NYC400: Quadricentennial Celebration
Thank you for making NYC400 a sucess! The celebration has ended, but please check our events calendar for more fun things to do in parks.
NYC400 is a year of special events, exhibits, outdoor activities, and performances to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Henry Hudson aboard the Dutch vessel Halve Maen to New York City.
The following events are all FREE to the public and presented by the City of New York Parks & Recreation as part of NYC400 and are produced in collaboration with the NY State Hudson–Champlain–Fulton Quadricentennial Commission.
Tiptoe through the Tulips
April 2009 through Spring
Citywide
The Parks Department and the Fund for the Park Avenue Malls planted more than 150,000 orange tulips to commemorate New York City’s Dutch history. The Dutch Community Trust donated 50,000 of these bulbs to Parks while the Fund has maintained and planted the medians on Park Avenue from 54th to 86th Streets.
Fly NY Kite Festival
May 9, 2009
Riverside Park
Pier I, 70th Street and the Hudson River, Manhattan
FlyNY Kite Festival is an international design competition
open to the design community—including architects, engineers,
and artists—students, and children. Participants will present
their designs at the inaugural FlyNY Kite Festival. The event
will encourage an innovative conversation about the principles
of design, and volunteers will engage children in this dialogue
through kite–making activities
Drums Along the Hudson
May 17, 2009
Inwood Hill Park
215th Street, Manhattan
The Seventh Annual Drums Along the Hudson: A Native American
Festival is a multi–cultural, family–oriented event that celebrates
the spirit of the drums, which is at the heart of the culture
of the Native American people. The event features musical and
dance performances, storytelling and doll–making, international
foods, and Native American crafts and artwork. Drums Along the Hudson also features Manhattan’s only open–air pow wow, which is a celebratory gathering of Native people.
Cherry and Crabapple Tree Planting
May 2009
Riverside Park, Fort Washington Park, and Inwood Hill Park
79th Street to 220th Street, Manhattan
To continue a project initiated 100 years ago for the previous Hudson–Fulton Celebration, Parks and the New York Restoration Project (NYRP) are planting 400 cherry and crabapple trees along the Hudson River from 79th Street to 220th Street, spanning Riverside Park, Fort Washington Park, and Inwood Hill Park. These trees also contribute towards the goal of planting one million new trees across the city by 2017.
Fishing Festival
June 13, 2009
West Harlem Piers Park
125th Street and the Hudson River, Manhattan
The inaugural Fishing Festival at West Harlem Piers Park will feature a day of fishing with the Urban Park Rangers, singing sea shanties with Astrograss, and enjoying the cool breeze along the Hudson River. The Fishing Festival will also include hands–on educational activities for children about Dutch Colonial and Native American life on and in the Hudson River. Rods and reels will be provided by the Urban Park Rangers.
City of Water Day
July 18, 2009
Governors Island, Manhattan
A FREE day of entertainment, education, and adventure for the
whole family celebrating the potential of our waterfront, festival
highlights include more than a dozen fun and free boat tours,
including bird–watching eco tours, and tours of the working harbor;
special children’s activities from fishing, arts and crafts,
rides, and a kids race to an exciting line–up of local bands,
and more!
The Great Champlain–Hudson Paddle
August 17, 2009
West 79th Street Boat Basin, Manhattan
West 79th Street & the Hudson River
In coordination with the Hudson River Valley Greenway, the Paddle is a 15–day, 195–mile kayaking and camping trip from Fort Edward to Manhattan along the engineering marvel of the 19th century, the Hudson River. Groups of thru–paddlers will be camping out in local and state parks and visiting heritage and cultural sites in the communities along the way. Beginners and experts are welcome to join the paddle when it hits Manhattan the morning of August 17 at the Boat Basin. Following a press conference, the group of kayakers will head south down the Hudson River from the Boat Basin to Pier 96, the final landing area of the Paddle, where the Downtown Boat Alliance will host a welcome party.
New Amsterdam Village
September 4, 2009 – September 14, 2009
Bowling Green Park
Broadway & Beaver Streets, Manhattan
Twelve traditional Dutch canal houses, a windmill and a stage will transform Bowling Green Plaza in Downtown Manhattan into a New Amsterdam Village featuring well–known Dutch crafts such as wooden shoe–making, Delft blue painting and glass blowing. Produced by the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality in cooperation with the Netherlands Embassy in Washington and the Netherlands Consulate General in New York, the New Amsterdam Village will display the roles the Netherlands plays in the agri–food business industry and will also present a model of a Dutch greenhouse. Customary Dutch foods such as cheese, beer, herring, and “dollar” pancakes will be available to sample while Dutch flower bulbs and cut flowers will be available to purchase.
Dutch Plein & Pavilion at Peter Minuit Plaza
September 9, 2009
Battery Park, Manhattan
A new centerpiece of the Battery Park plaza will be the NYC400 Dutch Pavilion, a gift from the Dutch government to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson sailing into New York Harbor on behalf of the Dutch. This new pavilion, designed by architect Ben van Berkel, will house a full–service concession and information booth and provide the public with an educational and cultural experience with information about the history of Dutch settlement in New York and will also be used for events and markets.
The New Island Festival
September 10, 2009 – September 20, 2009
Governor’s Island
Sponsored by the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the New Island Festival is a celebration of all things Dutch and includes spectacles such as the Boulevard of Broken Dreams scenically designed by director Henk Scholten and Joop. For the run of the New Amsterdam Festival, Governor’s Island will feature popular Dutch and American musical artists in collaboration with the distinguished Oerol and De Parade festivals. A few of the programs will include the Silent Disco, performances by Dutch actor/singer Jeroen Willems and Amsterdam comedy institution Boom Chicago, and contributions from Flemish director Ivo van Hove, Dansgroep Amsterdam, and Robert Wilson’s Watermill. Free ferry service will be provided.
Harbor Day
September 13, 2009
New York’s Harbor District
Harbor Day, an inaugural event taking place at six high–profile waterfront sites, will be the finale of the year–long Quad celebration and also mark the launch of the newly–created Harbor District. A wide range of activities celebrating water will take place up and down the Hudson River in New York’s waterfront parks. Each site will have free programming throughout the day related to Dutch culture, food, and entertainment and be linked to other sites with free bicycle rentals and free ferry services. Harbor Day will also feature a colorful fleet of historic Dutch and American yachts and sailboats, Dutch naval vessels, and replicas of the Halve Maen and Onrust.
Sites include The Battery, Battery Park City, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Governor’s Island, Water Taxi Beach at South Street Seaport, Hudson River Park, and the Snug Harbor Cultural Center.
