Things To Do in NYC in February 2023 include:
February is late winter, and New York City’s snowiest month. It’s still a great time to visit. You just have to plan because it’s cold outside and may be slushy after storms.
The first week of February is the cheapest time to visit NYC with deals on travel, lodging, food, and events.
February is Black History Month.
The February holiday is President’s Day, Monday, February 20, 2023. NYC Schools midwinter recess is February 20-24, 2023.
Valentines Day is a popular Roman holiday on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.
Latin traditions include Candelaria and Lourdes. Carnival Tuesday is Tuesday, February 21, 2022.
Things To Do in NYC in February 1-5, 2023
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Remember Langston Hughes. The Harlem Renaissance jazz poet was born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1, 1901. 🇺🇸
NYC Restaurant Week and NYC Broadway Week end February 12.
New York City Ballet Winter 2023 Season ends February 26.
Thursday, February 2, 2023
Celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Candelaria, patron saint of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain and the African Diaspora on Thursday, February 2, 2023. 🇪🇸🇮🇨
Celebrate Maman Brigitte, the Haitian Loa of death and life. 🇭🇹
Happy Birthday Shakira! The Colombian pop star was born in Barranquilla, Colombia on February 2, 1977. 🇨🇴
Celebrate the ratification of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave African American men the right to vote on February 3, 1870. 🇺🇸
Sacred Traditions: AfroLatinx & Africans – A Spiritual Reconnection: Shifting AfroIndigenous Cultural Identities During the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, is part 2 of a 4-part a pre-travel virtual workshop for a spiritual pilgrimage to Ghana in West Africa in July/August 2023, at the CCCADI, Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute in “El Barrio” East Harlem on Thursday, February 2, 2023 at 6:30pm. $60 for the 4 workshop series. 🇬🇭🇵🇷
Dance Argentine tango at Tango La Nacional at La Nacional in Chelsea, NYC. Gets busy around 9pm. Performances at 11pm. Dancing until around 2am. $20 🇦🇷
Friday, February 3, 2023
Happy Birthday Daddy Yankee! The “King of Reggaeton” was born in Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico on February 3, 1976. 🇵🇷
Saturday, February 4, 2023
Remember Rosa Parks. The “Mother of the Freedom Movement” was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4, 1913. She was one cool lady. Staying calm and cool while speaking truth to power made her great. 🇺🇸
Sunday, February 5, 2023
Dance Argentine tango at the El Destino milonga at Solas bar in the East Village on Sunday, February 5, 2023 from 6-11pm. $20. 🇦🇷
Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra play Latin jazz at Birdland in Hell’s Kitchen, on Sunday, February 5, 2023 at 8:30pm & 10:30pm. From $36+ $20 per person minimum. 🇨🇺
Things To Do in NYC in February 6-12, 2023
Bob Marley was more than a Jamaican reggae star. He stood for unity, democratic reform, and equal opportunity for all people. Political parties tried to use him. When one party tried to kill him, he knew who did it, but let it go. Then he brought both parties together. What a great man.
Jamaican reggae is part of the soundtrack for the Black Pride movement. We are still decolonizing., but now is the time to be proud of our heritage, all of it. In the best of all possible worlds, we are One Love. Bob Marley pointed the way.
It’s New York Fashion Week (NYFW).
The Dance on Camera film festival is at Film at Lincoln Center.
New York’s 25th Lunar New Year Parade marches through Manhattan Chinatown and the Lower East Side.
Monday, February 6, 2023
Remember Bob Marley. The Jamaican reggae legend was born in Nine Mile, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica on February 6, 1945. 🇯🇲
Dance Salsa, Bachata and Merengue at Talia Castro-Pozo’s Latin Mondays at Taj, one of NYC’s most popular Latin dance parties, at Taj in the Flatiron District, Mondays at 7pm (5pm doors). From $15. 🇨🇴🇨🇺🇩🇴🇵🇷🇵🇦🇵🇪🇻🇪
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Celebrate Grenada Independence Day, February 7, 1974. 🇬🇩
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Grammy nominated early music ensemble El Mundo; plays 17th-18th century music from “Archivo de Guatemala,” the archive of the Guatemala City Cathedral which captures the mix of European, African and Indigenous American traditions in Colonial Guatemala; in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 at 7:30pm. From $67. 🇬🇹
Scottish classical guitarist Sean Shibe celebrates the Spanish influence on classical guitar through non-Spanish artists including Barrios, Ginastera, Poulenc, Villa-Lobos; at the 92nd Street Y Kaufmann Concert Hall; on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 at 7:30pm. From $25. 🇦🇷 🇧🇷 🇫🇷 🇵🇾 🇪🇸
Thursday, February 9, 2023
Happy birthday Alejandra Guzmán! One of the most popular Mexican singers, was born in Mexico City on February 9, 1968. 🇲🇽
Remember Carmen Miranda! The actress who globalized Brazilian culture (and was Hollywood’s highest paid star), was born in Marco de Canveses, Portugal on February 9, 1909. 🇵🇹🇧🇷
New York Fashion Week 2023 Fall Winter collection fashion shows and presentations are at Spring Studios in Tribeca, Manhattan and around town; from Thursday-Wednesday, February 9-15, 2023. 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇲🇽 | 🇨🇺 🇩🇴 🇵🇷 | 🇦🇷 | 🇫🇷 🇮🇹 🇪🇸 | 🇳🇬
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
Christian Siriano, the New York Italian Project Runway Season 4 winner, has a runway fashion show offsite on Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 5pm. 🇮🇹
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
Victor De Souza, the New York Argentine designer, has a runway fashion show offsite on Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 8pm. 🇦🇷
Olga Cerpa y Mestisay play Canarian folk music from their latest album “Palosanto;” in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall; on Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 8pm. From $49. 🇮🇨🇪🇸
The Marc Anthony Viviendo Tour brings Puerto Rican Salsa to Madison Square Garden in Chelsea, NYC on Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 8pm (7pm doors). From $99. 🇵🇷
Dance Argentine Tango at Tango La Nacional at La Nacional in Chelsea, Manhattan. Gets busy around 9pm. Performances at 11pm. Dancing until around 2am. 🇦🇷
Friday, February 10, 2023
Happy birthday Don Omar! The reggaeton star was born in Villa Palmeras, Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico on February 10, 1978. 🇵🇷
Villa Palmeras is like The Bronx of San Juan. It’s a disadvantaged immigrant community that is an artesian well of creativity. Many famous Puerto Rican artists lived there at one time or another. It’s one of the centers of salsa. Tommy Olivencia, who launched many careers, is from there. Many famous salseros are buried in the cemetery at the top of the hill. It’s the home of La Familia Cepeda, the first family of Puerto Rican bomba. You can study bomba and plena with them. Bad Bunny and Kendo Kaponi’s song “P FKN Rico” has the line “I come from a villa that has palms.” That’s Villa Palmeras. We waited out the COVID-19 pandemic a block away. Locals told us to never go there. We went many times and never had a problem. Our sicario padrino says, “you make the place.” We ❤️ Villa Palmeras. 🇵🇷
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
Bugatchi, the French Canadian fashion brand, is giving a fashion presentation offsite on Friday, February 10, 2023 from 9am-5pm. 🇨🇦
The 51st Dance on Camera Festival 2023 puts Latin dance on the big screen at Film at Lincoln Center from Friday-Monday, February 10-13, 2023. $17. 🇫🇷 🇮🇳 🇲🇽
DANCE ON CAMERA FESTIVAL
“Call Me Dancer” by Leslie Shampaine and Pip Gilmour is Dance on Camera’s opening night film. It is the true story of Manish, a young street dancer in Mumbai, India who though supporting his parents in the traditional manner, meets an aging Israeli ballet master who ignites the young man’s desire to become a professional dancer. It screens on Friday, February 10, 2023 at 10pm. 🇮🇳
Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero: Westward explores the immigrant experience through Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky (three great Russian composers who emigrated to the United States), and improvisations to Chaplin’s short film “The Immigrant” which inspired her selections. It’s at the 92nd Street Y Kaufmann Concert Hall; on Friday, February 10, 2023 at 7:30pm. From $25. 🇻🇪
Freestyle & Old School Extravaganza brings freestyle rap legends Lisa Lisa, Mase, Tone Loc, TKA, Montell Jordan, Slick Rick, George Lamond, CeCe Peniston, Nice and Smooth, Judy Torres, Soul Sonic Force, DJ Kool, The Cover Girls, Cynthia, Black Sheep, and Soave to Radio City Music Hall in Rockefeller Center, NYC on Friday, February 10, 2023 at 8pm. From $122. 🇵🇷
Saturday, February 11, 2023
Celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Marian apparition known for her healing powers. 🇫🇷
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
Proenza Schouler, whose co-founder Lazaro Hernandez is Miami Cuban, has a runway show offsite on Saturday, February 11, 2023 at 12pm. 🇨🇺
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
Tia Adeola, the New York English Nigerian designer, has a runway fashion show at Spring Studios in Tribeca, Manhattan; on Saturday, February 11, 2023 at 5pm. 🇳🇬
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
Sergio Hudson, the South Carolina African American fashion designer who dressed the Obamas, has a runway fashion show at Spring Studios in Tribeca, Manhattan; on Saturday, February 11, 2023 at 7pm. 🇺🇸
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico headlines India, Jerry Rivera, and Puerto Rican Power for a night of Puerto Rican salsa at Radio City Music Hall in Rockefeller Center on Saturday, February 11, 2023 at 8pm. From $96. 🇵🇷
Sunday, February 12, 2023
Remember Abraham Lincoln. The American president who held our country together and ended legal slavery, was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. 🇺🇸
Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves”Abraham Lincoln, Complete Works – Volume XII
Remember “Tite” Curet Alonso! The salsa poet (Las Caras Lindas, Anacoana and many others he wasn’t credited for) was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico on February 12, 1926. 🇵🇷
A lawyer got Tite to sign a contract that gave away his rights to his own music. That crew has big fancy offices in Puerto Rico full of fancy European cars. But they stole it. Tite got nothing. Malos.
The 25th Lunar New Year Parade NYC 2023 has dragons dancing through Manhattan Chinatown to the Lower East Side on Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 1pm. FREE! 🇨🇳🇰🇭🇰🇷🇰🇵🇯🇵🇲🇳🇵🇭🇸🇬🇹🇼🇹🇭🇺🇸
DANCE ON CAMERA FESTIVAL
“Ghostly Labor: A Dance Film” is the New York City Premiere of John Jota Leaños and Vanessa Sanchez’s preview short about dance in Northern California’s migrant farmworker communities. The collection of oral histories with tap, Mexican zapateado, son jarocho, and Afro-Caribbean movement; screens in Program 7: Focus on Culture at Film at Lincoln Center, in the Francesca Beale Theater on Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 1pm. $17. 🇲🇽
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
Chiara Boni, the Milan Italian designer, has a runway fashion show at Spring Studios in Tribeca, Manhattan; on Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 3pm. 🇮🇹
DANCE ON CAMERA FESTIVAL
“Living on the Threshold” (Habiter Le Seuil), a French film by Vincent Bruno, shows the dancer’s choreographic process from dancing with humpback whales at Réunion Island, the French island in the Indian Ocean off of Madagascar. It screens in the Francesca Beale Theater at Film at Lincoln Center; on Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 4pm. $17. 🇫🇷
Dance Argentine tango at the El Destino milonga at Solas bar in the East Village on Sunday, February 12, 2023 from 6-11pm. $20. 🇦🇷
Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra play Latin jazz at Birdland in Hell’s Kitchen, on Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 8:30pm & 10:30pm. From $36+ $20 per person minimum. 🇨🇺
Things To Do in NYC in February 13-19, 2023
Frederick Douglass breathed life into the U.S. Constitution. Nobody cared until Douglass taught us to care. He fought oppression his entire life, and freed himself with the power of his intellect. Mark Twain is the father of American literature. Frederick Douglass is the father of our “good people” American self-concept. We consider Mr. Douglass one of the founding fathers of the United States.
It’s Valentines Week. Relax.
“There were no embraces, because where there is great love, there is often little display of it.”
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, “Don Quixote” (1605)
In much of the Latin world, it’s El día del amor y amistád (the day of love and friendship).
So it’s about friends too. In fact, your friends may be upset if you don’t acknowledge the day. In the Dominican Republic, we were told we are cold because we didn’t respond to friends. (We were working.)
Monday, February 13, 2023
Happy Galentines Day! You have everything you need, right inside your chest.
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
Fashion Designers of America 2023 Fall Winter collections are showing on Monday, February 13, 2023 from 12:30-6pm. 🇨🇴 🇩🇴 🇪🇨 🇬🇹 🇲🇽 🇪🇸 🇻🇪🗽
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
PRISCAVera, the New York Italian fashion designer, has a runway fashion show offsite on Monday, February 13, 2023 at 6pm. 🇮🇹
Dance Salsa, Bachata and Merengue at Talia Castro-Pozo’s Latin Mondays at Taj, one of NYC’s most popular Latin dance parties, at Taj in the Flatiron District, Mondays at 7pm (5pm doors). From $15. 🇨🇴🇨🇺🇩🇴🇵🇷🇵🇦🇵🇪🇻🇪
Edna Vázquez blends Mexican mariachi and American folk, pop and rock into something fabulous for Carnegie Hall Citywide; at the LGBT Community Center in Manhattan’s West Village; on Monday, February 13, 2023 at 7:30pm. FREE! 🏳️🌈🇲🇽
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
Elena Velez, the Milwaukee Puerto Rican fashion designer, is giving a fashion presentation offsite on Monday, February 13, 2023 from 8-9pm. ¡WEPA! 🇵🇷
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
(Valentines Day)
Happy Valentines Day 2023 on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.
Remember Frederick Douglass. The great African American abolitionist, writer and statesman celebrated his birthday on February 14, 1818. It’s terribly ironic that an African American who was technically still enslaved, is perhaps most responsible for the way we see ourselves as Americans today. 🇺🇸
The soul that is within me no man can degrade.”
Frederick Douglass, traveling in Pennsylvania, quoted by Booker T. Washington in 1901
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Rentrayage, the fashion recycler inspired by French American artist Louise Borgeois, is giving a fashion presentation offsite on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 9am. 🇫🇷
Willy Chavarria, the California Mexican fashion designer, has a runway show offsite on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 6pm. 🇲🇽
Luar, the Brooklyn Dominican fashion designer, has a runway show offsite on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 8pm. 🇩🇴
Thursday, February 16, 2023
Celebrate Las Comadres (Thursday before Carnival Tuesday), a women’s Carnival gathering in Asturia, Spain; Cochabamba & Tarija, Bolivia; and Arequipa, Peru. 🇪🇸🇧🇴🇵🇪
Dance Argentine Tango at Tango La Nacional at La Nacional in Chelsea, Manhattan. Gets busy around 9pm. Performances at 11pm. Dancing until around 2am. 🇦🇷
Friday, February 17, 2023
Remember Julia de Burgos. The poet and women’s rights activist was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico on February 17, 1914. 🇵🇷
¡Río Grande de Loíza!… Río grande. Llanto grande.
El más grande de todos nuestros llantos isleños,
si no fuera más grande el que de mí se sale
por los ojos del alma para mi esclavo pueblo.Julia de Burgos, “Río Grande de Loíza!” from “Poemas exactos a mi misma” (1937)
Remember Vicente Fernandez! The Ranchera singer and actor was born in Huentitán El Alto, Guadalajara, Mexico on February 17, 1940. 🇲🇽
Internacional Carro Show plays Mexican cumbia at La Boom in Woodside, Queens on Friday, February 17, 2023 at 9pm. 🇲🇽
Saturday, February 18, 2023
Remember Toni Morrison. The American novelist (“The Bluest Eye” (1970), “Song of Solomon” National Book Critics Circle Award (1977), “Beloved” Pulitzer Prize (1987), Nobel Prize in Literature (1993)) was born in Lorain, Ohio on February 18, 1931. 🇺🇸
You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.”Tony Morrison, “Song of Solomon” (1977)
Celebrate Gambian Independence Day, February 18, 1965. 🇬🇲
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Dance Argentine tango at the El Destino milonga at Solas bar in the East Village on Sunday, February 19, 2023 from 6-11pm. $20. 🇦🇷
Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra play Latin jazz at Birdland in Hell’s Kitchen, on Sunday, February 19, 2023 at 8:30pm & 10:30pm. From $36+ $20 per person minimum. 🇨🇺
Things To Do in NYC in February 20-26, 2023
It’s traditional Carnival Week!
Monday, February 20, 2023
Happy birthday Sir Sidney Poitier! The Bahamian American actor was born in Miami, Florida on February 20, 1927. 🇧🇸🇺🇸
I am the me I choose to be.”
Sidney Poitier
The New York Dance Festival (ballroom) is February 20-26, 2023.
Dance Salsa, Bachata and Merengue at Talia Castro-Pozo’s Latin Mondays at Taj, one of NYC’s most popular Latin dance parties, at Taj in the Flatiron District, Mondays at 7pm (5pm doors). From $15. 🇨🇴🇨🇺🇩🇴🇵🇷🇵🇦🇵🇪🇻🇪
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
(Carnival Tuesday)
Celebrate Carnival Tuesday (Mardi Gras)!
Celebrate Presidents Day 2023. The U.S. national holiday honors the birthdays of Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. 🇺🇸
Remember Chesperito. The beloved comic was born in Mexico City on February 21, 1929. 🇲🇽
Bárbara Martínez sings and dances Spanish flamenco tablao for Flamenco Tuesdays; at Sala Astoria, a Spanish tapas bar in Astoria, Queens; on Tuesdays, from 7-9pm. 🇪🇸🇦🇷🇻🇪
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
The 22nd MoMA Doc Fortnight 2023 documentary film festival takes a hard look at the legacy of colonialism and human inhumanity; at the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown, Manhattan; Wednesday, February 22 – March 7, 2023. 🇨🇺 | 🇦🇷 🇧🇷 🇨🇴 | 🇫🇷 | 🇩🇿
Remember President George Washington. The U.S. founding father was born in Popes Creek, Virginia on February 22, 1732. We are grateful for the good things he did, and especially the peaceful transfer of power, but he was a human slaver nonetheless. 🇺🇸
What would Jorge Washington do?”
Keith Widyolar, Editor-in-Chief, New York Latin Culture Magazine
Remember Luis Buñuel. The Spanish filmmaker who helped develop the Mexican film industry was born in Calanda, Teruel, Spain on February 22, 1900. 🇪🇸
Celebrate Saint Lucian Independence Day. 🇱🇨
Celebrate National Margarita Day! 🇲🇽
Commemorate Ash Wednesday, “From dust, to dust.” 🇮🇹
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Celebrate Lent, the Catholic period of spiritual cleansing before Easter. ✝️
Remember W.E.B. DuBois. The African American writer and NAACP co-founder who gave us our American sense of self, was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts on February 23, 1868. 🇺🇸
Either America will destroy ignorance, or ignorance will destroy the United States.”
W.E.B. Du Bois, Niagara Movement Speech, 1905
Happy birthday Residente Rene Perez. The voice of Latin rappers Calle 13, was born in Hato Rey, San Juan, Puerto Rico on February 23, 1978. 🇵🇷
Pedrito Martinez plays Cuban rumba and timba at Drom in the East Village on Thursday, February 23, 2023 at 9pm (7pm doors). From $25. 🇨🇺
Dance Argentine Tango at Tango La Nacional at La Nacional in Chelsea, Manhattan. Gets busy around 9pm. Performances at 11pm. Dancing until around 2am. 🇦🇷
Friday, February 24, 2023
South African pianist Nduduzo Makhatini and Brazilian mandolin virtuoso Hamilton de Holanda show how we, the African Diaspora, turn the colonial mess into something wonderful at Jazz at Lincoln Center in the Appel Room on Friday, February 24, 2023 at 7pm & 9:30pm. From $81. 🇿🇦🇧🇷
Gilberto Santa Rosa de Amor y Salsa; brings Puerto Rican salsa to Bergen PAC in Englewood, New Jersey; on Friday, February 24, 2023 at 8pm. From $49. 🇵🇷
Saturday, February 25, 2023
Major League Soccer Season starts today.
South African pianist Nduduzo Makhatini and Brazilian mandolin virtuoso Hamilton de Holanda show how we, the African Diaspora, turn the colonial mess into something wonderful at Jazz at Lincoln Center in the Appel Room on Saturday, February 25, 2023 at 7pm & 9:30pm. From $81. 🇿🇦🇧🇷
Miguel Zenón & La Prueba del Ritmo play Afro-Latin jazz in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr; in Teatro LATEA at The Clemente Center in the Lower East Side; on Saturday, February 25, 2023 at 8pm (7:30pm doors). From $25. 🇵🇷
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Remember Antoine “Fats” Domino Jr. The rock and roll pioneer was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 26, 1928. 🇺🇸
They call, they call me the fat man
Fats Domino, The Fat Man, 1949
‘Cause I weigh two hundred pounds
All the girls, they love me
‘Cause I know my way around”
Dance Argentine tango at the El Destino milonga at Solas bar in the East Village on Sunday, February 26, 2023 from 6-11pm. $20. 🇦🇷
Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra play Latin jazz at Birdland in Hell’s Kitchen, on Sunday, February 26, 2023 at 8:30pm & 10:30pm. From $36+ $20 per person minimum. 🇨🇺
Things To Do in NYC in February 27-28, 2023
Dominican Independence Day is a big deal because Dominicans had to fight for their freedom, over and over again. 🇩🇴
Monday, February 27, 2023
Celebrate Dominican Independence Day, February 27, 1844. ¡Quisqueya! 🇩🇴
Dance Salsa, Bachata and Merengue at Talia Castro-Pozo’s Latin Mondays at Taj, one of NYC’s most popular Latin dance parties, at Taj in the Flatiron District, Mondays at 7pm (5pm doors). From $15. 🇨🇴🇨🇺🇩🇴🇵🇷🇵🇦🇵🇪🇻🇪
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Bárbara Martínez sings and dances Spanish flamenco tablao for Flamenco Tuesdays; at Sala Astoria, a Spanish tapas bar in Astoria, Queens; on Tuesdays, from 7-9pm. 🇪🇸🇦🇷🇻🇪