Hundreds of New Yorkers will head to the shores of Brooklyn and Queens for the 8th annual Jamaica Bay Festival on Saturday, July 12, marking City of Water Day with a full lineup of free waterfront activities.
The Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy is bringing back this family-friendly event to showcase the 10,000 acres of parklands that surround Jamaica Bay, the city’s largest tidal estuary.
“The Jamaica Bay Festival provides a powerful platform to celebrate our shoreline, highlight community partnerships, and engage New Yorkers in the care and stewardship of their local environment,” said Terri Carta, executive director of JBRPC. “Jamaica Bay is one of the most ecologically productive and culturally rich parts of New York City, and we’re thrilled to invite neighbors and visitors to experience all it has to offer.”
This year’s festival features more than 30 community partners hosting free public events from morning to evening. Attendees can try kayaking, birding, shoreline cleanups, yoga, nature walks, live music and more, all designed to raise awareness about Jamaica Bay as an essential ecological, recreational and cultural resource.
Active reaction programs include water and land-based fun like kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, biking, yoga and guided fitness classes. Nature programming includes guided walks, living shoreline tours and solar viewing with astronomers, spotlighting the bay’s diverse habitats and native species. There will also be live music, local art exhibitions and historic aircraft displays, celebrating the people and stories that define Jamaica Bay.
The festival is powered by partnerships with community groups, government agencies and local businesses across Brooklyn and Queens. Sponsors include the Hudson River Foundation, New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program, Waterfront Alliance, ConEdison and NYC Ferry as the official transportation sponsor.
“We are keeping the “marine” in Marine Park by welcoming visitors to our fabulous shoreline with an Intro to Birding walk focused on the water birds of Marine Park. NYC is a city defined by its shorelines and City of Water Day is an important occasion to educate New Yorkers about the vitality of our coastlines and waterways,” said Scott Middleton, executive director of the Marine Park Alliance.
For the full schedule of events, click here.
