The Department of Youth and Community Development will be updating this guide regularly. Please check back with us to see the latest additions. Have a safe and fun Summer! For additional information please call Youth Connect at 1.800.246.4646 EMPOWERING INDIVIDUALS • STRENGTHENING FAMILIES • INVESTING IN COMMUNITIES T HE C ITY OF N EW Y ORK O FFICE OF THE M AYOR N EW Y ORK, NY 10007 Summer 2017 Dear Friends: It is a great pleasure to share with you the 2017 edition of the New York City Youth Guide to Summer Fun! From performances and events in our wonderful parks and green spaces to sun-filled trips to our beautiful beaches to the vibrant cultural festivals, concerts, and sporting events that take place across the five boroughs, there is so much for New Yorkers and visitors alike to look forward to as the summer season begins. Thanks to the efforts of the Department of Youth and Community Development and its partners, this guide ensures that young New Yorkers will have no shortage of exciting, educational, and memorable activities to experience with their families and friends this summer. The hundreds of low-cost and free events happening in our city in July and August are sure to pique the interest of any young scientist, athlete, bookworm, foodie, movie buff, or music lover. Every New York deserves the opportunity to participate in the many wonderful things the five boroughs have to offer, and we are determined to give our residents of all ages and backgrounds the chance to experience the energy and excitement that have long defined our city. Chirlane and I are proud to applaud DYCD for once again creating this guide and extend our best wishes for a safe, healthy, and fun-filled summer. Sincerely, Bill de Blasio Mayor Summer, 2017 Dear Fellow New Yorkers: Another sizzling summer in New York City is here, and the Department of Youth and Community Development is pleased to present the 2017 New York City Youth Guide to Summer Fun. Our great city has something for everyone: from the High Line to High Bridge, from Bryant Park to Prospect Park, from Summer on the Hudson to Shakespeare in the Park. Whether your summer plans include catching a breeze on City Island, grabbing a bite at one of the City’s greenmarkets, taking in a movie under the stars, or cooling down with a good book at your local library, you can find plenty of free and low-cost events in this handy guide. DYCD would like to thank the City agencies, museums, youth groups, libraries, arts organizations and cultural institutions that play a role in compiling this information each year. On behalf of the entire staff of DYCD, I wish you a memorable summer of fun. Sincerely, Bill Chong @NYCYouth Guide to Summer Fun 2017 Click on a title below to jump to that section. Click on a day to see its activities. JULY 2017 AUGUST 2017 1st Saturday 1st Tuesday 2nd Sunday 2nd Wednesday 3rd Monday 3rd Thursday 4th Tuesday 4th Friday 5th Wednesday 5th Saturday 6th Thursday 6th Sunday 7th Friday 7th Monday 8th Saturday 8th Tuesday 9th Sunday 9th Wednesday 10th Monday 10th Thursday 11 th Tuesday 11 th Friday 12th Wednesday 12th Saturday 13th Thursday 13th Sunday 14th Friday 14th Monday 15th Saturday 15th Tuesday 16th Sunday 16th Wednesday 17th Monday 17th Thursday OF CONTENTS TABLE 18th Tuesday 18th Friday 19th Wednesday 19th Saturday 20th Thursday 20th Sunday 21st Friday 21st Monday 22nd Saturday 22nd Tuesday 23rd Sunday 23rd Wednesday 24th Monday 24th Thursday 25th Tuesday 25th Friday 26th Wednesday 26th Saturday 27th Thursday 27th Sunday 28th Friday 28th Monday 29th Saturday 29th Tuesday 30th Sunday 30th Wednesday 31st Monday 31st Thursday Click this button to return to the Table of Contents. Central Park 1 Inside the Park at 81st Street and Central Park JUL West, Manhattan, NY SAT 2:00pm – 3:30pm West Side Stories Tour Bryant Park Free JULY Bryant Park, Manhattan NY Discover some of the Central Park secret sites that 10:00am – 11:00am West Siders know and love: a lost village, a poetic Bryant Park Moves with Limón Dance garden, and a bridge with a spectacular view. Free Join Central Park Conservancy guides on this tour Experience the joy of movement and dance. Free through Central Park's historic and picturesque west classes are led by former and current members side. Highlights of this tour include Winterdale Arch, of the internationally-renowned modern dance Delacorte Theater, Shakespeare Garden, the Swedish company, Limón Dance. Cottage, and Ladies' Pavilion. Tour ends near 72nd www.nycgovparks.org Street and Central Park West. Reading Room, Bryant Park, Manhattan NY www.centralparknyc.org 12:00pm Reading Room Kids Play:groundNYC Free Governors Island, Manhattan, NY Summer Saturdays with stories, music, magic, and 12:00pm – 4:00pm visits from favorite literary characters An Adventure Playground in New York www.bryantpark.org City Free East River State Park This adventure playground is 50,000 square feet of 90 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn NY space in which your kiddos will have materials for building, exploring, imagining and destroying. Some 11:00am – 6:00pm tools provided are nails, hammers and saws, paint, Smorgasburg Free to enter tires, wood, fabrics and more. Expect your child to Smorgasburg is the largest weekly open-air food get messy! Visit the website for visitor’s information, market in America, attracting 20,000-30,000 people including waivers and clothing. to Brooklyn each weekend to eat from 100 local www.play-ground.nyc vendors—Saturdays on the Williamsburg waterfront and Sundays in beautiful Prospect Park. Smokey Oval Playground www.smorgasburg.com 95th Avenue and 125th Street, Queens, NY 8:30pm – 10:30pm Amateur Astronomers NYC Parks Free Movies Under the Stars 2017 Association of New York Lincoln Center Plaza, just north of the fountain, Free You should arrive by 7:30 p.m. to get your spot. Manhattan, NY Feel free to bring a blanket to sit on; there will be a After 8:31pm (sunset) limited supply of chairs available. Bottled water is Observing at Lincoln Center OK, but no glass. Reservations are not taken; space Free Viewings held after sunset. The event will be is available on a first-come, first-served basis. All canceled if the sky is likely to be cloudy. are welcome! Tonight: “Storks.” A stork and his www.aaa.org human pal must team up to transport a baby girl to her expectant family, despite the fact that storks Bargemusic now work as couriers for an Internet merchant after getting out of the baby-delivery business. Visit Guide to Summer Fun Ferry Fulton Landing (1 Water Street), Brooklyn, NY | 4:00pm website for full list of movies for adults and children. “Music in Motion” Neighborhood www.nycgovparks.org Family Concerts Free Doors open 15 minutes prior to concert. The NYCYouth program is announced at the performance. No @ reserved seating. www.bargemusic.org 6 Commodore Barry Park Van Cortlandt Park Commodore Barry Park (Flushing and Navy), Van Cortlandt Nature Center, Bronx, NY Brooklyn, NY 8:00am – 9:30am 718-638-6700 Bird Walks 10:00am – 9:00 pm (July 1 through July 4) Free Head to the park to join bird walks led by experts International African Arts Festival JULY $5 donation at door from the NYC Audubon! Bird walks focus on wildlife The Festival celebrates African art with music, dance, happenings in the park. storytelling, handcrafted goods, and food vendors. www.nycgovparks.org www.iaafestival.org Lincoln Center David Rubenstein Atrium (Broadway between West 2 62 and West 63 Streets), Manhattan, NY JUL SUN 11:00am LC Kids Artists at the Atrium Free Prospect Park Showcasing the best in the family music scene from Prospect Park-Breeze Hill (East Drive at New York and beyond, this free performance series Lincoln Road), Brooklyn, NY at the David Rubenstein Atrium provides a monthly 11:00am – 6:00pm opportunity for kids and parents to experience Smorgasburg dynamic performances by a diverse lineup of Free to enter performing artists. Join us on the first Saturday of Smorgasburg is the largest weekly open-air food each month at 11:00 am for interactive one-hour market in America, attracting 20,000-30,000 people concerts curated especially for the youngest to Brooklyn each weekend to eat from 100 local audience members of Lincoln Center and their vendors—Saturdays on the Williamsburg waterfront families. and Sundays in beautiful Prospect Park. atrium.lincolncenter.org www.smorgasburg.com Staten Island Ferry Riverside Park St. George Terminal (Staten Island) and Whitehall Pier at 70th Street, Manhattan, NY Terminal (Manhattan) 7:00pm Visit website for schedules Summer on the Hudson Amplified Free Sundays The City used to charge a small fare to ride the ferry, Free but now it's free—and offers magnificent views Vibrantly danceable live music accompanied by of New York Harbor and the skyline. Kick off your spectacular sunsets over the Hudson River! Tonight: summer with a voyage! Mr. Reed, NYC soul artist backed by horns. www.siferry.com www.riversideparknyc.org Prospect Park Alley Pond Park Lefferts Historic House, Brooklyn, NY Union Turnpike and Winchester Boulevard, Douglaston, Queens, NY 2:00pm – 4:00pm Tending to a Growing Garden 9:30am and 1:00pm Free Adventure Course Visitors of all ages can come help Prospect Park Free Alliance take care of the potato plot, herb gardens Alley Pond Adventure Course is an outdoor adventure and berry patches at Lefferts Historic House by that fosters trust, problem-solving, and team-building pulling weeds and helping to water the plants.