About Chefs’ Choir®

A chorus of culinary voices from Great Performances—our chefs step out of the kitchen to share recipes, stories, and inspiration. Learn more

Chef Michael Steifman shares a mouth-watering recipe for smokey, savory, sweet, and tangy St. Louis Ribs. This is a delicious recipe that does involve several steps, but we think it’s well worth it. These are a guaranteed crowd pleaser (and we wouldn’t blame you if you made a couple extra ribs for a rainy day).

Everything can be prepared in advance, saving time and effort the day of your event, but we love the magic of preparing these in the morning to serve straight from the grill to the plate. Perfect for lunch or dinner, we like them paired with classic barbecue favorites of grilled corn on the cob and a fresh salad.

St. Louis Smoked Pork Ribs

by Chef Michael Steifman

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

  • 55 grams kosher salt

  • 5 grams black pepper

  • 10 grams chili powder

  • 5 grams smoked paprika

  • 2 grams coriander

  • 10 grams mustard powder

  • 3 grams cumin powder

  • 18 grams onion powder

  • 16 grams garlic powder

  • 2 grams coffee granules

  • 10 grams activated charcoal

Procedure

  1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until evenly combined.
  2. If not using immediately, place in an air tight container and store in a cool, dry, dark place until ready to use.

Ingredients

  • 7 pounds ketchup

  • 1/2 Spanish onion, minced or pureed

  • 1 pint black coffee (brewed)

  • 1 pint apple juice

  • 1 pint cider vinegar

  • 1/2 pint soy sauce

  • 1/8 cup chipotle puree

  • 1 pound dark brown sugar

  • 1 Tbsp smoked paprika

  • 1 cup Urfa Biber

Procedure

  1. Combine all ingredients, except ketchup in a pot.
  2. Bring to a boil and stir to make sure all ingredients are combined and solids dont stick to the bottom.
  3. Reduce heat to a low and simmer for 30-45 minutes until liquid is reduced by half.
  4. Add the ketchup and whisk until completely combined.
  5. Keep heat on low and let simmer very lightly for another 30 minutes.
  6. Let cool to room temp, then refrigerate.

Ingredients

  • 450g (1 Rack) St. Louis Ribs

  • 30g (2tbsp) Black Rub

  • 200g Bitchin’ BBQ Sauce

Procedure

  1. Clean ribs and remove membrane from backside
  2. Rub ribs with black rub
  3. Set smoker to 225 degrees and cook ribs for 2 hours
  4. Remove ribs from smoker, sprinkle with the brown sugar and wrap tightly in aluminum foil, then return to smoker for 1 hour.
  5. Remove ribs from smoker and remove foil
  6. Baste ribs with bbq sauce and return to smoker for 15 minutes
  7. Repeat step 6 every 15 minutes until ribs are done

The Cambridge Dictionary defines the word “relationship” as “the way two things are connected.” There is no better example of this is than our 21 year relationship with Time Magazine, which has certainly withstood the test of time.

We have just had the privilege of catering the iconic Time 100 Gala this past April at the most extraordinary venue in NYC: Jazz at Lincoln Center (where we recently celebrated our 20th year as their exclusive catering and hospitality partner.) This is one of the most exciting events we cater annually as it reflects world culture, politics, and the arts, bringing everyone together for one night. We’ve had the honor of catering every Time 100 Gala since its inception 20+ years ago.

Much has changed in the past two decades, but one thing remains . . . Great Performances’ exceptional ability to adjust with the times. 

Our dedication to “being of service” is one of the guiding principles behind our success. We never lose sight of how incredibly lucky we are to be able to play a role and work tirelessly to assist Time host the most unique event of the year. Events of this magnitude come with their own difficulties and the way we navigate these by working on solutions rather than just “saying no” is, in our opinion, one of the main reasons that companies like Time keep coming back to JALC and to us.

It’s never about taking credit; it’s about creating moments and an experience that make our clients feel seen, heard, and exceptionally cared for. Over our forty-five-year career in New York, we have developed many event partnerships such as ours with Time and look forward to many more years of being there when only the best is good enough.

Maya Angelou said it best. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

My daughter has a new passion, helping mom in the kitchen – though the time that she spends helping in the kitchen is usually pretty limited (she gets bored after peeling one carrot). It’s so much fun seeing her slice grapes and strawberries, while learning how much pressure to put on the toddler friendly knife to make it go through the fruit. Watching the joy she gets from completing one slice is amazing. Her favorite thing (and her favorite food) is helping make the mac and cheese. She gets very excited about slicing the butter, getting all the cheese out of the packet, and overserving the milk to where mac n’ cheese is no longer a pasta, but a pasta soup. I am looking forward to all the cooking adventures we have in the future!

Celebrating Chinese New Year with Hugh

by Hugh Chan

This year, we celebrate the Year of the Dragon with a two-week celebration.

 

Our celebrations begin the night before, on Chinese New Year Eve. On this night, everyone from the family travels home to gather for a reunion complete with a huge meal. My mother would have spent the day preparing the Chinese New Year Eve dinner and the food for the following day.

 

We would have dishes that symbolize good luck and fortune. A staple with almost all families is black moss, which translates in Chinese to Fat Choy which means Good Fortune, and Dried Oysters, which translates to Ho See meaning Good Deeds / Good News / Prosperity.

 

At the end of the night, the elders of the family will give us a Red Envelope to put under our pillows before our sleep. The Red Envelopes contain money, and putting them under our pillows before we sleep represents ending the year with Good Fortune.

 

The next day, my mom wakes up at 5am to start cooking all the food she prepared from the night before. Once the meal is ready and placed on the dining table in a big feast, we join together to light incense and burn papers to welcome the gods and ancestors to eat first.

 

The first meal of the day will be all vegetarian dishes including vermicelli noodles, mushrooms, black bean with tofu, cooked cabbage, and more.

 

Then anyone who is not married will go to the married members of the family to wish them good luck and share blessings. In return, they’ll receive a Red Envelope for Good Fortune, symbolizing starting the year with Good Fortune.

 

After the first meal, you can eat meat throughout the rest of the day. Dishes include white rice; a whole steamed chicken; roasted pig; stir fry vermicelli noodles with mushrooms, tofu, and black beans; and stir fry cauliflower.

 

Other traditions we uphold include not sweeping or taking out the garbage for five days, as it’s believed if you do so, you’re sweeping out good luck and wealth from your home. You also can’t use knives or scissors as it can lead to bad luck.

Elevate Your Wedding Experience: Creating Cozy Lounge Areas for Your Guests

One of the enduring trends we’ve noticed at events, and especially at weddings, is adding warm, inviting lounge areas. Beyond traditional seating arrangements, these cozy nooks offer a retreat for your guests, giving them a comfortable, beautiful space to relax, connect, and recharge.

1. Embrace the Space: We love open floor plans, and a unique way to add warmth and modernity is by incorporating open lounge spaces. Breaking up a large area with a cozy nook creates a warm and welcoming space for guests to unwind, share stories, and celebrate the event.

 

2. Casual Elegance: Whatever your wedding style, from informal garden parties to a more formal affair, lounge areas can help strike the perfect balance between casual and elegant. Couches and chairs can be found to match your style, with cushions and throws adding pops of color and warmth. Don’t forget to add some tables for guests to rest their drinks and plates.

 

3. Personalized Touches: Personal details, from framed photos to unique décor, infuse your love story into the spaces. Also consider placing your Guest Book to be signed in a lounge!

 

4. Small Living Room Vibes: Grouping seating around low tables creates a small living room setting, inviting connection and conversations – and a place to set down drinks and small plates.

 

5. Create Movement: Think of a lounge area as a station – guests will be encouraged to mix and mingle as they enjoy the different elements of your event, from food, to drink, to people.

 

6. Make Space For All Guests: Lounge areas can be especially important for guests who have accessibility needs as lounges provide a comfortable, beautiful space to rest and enjoy the company of others.

 

Including a lounge area into your wedding planning is a thoughtful way to enhance your guests’ overall experience and elevate your celebration. They’re easily customizable, and can add comfort, warmth, and increased connection for your guests.

 

For some inspiration, check out our gallery of some of our favorite (and guests’ favorite!) lounge areas.

EXCITING EVENTS AROUND NEW YORK: OCTOBER 2023

By Great Performances

Explore Great Music, Art and More at Our Partner Venues This Month!

[AT] THE INTERSECTION

Friday, October 6th through Sunday, October 8th

Location: Apollo’s Historic Theater

Tickets: start at $75

THE APOLLO’S FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS

CURATED BY TA-NEHISI COATES

From art, pop culture, politics and consumerism Black creatives are impacting the global consciousness like never before. Meet us [at] The Intersection for a weekend-long festival to explore the incredible range of Black innovation shaping our world. Curated by The Apollo’s Artist in Residence Ta-Nehisi Coates. Don’t miss this convening of artists, creatives, and thinkers at the center of Black creativity—where art and ideas come to life.

#ATTHEINTERSECTION

Click here to learn more

The Apollo Theater's soundstage can be rented to host your special event

APOLLO MUSIC CAFE

Location: Apollo’s Soundstage

Tickets: $30 (Plus $10 food and beverage minimum)

Perfect for date night, or a night out with friends, the Apollo Music Café series has served as a launching pad for numerous artists including Grammy winners Tank & the Bangas, PJ Morton and Samara Joy showcasing their unique artistry in an intimate nightclub setting. The series features diverse performances across a myriad of genres (R&B, hip-hop, soul, jazz, latin, pop, funk and rock) and showcases artists drawn from the independent music scene who are making their mark in the industry.

rum.gold – October 6th at 10:00pm

R&B singer-songwriter rum.gold opens the Apollo Music Café with a mesmerizing set that bridges his U Street Washington D.C. home to the avenues of Harlem. With a genre-defying voice and heady mix of ambient soul, settle into this spellbinding night of acoustic music with rum.gold on our intimate soundstage.

Ali Caldwell – October 7th at 10:00pm

R&B Ali Caldwell has a voice that can both soothe and thrill, and has shared vocals alongside some of the most respected names in music including Usher and Christina Aguilera. Don’t miss Ali as she evokes the spirit of a “sanger’s room” and effortlessly lays out the blueprint of the Vocal Bible.

NOW OPEN: LEO CAFÉ

We are excited to open the new Leo Café!

Welcome to the Leo Café at Asia Society Museum, located at 725 Park Avenue in New York City.

The Leo Café features dishes representing the diversity of Asian cuisine, drawing from Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and more. The menu includes small plates, salads, noodle bowls and rice bowls, sandwiches, and sweets. Beverage service includes tea, coffee, and Sanzo Asian-inspired sparkling water.

With a mix of counter and table service, you can relax and enjoy a midday meal in the Asia Society’s airy and sky-lit Garden Court, among trees and flowering vines or take your meal to go.

The Leo Café is operated by Great Performances, crafting globally inspired menus using seasonal ingredients, including organic produce from Katchkie Farm in upstate New York.

Click here to learn more

Kishi Chikudō (1826–1897) Tigers by Mountain Streams (verso), ca. 1892–5 Pair of six-panel folding screens Minneapolis Institute of Art, Gift of Harriet and Ed Spencer, 2012.1.2.1–2

EXHIBITION – MEIJI MODERN: FIFTY YEARS OF NEW JAPAN

October 3rd, 2023 through January 7th, 2024

Asia Society is proud to present Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan. This exhibition reevaluates a seminal era of turmoil, creativity, and transformation in Japan spanning the mid-nineteenth to early-twentieth centuries.

Comprising over 80 works—including paintings, prints, photographs, sculptural works, and objects in various media, such as enamel, lacquer, embroidery, and textiles—this exhibition presents some of the finest examples of Meiji-period artworks in American collections, both public and private. Arranged around traditional Japanese motifs, such as the sea and nature, Buddhist deities, beauties, and mythical animals, Meiji Modern highlights these themes as they are transformed by the introduction of newly imported techniques, materials, and objects, surprising the viewer with works of technical virtuosity, unexpected scale, and sheer beauty.

Click here to learn more

BROKEN CHORD

Thursday, October 19th through Saturday, October 21st

Location: BAM Strong, Harvey Theater

Tickets: start at $35

Part of Next Wave 2023

Near the end of the 19th century, a group of South African singers embarked on a tour of the UK and the US under the stage name “The African (Native) Choir,” hoping to raise funds to build a school in the city of Kimberley. Though the tour was profitable (and even included an audience with Queen Victoria), proof of the Choir’s performances was thought forever lost—until glass plates of the singers emerged in 2014, 125 years later.

The internationally acclaimed South African dancer and choreographer Gregory Maqoma revisits this forgotten moment in history to cathartic and uplifting effect in his BAM debut. Combining dance, song, and storytelling, the piece vividly reimagines the tour using a chorus of 16 singers and a quartet of musicians, all led by Maqoma himself. As the choir confronts racism at every turn, Maqoma and co-creator Thuthuka Sibisi use prejudice as a creative engine for a theatrical experience that pulses with hard truths and infinite creativity.

Click here to learn more

CORPS EXTRÊMES

Friday, October 27th through Sunday, October 29th

Location: Peter Jay Sharp Building, BAM Howard Gilman Opera House

Tickets: start at $35

BAM and Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels
Present

Chaillot – Théâtre national de la Danse
Choreography by Rachid Ouramdane

Part of Next Wave 2023

Choreographer Rachid Ouramdane comes to BAM for the first time with Corps extrêmes, his new gravity-defying piece of aerial dance. Athlete-performers traverse the stage together and alone, sometimes in ethereal white light, and sometimes while footage of death-defying outdoor activities is projected over them. As a study of the precipices of our world—both literal and figurative—this sweeping, meditative work invites us to find calmness in the space between earth and sky. It’s a piece of staggering scale and vision, a work of interior physicality seeking escape, miraculous for its ability to bring about a jolt of adrenaline and follow it up with an ebb of still quietude.

Click here to learn more

Brooklyn-Museum_Spike-Lee_Crooklyn-Film
Behind the scenes of Crooklyn (Spike Lee, 1994, 115 min.).
Photo: © David C. Lee

BROOKLYN TALKS: SPIKE LEE AND DELROY LINDO

Thursday, October 12th from 7:30pm to 9:00pm

Location: Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, 3rd Floor

Tickets: for the in-person event are $50 and include after-hours access to Spike Lee: Creative Sources. Member tickets are $30.

Enter the world of Spike Lee in this intimate conversation between the influential filmmaker and one of his frequent collaborators, actor Delroy Lindo. Lindo has played prominent roles in four of Lee’s films: West Indian Archie in Malcolm X (1992), Woody Carmichael in Crooklyn (1994), Rodney Little in Clockers (1995), and Paul in Da 5 Bloods (2020), which earned him multiple awards for best actor.

The conversation celebrates the opening of Spike Lee: Creative Sources, offering a rare glimpse into objects from Lee’s personal collection. It is moderated by Ashley Clark, curatorial director at the Criterion Collection and author of Facing Blackness: Media and Minstrelsy in Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled” (2015).

Click here to learn more

Pheeroan akLaff’s New African Brew. (Photo: courtesy Jazz Foundation of America)

JAZZ IN THE GARDEN: PHEEROAN AKLAFF’S NEW AFRICAN BREW

Sunday, October 22nd from 2:00pm to 4:00pm

Location: Steinberg Family Sculpture Garden, 1st Floor

Tickets: This program is free; registration is encouraged. Reserve tickets to visit the galleries.

Swing by the Museum’s backyard Sculpture Garden for our Jazz in the Garden series, featuring performances by some of the city’s best musicians. In October, hear innovative drummer Pheeroan akLaff pay homage to our exhibition Africa Fashion on its closing day. akLaff’s New African Brew project takes inspiration from his time living and performing in West Africa and incorporates a range of musical styles.

Presented in partnership with Jazz Foundation of America.

Click here to learn more

CELEBRATE DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS

Sunday, October 15th at 3:00pm

Tickets: Free!

Overview

For the third year in a row, Caramoor celebrates the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, with a lively, family-friendly afternoon of music and dance. Calpulli Mexican Dance Company returns with its passionate performers, colorful costuming, and cultural stories to our grounds for guests of all ages to enjoy, along with arts, crafts, and snacks.

Please bring a blanket or lawn chairs and enjoy the many festivities.

Click here to learn more

CAROLE J. BUFFORD

ROAR! Music of the Jazz Age
Cabaret in the Music Room | A Benefit Concert

Friday, October 20th at 8:00pm

Tickets: start at $75

Overview

Carole J. Bufford is a true sensation on the American vintage pop and cabaret scene, and it’s no wonder why. With her inimitable delivery and magnetic stage presence, this Broadway World Vocalist of the Year will transport you to a world of pure musical delight with her powerhouse vocals, captivating stories, and unforgettable renditions of classics from the Jazz Age songbook made famous by the likes of Sophie Tucker, Louis Armstrong, Al Jolson, Fats Waller, Bessie Smith, Helen Morgan, Ruth Etting, and more. Come join Carole as she travels back to a time when flappers, vamps and, sheiks were shimmying in gin joints as a whirl of great social and political change happened all around them.

Continue the celebration with a festive post-concert reception.

Click here to learn more

ROY HARGROVE BIG BAND: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROY!

Saturday, October 14th through Monday, October 16th

Tickets: start at $25

ABOUT THE SHOW

Dizzy’s Club continues its week-long celebration of the legendary Roy Hargrove. Trumpet player, composer, and beloved talent scout of the New York scene, he generously passed on his legacy to each new generation of artists. This week, the Roy Hargrove Big Band celebrates what would have been his birthday — and the magnitude of his contribution — by sharing his expression with new listeners and longtime fans. Always energetic, always swinging, the outfit’s repertoire includes Hargrove originals, standard tunes, and new music from current band members. Come celebrate a true champion of the music.

PERFORMANCE LINEUP

Willie Jones
Danton Boller
Saul Rubin
Freddie Hendrix
Wayne Tucker
Duane Eubanks
Camerahn Alforque
Jason Jackson
James Burton
Rashaan Salaam
Max Seigel
Bruce Williams
Mark Gross
Mike Lee
Keith Loftis
Jason Marshall

Click here to learn more

KENYA’S 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE

WITH AARON RIMBUI SWAHILI NATION

Wednesday, October 18th at 7:30pm and 9:30pm

Tickets: start at $20

ABOUT THE SHOW

New York-based Kenyan pianist, composer, and producer Aaron Rimbui presents Swahili Nation at Dizzy’s Club. With a career spanning over two decades, Rimbui has made significant contributions to the jazz scene in Africa and beyond. Known for his virtuosity and innovative style, he combines traditional jazz elements with Kenyan rhythms, creating a captivating and unique sound. Prepare for an unforgettable concert experience as Aaron Rimbui and Swahili Nation showcase their collective talent and the sheer joy of their music.

PERFORMANCE LINEUP

Aaron Rimbui, Piano/keyboards
Kanjii Mbugua, Vocals
Michael Olatuja, Bass
Lumanyano Mzi, Drums & Percussion
Yunie Mojica, Saxophone

Click here to learn more

CHARLES LLOYD AT 85

Friday, October 13th and Saturday, October 14th at 8:00pm

Location: Rose Theater

Tickets: start at $40.50

WHAT TO EXPECT

  • A spellbinding performance from NEA Jazz Master and saxophone legend Charles Lloyd.

  • On Friday, he performs with Sangam, featuring Zakir Hussain and Eric Harland.

  • On Saturday, a performance by Lloyd’s New Quartet featuring Harland, Jason Moran, and Reuben Rogers.

  • A free pre-concert lecture precedes each performance at 7pm.

  • Keep the party going after the show by taking your ticket stub to Dizzy’s Club for a complimentary cover to that evening’s Late Night Session at 11:15pm.

ABOUT THE CONCERT

NEA Jazz Master Charles Lloyd celebrates his 85th birthday at Rose Theater with two very special all-star bands. Friday evening he performs with Sangam, featuring iconic Indian percussionist Zakir Hussain and drummer Eric Harland, while on Saturday night Lloyd’s New Quartet takes the stage, featuring Harland, pianist Jason Moran, and bassist Reuben Rogers.

Click here to learn more

SHERMAN IRBY’S MUSINGS OF COSMIC STUFF

THE JLCO WITH WYNTON MARSALIS

Friday, October 27th and Saturday, October 28th at 8:00pm

Location: Rose Theater

Tickets: start at $40.50

WHAT TO EXPECT

  • Hosted by special guest Neil deGrasse Tyson featuring the JLCO with Wynton Marsalis.

  • An otherworldly suite of music from JLCO saxophonist Sherman Irby.

  • The jazz journey of a lifetime.

  • A free pre-concert lecture precedes each performance at 7pm.

  • Keep the party going after the show by taking your ticket stub to Dizzy’s Club for a complimentary cover to that evening’s Late Night Session at 11:15pm.

ABOUT THE CONCERT

Hosted and narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, this world premiere of saxophonist and composer Sherman Irby’s newest work unveils its celestial inspiration, from supernova stars and black holes to the formations of galaxies and life itself.

Click here to learn more

FIRST FRIDAY

Friday, October 6th from 10:00am to 9:00pm

Tickets: Free all Day!

Join Poster House on the First Friday of every month for free admission and extended hours! Explore the museum’s latest exhibitions and get in on the fun by attending a tour, workshop, performance, or activity throughout the day. Every First Friday is different, offering unique opportunities to engage with rotating exhibitions and the permanent collection.

Click here to learn more

EDUCATORS HAPPY HOUR

Thursday, October 12th from 4:00pm to 6:00pm

Tickets: Free for Educators!

Poster House welcomes Pre-K through university educators to view the museum’s new exhibitions, Art Deco: Commercializing the Avant-Garde and We Tried to Warn You! Environmental Crisis Posters,1970–2020, and to learn more about our upcoming educational programming! Join us for a complimentary happy hour at the museum, and chat with the Education team about field trips, in-school residencies, teen programs, and CTLE-certified teacher professional development. Drop in anytime between 4pm and 6pm and raise a glass with your fellow educators!

This is a drop-in event for PreK–12 teachers, college/university professors, and Pre-K through university administrators. Advanced registration is required with a school email address; attendees can arrive anytime between 4pm and 6pm. Beer, wine, and light refreshments will be served, as well as a raffle for some Poster House swag.

Click here to learn more

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S WEEKEND

October 7th through October 9th

Location: on the grounds

Tickets: free, with admission to the grounds

This weekend, celebrate Indigenous People’s Day, a holiday that honors Indigenous American peoples and recognizes their histories and cultures. In Glyndor Gallery, on Saturday, October 7, hear from exhibiting artists and a guest curator about art on view in the gallery, as they hold a conversation centered on envisioning our relationship to the land from an indigenous perspective. On Sunday, October 8, go on an indigenous themed birding walk. On both days, from 10AM to 1PM, make corn husk dolls at the Family Art Project and learn about the important role of corn in indigenous cultures.

This event series continues on October 7, 8 and 9, 2023.

Click here to learn more

DAY OF THE DEAD/DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS

Sunday, October 29th from 10:00am to 2:00pm

Location: Wave Hill House

Tickets: Free with admission to the grounds

Join us to celebrate our first annual Day of the Dead at Wave Hill. Enjoy live music with Son Pecadores and share in the cultural traditions of Veracruz, Mexico. Create nicho boxes honoring loved ones in a favorite Family Art Project, sample refreshing hibiscus iced tea, and craft giant paper flowers to take home as a keepsake of the day.

Súmese a nosotros para celebrar nuestra primera jornada anual del Día de los Muertos en Wave Hill. Disfrute de la música en vivo de Son Pecadores y comparta las tradiciones culturales de Veracruz, México. Cree un altar con cajas en honor a sus seres queridos como parte de uno de los proyectos favoritos de arte en familia, pruebe el refrescante té helado de hibisco y confeccione manualmente flores de papel gigantes para llevar a su casa como recuerdo de la jornada.

Click here to learn more

CITYPICKLE AT WOLLMAN RINK

April 7th through October 9th

As reported in the New York Times:

CityPickle is bringing the country’s fastest growing sport to Wollman Rink in Central Park! The rink will house 14 courts – the largest pickleball offering in the Northeast – with 196 hours of pickleball daily. Come play with us!

Whether you’re a pickleball pro or a newbie looking for a fun way to stay active this season, we’re welcoming all skill levels. Lessons, clinics, open play, leagues, and private events are also available. Grab a friend, grab a paddle, and meet us on the court!

CityPickle is proud to offer a professional playing experience with the court surface provided by Pickleball United USA, the official court partner for MLP and APP professional leagues and the nets provided by CD Pickleball Nets, the official net partner of the PPA and APP.

Click here to learn more

ICE SEASON RETURNS!

October 28th, 2023 through March, 15th, 2024

Wollman Rink NYC in iconic Central Park will open for ice skating daily from Saturday, October 28th, 2023 to March 15, 2024.

Don’t miss your chance to skate at Wollman Rink NYC, the perfect place to enjoy an iconic New York experience!

Tickets go on sale starting October 3rd!

Click here to learn more

EXCITING EVENTS AROUND THE BRONX: OCTOBER 2023

By Great Performances

Explore exciting community events around the Bronx this month.

THE BRONX VEGAN BAZAAR

Every Wednesday from 4:00pm to 9:00pm

August 23rd through December 27th

Wellness leaders and local vegans come together again to host at the Andrew Freedman Home in The Bronx.

The vegan food expo will feature more than 20 vegan vendors serving food, natural juices, delicious pastries, and just spreading wellness.

Our founding members consisted of a vegan chef, a seasoned food vendor, an award-winning event planner, a native Bronx DJ, community residents, and a common goal to spread wellness, food, and love to the Bronx.

With each experience our members grow along with the community.

Click here to learn more

38TH ANNUAL BRONX HALLOWEEN PARADE

Saturday, October 28th from 12:00pm to 5:00pm

The Bronx Community Board #2 proudly presents the Annual Bronx Halloween Day Parade.

This community-based event is heading into its 38th year and is a safe space for all children and adults to enjoy Halloween festivities. The parade, now deemed a city-wide event, has already been considered the second largest Halloween Parade in New York City.

After the parade, guests will gather at Bill Rainey Park to enjoy an artist showcase featuring surprise celebrity guests, politicians, marching bands, costume contests with cash prizes and distribution of candy for all!

New Parade Route:Southern Blvd. & Westchester Ave. heading South on Southern Blvd turning right onto Intervale Ave & concluding at Dawson St.

Join Us in on the fun!

Click here to learn more

FILM SCREENING: GOING TO MARS: THE NIKKI GIOVANNI PROJECT

Thursday, October 5th at 7:00pm

Join us for a free screening of Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson (2023).

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize in the Sundance U.S. Documentary Competition, this beguiling documentary portrait follows poet and activist Nikki Giovanni as she approaches 80. The film explores Giovanni’s Afrofuturist-feminist philosophical outlook as well as her poignant relationship with her family, her political audacity, and her poetic eloquence, all knit together with a constant eye and ear for its subject’s own aesthetic verve. Looking back at a personal life and history cast in the long shadow of American racism, and forward to hopeful, possible futures, Giovanni acts as our guide and narrator, with refreshingly unorthodox filmmakers Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson refraining from traditional chronologies or talking-head conventions. Going to Mars is fueled by constant intellectual engagement and radical imagination in the search for emotional and political fulfillment in a world of disenfranchisement. An HBO Documentary Films release.

This free film screening is in partnership with the 61st New York Film Festival. Free registration is required; walk-ins will be accommodated if capacity allows.

Click here to learn more

Image: Michael Richards with Consume (1993) at The Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1994.
Photograph by Mel Wright.

IN CONVERSATION: MICHAEL RICHARDS, NEW YORK, AND THE 1990S

Thursday, October 12th from 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Michael Richards was active in community and practice throughout the 1990s, a storied time in the New York City art world. Offering a personal portrait of Michael Richards and a chronology of his time in New York City, this dynamic conversation will animate Richards’s creative histories across The Bronx Museum, Bronx Council on the Arts, Longwood Arts Project, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Studio Museum in Harlem, REPOhistory artists’ collective, and more.

Panelists:
Nicole Awai, artist, Bronx Museum AIM Fellowship alum
Kinshasha Holman Conwill, Deputy Director Emerita of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and former Director of The Studio Museum in Harlem
Moukhtar Kocache, former Director of Programs and Services at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
Betti-Sue Hertz, Director and Chief Curator, Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University and former Director of Longwood Arts Project

This conversation will be moderated by Jakeya Caruthers, Assistant Professor, English and Africana Studies, Drexel University.

Click here to learn more

GARDENING TUESDAY AT THE FOODWAY!

Tuesday, October 17th from 10:00am to 12:00pm

Location: Concrete Plant Park (1370 Westchester Ave, Bronx, NY)

Join the Bronx River Alliance select Tuesdays from 10a-12pm for stewardship activities such as litter removal, weeding, mulching, watering & planting at different gardens along the Bronx River!

On Tuesday, October 17th, we will be stewarding the Foodway at Concrete Plant Park. We will meet volunteers at Concrete Plant Park (1370 Westchester Ave) Bronx, NY

Please wear clothing appropriate for outdoor weather and gardening/cleaning activities. We also recommend bringing snacks and a refillable water bottle to stay hydrated.

All gloves and tools needed will be provided by the Alliance.

Click here to learn more

FREE COMMUNITY PADDLING IN STARLIGHT PARK

Saturday, October 28th from 11:00am to 3:00pm

Location: Starlight Park

Join us on Saturday, October 28th, 2023, for a Free Community Paddle at Starlight Park from 11 AM to 3 PM. This is a great activity for beginners and families to join. Canoes will be available for partners and families, and kayaks will be available for solo paddlers.

Click here to learn more

BOO AT THE ZOO

Saturdays & Sundays

September 30th through October 29th

Our annual family-friendly Halloween tradition is back at the Bronx Zoo. Come dressed in your Halloween best and enjoy!

Activities Include:

  • Spooky Stories to Ticket Your Spine (new!)
  • Bones Tell a Story: Animal Skeletons (new!)
  • Costume Parade
  • Halloween Crafts
  • Magic & Mind Reading
  • Pumpkin Carving Demos
  • Wildlife Theater: The Wildlife Witch’s Super Scary Halloween Show

Click here to learn more

PUMPKIN NIGHTS

Thursdays – Sundays, 6:00pm to 10:00pm

September 28th through October 29th

Bronx Zoo Pumpkin Nights, an ALL NEW nighttime family Halloween event, will take place on select evenings this fall! Follow an animal-themed illuminated jack o’lantern trail and learn about animal behavior after dark, plus enjoy games and treats.

Pumpkin Nights will feature gorgeous scenes of more than 5,000 illuminated pumpkins, together with atmospheric sounds and colored lights, to provide a festive family atmosphere as you follow a half-mile trail to holiday excitement right here in NYC.

Click here to learn more

NATURE’S WORKSHOP: NATURE CALLIGRAPHY

Sunday, October 1st from 11:00am to 12:30pm

Location: Crotona Nature Center in Crotona Park

Learn how nature influences the art of Chinese calligraphy and learn to write some words yourself. Learn the evolution of symbols representing the natural world. Give it a try using brush and paper to practice these symbols.

Click here to learn more

NATURE’S WORKSHOP: NATURAL DYES WORKSHOP

Sunday, October 15th from 2:00pm to 3:00pm

Location: Crotona Nature Center in Crotona Park

Join the Urban Park Rangers for the Nature’s Workshop series. Each program in this series explores its topic in-depth and allows you to develop a skill, participate in a hands-on project, and indulge your curiosity. Get inspired by the changing seasons and let the colors of fall flow in your artwork. The Urban Park Rangers will provide the supplies, all you need to bring is your creativity.

Click here to learn more

FORDHAM PLAZA

BRONX NIGHT MARKET

Saturday, October 28th from 1:00pm to 7:00pm

Location: 1 Fordham Plaza

RSVP required

The Bronx’s renowned cuisine and culture festival is back for its 6th season, bringing with it an array of flavors and cultural experiences that represent the city’s diverse heritage. As a beloved event, it’s a must-attend festival for any food lover in the Bronx. With an average of 4k patrons per event, the festival gathers at the Fordham Plaza, providing an exciting and unique experience.

This year’s festival is even bigger and better, offering a curated selection of local Bronx and NYC-based food, beverage, arts & crafts, and packaged goods vendors. These vendors come together to provide an incredible culinary journey, showcasing a wide range of cultures and flavors.

Click here to learn more

FALL-O-WEEN

Now through October 29th

Location: at the Garden

Make NYBG your pumpkin headquarters this fall! The tricks and treats of the season come to life with plentiful pumpkins, gourds, and ghouls—and all sorts of fun-filled activities to celebrate this season of frights and foliage! Day or night, there’s something for everyone as we offer special weekends of pumpkin parades and pumpkin carving face-offs, as well as the return of our popular beer sampling weekend, Bales & Ales! Evening events give kids (and adults!) the chance to show off their Halloween costumes in New York City’s most beautiful landscape, while you can savor the flavors of the season with artisan demos, food and drink talks, and so much more as autumn in the Bronx brings vibrant color to your backyard.

While you’re here, don’t miss your opportunity to capture picture-perfect fall photos at the Reflecting Pool and on the adjacent lawn, where you’ll find hundreds of pumpkins and gourds of all shapes, sizes, and colors!

Click here to learn more

THINGS TO BE REMEMBERED: INTERACTIVE ART PROJECT

Now through October 22nd from 10:00am to 6:00pm

Location: 4th Floor Rotunda of LuEsther T. Mertz Library

Take a moment to reflect. What have you witnessed or felt during your visit today? The adjacent display shows the remains of extinct plants, and reminds us what has been lost and what should be remembered. We invite you to add your sketches, notes, and thoughts to an always-evolving collective artwork that will remain on view for the duration of the exhibition.

Click here to learn more

…things come to thrive…in the shedding…in the molting…

extended through October 22nd

This summer, experience the seductive beauty of gardens through the eyes of celebrated contemporary artist Ebony G. Patterson. Known for her lavishly detailed mixed media installations, Patterson brings her signature style to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, and NYBG’s landscape and galleries, in a major site-specific exhibition featuring breathtaking and provocative displays of art and nature.

Patterson’s work will captivate Garden visitors with the beauty of exotic flora and garden-inspired installations—from a monumental peacock sculpture to swarms of glitter-encrusted vultures. Inspired by her immersion in NYBG’s collections, Patterson’s work explores entanglements of race, gender and colonialism while inviting visitors to contemplate their own relationships with gardens and the natural world.

Don’t miss this opportunity to see one of the most exciting contemporary artists of our time transform one of the most stunning settings in New York City like never before. Ebony G. Patterson’s summer exhibition at NYBG is a must-see.

Click here to learn more

CITY OF FOREST DAY: HUNTER ISLAND HIKE

Saturday, October 14th from 1:00pm to 3:00pm

Location: Section 2 Orchard Beach in Pelham Bay Park, Bronx

Celebrate City of Forest Day with NYC Parks! City of Forest Day is an annual day of activities across the city to raise awareness of the importance of the New York City urban forest. Join the Urban Park Rangers as we hike through one of these urban forests on Hunter Island!

Click here to learn more

THE HAUNTED ISLANDS OF ORCHARD BEACH

Saturday, October 28th from 5:00am to 6:30pm

Location: Orchard Beach Nature Center in Pelham Bay Park

The islands that surround Orchard Beach are shrouded in myth and legend. Join the Urban Park Rangers to find out what’s true and what’s myth when it comes to these historic places.

Click here to learn more

HIKE-TOBERFEST

Saturday, October 21st from 1:30pm to 6:30pm

Location: Van Cortlandt House Museum in Van Cortlandt Park
Broadway at West 246th Street, Bronx

Support the Park!
Hike-then-sip at VCPA’s Annual Hike-toberfest!

All registered hike participants will receive a VCPA Beanie!

All Hikes:

Are led by skilled guides;
Finish at approximately 4:00pm… please take note of start times;
Begin and end at the Van Cortlandt House Museum;
Require onsite check-in. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the start time for your hike.

Oktoberfest:

Held from 4:00 to 6:00pm
German food by Loreley Restaurant & Biergarten;
Local beer, Alternative Medicine Brewing Company, Captain Lawrence Brewing Company and more, served with in VCPA souvenir mug by our good friends from the Bronx Beer Hall;
Lloyd’s Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Yard games on the Van Cortlandt House Museum lawn;
Live music;
Raffle tickets will be sold at the event for the chance to win terrific prizes!

Click here to learn more

NATURE’S WORKSHOP: NATURAL CORDAGE MAKING AND WEAVING

Sunday, October 22nd from 11:00am to 12:00pm

Location: Van Cortlandt Nature Center in Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx

Each program in this series explores its topic in-depth and allows you to develop a skill, participate in a hands-on project, and indulge your curiosity. Learn how to make twine and baskets out of natural materials such as plants, bark and branches.

Click here to learn more

Did you know that Great Performances is headquartered in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx? We love being a part of the Bronx community, supporting other Bronx-based companies, and giving back to our community.

Read more about it here.

EXCITING EVENTS AROUND NEW YORK: SEPTEMBER 2023

By Great Performances

Explore Great Music, Art and More at Our Partner Venues This Month!

AMATEUR NIGHT AUDITIONS

Saturday, September 9th at 9:00am to 5:00pm

Location: Apollo’s Historic Theater

Amateur Night at the Apollo is looking for the best singers, dancers, comedians, rappers, spoken word artists, variety acts and musicians for 2024.

Adults aged 18+ who are chosen from the audition will have the chance to perform and compete for the grand prize of up to $20,000. Performers ages 5-17 can compete to be recognized as a “Child Star of Tomorrow” for an opportunity to win a prize of $5,000.

Live auditions will be held at the Apollo Theater located at 253 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027. Please arrive early. Only the first 200 acts will be seen.

Click here to learn more

AMATEUR NIGHT AT THE APOLLO

Every Tuesday at 7:30pm

Location: Apollo’s Historic Theater

Tickets: start at $30

Known as one of New York’s most popular live entertainment experiences, Amateur Night at the Apollo attracts performers and audiences from around the world in a classic talent competition that has launched the careers of countless legendary artists, from Ella Fitzgerald, Luther Vandross, Lauryn Hill, H.E.R, Machine Gun Kelly, Jazmine Sullivan and more.

Join the fun with the weekly classic competition that sheds light on the careers of a whole new roster of stars. Be a part of the notoriously “tough” audience in an interactive evening unlike any other and lend your voice to decide who will “Be Good or Be Gone!” to win the triumphant grand prize.

Amateur Night at the Apollo sponsored by Coca-Cola, is hosted by the comedian Capone. Each show begins with a festive pre-party featuring video and music by DJ Jess and Set It Off Man Greginald Spencer. Keep a lookout for C.P. Lacey, the resident Executioner who sweeps bad talent off the stage!

Click here to learn more

JLF NEW YORK

Presented in partnership with Teamwork Arts

Wednesday, September 13th from 4:00pm to 10:00pm

Tickets: $30 Nonmembers; $25 Seniors and Students; $20 Members (please contact membership for the discount code)

Celebrating books, ideas, and dialogue, the Jaipur Literature Festival — described as “the greatest literary show on Earth” — returns to New York, presenting a series of conversations and performances examining the human experience through the imaginations of some of the world’s leading authors, thinkers, and performers. Speakers include Shashi Tharoor, Manil Suri, Dominique Townsend, Tsering Wangmo Dhompa and Tenzin Dickie.

Click here to learn more

THE SEVENTH ANNUAL LAST GIRL AWARDS

Honoring grassroots activists fighting child sex trafficking

Saturday, September 30th from 4:00pm to 8:00pm

Save the date for the Seventh Annual Last Girl Awards, hosted in partnership with Apne Aap. This year’s event will highlight global grassroots constructive action to eradicate child sex trafficking, recognize individuals who have stood up for The Last Girl, and feature a keynote conversation with writers and activists.

Agenda:

4 PM: Workshop

6 PM: Performance, Panel Discussion, Awards Ceremony

7 PM: Reception

Click here to learn more

dapperQ Presents Pursuit, 2019. (Photo: The Street Sensei)

DAPPERQ PRESENTS MUSE

Thursday, September 7th from 6:00pm to 11:00pm

Location: Steinberg Family Sculpture Garden, 1st Floor

Tickets: Non-member tickets are $16. Member tickets are $14. Tickets, including admission to Africa Fashion, are $25.

Digital queer style magazine dapperQ returns to present Muse, the eighth annual edition of the largest LGBTQIA+ fashion show during New York Fashion Week. Begin the night with a happy hour hosted by Henrietta Hudson, New York City’s longest-standing brick-and-mortar lesbian bar, and browse pop-up shops featuring some of the evening’s designers before the runway showcase. The presentation features new work from Hesta by Hester Sunshine, SUN SUN, DANITHREADS, LLESSUR NYC, FreeMen by Mickey, Kirrin Finch, Buckethead Productions, Guvanch NYC, and Soid Studios New York by José González. Hosted by Dev Doee.

Schedule:

6–8 pm Sip and shop with Henrietta Hudson
8:15–9:15 pm Runway show
9:15–11 pm Music by M.O.

dapperQ is sponsored by Meow Wolf.

Click here to learn more

Willie Martinez. (Photo: courtesy of the Jazz Foundation of America)

JAZZ IN THE GARDEN: WILLIE MARTINEZ AND HIS LATIN JAZZ COLLECTIVE

Sunday, September 24th from 2:00pm to 4:00pm

Location: Steinberg Family Sculpture Garden, 1st Floor

Tickets: This program is free; registration is encouraged. Reserve tickets to visit the galleries.

Swing by the Museum’s backyard Sculpture Garden for our Jazz in the Garden series, featuring performances by some of the city’s best musicians. In September, hear Willie Martinez and his Latin Jazz Collective, which blends Afro Caribbean rhythms with the harmonic vocabulary and improvisational spirit of jazz. Martinez, a percussionist and vocalist, holds a long-running monthly show at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe with his band La Familia. He was named “New Yorker of the Week” by NY1 for his weekly outdoor concerts that enlivened his Brooklyn neighborhood throughout the pandemic.

Presented in partnership with Jazz Foundation of America.

Click here to learn more

EMMET COHEN TRIO

with special guest Lucy Yeghizaryan

Presented in Collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center

Friday, September 29th at 8:00pm

Tickets: Start at $29.50

Overview

Get ready for a riveting evening of musical brilliance with the multifaceted American jazz pianist and composer, Emmet Cohen, who has been described by All About Jazz as: “Thirty years old and one of the finest piano players to emerge in decades …” With his nimble touch on the keys, and his incredibly talented trio alongside him, Cohen effortlessly weaves together intricate melodies and harmonies, taking you on a journey through the rich tapestry of jazz. Live From Emmet’s Place, a weekly livestream that he created during the pandemic, has received millions of views worldwide. Joining him will be one of today’s most intriguing up-and-comers — American-Armenian jazz vocalist Lucy Yeghiazaryan.

Click here to learn more

BILLY HARPER QUINTET

Friday, September 8th through Sunday, September 10th

Tickets: start at $25

ABOUT THE SHOW

Billy Harper is a rare gift. At 80, the saxophonist, composer, and electrifying band leader continues to mesmerize New York audiences and listeners across the world with a fiery warmth and the truly melodic vocabulary he’s developed and refined in service of spontaneity and musicality. Harper’s storied career includes pivotal associations with Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, and Max Roach, and his current quintet features creative improvisers whose collective artistry is at once thoughtful and expressive. Expect a spirited set of hard swinging tunes, lyrical ballads, and plenty of fun for every listener.

PERFORMANCE LINEUP

Billy Harper, tenor saxophone
Freddie Hendrix, trumpet
Francesca Tanksley, piano
Ben Young, bass
Aaron Scott, drums

Click here to learn more

BEN ALLISON QUARTET

Thursday, September 28th through Saturday, September 30th

Tickets: start at $25

ABOUT THE SHOW

Ben Allison continues his outward expansion as a bassist, composer, and producer with his latest lineup, which includes two masters of modern guitar: Chico Pinheiro and Steve Cardenas. Together with increasingly sought drummer Allan Mednard providing rhythmic and textural propulsion, the group crafts a lyrical and cinematic sound, engaging discerning listeners and first-time club goers alike. The quartet issued their acclaimed debut Moments Inside in November 2021.

PERFORMANCE LINEUP

Ben Allison, bass
Steve Cardenas, guitar
Chico Pinheiro, guitar
Allan Mednard, drums

Click here to learn more

EXHIBITIONS

Where Time Runs Backwards

by Daniel Shieh, With Chia-Lun Chang and Arleene Correa Valencia

Upper Gallery at The Arts Center at Governors Island

____

ANTI•VENOM

Presented by Allies in Arts

Lower Gallery at The Arts Center at Governors Island

____

there is nothing you can think that is not the moon

by Rhonda Weppler and Trevor Mahovsky

The Café at The Arts Center at Governors Island

____

Click here to learn more

ALLIES IN ARTS PRESENTS MICRODOSES

Saturday, September 16th from 2:00pm to 7:00pm

Join Allies in Arts and LMCC on Saturday, September 16 from 2-7pm for a full day of artist talks, performances, readings, and a special DJ set to celebrate the exhibition ANTI•VENOM. Each of the programs featured offers a microdose toward collective healing.

ANTI•VENOM is curated by Sophia Wallace and Drew Denny of Allies in Arts.

Allies in Arts is a trans and queer led 501c3 non profit organization dedicated to supporting artists of all mediums who identify as women, BIPOC and LGBTQQIA2S+ through exhibitions, screenings, grants, and fairly paid commissions. Allies in Arts also houses Transanta, a trans led mutual aid project that supports trans youth through the holiday season. In 2023, Allies in Arts is launching our first ever educational program, the Transanta writing workshop, in which a class from the 4,000 trans youth who have participated in Transanta thus far will be given college level writing instruction, given an opportunity to read their work aloud at the Hammer Museum, and have their work published in our first book.

Click here to learn more

FIRST FRIDAY

Friday, September 1st from 10:00am to 9:00pm

Tickets: Free all Day!

Join Poster House on the First Friday of every month for free admission and extended hours! Explore the museum’s latest exhibitions and get in on the fun by attending a tour, workshop, performance, or activity throughout the day. Every First Friday is different, offering unique opportunities to engage with rotating exhibitions and the permanent collection. This month, Poster House’s CMYK Council is taking over to bring a fun and educational lineup of activities all day long!

Click here to learn more

Left: Esteban Cabeza de Baca, "8 Fold Way", 2023, acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery. Right: Heidi Howard, "Collaborative Self", 2022, acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the artist.

FALL ARTS OPENING DAY

Sunday, September 17th from 1:00pm to 4:00pm

Location: Glyndor Gallery

Tickets: free, with admission to the grounds

Join us for the opening of two new exhibitions in Glyndor Gallery this fall, including Light from Water: Heidi Howard and Esteban Cabeza de Baca with Liz Phillips, and new site-specific exhibitions in the Sunroom Project Space. Light from Water features new collaborative works by Heidi Howard and Esteban Cabeza de Baca, as well as Cabeza de Baca’s layered landscape paintings, Howard’s self-portraits that incorporate plant life, natural settings and a sound-responsive sculpture by Liz Phillips. Many of the works on view were created at Wave Hill and inspired by the views and vegetation growing in the Aquatic Garden. Opening in the Sunroom Project Space are site-specific installations by New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellows Max Sarmiento and Jill Cohen-Nuñez.

Click here to learn more

2023 GARDENERS’ PARTY

Thursday, September 21st from 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Location: Great Lawn; Rain Site: Wave Hill House

Tickets: Ticket levels vary. Early access to the Gardeners’ Party Plant Sale at 5:00PM is available for Garden Champion ticket levels.

Join us for an evening to celebrate the art of gardening and to honor Margaret Roach. Margaret is a champion of Wave Hill, having served as both a member of our Board of Directors and as Chair of the Friends of Horticulture Committee. Her passions are closely aligned with Wave Hill’s mission—to train a new generation of high-caliber, environmentally conscientious horticulturists, and help them hone a keen plant person’s palette. With her popular New York Times column and A Way to Garden podcast, Margaret provides a platform for many varied and informed voices, educating audiences from novice to nuanced expert.

We hope you will join us as we honor Margaret and her unwavering commitment to horticulture at this gourd-eous event. By purchasing tickets or donating, you help care for Wave Hill’s world-class garden and train the next generation of horticulturalists through the John Nally Intern Program. You make a big difference to Wave Hill!

Click here to learn more

CITYPICKLE AT WOLLMAN RINK

April 7th through October 9th

As reported in the New York Times:

CityPickle is bringing the country’s fastest growing sport to Wollman Rink in Central Park! The rink will house 14 courts – the largest pickleball offering in the Northeast – with 196 hours of pickleball daily. Come play with us!

Whether you’re a pickleball pro or a newbie looking for a fun way to stay active this season, we’re welcoming all skill levels. Lessons, clinics, open play, leagues, and private events are also available. Grab a friend, grab a paddle, and meet us on the court!

CityPickle is proud to offer a professional playing experience with the court surface provided by Pickleball United USA, the official court partner for MLP and APP professional leagues and the nets provided by CD Pickleball Nets, the official net partner of the PPA and APP.

Click here to learn more

NEW YORK CARES PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT 2023

Saturday, September 23rd from 10:00am to 1:00pm

Adult and Family teams of two are invited to join New York Cares for our first annual Pickleball Tournament on Saturday, September 23 from 10:00am-1:00pm at CityPickle in Central Park! Two brackets are available. Register to play as an Adult Team, or a Family Team (minimum age is 12) of two. Great for pickleball enthusiasts and beginners alike!

By participating, you enable New York Cares to continue to deploy over 20,000 volunteers across the five boroughs, serving over 83,000 New Yorkers, 12.9 million meals, 365 days a year.

Click here to learn more

VEGAN NIGHT MARKET

Every Tuesday through the summer

Get ready to taste the best of plant-based cuisine at NYC’s first-ever Vegan Night Market!

Starting June 6th, Wollman Rink will host the weekly series, from MHG Events, featuring the city’s top vegan vendors, live music, and rotating food and product tastings until October 10th. Every Tuesday from 4-10pm!

Whether you’re a seasoned vegan or just curious about the lifestyle, there’s something for everyone at the Vegan Night Market.

Come for the food, stay for the fun, and leave feeling inspired to make positive changes in your life and the world around you. Take advantage of this exciting opportunity to celebrate all things vegan in the heart of the city!

Click here to learn more

EXCITING EVENTS AROUND THE BRONX: SEPTEMBER 2023

By Great Performances

Explore exciting community events around the Bronx this month.

SUMMER UNDER THE STARS GALA

Thursday, September 7th from 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Location: The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers

Celebrate the children of the Bronx, inspirational honorees and the fun of summer! Join us on September 7, 2023 at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers for an incredible evening in support of Bronx Children’s Museum.

EMCEE:
Samara Osae-Asare

EVENT CO-CHAIRS:
Sunny Hostin and Sonia Manzano

EVENT COMMITTEE (in formation):
Arlene Bascom, Rafael Collado, Kate Green, Hope Harley,
April Horton, Lee Michel and Paul Ramirez

Click here to learn more

Image: Michael Richards: Are You Down? Installation view at Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, 2021. Photograph by Oriol Tarridas. Photograph courtesy of the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami and The Michael Richards Estate.

OPENING RECEPTION MICHAEL RICHARDS: ARE YOU DOWN?

September 8th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm

Join us to celebrate the opening of the exhibition Michael Richards: Are You Down? This event will include light refreshments and music provided by Uptown Vinyl Supreme.

RSVP is not required to attend.

Click here to learn more

INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEANUP DAY

Saturday, September 16th from 9:00am to 12:00pm

Location: Soundview Park (Morrison ave & Lafayette ave)

Join the Bronx River Alliance for one of our biggest cleanup events of the year, International Coastal Cleanup Day! Volunteers throughout the U.S. and more than 100 countries come together each year to participate in a cleanup event near them on this day of environmental stewardship.

Volunteers will check in at 9:00 AM at the entrance of Soundview near the intersection of Lafayette Ave and Morrison Ave. We’ll break up into teams and head to the Soundview Park shoreline (at the mouth of the Bronx River) together for the cleanup. All cleanup materials needed, such as grabbers, gloves, and bags will be supplied. We’ll also be recording the type and quantity of trash we pick up, using data sheets.

At the end of the event we’ll have prizes for the volunteers with the “Most Trash Collected” and “Strangest Trash Collected”! And bring a reusable water bottle to be entered into a raffle drawing!

Click here to learn more

ENVIRONMENTAL CAREER PANEL: PIZZA PARTY – RENEWABLE ENERGY

Thursday, September 21st from 4:00pm to 5:30pm

Location: 1490 Sheridan Boulevard, Bronx NY 10459

Interested in learning about green careers? Come join our EELS interns and real environmental professionals to learn what it’s really like to work in the field! Enjoy free pizza, free soda, and make new friends.

Click here to learn more

BOO AT THE ZOO

Saturdays & Sundays

September 30th through October 29th

Our annual family-friendly Halloween tradition is back at the Bronx Zoo. Come dressed in your Halloween best and enjoy!

Activities Include:

  • Spooky Stories to Ticket Your Spine (new!)
  • Bones Tell a Story: Animal Skeletons (new!)
  • Costume Parade
  • Halloween Crafts
  • Magic & Mind Reading
  • Pumpkin Carving Demos
  • Wildlife Theater: The Wildlife Witch’s Super Scary Halloween Show

Click here to learn more

PUMPKIN NIGHTS

Thursdays – Sundays, 6:00pm to 10:00pm

September 28th through October 29th

Bronx Zoo Pumpkin Nights, an ALL NEW nighttime family Halloween event, will take place on select evenings this fall! Follow an animal-themed illuminated jack o’lantern trail and learn about animal behavior after dark, plus enjoy games and treats.

Pumpkin Nights will feature gorgeous scenes of more than 5,000 illuminated pumpkins, together with atmospheric sounds and colored lights, to provide a festive family atmosphere as you follow a half-mile trail to holiday excitement right here in NYC.

Click here to learn more

OUT TO BIRD! FALL MIGRATION BIRD WALK

Sunday, September 3rd from 10:00am to 11:00am

Location: Crotona Nature Center in Crotona Park

Birding is a fun and all-inclusive activity for all to enjoy and experience. Join the Urban Park Rangers as we explore the park in search of some Fall migratory birds featuring the colors of the LGBTQ+ pride flag, among others.

Click here to learn more

NATURE’S WORKSHOP: NATURAL DYES WORKSHOP

Sunday, September 24th from 1:00pm to 2:00pm

Location: Crotona Nature Center in Crotona Park

The art of tie dying has been used since the earliest century in Asia from dying silk and hemp. Join the Urban Park Rangers in making and using natural dyes from berries, fruits, and roots.

Click here to learn more

FORDHAM PLAZA

BRONX NIGHT MARKET

9/30, 10/28

Location: 1 Fordham Plaza

RSVP required

The Bronx’s renowned cuisine and culture festival is back for its 6th season, bringing with it an array of flavors and cultural experiences that represent the city’s diverse heritage. As a beloved event, it’s a must-attend festival for any food lover in the Bronx. With an average of 4k patrons per event, the festival gathers at the Fordham Plaza, providing an exciting and unique experience.

This year’s festival is even bigger and better, offering a curated selection of local Bronx and NYC-based food, beverage, arts & crafts, and packaged goods vendors. These vendors come together to provide an incredible culinary journey, showcasing a wide range of cultures and flavors.

Click here to learn more

THINGS TO BE REMEMBERED: INTERACTIVE ART PROJECT

Now through October 22nd from 10:00am to 6:00pm

Location: 4th Floor Rotunda of LuEsther T. Mertz Library

Take a moment to reflect. What have you witnessed or felt during your visit today? The adjacent display shows the remains of extinct plants, and reminds us what has been lost and what should be remembered. We invite you to add your sketches, notes, and thoughts to an always-evolving collective artwork that will remain on view for the duration of the exhibition.

Click here to learn more

…things come to thrive…in the shedding…in the molting…

extended through October 22nd

This summer, experience the seductive beauty of gardens through the eyes of celebrated contemporary artist Ebony G. Patterson. Known for her lavishly detailed mixed media installations, Patterson brings her signature style to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, and NYBG’s landscape and galleries, in a major site-specific exhibition featuring breathtaking and provocative displays of art and nature.

Patterson’s work will captivate Garden visitors with the beauty of exotic flora and garden-inspired installations—from a monumental peacock sculpture to swarms of glitter-encrusted vultures. Inspired by her immersion in NYBG’s collections, Patterson’s work explores entanglements of race, gender and colonialism while inviting visitors to contemplate their own relationships with gardens and the natural world.

Don’t miss this opportunity to see one of the most exciting contemporary artists of our time transform one of the most stunning settings in New York City like never before. Ebony G. Patterson’s summer exhibition at NYBG is a must-see.

Click here to learn more

NOCTURNAL CREATURES AND WILDLIFE HIKE

Saturday, September 2nd from 8:00pm to 9:30pm

Location: Pelham Bay Nature Center in Pelham Bay Park

Join the Urban Park Rangers for an exploration of nighttime insects and other nocturnal forest creatures. We will explore the trails of Pelham Bay Park under the cover of darkness and will also be setting up a moth attracting sheet.

Click here to learn more

BIRDING: FALL MIGRATION

Saturday, September 30th from 11:00am to 12:00pm

Location: Orchard Beach Nature Center in Pelham Bay Park

Our Urban Park Rangers will guide you to the best viewing spots in New York City to see spring migratory birds. Birding programs are appropriate for all skill levels and beginners are welcome. Please bring your own binoculars.

Click here to learn more

HONORING OUR AFRICAN ANCESTORS

Saturday, September 9th from 1:00pm to 3:00pm

Location: Enslaved Burial Ground in Van Cortlandt Park

Batá Drummers will dedicate an Oro for Égun ceremony at the Enslaved African & Kingsbridge Burial Ground in Van Cortlandt Park.

Master Batá Drummer Anthony Carrillo, Awo Juan Usera, and Awo Xavier Rivera will play the sacred Batá drums and dedicate an Oro for Égun ceremony to the ancestors who are buried in the Enslaved African & Kingsbridge Burial Ground in Van Cortlandt Park. Egún is the Yoruba word for ancestors and it refers to the collective spirit of all ancestors, emphasizing the interconnectedness between the ancestors and their living descendants.

Following the Égun ceremony, we will continue to honor and celebrate the ancestors with a Bombazo led by Juan Usera and the Sambuco Tribe with interactive drumming and dancing. Featured music in the Bombazo is Bomba, the most representative music and dance form of all African-derived cultural expressions in Puerto Rican folklore and one of the oldest Black cultural practices with connections to other Caribbean nations. Bomba also connects Puerto Ricans and people of Puerto Rican heritage to our ancestors and it is played to celebrate our departed.

This event is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

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WOODLAWN FAMILY FUN DAY

Saturday, September 23rd from 1:00pm to 4:00pm

Location: Indian Field, East 233rd Street and Jerome Avenue in Van Cortlandt Park

Join Van Cortlandt Park Alliance and the Women of Woodlawn for family fun activities in Indian Field.

Activities will include:

– Divi Roxx Kids
– Confetti Face Painters
– Woodlawn Family Walks
– Nature Crafts
– And much more!

Special thank you to our partners:

– Council Member Eric Dinowitz
– NYC Parks
– Women of Woodlawn

Click here to learn more

Did you know that Great Performances is headquartered in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx? We love being a part of the Bronx community, supporting other Bronx-based companies, and giving back to our community.

Read more about it here.

IN HIS WORDS: GARY BEDIGAN TAKES ON A NEW ROLE AT GREAT PERFORMANCES

By Great Performances

We love celebrating at Great Performances, and and most of all, we love celebrating people. It’s one of our core values that helps support our mission to Unleash Joy through Genuine Hospitality.

One of the ways we support our people is by allowing them the chance to grow and develop within the organization, including moving to different departments. We have a lot of success stories about how people have moved from one department to another. Today, we’re sharing Gary Bedigan’s story and how he moved from operations and living in the “venue world” to sales and living in the events side of Great Performances.

Gary Bedigan joined Great Performances in 2011, working throughout the venues on the operations side at Great Performances before joining the sales team. We interviewed him to hear his story and insights on growing at Great Performances.

After 10 years with other organizations in the industry, I joined Great Performances in 2011 as the Venue Manager at BAM. It connected my passion for the arts and hospitality into one role. During the first two years, we made some impactful changes to our operations and how we put forward services at BAM. My interaction with different departments internally at Great Performances and externally through our client and vendors expanded my skills and scope. I remember sitting with Mindy Birnbaum (Chief Legal Officer at GP) for hours reviewing contracts and handbooks and felt like I was getting a junior law degree, but the skills I learned have proven invaluable many times over the years.

Fast forward 11 years later, I was proud to be part of multiple openings, structural changes, bids for new business, unique partnerships, and finding the balance of operating as a for-profit company within the walls of our nonprofit partners.

Why did you choose to change roles within GP?

During Covid, I was fortunate to stay on board at GP in a modified role planning reopenings, going after new business, and staying engaged with our cultural partners. Like so many of us, Covid gave me time to think about what’s next – was I happy with what I was doing? Was I challenged? Could I continue to grow? Was I in the right place for me, GP, and the clients I served? I got curious.

I began to explore opportunities within and outside of GP. As the pandemic eased and we worked our way through the reopenings of multiple venues and cultural partners, I realized that so much had changed within the world in a short time period. It reinforced my belief that it was the right time for me to make a move.

Tell us about the process?

First and foremost, I was reminded that communication is key. Being open to talking to colleagues, leaders, and friends inside and outside GP was critical. Each person had a unique perspective and insight on how we grow as individuals.

Through my conversations, I felt drawn towards the sales side of the business as a way to complement the operational skills I had developed during my time working on the venue side of Great Performances. I worked closely with my manager and with the head of sales to structure a transition that would support my previous role while allowing me to take on the new role with minimal disruption.

How does one pack up a life and mindset gained through one side of the company and move to the “one night stand” side of the company? Through collaboration with colleagues and trusted partners. While it wasn’t necessarily easy, it was made easier by the support across all parts of the organization – truly a testament to our core values.

What’s it like being on the Sales Team?

I could not be prouder of the work this team does. I knew that coming on board, I would be the junior member. After years of being a senior member on the venue team, it was a strange and humbling experience. However, the level of support and collaboration among the team has been incredible, and the excitement I felt was refreshing. Additionally, the fast pace of events and the amount of work, detail, craftsmanship, and time that goes into each event is like nothing I have ever seen. Working in the venue world, we saw a sliver of what would happen for an event at our venues. Seeing these events take shape from the sales and event side of GP is incredible.

You’ve been on the sales team for almost a year now – can you describe your year?

When Shaun, now Chief Revenue Officer, and I were reflecting that it had been a year since I joined his team, he asked me how I felt (apparently, tired was not the word he wanted to hear). I could honestly say that while it has been tiring at times, it’s mostly been incredibly exciting and energizing.

In the year that I’ve been on the sales team, I’ve managed more than 200 events with more than 31,000 guests. Some highlights include the Oceans, Food, and Finance Dinner, which we’ll be doing again in September; a multi-day holiday event for Brookfield Properties; Representative Jeffries’ 2023 inauguration, the VALRHONA 100th Anniversary Celebration, and most recently, the Hot Bread Kitchen Fête for 15.

Any closing thoughts for us?

None of this would have been possible without my event producer, Kevin Jaeger, who makes me look much better than I am; and the support of my colleagues, the leadership team at GP, and all of our partners.

My move from one department to another gave talented team members the opportunity to grow, expand, and share their skill sets. The move was bittersweet to say the least – I loved what I did with the venues and was sad to go, but seeing colleagues including Pia Tedesco, Cesar Parra, and Taina Alves take on new challenges was so exciting to watch.

It’s also been exciting to join the ranks of Mark Jackson, former cater waiter, and Vicky Traegler, venue catering manager, join the sales team (or “the dark side”).

And finally, I encourage everyone who’s curious about what’s next for them to explore both internal and external opportunities. Speak with your colleagues, speak with HR, and check out some departments that you’re curious about. Most importantly, keep challenging yourself.