Exciting Events Around The Bronx: September 2023
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
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.
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!
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
…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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
