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Weekend Fun: Summer Streets, Dragon Boats, Kids Rule Fest

It's all about the kids at Kids Rule Weekend. Photo courtesy of Lehman Stages
It's all about the kids at Kids Rule Weekend. Photo courtesy of Lehman Stages
7/31/19 - By Drew Kristofik

And just like that, it's August! But summer is far from winding down for New York City kids. Proof? Two words: Summer Streets. For three straight Saturdays beginning August 3, Manhattan blocks traffic on an unbroken route from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Upper East Side and replaces it with fun outdoor activities—even a climbing wall and a zip line—at stops along the way. See our full lowdown on Summer Streets.

Kids Rule Weekend returns to Lehman College in the Bronx with pony rides and water slides for the toddler and preschool set. The Lincoln Center Out of Doors Family Day kicks off with World Roots music. The Rockaways' Water Fest is wet and wild as ever. Theatro SEA's Arts for All Fest pops up on the Lower East Side with a weekend-long celebration of Puerto Rican plena. And Hong Kong Dragon Boats race through Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

There's lots happening on NYC's riverfronts this weekend, too: Light a lantern for peace at the Hindu Lamp Ceremony in Brooklyn Bridge Park, or show off your dance moves at the Sweet Spot Festival at West Harlem Piers Park. Grab an oar and try your hand at Community Rowing, or learn to kayak or canoe at Hallets Cove.

Our August GoList has all the must-do events for families coming up this month, and don't forget the Summer Fun Guide, bursting with cool stuff to do, including how to get to the beach in a hurry, water park day trips, and even FREE splash pads.

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

Dogman the Musical takes the stage at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. Photo by Meagan Newhart
Dogman the Musical takes the stage at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. Photo by Meagan Newhart

All Weekend

Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival

Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens — FREE
This annual sporting and multicultural event is held to celebrate the fifth moon (or the fifth month) of the lunar calendar. In addition to providing audiences with traditional Chinese foods and performances, the festival hosts dragon boat teams from across North America. READ MORE

Arts for All Festival (Arte pa'mi Gente)

Lower East Side — FREE
This FREE outdoor festival, presented in collaboration with The Clemente, celebrates the rich cultural history of Puerto Rican Plena, a form of traditional folk music and dance native to Puerto Rico. READ MORE

Family Art Project: Be-of-the-Earth Topography Art

Riverdale, the Bronx
Explore the visual language of cartography and abstraction to make multi-layered artworks with landforms that take on their own lives. READ MORE

Dog Man: The Musical

Greenwich Village
Dog Man: The Musical is a hilarious new production based on the worldwide bestselling series from Dav Pilkey, the creator of Captain Underpants. READ MORE

Revolutionary Summer: Deborah Sampson, Fighting Woman

Upper West Side
Meet Deborah Sampson, the woman who disguised her gender to enlist in the Continental Army—as portrayed by Judith Kalaora of History at Play—and members of her regiment, the 7th Massachusetts. READ MORE

Beyond the Streets Exhibit

Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Beyond the Streets is a major exhibition of graffiti and street art showcasing the work of more than 150 artists from around the world. The exhibition transforms more than 100,000 square feet of space into a museum-quality art experience, along with performances, lectures and films. READ MORE

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Upper West Side — FREE
Hudson Warehouse is celebrating its 16th anniversary of bringing the classics to the parks. An adaptation of Shakespeare's only British-set comedy rollicks through the month of August. READ MORE

Horse Power

Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
Join this program to learn all about working horses and the history of the horsecar in New York. Hear how people traveled before cars and electricity and learn what was it like to rely on horses for travel. READ MORE
Hit the beach at Coney Island for the 5th Annual Brooklyn Beach Sports Festival. Photo courtesy of the event
Hit the beach at Coney Island for the 5th Annual Brooklyn Beach Sports Festival. Photo courtesy of the event

Saturday, August 3

Summer Streets

Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park — FREE
New York's favorite car-free street festival returns this July and August, as Summer Streets expands to open miles of NYC streets for people to play, run, walk, and bike across multiple weeks and in all five boroughs. READ MORE

Lincoln Center Out of Doors Family Day

Upper West Side — FREE
Lincoln Center Out Of Doors celebrates its 49th season of free performances with family-friendly music and dance performances on its spectacular outdoor campus. READ MORE

Hindu Lamp Ceremony

Dumbo, Brooklyn — FREE
The 10th annual Aarti Hindu Lamp Ceremony returns to Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pebble Beach! Guests are invited to decorate palm leaf lamps and release them along the East River. Special guest artists are in attendance displaying their works. READ MORE

Water Festival

The Rockaways, Queens — FREE
Join Councilman Erich Ulrich and NYC Parks for an afternoon of summer fun featuring waterslides, a bounce house, arts and crafts, music, face painting, games, playmobile, and refreshments. READ MORE

Summer on the Hudson: Sweet Spot Festival

Harlem — FREE
Summer on the Hudson and Kindred Arts host a family-friendly gathering of community, cultures, and music lovers of all ages. Enjoy Reggae, Soulful House, Disco, and Afro-Beat spun by a rotating collection of North America's most renowned sound architects. READ MORE

Health and Wellness Expo 2019

Midtown West — FREE
At this free Expo, visitors have access to free vision, dental, podiatry, audiology, blood pressure, and diabetes screenings for all ages. READ MORE

Brooklyn Beach Sports Festival

Coney Island, Brooklyn — FREE
Kick off your sandals and enjoy some time playing at the beach. NYC Parks hosts this calisthenics competition featuring athletes from all over the world. Adults and kids can participate in clinics and free play featuring a variety of sports. READ MORE

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Snug Harbor, Staten Island — FREE
Bring a blanket or low chair and picnic fare... and enjoy a Shakespeare play in the open air. Hip to Hip Theatre Company presents its version of Shakespeare's kid-friendliest comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream. READ MORE

Wildlife Tour: High Line as Habitat

Chelsea — FREE
Tour the High Line with horticulturist and resident wildlife expert, Maryanne Stubbs. This tour focuses on how pollinators, migratory birds, and other wildlife use the habitat and food provided by the High Line’s gardens. READ MORE

Renegade Performance Group at Socrates

Long Island City, Queens — FREE
Norte Maar’s Dance at Socrates returns for its 5th season bringing dancemakers and their companies to a main stage set on the East River waterfront. READ MORE
Head to Fort Greene Park for Music in the Grove. Photo courtesy of the event
Head to Fort Greene Park for Music in the Grove. Photo courtesy of the event

Sunday, August 4

Music in the Grove Kids Concerts

Fort Greene, Brooklyn — FREE
These hour-long concerts bring parents and children of all ages together with some of the finest talent in Brooklyn for a romping, stomping good time.  READ MORE

Lower East Side Walk & Find

Lower East Side
Step back in time and visit the Lower East Side spots that kids in the early 1900s knew and loved. From the country’s very first municipal playground to the beloved pickle shop, each place on this tour brings a distant world into focus.  READ MORE

Chill on the Hill Concert Series

Washington Heights — FREE
Enjoy a late afternoon of live acoustic music presented on the front porch of the Mansion. READ MORE

Children's March for Justice

Sugar Hill — FREE
Join Broadway Housing Communities (BHC) and the NYS Conference of NAACP and embark on a Children’s March for Justice focusing on issues of Fair Housing, Equal Education, Immigration Reform and the Cultural Arts. READ MORE

Kayaking & Canoeing at Hallets Cove

Long Island City, Queens — FREE
LIC Community Boathouse offers free kayaking and canoeing (weather permitting) at Hallets Cove, located just north of the Park. People of all ages are welcome to participate or volunteer. READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Riverside Park
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Citywide. See locations in text above

About the Author

Drew Kristofik

Drew Kristofik's early career editing teen magazines somehow morphed into a seven-year stint at MacNeil/Lehrer, followed by a very long sojourn at Nickelodeon/Viacom as Director of Content for Nick online and then Editor-in-Chief of ParentsConnect.com local. She was a founding member of the WebbyAward winning GoCityKids, has written for Family Fun Magazine, Vanity Fair, and New York, and her novel for middle schoolers, The Time Boat, is available on Amazon Kindle. She strives to keep the MommyPoppins New York Events calendar packed and accurate, and can be reached at events@mommypoppins.com.
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