Friday, June 5
New York City sailing company Manhattan by Sail is launching “Hudson Harbor Guided Tour: Secrets of The City” on Friday. It's a one hour tour focusing on the history of New York City Harbor: piracy, prohibition, the gangs of old New York and the history of the Clipper City Tall Ship are all covered. Learn about local sites such as Castle Clinton, Fort Gibson on Ellis Island, New York's first Aquarium, the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge. Departs from Slip 2 at the south end of Battery Park in Downtown Manhattan, 12:30 p.m. Adult tickets $39, kids under 12, $17.
The Art.Write.Now.2015 National Exhibition, an annual exhibition hosted by the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, showcases more than 1,000 original pieces of art and writing from the talented teen winners of the 2015 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, which is the nation's longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7–12. Opening Friday evening from 5:30 p.m. at Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons School of Design at The New School, 66 Fifth Ave. Showing daily 12 – 6 p.m. and Thursdays until 8 p.m. Also at Pratt Institute’s Manhattan Gallery, 144 W. 14th St., 2nd Floor. Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays until 8 p.m. Free entry.
Saturday, June 6
Celebrate Brooklyn at the Prospect Park Bandshell is underway. On Saturday they’re presenting Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience at the Festival’s annual Ezra Jack Keats Family Concert. Terrance Simien, an 8th generation Louisiana Creole and Zydeco roots music evangelist, is one of the most respected and accomplished artists in American roots music today. The day will also include readings from Brooklyn-born children’s book author Dan Zanes. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., free. Prospect Park Bandshell.
You’re invited to introduce your kids to cycling at Bike Bonanza NYC, a free event hosted by Recycle Bicycle. Take advantage of free NYC Department of Transportation bike helmet fittings and swap your kid's old bike for one in the correct size. Then, head to the nearby Rainey Park on Vernon Boulevard and 33rd Road for free kids learn to ride classes. From 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Socrates Sculpture Park on Vernon Boulevard and Broadway in Long Island City.
Sunday, June 7
With the Jewish and Chinese communities already represented, this year the Lower East Side’s Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival is expanding to include empanadas, a reflection of the area’s extensive Puerto Rican community. From 12 p.m., enjoy Chinese opera, klezmer and salsa and plena music; Yiddish, Mandarin and Spanish lessons; Hebrew and Chinese scribal art, Puerto Rican mask making, mah jongg and, of course, egg rolls, egg creams and empanadas that are all kosher! 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., Museum at Eldridge Street, 12 Eldridge St., Lower East Side. Free.
Bike Valet Parking is a clever initiative organized by Transportation Alternatives and global bike share organization Spinlister that enables cyclists to check their bikes at selected events across the city, like a coat check for your bike! You can use Bike Valet Parking on Sunday at Brooklyn Flea, at Kent Ave. and North 12th St., Williamsburg (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Other upcoming events in which Bike Valet Parking will be available include the Northside Festival and Celebrate Brooklyn.
