A Pop-Up Beach Is Taking Over the Seaport for July 4 Weekend

New York City is surrounded by water, and the ocean is never more than a subway ride away. This Fourth of July weekend, you don’t even have to leave Lower Manhattan, because the beach is coming to you!

The inaugural Seaport Beach fest will bring a weekend of music, celebrations and sand to the waterfront as a pop-up beach oasis takes over the neighborhood from Fulton Street to Pier 17. From July 1 to July 4, the area will be filled with live music, pop-up bars, food trucks and lots and lots of sand in Seaport Square, with lots more treats to enjoy. 

The 120-square-foot beach itself will be outfitted with chairs, umbrellas, sand toys, bars and a beachside main stage featuring local artists all weekend long (expect some of the city’s best buskers and tribute bands singing summer beach classics). The big headlining act for the festival is Walshy Fire of Major Lazer on Sunday at 7 p.m. See the full lineup here. 

The beach party continues along Fulton Street where visitors can find tropical cocktails and see the debut of a sculpture by world-famous sand sculptor John Gowdy, a retired firefighter from New Jersey who has been working in sand art for three decades. Don’t forget sunscreen! 

photo: the Seaport