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24 Brooklyn Experiences You Can’t Miss in 2024

Jameela Syed

A woman in a costume poses at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade.
"2023 Coney Island Mermaid Parade" © 2023 by DutchTreat / Wikimedia Commons is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Alterations: cropped.
Revelers at the Annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade

Some New Yorkers face the new year head-on – quite literally diving in – as participants in the annual Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge. But if you missed your chance to brave the frigid waters, there are still plenty of iconic Brooklyn moments you can experience all year round.

To (kind of) quote Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally, when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life in Brooklyn, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

Brooklyn Org has you covered with a roundup of 24 can’t-miss experiences to connect to your community in 2024. Let’s see how many of the following activities you can check off your list, from painting murals across the borough, to tackling a new language, celebrating local nonprofits, and more!

Winter
  1. Stretch and do yoga with the cats at the Brooklyn Cat Cafe, NYC’s only nonprofit cat cafe
  2. Celebrate outstanding local nonprofits at Brooklyn Org’s 2024 Spark Breakfast on March 5th
  3. Join a conversation group at the Brooklyn Public Library to practice a new language
  4. Create upcycled flower arrangements for older adults and domestic violence survivors with BloomAgainBklyn
  5. Explore the history of Brooklyn’s first free Black community with a tour at Weeksville Heritage Center
  6. Write letters to bring comfort and connection to LGBTQ+ immigrants in detention with QDEP
A group of people are arranging flowers in a park.
Courtesy of BloomAgainBklyn
Spring
  1. Organize family events in Sunset Park with the Parent-Child Relationship Association
  1. Attend a dance performance by the Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet
  1. Grow your giving by opening a Donor Advised Fund with Brooklyn Org
  1. Gather a group of friends to do volunteer gardening in Fort Greene Park
  1. Visit the Wyckoff House Museum (New York’s oldest building) to see their working farm and beehives
  1. Spread sunflower seeds in vacant spots across NYC with Green Guerillas
A group of dancers on stage in front of a large screen.
Courtesy of the Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet
Summer
  1. March at Brooklyn’s Annual Pride Parade with the Brooklyn Community Pride Center
  1. Paint a mural with Groundswell Community Mural Project
  1. Captain a float along Surf Avenue at the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade
  1. Support our city’s smallest businesses by getting lunch from a local street vendor
  1. Explore Brownsville’s art, culture, and entrepreneurship at the Be on Belmont festival
  1. Dance down Eastern Parkway at the West Indian American Day Carnival for J’Ouvert
Two young men in an art studio holding paint brushes.
Groundswell Community Mural Project
Fall
  1. Honor champions of racial justice at Brooklyn Org’s annual Changemakers Ball
  1. Take in free concerts and artists on the porches of Flatbush’s Victorian-era homes at the Artmaggedon festival
  1. Take a class taught by immigrant teachers and professors outdoors in Prospect Park
  1. Rally your friends and families to give big to Brooklyn nonprofits on GivingTuesday, December 3rd
  1. Distribute groceries and meals for your neighbors in need with Council of Peoples Organization and Mixteca
  1. Advocate for immigrant communities with Asian American Federation and the New York Immigration Coalition
Mixteca
Year-Round

Brooklyn is home to hundreds of grassroots nonprofit organizations that can benefit from your expertise or just your hard work! Explore our directory of local nonprofits to find an organization that matches your interests at nonprofits.brooklyn.org.

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