Staying on and or around campus during Easter break? Get out of the area and explore other boroughs. Have you met Brooklyn yet? Or even the other parts of Queens? Take this time to get your tuition’s worth and explore the metropolitan aspect of our mission by getting lost in translation of a largely-populated ethnic neighborhood.
Consider these events and places that will make your spring break worthwhile.
Hold your allergies—flowers have fully bloomed at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and here’s your chance to embrace hundreds of rare flowers, including magnolias, lilacs, cherry trees and witch-hazels.
Since it is the height of cherry blossom season, take a stroll through the popular Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden and into the Cherry Esplanade and Cherry Walk, where you will find hundreds of blooming cherry trees.
Be sure to check out their Fragrance Garden—its last display perfectly timed, from this Tuesday to Friday, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. $5 with Student ID, 990 Washington Ave., Brooklyn, 718.623.7200
Even though Easter for us college kids no longer means egg hunting, drawing zigzags or dots on our eggs and bunnies, who’s to say that you can’t feel like a kid again? New York City’s annual Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival will take place April 20, Easter Sunday, with tons of fun festive activities and live rabbits, flowers and clowns. New York is known for many parades, but the Easter Parade is one of the very best of New York, with a history of fun that dates back to the 1800s. Expect the streets of Fifth Avenue to be turned into a fashion runway of hats more outrageous than the British’s. Fifth Ave., from 47th to 50th streets
If you missed Yayoi Kusama’s “Infinity Mirrored Room” at the David Zwirner Gallery this winter, another great exhibition is being showcased until Saturday (and it includes a robot). Jordan Wolfson’s debut exhibit at the gallery is a clash of “provocative meets pop-culture;” his “Raspberry Poser” video is an odd 14 minutes of self-infliction with a mix of Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams” playing in the background (strange, we know). The exhibit is predominantly animation-themed and psychosexually-driven—check out the appointment-only creepy Miley/Britney/Madonna/Lady Gaga-like sculpture, which sings Paul Simon’s “Graceland” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.” If you are looking for a thrill, this is it. 525 W. 19th St., 212.727.2070
There’s more to food trucks than gyros, halal platters and breakfast sandwiches. The Cinnamon Snail, a popular vegan food truck, has been back on the road for only several weeks now and the lines have never been longer. It’s hard to say which item is the best, but their sandwiches are best sellers and their donuts—especially the Vanilla Bourbon Crème Brulee Donut. Follow their Twitter @VeganLunchTruck to track their whereabouts in Manhattan. Arrival before lunchtime highly suggested!