Hudson Heights
And Fort George, Swindlers' Cove & Audubon Park
• Hudson Heights: Agudath Moriath Luncheon Senior Center, 90 Bennett Ave. (btwn. 184 & 186 Sts.).
• Fort George: Star Senior Center, 650 W. 187 (btwn. Wadsworth & Broadway), and YM & YWHA, 54 Nagle Ave.
Thursday
The Washington Heights Summer Musical Theater Dance Festival, the summer program of the Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company,
is a two-week intensive musical theater dance-training program for
pre-professionals and professionals as well as dancers ages 13-17.
Based in Hudson Heights, the Gwirtzman Company hosts the festival in
Fort George to provide a rigorous program that develops contemporary
dance and musical theater skills, while creating relationships with the
Company and special guest artists. The Festival is geared toward
students who are passionate about a career in dance and who wish to
train at an intensive level.
Through August 1 at the YM & YWHA at 54 Nagle Avenue in Fort George.
Pick up grass-fed steaks, creamery ice cream, artisanal cheeses, and organic foods direct from Vermont at the Holton Farms food truck every week. Maple syrup, too!
Thursday mornings from 8 to 9 near on 181st Street near Plaza Lafayette at Cabrini Boulevard in Hudson Heights (though their map calls it Fort George).
Shop for the fresh foods from the tri-state area's farms and
support farmers at the same time at a
green market. The market is open through November 18 on
Thursdays from 8 ro 4 at
Broadway and 175th in Lower WaHi.
The film An Education is the monthly offer from the Washington
Heights Film Class, which was featured recently in The Manhattan Times. The Inwood Shakespeare Festival concludes its eleventh summer, the Season of Guns and Proses, with guns.
Set in London in the late 1960s, An Education is a story about the
relationship
between an older man (Peter Saarsgard), and a precocious
17-year-old
girl with a hunger to learn about the world. Kerry Mulligan
received
an Oscar nomination for her performance.
(Rescheduled from July 22, and previously
rescheduled from July 1.)
Thursday night, July 29,
in the social hall of the Washington Heights Hebrew Tabernacle on Fort
Washington Avenue at 185th Street in Hudson Heights. The time has not
been set.
Tombstone is the fourth production of the summer, and is billed as a saga of the American West.
Take a bedroll, some beef jerky, and a canteen and enjoy the evening outdoors.
Free. Through Saturday night on the Inwood Hill Park Peninsula.
Friday
This summer, take your children to Jacob Javits Playground for drop-in programs with the Urban Park Rangers.
Kids love earning their Nature Detective badge as they explore the
"wild" side of parks with the Rangers. Scavenger Hunt, "tree-mendous"
hikes, and wildlife experiences await! They'll explore the wilds of
Fort Tryon Park.
Free. Friday afternoons at 1 through August
20. All programs begin and end in the Jacob Javits Playground in Hudson
Heights.
Spend an evening with the cool
cats of Uptown at a free jazz performance in the New Leaf Restaurant & Bar
every Friday. This week: Jake Ezra Trio.
Friday night, July 30, at 7:30 in the bar.
Saturday
The New York Mountain Bike Association races in Highbridge Park and looks for volunteers to maintain the park's trails. Visit the big lawn at the Morris-Jumel Mansion
Museum Saturdays for the last in the Academic
Music Seminars. Guests are encouraged to bring food and drinks for a family picnic!
If competitive downhill racing is too fast for you, you can still be
part of it by helping the athletes keep the park in shape.
Free. Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., in Highbridge Park. Also on August 28 and September 25.
Rounding out the series is Emily Hope Price, a cellist, composer, songwriter and
singer who lives in town. Her style has been described as casually quirky art-rock to Anti-Folk, bringing new
depth to cello performance by adding many effects such as looping,
distortion, sampling and improvising on the spot.
Free. Saturday morning at 11 at the mansion on Jumel Terrace in Lower WaHi.
Get your exercise off the island this summer. Learn competitive rowing, then race in the Head of the Harlem Regatta!
Two-day classes for adults are held each weekend by the New York Rowing Association. No experience necessary.
$350. Weekends through Sunday, August 1, at the Peter J. Sharpe Boathouse in Swindlers' Cove (just below Sherman Creek).
Walk NYC
is a free program that encourages New Yorkers of all ages to get fit
while enjoying the outdoors. The Parks Department has 30 park locations
throughout the city staffed with trained walking instructors to lead
walks.
Northern Manhattan Parks has two WALK NYC sites, in
Highbridge Park (on Tuesdays) and Inwood Hill Park. No need to
pre-register--just show up in your favorite walking shoes and comfy
clothing and get ready to have fun getting fit.
Inwood Hill Park
Saturday afternoons, 1 to 2
Meet in front of the Nature Center (enter park at 218th Street &
Indian Road and walk west to the center; it's on the north side of the
salt marsh).
Los niños (entre los
cuatro y doce años de edad) y sus familias están invitados a participar
en el taller educativo en español titulado La Experiencia Medieval en Los Claustros: Una fiesta medieval.
El taller es de una hora de duración. Es
incluye una visita guiada y la oportunidad de hacer un proyecto de
arte. Si desean obtener más
información por favor llamen al 212–396–5314.
Es gratis con la admission. Sabado, 1 p.m. a Los Claustros.
Sunday
Get out on the river and see how the island looks from a canoe. Join a coffee klatsch for the canine
set.
Find out what was for dinner in the Middle Ages when the Cloisters
hosts an hour-long family workshop. Britt Eilhardt is your maître d'. Keep the memory of Stan Michels alive with the annual jazz concert that bears his name. Hosted by the Fort Tryon Park Trust.
The Inwood Canoe Club is the oldest canoe and kayak club in the city. Established in 1898, it continues to host regattas and promote boating.
Even if you're normally a land-lubber, you can try your hand at rowing at one of the club's summer open houses.
Free. Sunday mornings at 10 through Labor Day at the
launch in the Hudson River 100 yards south of Dyckman Street in Fort
Washington Park.
The
Fort Tryon Dog Owners' Group provides
free doughnuts and coffee on the first
Sunday of each month.
Free. Sunday morning from 10 to noon at
Sir William's Dog Run (by the gazebo) in
Fort Tryon Park.
Pug
lovers, unite! The Fort Washington
Pug Meetup happens on the same day from 11
a.m. to 1 p.m., also at the dog run.
Prefer
dachshunds? Their meetup takes place
the last Sunday morning of the month from 10
to noon in the dog run.
Free with museum admission. Sunday afternoon at 1 in the museum in Fort Tryon Park.
Free. Sunday afternoon from 1:30 to 3:30 in the park on the Stan Michels Promenade.
Continuing in the
Neighborhood
Join the conversation when
Washington Heights Free Radio webcasts its weekly show from HQ on 163rd.
On-line. Wednesdays starting at 3.
Indulge in spring through the plants of Fort Tryon Park. Members of the Parks
Department's expert horticultural staff lead the way in a tour covers the Heather Garden,
with spectacular views of the Hudson River and the New Jersey Palisades.
On the first Sunday of the month, the tour includes the Alpine Garden.
Sunday afternoons at 1 at the entrance to the Heather Garden at Margaret
Corbin Circle. The tour lasts until 2:30.
What do you remember about summer as a child? For many of us, our most significant childhood memories center around free time spent outdoors: building forts, damming streams, making mud pies, or just daydreaming.
This summer, let your children create similar memories by joining the Urban Park Rangers for a Wild Playground in Inwood Hill Park.
In Wild Playground programs, Rangers facilitate child-directed play in Parks natural areas, providing a safe place for children to explore and experience the natural world.
Free. Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m through August 20 at the Emerson Playground in Inwood Hill Park.
The power of art to make an emotional
connection is on display every Sunday afternoon in Apartment 3F -- that's
Marjorie Eliot's place, where she
invites veteran musicians to play along.
Famous and up-and-coming artists perform at Eliot’s weekly sessions and
her free concerts are legendary among jazz aficionados.
Free. Sunday afternoons at 4
at 555 Edgecombe Avenue, Apt. 3F.
Every Saturday (weather permitting),
Northern Manhattan Parks
Inwood Astronomy Project offers free star and planet gazing in
Inwood Hill Park. These free, family-friendly events aim to spread
the joys of the evening sky, and help you to learn more about the
nature of our Solar System and current happenings in Astronomy.
Saturday nights from 8 to 10 on the ball fields near Seaman
Avenue and Isham Street. A map is here.
For more activities, check these sites. The Hudson Heights Owners Coalition updates a calendar of events specific to our neighborhood, while the Washington Heights and Inwood Online calendar covers all of Upper Manhattan. Both sites include exercise programs and weekly music events at neighborhood restaurants.
On Broadway
In The
Heights won four Tony Awards in 2008 including Best Musical, Best
Choreography and Best Orchestration.
Adding to the show's pile of gold is a Grammy Award for Best Musical
Show Album earned last year.
In The Heights continues to play to enthusiastic audiences after hearty
reviews from The New York Times and The Associated Press. In The Times,
Charles Isherwood writes, "when this musical erupts in one of its
expressions of collective joy, the energy it gives off could light up the
George Washington Bridge for a year or two. The title song, for in- stance,
is among the most galvanizing opening numbers in recent Broadway memory."
At the Richard Rogers Theater.
Hudson Heights
Planning Ahead
A Senegalize
taxi driver (Soulemayne Sy Savane) befriends an
elderly man (Red West) who is determined to kill
himself.
Goodbye Solo is the second screening by the
Washington Heights Film Class of a film by
gifted director Ramin Bahrani.
Rescheduled from May; the screening date hasn't been set yet.
Become a gardener for the week and get your hands dirty
planting flowers and herbs in the Colonial garden at the Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum. Create a
journal, pressed flower pictures and a terrarium while meeting new friends.
This popular event requires advanced registration: (212) 923-8008. An adult must be present with children.
Free. Monday through Friday, August 2 through 6, from 11 to 2 at the mansion on Jumel Terrace in Lower WaHi.
If you're looking for a team sport that requires true teamwork, learn competitive rowing. The New York Rowing Association offers five-day courses to prep and college students. No experience necessary.
$300. Each Monday through Friday, concluding Labor Day weekend, at the
Peter J. Sharpe Boathouse (above, in photo) in Swindlers' Cove (just
below Sherman Creek).
Pick up your groceries from Manhattan's newest greenmarket, near the Columbia Medical Center. Walk NYC
is a free program that encourages New Yorkers of all ages to get fit
while enjoying the outdoors. The Parks Department has 30 park locations
throughout the city staffed with trained walking instructors to lead
walks.
You can choose vegetables and Mexican specialties from R&R Produce
in Orange County; juices, jams, apples, plums, and more from Red Jacket
Orchard in Ontario County; raw cows' milk cheese from Calkins Creamery
in Wayne County, Penn., not to mention honey, popcorn, and and baked
goods from the Hudson Valley.
Tuesdays from 8 to 5 through November 25 on Fort Washington Avenue at 168th Street in Lower WaHi.
Northern Manhattan Parks has two WALK NYC sites, in Highbridge
Park and Inwood Hill Park (on Saturdays). No need to pre-register--just show up in
your favorite walking shoes and comfy clothing and get ready to have
fun getting fit.
Highbridge Park
Tuesday evenings, 6 to 7
Meet in front of the Recreation Center at 173rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
The redevelopment of Sherman Creek is back on the city's radar. The Economic Development Corporation will give a report on the master plan and seek neighborhood ideas on design plans for the esplanade.
To RSVP, please call Barbara Patrick at 212-312-3673 or send an e-mail to shermancreekwaterfront@nycedc.com
Thursday night, August 5, from 6 to 8 at Dyckman Houses Senior Center, 3754 10th Avenue (at West 201st Street) in Sherman Creek (just north of the inlet, above).
Discover the swashbuckling truth of a medieval knight's life at the Cloisters in an hour-long family workshop. Lady Christina, de León, is your liege.
Free with museum admission. Saturday afternoon, August 7, at 1 in the museum in Fort Tryon Park.
Make a play date with Manhattan's history.
Children will get their hands dirty when they help us harvest the vegetables from our Kitchen Garden as they learn what the Dyckmans grew on their farm two hundred years ago. Then they will also plant a seed to grow at home.
Reservations recommended, as space is limited. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
Free. Sunday morning, August 8, at 11 at the Dyckman Farmhouse on Broadway at 204th Street.
You'll never know you were in the biggest city on the continent when you relax for a jamboree on the back porch of the neighborhood farmhouse.
The Dyckman Farmhouse
offers summer concerts, and this time the guest is Kiara Duran. Bring a blanket and a snack (no lawn chairs, please).
Free. Wednesday evening, August 11, at 6:30 at the farm on Broadway and 204th Street
There's more to medieval art than paintings and sculptures. Discover text and pictures from the Middle Ages in a gallery talk at the Cloisters. Make your neighborhood safer at
34th Precinct Community Council. The new party for gay, alternative, and friendly uptowners
is at the Plum Pomidor. Find a medieval rainbow at the Cloisters in a one-hour family workshop. Carleen Coulter leads the way.
Free with museum admission. Saturday afternoon, August 14, at noon and 2 at the museum in Fort Tryon Park.
If you have questions or concerns about neighborhood
safety, who better to mention it to than the NYPD?
Free; donations accepted. Wednesday night at 7 in the cafeteria of
Junior High School I.S. 52 at 650 Academy Street (between Broadway and
Vermilyea Avenue) in Inwood.
D.J. Maxx plays R&B, Hip Hop, Reggae, Latin & Caribbean on the
last Wednesday night of each month. Go-go guys included.
Wednesday night at 8 at Plum Pomidor Bar, 4009 Broadway
(between 168th and 169th Streets).
Free with museum admission. Saturday afternoon, August 21, at 1 in the museum in Fort Tryon Park.
Keep Fort Tryon Park beautiful by pitching in to clean it up.
Pruning, planting, and litter collection are the order of the day when the Friends' Committee of the Fort Tryon Park Trust asks you to join in making a difference.
All tools provided, as are work gloves.
Sunday, August 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Meet at the park entrance at Margaret Corbin Circle.
The New York Mountain Bike Association races in Highbridge Park and looks for volunteers to maintain the park's trails.
If competitive downhill racing is too fast for you, you can still be
part of it by helping the athletes keep the park in shape.
Free. Saturday, August 28, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., in Highbridge Park. Also on September 25.
Need to decorate a new wing in your country place? Get pointers in a gallery talk on Medieval Art and Private Collecting at the Cloisters.
Free with museum admission. Saturday afternoon, August 28, at noon and 2 in the museum in Fort Tryon Park.
Los niños (entre los
cuatro y doce años de edad) y sus familias están invitados a participar
en el taller educativo en español titulado La Experiencia Medieval en Los Claustros: La vide de caballero medieval.
El taller es de una hora de duración. Es
incluye una visita guiada y la oportunidad de hacer un proyecto de
arte. Si desean obtener más
información por favor llamen al (212) 396–5314
Gratis con la admission. Sabado, 28 augosto, 1 p.m. a Los Claustros.
If the Shakespeare you've seen Uptown this season—The Comedy of Errors, Measure for Measure, An Afternoon of Shakespeare Songs—whets your appetite for more, you're in luck.
A Midsummer Night's Dream will unfold before your eyes outdoors, where the show takes place, on several midsummer nights. Curious Frog Theatre produces the show, most likely in Fort Tryon Park (details are still under wraps).
Free. Weekends in August and September.
Into Autumn
The second in the Morris-Jumel Mansion's wine series will focus on vintages from a region contained in the 13 original Colonies.
Pre-paid
advanced registration is required: (212) 923 8008.
$20; members $15; four nights: $70, members $60. Friday night, September 17, from 7 to 9. Also on October 28.
If you love Fort Tryon Park, come by and be the guests of the Friends' Committee of the Fort Tryon Park Trust as they celebrate It's My Park Day.
Free. Sunday, September 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. throughout the park.
Intrepid athletes will be swimming upstream today, dripping wet and exhausted when they climb out of the Hudson River in Fort Washington Park.
The Little Red Lighthouse Swim starts at Clinton Cove (Pier 96 for the maritime inclined, or West 56th Street for you landlubbers). More than 200 swimmers will brave the current.
It's quite a site to see them finish the 5.85-mile race at the lighthouse, so drop by to see for yourself.
Saturday morning, September 25; the race starts at 7:15 with the winner arrive around 8:45. Anyone still in the water at 10:30 will be fished out.
The New York Mountain Bike Association races in Highbridge Park and looks for volunteers to maintain the park's trails.
If competitive downhill racing is too fast for you, you can still be
part of it by helping the athletes keep the park in shape.
Free. Saturday, September 25, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., in Highbridge Park.
Each autumn the Head of the Harlem Regatta brings competitive rowers to the Peter J. Sharpe Boathouse in Swinders' Cove. Races are held for groups from high school students to masters.
If you're not a rower, come by for the spectacle. Sponsored by the New York Rowing Association.
Late September on the Harlem River at Swindlers' Cove.
The British trio The xx play New York one night only.
$25, $35. Saturday night, October 2, at 8 at the United Palace Theater on Broadway and 176th in Lower WaHi.
The Medieval Festival draws tens of thousands of visitors to Hudson Heights, so either pack up or stroll up to Fort Tryon Park for a day of jousting, falconry, and revelry.
Donations accepted. Sunday, October 3, from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Earlier this year New York magazine called the Pied Piper Children's Theatre fabulous, so it's time for you to check it out yourself.
Take a chance with Much Ado About Nothing, a favorite by the most popular playwright in the neighborhood.
Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, October 17, 17, 23, and 24, at Holy Trinity Church at 20 Cumming Street in Inwood.
Fort Tryon Park is 75 years old in 2010, and the celebration takes place throughout the park during one of the last warm weekends of the season.
Hosted by the Fort Tryon Park Trust.
Free. Sunday, October 17, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Shakespeare Saturdays continues Upper Manhattan's dedication to the Bard with its autumn season. Timon of Athens and The Tempest are on the boards for staged readings in Inwood.
Free. Saturday afternoons with dates to be announced later.
The Friends' Committee of the Fort Tryon Park Trust invites all lovers of flora to help with the annual bulb planting. After the winter ends you'll be able to see your work.
Tools, work gloves, and bulbs provided.
Free. Sunday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Meet at the park entrance at Margaret Corbin Circle.
Interpol comes to the neighborhood for an evening of music.
Friday night, November 5, at 8 at the United Palace Theater on Broadway and 176th in Lower WaHi.
The neighborhood took its name from the Revolutionary War fort that was in Bennett Park.
Find out what it was like to live at the camp, and how it felt to lose to the British.
Free. Sunday, November 14, from noon to 3 on the cafe lawn in Fort Tryon Park (not enough space in Bennett Park).
The modern classic Annie will be performed by Inwood's popular troupe, the Pied Piper Children's Theatre.
Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, January 15, 16, 22, and 23, at Holy Trinity Church, 20 Cumming Street, in Inwood.