Make it a day on, not a day off.

     The Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday on Monday is an official day of service and celebrates the civil rights leader’s life and legacy.

     Click here to find nearby events that you and your family can participate in.

     Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer helped arrange another free Covid testing day with the Word Up.

     Roberto Carlos Garcia’s third poetry collection,  Elegies, centers on love, grief, legacy, racism and history. You can join him in a virtual parlor chat at Manhattan’s oldest home.

     Garcia’s lyric poems range from an ode to Allen Iverson’s crossover on Michael Jordan, to an original form called a mixtape featuring lines from today’s most well-known poets; from a twenty-poem sequence of elegies dedicated to his grandmother, to an essay on police terror.

     Tuesday night at 7 through the Morris-Jumel Mansion.

     Join Israeli missary Shani Aslan for a fun and delicious cooking series. She will bring traditional and modern  cuisine into your home as you cook along.

     For January, the dish is Moroccan fish.

     Register here, where you can also find your list of ingredients. Sponsored by the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood.

    Tuesday night at 7 online. On the third Tuesday of the month.

     The interregnum ends at noon.

     Soul-soothing music and the chace for a bit of peace.

     Come for an hour of quiet live music in a candlelit space. No words, screens, agendas. Just a change to bring your heart and soul to a quieter place in the city’s shrine to the patron saint of immigrants

     A donation basket for the musicians will be provided.

     Free. Wednesday evening at 6 at the St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in Hudson Heights on Fort Washington Avenue at 190th Street.

     The artists Gwendolyn Black, Sheila Prevost (in photo), and Rachel Sydlowski share their reactions to the untold and important stories of the people who were enslaved on the Dyckman Farm. 

     The museum’s executive director says, “it is imperative that we continue to expand upon the narrative that we tell at the museum.”

    Schedule a visit slot here.

    $6 for one to five visitors. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10 to 2 at the museum in Inwood on Broadway at 204th Street.

     Next stop: The 1 Train, which makes 38 stops across 15 miles from the Bronx to Lower Manhattan.

     The New York Adventure Club, led by New York City local and licensed tour guide Jim Ryan, explores every stop on the 1 Train, including Lower WaHi, Fort George, and Inwood, featuring shops, restaurants, museums, statues, parks, and bookstores, including:

• A visit to the best carrot cake in the city,
• Teeing off at the nation’s oldest public golf course, and
• A trip to a Manhattan neighborhood that’s not on Manhattan island.

Afterward Jim will open the floor to any and all questions about the 1 Train’s stops.

     $12.57. Thursday evening from 5:30 to 7 online.

     The Inwood Film Festival was postponed from the winter until the late summer and then canceled. The screenings have gone virtual instead.

     Watch a local filmmaker’s efforts in short film premiering weekly. Each film will also feature a small business that is open and needs your support.

January 8 Buoyancy, directed by Mozell Miley-Bailey
January 15 Dime Short, directed by Krista Gano
January 22 Mother’s House, directed by Davis Hall
January 29 Quiet Sundays, directed by Katie Kemmerer

     Free. At a new time starting this month: Friday nights at 7 through the festival’s web page.

     The Puerto Rican poet Vincent Toro adopts a Latin American idea for his reading.

     He’s using a virtual tertulia, a social gathering, to engage listeners and readers with his work and the poetry of others.

     Conducted in the mode of a hip-hop cypher, the gathering will feature poets performing one poem at a time in cycles. The reading will be followed by a tertulia-style discussion among the poets that will eventually open up to include everyone watching. Save your spot here.

     Friday night at 7 online.

      If you like outdoor geometry, get on the street for sunrise and sunset when the shadows line up with the streets.

      The “Manhattanhenge” effect works Uptown on days different from the rest of the island’s.

      To see the sun line up with the streets in Hudson Heights (on 181st Street in the photo), where the street grid is aligned differently from most of the borough, get out on April 18; it’s also on August 26 in Hudson Heights Henge. Fort George Henge is on the same dates as Manhattan, and Inwood Henge is on January 23 — the grid there is so katy-wompus that the sun aligns when it is due “south.”

     The effect works below 174th and above 174th if you go east of Broadway (for sunrise: sunset views may be blocked by buildings to the west). So if you want to see Manhattanhenge, as it’s dubbed, hope for clear skies on May 30 and June 12.

     Inwood Henge: Saturday at dawn and dusk.

     You can look for the dates in all the city’s neighborhoods on this map from Carto.

    The Inwood greenmarket is a year-round neighborhood favorite.
    People of all ages, backgrounds, and tastes gather each Saturday to meet and greet their friends and neighbors and do their weekly shopping. Even on the coldest, darkest winter Saturdays, loyal Inwood shoppers come out because they know they can’t get products like this anywhere else.
     A core group of 15 farmers attends every week of the year, and during the peak of the season, five more join to round out the offerings with the summer’s bounty.

     The collection of food scraps for composting and used textiles for recycling is on hiatus during the pandemic.
     Saturdays from 8 to 3 on Isham Street between Seaman Avenue and Cooper Street. Open year-round.

    Celebrate the Black American experience through music and dialogue, featuring spirituals that became the compass in the fight for freedom and dignity.

    Gwendolyn Black leads My Soul Sings of Freedom, a workshop which includes the artistry of Emme Kemp, a pianist and Broadway composer.

     Have your instruments ready. Register here. Hosted by the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum.

     Free. Saturday afternoon at 3 on Zoom.

     Maintain the Russian language within your family and share your memories, family customs and traditions with your children and while also creating new ones with Sohnechniy Krug.

     By continuing the exploration of our established Little Avant-Gardes curriculum, the group introduces new names of contemporary Jewish artists, such as Ben Sahn, left, and his 1946 painting, Renasance. This month examines justice in modern art.

     Contact Yevgeniya Lopatnyk for more information at ylopatnyk@ywashhts.org.

     Saturday at the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood in Fort George at 54 Nagle Avenue.

     Find out more about a gem of a park when the Urban Park Rangers lead an exploration of Isham Park.

     You’ll see highlights such as Bruce's Garden, right, one of the “great trees of NYC,” the Grandma Ginko, and the hidden mile marker found along the former Kingsbridge Road now known as Broadway. 

     Free. Sunday afternoon at 1. Meet at the corner of Isham Street and Seaman Avenue.

     Famous and up-and-coming artists perform at Eliot’s weekly sessions and her free concerts are legendary among jazz aficionados.

     Before the pandemic, Eliot welcomed aficianados to her Inwood apartment to listen live. Now she streams her performances.

     Free. Sunday afternoons at 3:30 online.

      Among the things WaHi is famous for is the noise. Lots of it!

      But does it seem eerily quiet now? You may not miss the auditory assaults, but the sounds of people mingling and waiters serving are becoming memories.

      Refresh yours with the New York Public Library’s new online album: Missing Sounds of New York. It probably won’t win any Grammys, but each track uses a combination of sounds to create familiar canvases on which mini stories are placed: a glass breaking in a bar, a dance performance on the subway, an overly enthusiastic baseball fan.

      It’s free and it’s available from the library. (No need to for a library card!)

     If you’re staying in, you can still enjoy the city’s green spaces from home. Here’s a selection of video tours, meditation, fitness classes, and activities for kids.

     Getting out in one can help you relax and excercise at the same time. Just be sure to follow these common-sense guidelines:

• Go out in small groups no bigger than three, making sure that everyone remains at least 6 feet from each other at all times. 
• If you go out after dark, stay near the street and go with a friend — maintaining that distance of at least 6 feet. 
• Bike or stroll on the Greenway along the Hudson or Harlem Rivers. 
• Do not engage in team sports or other group games. 
• Use playgrounds at your own risk. Although playground bathrooms remain open and are disinfected daily, the playground equipment is not disinfected. Avoid using playground equipment, but you do, take wipes to sanitize anything you or your child may touch and play on equipment only if you can remain at least 6 feet apart from anyone not in your household.
   

     Commuters will see changes in Fort George over the next year.

     Starting this week there is no 1 service at 181 Street Station. The MTA is completely replacing the elevators (they're over 80 years old!) that provide access to the station.

     The work is scheduled to last untitl next December. A variety of shuttles will be available and there’s the A Train and its new elevators at 11st Street and Fort Washington Avenue.

     The High Bridge—New York City’s oldest standing bridge—is a landmark that connects walkers and cyclists with Manhattan and the Bronx.
     The High Bridge is a path from the neighborhoods of Washington Heights to Highbridge across the river, and is accessible from both boroughs.
     Free. Daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Enter from Highbridge Park, in Lower WaHi on Amsterdam Avenue in the 170s.

     Create a sheva minim fruit salad as you take part in the Shamayim challenge.

     As you celebrate Jewish holidays and traditions, explore vegan — plant-based — cooking with delicious recipes and discuss compassion for animals from a Jewish perspective. These sessions will also consider plant-based alternatives to avoid food allergies.

     Converting traditional Jewish recipes to plant-based versions can be better for personal health and is better for the planet, while still being delicious and fulfilling. celebrations.

     Register here, where you can also find your list of ingredients. Sponsored by the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood.

    Wednesday night, January 27, at 7 online. Also on February 23, March 14, April 11, May 11, and June 11.

     The dogs of Fort Tryon Park bring comfort and delight to park visitors and help activate all areas of the park as they are walked by their owners (always on leash, please).

     Fort Tryon Park boasts Manhattan’s largest dog run and could use your help in stewarding it. Join Fort Tryon Park Trust executive director Jennifer Hoppa, board member Shah Ally, and other dog owners to improve the run and the areas surrounding it.

     Register with an email to info@forttryonparktrust.org. For this event, since volunteers will be working inside both runs, please leave your pup at home.

     Saturday morning, January 30, from 9 to 11:30 at Sir William’s Dog Run.

     Maintain the Russian language within your family and share your memories, family customs and traditions with your children and while also creating new ones with Sohnechniy Krug.

     By continuing the exploration of our established Little Avant-Gardes curriculum, the group introduces new names of contemporary Jewish artists. This month features a visit to the Guggenheim.

     Contact Yevgeniya Lopatnyk for more information at ylopatnyk@ywashhts.org.

     Sunday, February 7, at the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood in Fort George at 54 Nagle Avenue.

     Gather your family and friends to learn how the flying and fuzzy creatures of Fort Tryon Park survive the colder months.

     The Fort Tryon Park Trust presents this workshop led by Leslie Day, a naturalist and the author of several field guides to nature in New York City. You’ll find out about the park's abundant fauna, including bird species, butterflies, moths, and bees, as well as our four-legged park residents.

     Register here to reserve your spot and receive Zoom login details.

     Free. Sunday afternoon, February 7, at 4 online.

     A historic Revolutionary War battle; a replica of a medieval monastery; remnants of one of New York's most incredible private estates. It's time to take a virtual trip to Fort Tryon Park to uncover the sights and stories hidden throughout one of the city’s crown jewels.

     Join the New York Adventure Club for a virtual exploration of Fort Tryon Park in the Manhattan neighborhoods of Hudson Heights and Inwood, which is now one of the city’s most beautiful green spaces. The talk will also explain why the park is named for a British royal official and how it earned the nickname Flower Capital of Manhattan as well as a look at the remnants of C.K.G. Billings’ mansion, with stories around the American industrialist tycoon’s over-the-top dinner party on his estate.

     Register here. (Note that the page uses Central time.)

     $12.57. Thursday evening, February 11, at 5:30 online.

     Bubbie’s Kitchen is a place where universal Jewish values are shared, holidays are experienced, foods are tasted, and we learn how mitzvot (good deeds) make our world a better place.

     The kitchen is a welcoming place, and there's room for all at Bubbie’s table for children and their families.

     Traditionally, older generations transmit a cultural narrative to younger ones. Children today, however, are less likely to live with, or near, extended relatives. The program replicates a Jewish grandmother’s kitchen where language, recipes, music, stories, and activities can be preserved and passed on to the next generation.

     Register to bake here, where you can also get your ingredients ready from the list of recipes.

     Thursday night, February 11, at 7 on Zoom. Monthly on the second Thursday through June except in April, when it’s on Tuesday the sixth.

     Regarded as the most romantic of Spanish singers, Dyango has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. He was born José Gómez Romero and is nicknamed The Voice of Love.

     $53 to $163.83. Friday night, February 12,

Postponed to Saturday night, October 16, at 8 at the United Palace Theater in Lower WaHi on Broadway at 175th Street.

     Hudson Heights’ own dance troupe explores the push and pull of relationships in a Valentine’s Day performance.

     An Evening of Love Dances, a live Zoom event celebrating the duet form, comes from the repertory of the Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company.

     When the performance had its debut in 2020 at the Joyce SoHo, The Dancers’ Magazine wrote: “For love of dance, audience and performers were romanced at Joyce SoHo … it was nice to just sit back and be nuzzled by Mr. Gwirtzman’s gift and to enjoy the satisfying feeling of love at first sight, with hope in your heart that you will meet again soon.”

     Registration required for the Valentine’s Day show. Watch a sample here.

     Free. Sunday evening, February 14, at 6 online.

     It’s right there under your feet and you probably ride it every day, but how much do you really know about New York City’s subway system? It’s time to explore one of the oldest and largest public transit systems in the world, from the comfort of your living room.

     Join New York Adventure Club to explore the history of the subway. It opened in 1904 with a single line serving 28 stations and has grown to encompass 472 stations and over 245 miles of tracks, serving nearly 6 million riders per day.

     You’ll find out why The Great Blizzard of 1888 was the catalyst for a subway system, and get an overview of New York public transportation back in the 1800s.

     $12.57. Tuesday night, February 16, at 8 online. (Note that the club’s website uses Central time.)

     Celebrate Purim with family and friends old and new. A special table will be set up for Russian speakers.

     Sunday, February 21, at the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood in Fort George at 54 Nagle Avenue.

     Take part in the Shamayim challenge!

     As you celebrate Jewish holidays and traditions, explore vegan — plant-based — cooking with delicious recipes and discuss compassion for animals from a Jewish perspective. These sessions will also consider plant-based alternatives to avoid food allergies.

     Mark Purim with a sweet and tasty hamantaschen.

     Register here, where you can also find your list of ingredients. Sponsored by the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood.

    Tuesday night, February 23, at 7 online. Also on March 14, April 11, May 11, and June 11.

     The spring production from Up Theater, postponed until now, is A Barn Play, by Lizzie Donahue. A cast of farm animals performs a darkly comic fable for our time.

     Durng Thursday performances, the show wll be translated as the lines of the dark comedy are being spoken through headsets that audience members can wear.

      Rescheduled for 2021 from April, on dates yet to be announced at Good Shepherd School in Inwood on Cooper Street between 207th and Isham Streets.

     Mark Passover with a rosh chodesh sprout salad as you take part in the Shamayim challenge.

     As you celebrate the holiday, explore vegan — plant-based — cooking with delicious recipes and discuss compassion for animals from a Jewish perspective. The session will also consider plant-based alternatives to avoid food allergies.

     Register here, where you can also find your list of ingredients. Sponsored by the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood.

    Sunday evening, March 14, at 5 online. Also on April 11, May 11, and June 11.

     From late spring through the late autumn, the Fort Washington Greenmarket in Lower WaHi offers Mexican herbs, peppers, and greens, honey, cheese, juice pressed from ripe orchard fruit, produce grown in the rich soil of Orange County’s “Black Dirt” region, pastries and fresh bread.

     The collection of food scraps for composting and used textiles for recycling is on hiatus during the pandemic.

     Tuesdays from 8 to 4 on Fort Washington Avenue at 168th Street. Opening in the spring; through November.

     A New York farmers’ market offers fresh fruit and vegetables from the Hudson Valley, the Garden State and beyond.

     The Lower WaHi market is open Thursdays on 175th Street between Wadsworth Avenue and Broadway.
     Opening in the spring; through November.

     Uptown’s private garden opens to visitors in the spring.

     You won’t need a key to enjoy the flowers, koi pond, and butterflies, such as the monarch resting on swamp mlkweed in the photo. They’re all at the Riverside Inwood Neighborhood Garden. Join as a member and you’ll get special access, including a key, so you may visit whenever you like.

     The garden hosts special events in the summer and autumn, and holiday lights in the winter.

     Opens April 1. At the confluence of Riverside Drive, Dyckman Street and Broadway in Inwood.

     Maintain the Russian language within your family and share your memories, family customs and traditions with your children and while also creating new ones with Sohnechniy Krug.

     By continuing the exploration of our established Little Avant-Gardes curriculum, the group introduces new names of contemporary Jewish artists. This month explores the theme of remembrance.

     Contact Yevgeniya Lopatnyk for more information at ylopatnyk@ywashhts.org.

     Saturday, April 17, at the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood in Fort George at 54 Nagle Avenue.

     The Latin pop band Camila shares its romantic rthythms with Uptown audiences.

     $86.76 to $229.90. Saturday night, April 24, at 8 at the United Palace in Lower WaHi on Broadway at 175th Street.

    With stops in London, Cape Town, Sydney and WaHi, the Colour Conference is a global women’s gathering that places value on everyday women of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures.

     As a movement, the Colour Sisterhood has inspired women around the world to rise up, champion womanhood and partner in advocating for justice and social change.

     The Colour experience also has a strong humanitarian mandate toward the issues that women face around the world.

     The event, originally planned for April 2020, will be rescheduled in 2021 at the United Palace Theatre in Lower WaHi on Broadway at 165th Street.

     Only in New York ...
     One day late in most springs, The Great and Glorious Grand Army of The Bronx comes together to claim the neighborhood of Marble Hill which, the group suggests, belongs to the only borough on the mainland on the basis that it was annexed by Bronx Borough President James Lyons in the 1930s.
     Care to fight back? Everyone is welcome, even hecklers.
     Free. A Saturday in early May beginning with pre-invasion cocktails at Mr. McGoo’s Pub in Kingsbridge on Broadway; the battle of Marble Hill commences once the tab is settled.

     Hector “El Torito” Acosta and Jorge Caledón arrive Uptown to share Bachenato 2020 — delayed a bit by the pandemic. They promise the best of bachata and vallenato in concert.

     $74.10 to $162.18 (includes your mandatory donation to charity). Friday night, June 11, at 8 at the United Palace in Lower WaHi on Broadway at 175th Street.

     Maintain the Russian language within your family and share your memories, family customs and traditions with your children and while also creating new ones with Sohnechniy Krug.

     Mark the end of spring and the beginning of summer with a family picnic.

     Contact Yevgeniya Lopatnyk for more information at ylopatnyk@ywashhts.org.

     Saturday, June 12, at a location to be announced.

     The mayoral primary election will narrow the field.

     Get out and vote!

     Tuesday, June 22, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

     The Higher Ground Festival hold its sixth outdoor exhibition of Uptown performing artists sharing their work with everyone.

     Artists from Upper Manhattan use the festival to build a multi-disciplinary art repertory company in WaHi and Inwood to help  promote their art. 

     Over a long weekend in August on dates and at a location yet to be named.

     An evening of Euro Dance Music Entertainment featuring Thomas Anders & Sandra, both with live bands.

     Featuring The Gentleman Of Music: Thomas Anders accompanied by the Modern Talking Band. Sandra accompanied by her own band to perform her hits from the 80s such as Maria Magdalena, In the Heat of the Night, Everlasting Love.

     $74.50 to $178. Saturday night, August 14, at 7:30 at the United Palace in Lower WaHi.

     Fonseca & Andres Cepeda make an Uptown stop on their Comrades Tour.

     $62.80 to $330.96. Sunday night, August 22, at 7:30 at the United Palace in Lower WaHi on Broadway at 175th Street.    

     The Panamanian singer, rapper and songwriter Sech comes to WhHi for an otherworldly show.

     He’s been on the scene since 2018 with his Rich Music World debut single “Little Miss Lonely" and hasn't looked back.

     Tickets may be available here (Ticketmaster’s site is a bit buggy). Friday night, August 27, at 8:30 at the United Palace in Lower WaHi on Broadway at 175th Street.

     A yearly gathering on Thanksgiving will remind you of the Lenape people and the blessings of their land we now call home.

     A short ceremony honors our duty to Mother Earth and our responsibility to the forest, the river, and each other.

     Free. Thanksgiving morning at 9 at Shorakkopoch Rock in Inwood Hill Park. From the intersection of 214th Street and Indian Road, follow the path that runs along the water; the boulder is on the far side of a large open field.