15 Fun Things to Do with Kids in Manhattan this April

Our list of fun and low-cost things to do with kids in Manhattan this April includes Earth Day activities, family shows and concerts, and family events at the Tribeca Film Festival. Find fun events from Union Square to Midtown, Lincoln Center, the Upper East Side, and the Upper West Side.

Meet the Artist: Vlada Tomova

David Rubenstein Atrium, Lincoln Center

April 6

For the musical child with a green thumb, Bulgarian-born singer/songwriter Vlada Tomova is like a fairy godmother in her Green Songs from Vlada’s Garden performance at Meet the Artist Saturday. Tomova performs both ancient and new songs from the villages of her native Bulgaria and other lands, near and far, while also singing about her community garden in her new home of Brooklyn. The songstress loves growing sweet tomatoes, raspberries, basils, and colorful beans, and she has a knack for bringing cut Valentine roses back into bloom. Tiny audience members will learn to plant peppers, spot the first leaves of spinach poking through the soil, and grow a strawberry at your bedside through stories, pictures, and song. FREE!

The Story Pirates

Symphony Space, Upper West Side

April 7

Pseudonymous Bosch, author of The New York Times bestselling and wonderfully mysterious The Secret series, has enlisted the help of the Story Pirates to bring his newest book, Write This Book: A Do It Yourself Mystery, to life. The Story Pirates Present: Pseudonymous Bosch’s Write This Book is an exclusive New York City event that will feature the wacky and original performance troupe as they use the fun activities and choose-your-own-adventure inspired scenarios in Bosch’s new guidebook/novel to bring kids’ writing to life on stage. The audience will assist in creating a one-of-a-kind show based on their own ideas, and the Pirates will run with those ideas, creating an improv show that delights youngsters and impresses their grownups.

Celebrate Earth Day

Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens

Throughout April

We should really appreciate the Earth and the environment every day of the year, but Earth Day—observed April 22—is a specific time set aside to inspire awareness and appreciation for our natural environment. Not sure how to inspire your little ones to be future tree huggers? Check out our roundup of 20 fun and low-cost Earth Day events for kids and families in NYC, including 6 in Manhattan.

Making Books Sing Presents Wanda's Monster

Theater 3, Times Square

April 19–May 12

Making Books Sing, an organization that presents professional theater productions and sponsors arts-in-education programs to promote and support children’s literacy and social development, will stage its latest production this month: Wanda’s Monster, The Musical, based on the children’s book by Eileen Spinelli. The tale follows Wanda, a spunky 5-year-old who’s convinced there’s a monster in her closet. But after her grandmother suggests that the monster is in the closet because he’s shy and friendless, Wanda soon decides to befriend him. Featuring music and lyrics by award-winning children’s recording artist Laurie Berkner, this musical is an adorable tale of acceptance and friendship.