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Best Things To Do This Weekend In NY: March 31 And April 1

It might be April Fool's this weekend, but our picks for the best in eating, drinking and merrymaking are no joke.

MIX NYC Queer Experimental Film Festival
The Dreamhouse
1022 Wyckoff Ave.
Ridgewood, NY 11385
https://mix30nyc.org

MIX NYC Queer Experimental Film Festival seeks to inspire discussion, probe boundaries, broaden minds, share stories and bring issues into the light. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the festival will be screening films that explore the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people, among them two drag queens in Bushwick and HIV/AIDS activists. Art installations and live performers too. Thursday, March 29, through Sunday, April 1, see schedule for details, tickets required.

International Auto Show
Jacob K. Javits Center
655 West 34th St.
New York, NY 10001
(646) 473-0863
www.autoshowny.com

Calling all gearheads, car nuts and vehicular aficionados! The largest car show in North America arrives at the Javits Center this weekend for 10 days of oohing and ahhing, tire-kicking and all-out admiring. Every year the International Auto Show debuts and displays what's coming down the road (get it?), including new makes and models. If you can drive it, you'll probably see it here: some 1,000 cars and trucks will be on display. Friday, March 30, through Sunday, April 8, see schedule for details, $17, tickets required.

Smorgasburg
East River State Park
90 Kent Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
www.smorgasburg.com

Winter is, at last, creeping to a close, which means the city is shedding its sweater and reopening its outdoor markets, including Smorgasburg. This beloved weekly food market (the largest in the U.S.) returns to the Williamsburg waterfront and shady Prospect Park this weekend. It's a foodie paradise, with more than 100 vendors selling everything from arepas to lobster rolls! Bring a blanket, bring an appetite, and bring some patience (lines can be long). Saturday, March 31, and Sunday, April 1, 11 am to 6 pm, rain or shine, free. 

Holi in the City Brunch Party
Stage 48
605 West 48th St.
New York, NY 10036
(212) 957-1800
www.facebook.com

Billing itself as the city's "most colorful brunch party," Holi in the City celebrates the Hindu festival known as Holi, which heralds the start of spring. If you go, be prepared to get covered—and we do mean covered—in organic colored powders (in other words, leave your beloved duds at home). Sunglasses and appetizers will be provided, with cash bars throughout the nightclub. Exuberantly throwing colors is meant to express joy, freedom, forgiveness, and gratitude. Saturday, March 31, 12 to 7 pm, tickets start at $45, must be 21 or older. 

Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival
Fifth Avenue, from 49th to 57th Street
New York, NY

Break out your craziest, prettiest, most elaborate dome-topper and head on over to Fifth Avenue for the annual Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival (the first parade in NYC took place in the 1870s!). This huge celebration emphasizes pageantry and beauty and draws tons of participants and spectators. If you're looking for the Easter Bunny or religious symbolism, you'll likely want to skip this event. But if you're looking for city folks dressed in their finest, you'll find them here. Sunday, April 1, 10 am to 4 pm, free.  

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