Free to be Festival
2025-07-26 00:00 (America/New_York)
A day of music, art, movement, and sensory-friendly activities designed to honor and empower every kind of expression.

Garden Stewardship at Gotham Park
2025-07-26 10:00 - 12:00
Pick up trash and tend to pollinator-friendly gardens. No experience is necessary; all ages and abilities are welcome!

Mapping the City
2025-07-26 10:30
Join us for a hands-on family program that introduces young cartographers to the art and language of maps! In this interactive family program, children will learn how to read and understand the key elements of maps, including symbols, compass roses, landmarks, and scale, while discovering how these tools help us make sense of the places we live. Then, using what they’ve learned, children will create their own personal maps inspired by their neighborhoods, favorite places, and NYC landmarks. They’ll invent symbols, design routes, and chart a meaningful space that reflects their everyday experience and connection to the city.

Urban Farm Cyanotypes at Earth Matter
2025-07-26 11:00 - 15:00 | Governors Island
This immersive half-day workshop invites participants to explore cyanotype printmaking through hands-on activities at the Earth Matter Urban Farm on Governors Island. The day begins with a brief introduction to the site, followed by an overview of cyanotype materials and techniques. A farm leader will provide guidance on foraging protocols and farm guidelines, grounding participants in the ecological context of the space. The group will then learn how to coat watercolor paper using cyanotype chemistry, expose prints outdoors, and forage botanicals directly from the farm. Each participant will have the opportunity to make and process unique cyanotype prints using their foraged materials to take home, using both pre-coated paper and the paper they coated during class. This class combines elements of printmaking, photography, painting, and creative botany, offering a unique opportunity to connect with nature, community, and alternative photographic processes.

Yoga
2025-07-26 12:00 - 13:00
All-levels class for skaters, gardeners, park enthusiasts—and anyone who wants to join. No experience needed.

Print Your Own Stationery
2025-07-26 12:00 - 2025-07-27 15:00
Immersive 3-hour program where you can wor with Bowne’s designers to produce your own custom set of stationery—from start to finish. In this workshop, you get to set type from the museum’s collection of historical fonts, mix ink, cut paper, and print a bespoke edition of 35 notecards using a 19th century printing press. Great for all skill levels, the workshop will engage you in every part of the printing process. Advanced registration is required. Anyone ages 12 and up is welcome, and all supplies are included.

Skate Mind
2025-07-26 13:00 - 13:30
Mental health trainings designed for the skate community. Slow down, check in, and build tools for resilience. Come early for yoga or stay after open skate. All are welcome.

Works on Water Workshop Series
2025-07-26 13:00 - 15:00
More&More Futures is a two hour structured play-session for imagining worlds you want to live in that are widely different from the present. Starting with a deck of playing cards, players imagine, brainstorm, and role-play in small groups and as individuals. In this session, we will especially focus on coastal futures. This event is geared toward participants ages 12 and up!

Emma Jayne
2025-07-26 19:00
Free music performance.

Some Clowns
2025-07-27 12:30 - 14:30 | Governors Island
Get ready for some seriously silly fun—Fizgig Studio is bringing their hit show SOME CLOWNS to Carreau Club on Governors Island! Join them on Sunday, June 22 and Sunday, July 27 for an unforgettable afternoon of absurd antics, physical comedy, and pure chaotic joy featuring Loner, Jailbreak, Yoyo, and more surprise guests.

Sinister Secrets of the Seaport Walking Tour
2025-07-27 14:00
90-minute walking tour that will take you on a winding journey that unravels the darker past of the South Street Seaport Historic District and Lower Manhattan.

Pink Martini featuring China Forbes
2025-07-28 19:00
Outdoor concert.

Mah Jongg & More
2025-07-29 14:00 - 16:00
Join a dedicated group of adult American Mah Jongg enthusiasts for friendly and informal games, or try your hand at other card and board games.

Drop-In Chess
2025-07-29 15:30 - 17:00 | Rockefeller Park
Play the popular strategy game while getting pointers and advice from an expert. Chess improves concentration, problem solving, and strategic planning — plus it’s fun! For ages 5 and up.

Stretch Sesh
2025-07-29 18:00 - 19:00, 2025-08-01 18:00 - 19:00 | Rockefeller Park
Take part in a full-body stretch routine designed to improve range of motion, maintain flexibility, promote better posture, reduce joint pain, and decrease the risk of injury.

Taylor Mac: In Concert
2025-07-29 19:00 | Wagner Park
Wagner Park reopens with a performance by Pulitzer Prize-nominated, genre-defying artist Taylor Mac.

An Oral History of Atlantis
2025-07-29 19:00
Ed Park presents his book of stories, An Oral History of Atlantis,
in conversation with Rachel Aviv.

Figure al Fresco
2025-07-30 10:00 - 12:00
This BPC park offers a unique setting to observe and sketch the human figure. Each week a model will strike short and long poses for participants to draw. An artist/ educator will offer constructive suggestions and critique. Drawing materials provided, and artists are encouraged to bring their own favorite media.

Downtown Beats Chorus
2025-07-30 13:00 - 14:00
Directed by Church Street School of Music, the Downtown Beats adult chorus is open to all who love to sing! Learn contemporary and classic songs and perform at community events throughout the year.

Elements of Nature Drawing
2025-07-30 14:00 - 16:00
Join our community of artists of all skill levels as we are inspired by our surroundings to create with drawing materials, pastels and watercolors. Embolden your artwork amidst the flower-filled and seasonally evolving palette of BPC’s verdant gardens. An artist/ educator will provide ideas and instruction. Materials provided, and artists are encouraged to bring their own favorite media.

Sunset Yoga
2025-07-30 18:00 - 19:00
Immerse yourself in this meditative practice- surrounded by the Hudson’s peaceful aura. Strengthen the body and cultivate awareness in a relaxed environment as your instructor guides you through alignments and poses. All levels are welcome. Bringing your own mat is encouraged, as provided accessories are first come first serve.

Fiber Art Crafts Studio
2025-07-31 13:00 - 15:00
Join this group of fiber art crafters for a fun afternoon of creativity and camaraderie. Bring your projects, which can include—but are not limited to—knitting, crocheting, embroidery and small-loom weaving.

Barre Fitness
2025-07-31 17:30
Join Complete Body for a low-impact joint-friendly exercise and targeted muscle toning achieved through small, controlled movements that focus on isometric holds and pulses, suitable for various fitness levels.

Queer History: Polar Exploration
2025-07-31 18:30
Learn all about queer maritime and polar history in this evening of free talks in this mini-symposium presented by the South Street Seaport Museum and the polar social club, Terror and Erebus Society. Allegra Rosenberg, the founder and director of the Terror Camp virtual polar conference, will kick off the evening with a look into the true love story between naval officers on Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s 1910 Antarctic expedition, also known as the Terra Nova Expedition, which aimed to reach the South Pole to further scientific exploration. Dr. Seth Stein LeJacq, an assistant professor at Hunter College CUNY, will continue the dive into the the queer history of polar exploration with a presentation focusing on sexual and gender differences in the historical British Navy. And, Eva Molina, a PhD candidate at Princeton University, will close the evening with a discussion on how sexuality amongst Antarctic penguins became the subject of an academic cover-up in the early 20th century. A wine reception will follow the program.

River & Blues: Lady Blackbird
2025-07-31 19:00 | Rockefeller Park
Harnessing a mighty voice and fabulous regalia, Lady Blackbird effortlessly portrays heart-rending yearning, and soft, whispered balladry, which imbues her visceral jazz-soul with a journeying independence.

Guster & The Mountain Goats
2025-07-31 19:00

Smorgasburg
2024-04-05 11:00 - 18:00
New York City’s favorite outdoor food market, Smorgasburg, is back at the World Trade Center. Starting on April 5, on Fridays through October, come out to Fulton Street and enjoy a variety of eats and treats from over 20 local vendors.

Battery Park City Tour: The North Neighborh
2025-08-01 16:00
The North Neighborhood tour of the Museum’s three thematic walking tours of Battery Park City, on Thursday, July 17 at 4pm, will cover the north residential neighborhood, which was developed in several phases, beginning with Stuyvesant High School at the northeast edge and the esplanade and Rockefeller Park along the Hudson. A diagonal avenue lined with apartment buildings creates one face of the neighborhood, while the inner courts of the large blocks are connected by the delightful Teardrop Park. Located two blocks from ground zero, we will also explore the history and design of the Irish Hunger Memorial completed in 2001.

NYC Summer Streets
2025-08-02 07:00 - 15:00
Many blocks of car-free fun, fitness, and live entertainment as the city’s streets transform into playgrounds for all to enjoy. In Lower Manhattan, Lafayette Street and Centre Street will be closed, and Foley Square will be an entertainment hub with a DJ, marching band performance at noon, volleyball and other activities, including free bike rentals.
