By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The Dave Matthews Band, Big Boi, and other musicians will headline the Governors Island summer festival lineup this season, along with a unicycle festival, celebrations of local pork and outdoor indie concerts.
The fun will be just a ferry ride away come May 27, when the festival kicks off its 2011 season. Last year's lineup drew Manhattanites in droves to the 172-acre former military base.
Among the top events are the Governor’s Ball Music Festival, featuring Girl Talk, Big Boi and a DJ set by Passion Pit, and the Dave Matthews Band Caravan, a three-day festival that will include performances by Dispatch, The Roots and Moe, as well as Dave Matthews himself.
The island will play host to a number of quirky athletic events, like the Governors Island Swim, a two-mile race that starts with a leap off of a ferry, the NYC Unicycle Festival, which is expected to be the "largest group of one-wheeled enthusiasts to gather in the five boroughs," and the Trapeze School of New York's flying trapeze lessons, which will be held Saturdays and Sundays throughout the season.
For those looking forward to a more sedentary island experience, this year's lineup features plenty of foodie-friendly activities.
Beer aficionados can enjoy a range of specialty suds at the Brewers Pic-NYC, while bacon lovers can sink their teeth into Pig Island, a celebration of local pork.
Visitors will also have a chance to sample the best of the city's curbside fare at the 7th Annual Vendy Awards.
In addition to the organized events, visitors to Governors Island can lounge on hammocks in one of the island's many green spaces, bike around without the chaos of Midtown car traffic, or catch a glimpse of the newly-named Governors Island miracle cat, Molly Brown.
Governors Island will be open Fridays (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), Saturdays and Sundays (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and — for the first time — on Mondays that are holidays, including Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.).
Free ferries from Manhattan run throughout the day from the Battery Maritime Building at 10 South Street.
