annual Bus Festival in Brooklyn Bridge Park

Dumbo, Brooklyn – FREE
Sunday, September 21, 2025
The New York Transit Museum invites visitors aboard some of its beloved vintage vehicles at this annual fest. Explore buses from the vintage fleet representing more than 80 years of New York City surface transit history.  READ MORE

Back to School Fall Fest at Pier 57

Chelsea – FREE
Sunday, September 21, 2025
Join Mommy Poppins at Pier 57 in Chelsea for a day of free fall fun. Enjoy games, crafts, magic and puppet shows, circus and martial arts, pencil pouch decorating, face painters, STEM activities, and dozens of free activities for kids of all ages. Discover schools, after schools, enrichment and preschool programs while having a blast! READ MORE

Harvest Glow at the Bronx Zoo

Bronx Park, the Bronx
Opens Thursday, September 25, 2025
The Bronx Zoo's nighttime, family-friendly, Halloween spectacular invites families to follow an animal-themed, illuminated, jack-o'-lantern trail, explore Dinosaur Safari at night, and enjoy live pumpkin carving, Wildlife Theater, games, and more.    READ MORE

The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail at the New York Botanical Garden

Bronx Park, the Bronx
Opens Thursday, September 25, 2025
Join Jack Skellington, Sally, and Zero on a walk of wonders, as your favorite characters, scenes, and songs from the immortal film The Nightmare Before Christmas come to life in New York's most treasured garden. READ MORE

Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus at Tribeca PAC

Tribeca
Saturday, September 27, 2025
It’s not easy being the Pigeon. But, when the Bus Driver has a crisis that threatens to make her passengers (gasp!) late, maybe that wily bird can do something. Featuring an innovative mix of songs and feathers, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical! gets everyone’s wings flapping. READ MORE

Poseidon Parade

Rockaways, Queens – FREE
Saturday, September 27, 2025
Family-friendly and art-centered, this annual march celebrates self-expression, community, and the beauty of the Rockaway shore. READ MORE

RIPA's Harvest Festival

Randall's Island – FREE
Sunday, September 28, 2025
The Randall’s Island Park Alliance hosts a free, family-friendly celebration of fall. Decorate and bring home your very own pumpkin from RI's immersive patch, participate in a cooking demonstration with seasonal vegetables, enjoy live performances, have your face painted, and learn about nature. READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Riverside Park South - Pier I
Miller Theater at Columbia University
Emily Warren Roebling Plaza

About the Author

Drew Kristofik
Drew Kristofik’s career took a twist from editing teen magazines to a seven-year stint at MacNeil/Lehrer, followed by a long run at Nickelodeon/Viacom as Director of Content for Nick Online and Editor-in-Chief of ParentsConnect.com. A founding member of the Webby Award-winning GoCityKids, she’s written for Family Fun, Vanity Fair, and New York. Her middle school novel, The Time Boat, is available on Amazon Kindle. Drew keeps the MommyPoppins New York Events calendar spot-on and can be reached at events@mommypoppins.com.
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