Jamaica Bay Festival Set for Saturday
The Jamaica Bay Festival is a free, fun, family event taking place in Brooklyn and Queens this Saturday, July 15, City of Water Day.
The festival celebrates the unparalleled recreational opportunities and the natural beauty of this urban tidal estuary. Participants can enjoy free kayaking, fishing, surfing, hiking, bird watching, art, nature and more. This year, JBRPC is partnering with 36 local community groups to host 39 events from morning ‘til night!
Among the activities around Rockaway are a pickleball lesson at Beach 104th and Shore Front Parkway at 9 a.m., yoga at the Rockaway Hotel at 10:30 a.m., a kayak parade with the Black Surfing Association at Beach 88th and the bay at 9 a.m., kayaking and paddleboarding with the Community Boathouse at Beach 88th and the bay at 11 a.m., a paddle board lesson at the same time and location with Surf Skate Fitness, a Surfrider Foundation scavenger hunt at the Arverne Cinema at 11 a.m., a cardio punch fitness class at 11 a.m. on Beach 60th Street, an introduction to Rockaway’s new nature preserve at Beach 44th and Edgemere Ave at 9 a.m., an afternoon concert with Tabou Combo at 3 p.m. on Beach 17th Street, a beachcomber walk at 1 p.m. in Bayswater Park on Bay 32nd Street, kayaking at Beach 43rd and the bay from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., birding with NYC Audubon at 1 p.m. on Beach 43rd and the bay, trailwork restoration at 10 a.m. at Faber Terrace and Bay 28th Street, guided walks at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., and the Rockaway Artist Alliance’s exhibit, “School’s Out for Summer” open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Fort Tilden.
“Approximately 3 million New Yorkers live around Jamaica Bay and the Rockaway peninsula — an area that also includes over 10,000 acres of public parklands, 12 miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches, and 18,000 acres of open water, marsh islands,” said Terri Carta, Executive Director of Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy. “Reconnecting with our waterfront has never been more important, whether for recreational activities, learning opportunities, health and wellness, jobs, or arts and culture. The Jamaica Bay Festival on City of Water Day presents an unparalleled collection of community-led events focused on connecting people with the vast natural and cultural resources of the area.”
“Jamaica Bay is a vital part of District 32, and it is amazing to see it celebrated with this festival year after year,” Councilwoman Joann Ariola said. “All too often, we tend to take for granted just how amazing this body of water really is. This event helps to remind us just how lucky we are to live on the shores of Jamaica Bay, and also just how much the bay really provides us and adds to our lives.”
“The Jamaica Bay Festival is a celebration of one of New York’s most beautiful natural features,” said Council Member Selvena N. Brooks-Powers. “I am grateful for organizations like Edgemere Alliance and Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy that help steward our urban environment, and I’m proud to support this wonderful event.”
Harold Paez, of the Community Boathouse said, “The Community Boathouse is proud to support the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy with this year’s Jamaica Bay Festival. This national park space is a unique natural resource within the urban environment of NYC. The wildlife, marshlands and waterways of this area provide a vital connection between the public and our natural environment. The Jamaica Bay festival is a celebration of these beautiful resources available to the public year-round.”
The Jamaica Bay Festival is made possible through partnership with government agencies, non-profit organizations and businesses throughout Jamaica Bay in both Brooklyn and Queens. The festival is also generously supported by the Waterfront Alliance, New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program, the Hudson River Foundation, and NYC Ferry.
For more information and a full schedule, see: JamaicaBayFestival.org
