This Saturday, one of Queens’ most unexpected annual traditions returns — and it is exactly what it sounds like. The 15th Annual Sheep Shearing Festival at the Queens County Farm Museum runs on Saturday, May 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 73-50 Little Neck Parkway in Floral Park. It is a full day of working farm demonstrations, hands-on crafts, and the kind of unhurried outdoor programming that is genuinely hard to find anywhere else in New York City.
Queens County Farm Museum is easy to overlook if you are not from the eastern end of the borough — it sits quietly in Floral Park, tucked against the Nassau County border, and does not get the foot traffic of better-known Queens destinations. But it is one of the oldest continuously farmed sites in New York State, and events like Sheep Shearing Day are exactly what make it worth the trip from anywhere in the borough.
What Happens at Sheep Shearing Day
The main draw is watching professional shearers work — the skill and speed involved in shearing a sheep is genuinely impressive, and the demonstrations make clear how much technique goes into what looks like a simple task. Beyond the main shearing demonstrations, the festival includes live demonstrations in dyeing, spinning, weaving, and knitting — the full journey from raw fleece to finished fiber, shown step by step by craftspeople who know the process well.
Farm animals are out and accessible throughout the day, and the museum’s historic Adriance Farmhouse is open for guided tours. The farmhouse dates to 1772, and during the May-through-August season the museum operates as a living history site with costumed interpreters demonstrating what life looked like on a working farm in the 18th and 19th centuries. Sheep Shearing Day layers the fiber arts programming on top of all of that, making it a denser visit than a typical Saturday at the farm.
There are also hayrides running through the day, weather permitting — the farm has been offering seasonal hayrides since its public programs launched, and they remain one of the more popular family activities on site.
Getting to the Queens County Farm Museum
The farm is at 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park, Queens. By subway, take the F train to 169th Street and transfer to the Q46 bus toward Jamaica, riding to Little Neck Pkwy; or take the E or J/Z to Jamaica Center and connect from there. By the Long Island Rail Road, the Floral Park station on the Port Washington Branch is a short walk or ride from the museum — this is often the easiest option for those coming from Manhattan or western Queens. Driving: the museum has a parking lot on site.
Admission pricing for the Sheep Shearing Festival is available at queensfarm.org — general farm entry is typically low-cost and the festival programming is included. The museum is a nonprofit and a New York City landmark, so any visit helps sustain the site.
Also in Queens This Weekend
The Queens College Choral Society’s 85th Annual Spring Concert takes place on Sunday, May 17 at 5 p.m. at Colden Auditorium at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts on the Queens College campus in Flushing. It is a free or low-cost public performance with a long tradition behind it — a worthwhile Sunday evening for anyone who enjoys choral music and wants to support a college arts program that has been running continuously for 85 years.
The Queens County Farm Museum itself is open on Sundays through the season with regular farm access and tours — so if Saturday does not work, a Sunday visit to the farm is still a good option even without the shearing festival programming.
What You Need to Know
- What: 15th Annual Sheep Shearing Festival at Queens County Farm Museum
- When: Saturday, May 16, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Where: 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy, Floral Park, Queens
- What’s included: Sheep shearing demonstrations, live dyeing/spinning/weaving/knitting demos, animal access, hayrides, Adriance Farmhouse tours
- Getting there: LIRR to Floral Park station; F to 169th St then Q46 bus; parking on site
- More info: queensfarm.org
- Sunday bonus: Queens College Choral Society Spring Concert, May 17 at 5 p.m., Kupferberg Center for the Arts, Queens College campus, Flushing
If you have been meaning to visit the farm museum and just never made it out there, Sheep Shearing Day is a good occasion to finally go. It is the kind of Saturday that reminds you how much of Queens — and how much of the city’s actual history — is sitting quietly off the usual path, waiting for anyone who bothers to look.
For transit options to eastern Queens this weekend, our NYC bus and ferry weekend update has current service information. And if you are new to Queens neighborhoods, our guide to NYC public amenities covers facilities across the borough.
