FIRST!! Kings County Fiber Festival

If you can't make it up to Sheep & Wool in Dutchess County this month, this first-ever fiber festival in Brooklyn will be a nice consolation. Artisans peddling their fiber-oriented wares, demonstrations and more. Knitters and crocheters (natch) will be joined by dyers, spinners, weavers and more. This is a first-year event and will sure to flesh out. There's quite a burgeoning fiber community in Park Slope now that will surely embrace this event!

Where: Old Stone House 3rd Street & 5th Ave, Park Slope Brooklyn
When: Sunday October 6, 10-6 PM
Website: http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2012/10/06/first-annual-kings-county-fiber-festival

Bronx - Native American Festival

Explore aspects of the beautiful cultures of the Native American Tribes at this day-long festival in Pelham Bay Park. Pelham Bay Park will host four hours of performances, exhibits, arts and crafts, delicious food, storytelling, nature programs, and more.

When: September 23, 2012 12-4PM
Where: South Picnic Area, Pelham Bay Park, Bronx
Website:  http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2012/09/23/native-american-festival?utm_source=bit.ly&utm_medium=smlink&utm_campaign=social-media

Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit

If you're out of town on Labor Day, be sure to come by the next weekend to see a stunning array and variety of art, usually in a very pleasant walk down University Place. FB found out recently that Jackson Pollack (one of our favorite painters) and William DeKooning provided the first inspiration for the outdoor exhibit. 

 When: September 1, 2, 3 and 8, 9
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Where: University Place from East 12th to East 3rd St
Website: http://wsoae.org/

Four free shows of classical, chamber, choral and orchestral music, jazz and world are featured annually at the Washington Square Music Festival.  The festival is free and runs Tuesday through July.

The first performance is July 10 at St. Joseph's Church on Sixth Avenue and Washington Place in Greenwich Village and features the Festival Chamber Orchestra and West Village Chorale performing a concert of Music & Poetry. The concert is free but seating is first-come, first-served.

When: Four consecutive Tuesdays in July starting July 10, 2012
Where: St. Joseph's Church and/or Washington Square Park Stage
Website: http://www.washingtonsquaremusicfestival.org

Fourth Annual North River Historic Ship Festival

Advance tour tickets to participating boats have already sold out for this festival, but the free first-come first-served tours on Friday 3-6PM, Saturday 12-5PM and circus performances (tickets required) on Sunday still have space. 


In addition, more than 100 boat-trip tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at the North River Historic Ship Society tent on Pier 25 beginning at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 30. Tickets for all trips are expected to go quickly, so come early if you want to be assured of a ride.  Those who do not get tickets can sign up for a standby list.  Unclaimed boarding passes will be handed out at the North River Historic Ship Society tent beginning 10 minutes before each ride. 


When: June 28-30, 2012
Where: Piers off North Moore Street in Hudson River, Tribeca
Website: http://www.nrhss.org

Taste of Times Square

We had a rocking good time last year at this evening-long festival. Show up, buy a bunch of tickets, then walk around and trade them for whatever strikes your fancy. Go hungry. It will be your dinner. Seriously.

When: June 11, 2012
Where: Times Square west of Seventh Ave
Website:http://www.timessquarenyc.org/events/taste-of-times-square/index.aspx
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Tastes for LAB

A few great tastes events are coming up - this one, like Taste of Tribeca, is for a local school called LAB. Housed in the picturesque Meatpacking District, it's a great way (and fairly cheap way, given the restaurants that show up) to have some great food.  Afterwards, walk it all off on the High Line - the Gansevoort entrance is just a couple blocks away.

When: June 2, 2012
Where: Gansevoort Plaza, Meatpacking District
Website: http://tastesnyc.org/index.html

2012 World Science Festival

 Now in its fifth year, the 2012 Festival brings together many of the world's leading scientific minds with renowned artists and influential thinkers for a five-day celebration that, through discourse and debate, conversation and performance, allows everyone—kids and adults, novice and enthusiast—to experience science in a unique and thrilling way.

Saturday's free event is Innovation Square. It’s an afternoon of demos, challenges, and interactive activities, suitable for tech enthusiasts of all ages.

Sunday's free event is the Street Fair in Washington Square. Interactive exhibits, experiments, games and shows. Also free is a presentation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art regarding particle physics and their use to authenticate masterpieces of previous centuries. 


When: May 30 to June 3
Where:  Venues throughout New York; Innovation Square at MetroTech Plaza, Brooklyn
Website: http://www.worldsciencefestival.com

Dance Parade/DanceFest

DanceFest Lineup in Tompkins Square Park featuring Amazing Performances, Teaching Area and Social Dancing! Tompkins Square Park, the destination of the parade at Avenue A and Saint Marks Place, comes alive with choreographed performances, workshops and social dance–all free to the public. For 2012, there will be 3 stages: A Performance Stage, Family Friendly Stage and Teaching Stage. A social dance / party area will rock out in the Northeast Corner of the Park! Our Main Stage will include performances by: Elisa Monte Dance Boston Community Dance Project Latin Dance Connection Asha Dance Company Dance Manhattan The Pink Tutu Ballet Company Xianix Barrera & Sabor Flamenco Korean Traditional Music Dance Institute of New York Neville Dance Theatre Grand Marshal Bill Shannon Nimbus Dance Works Philippine Dance Company of Rochester The UnOfficial Dancers of the NY Giants Kathakas Fusha Dance Company Zouk Nation Broadway Dance Center Rise Dance Company OUTSalsa NYC Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company VueLA Anthony Rodriguez The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory NYU Steinhardt Kaleidescope Dancers Vaydra's Zumba Fusion Lori Belilove and The Isadora Duncan Dance Company Click here for the full lineup and schedule When: Saturday, May 19, 2012 Where:  21st Street and Broadway to Tompkins Square Park for DanceFest Website: http://www.danceparade.org Dance On Broadway For Nintendo Wii Nintendo Wii Dance Sensation Kidz  Bop Dance Party For Nintendo Wii

Westchester Square Arts Festival (Bronx)

This three-day arts festival will feature the work of musicians, theatre companies and visual artists from the Bronx, all around NYC and beyond.

 With local bands & delicious local eats, this festival is a celebration of the Westchester Square community, the Bronx and the arts.

Buy tickets or come to the free outdoor arts festival on Saturday. Tickets to some performances at Foster Hall are free but require reservations.

When: May 18-20, 2012
Where: St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 2500 Westchester Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461
Website:   http://westchestersquareartsfestival.org/

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Green Festival New York

FestivalBuzz just got the paper version of the Green Festival's program, but you can check it out on their website . Just click on "schedules" to see the break down by stage or area of the venue. Just below, click "Event Guide" to get a digital version of the printed event guide.

Green is not the only theme. Activism is also healthily represented in the program, with talks on Occupying Wall Street to Urban Gardening to eating healthfully using food stamps.  Lots of green/natural/organic food and personal products are on display at the booths on the floor. The festival tries to be zero-emissions itself, and invites attendees to bring their own utensils as well as cell phones and batteries to recycle.

If you want to make a good impact on the environment but don't know how, this might be a good place to start. And yes, there will be music!

When: April 21-22, 2012
Where: Javits Center North (11th Ave btw 39th & 40th Streets)
Website: http://www.greenfestivals.org/nyc/updates/

KidsCafe Goes To College - Modern Dance in College and Beyond

 Dancewave's Kids Cafe Festival offers serious high school dancers an opportunity to see dance departments from professionally-based college dance programs in the metropolitan area and beyond.

The college theme is a twist on Dancewave’s annual Kids Cafe Festival, a popular community event now in its 19^th year that invites high school dancers from all over New York City to perform dances created by both student and professional choreographers.


When: March 3-4, 2012, 3PM
Where: LIU Kumble Theater
Website: http://dancewave.org/kidscafe.php

BAM Kids Film Festival

6 charming feature films are showcased in the 14th annual BAM Kids Film Festival. For the more fidgety, 6 shorts programs are also available, based on whimsical themes such as Who Knew?  and Let's Play! to the self-explanatory Animation Nations.  Free kid-friendly musical performances at BAMCafe help kill the time between screenings. Take your little one to some quality cinema and get them started early. Some or all showings  may sell out before the showing dates, so buy sooner rather than later if this is how you're planning to amuse the family.

When: February 4-5, 2012
Where:  BAM Rose Cinemas (30 Lafayette Ave in Brooklyn)
Website: http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=3935

Happening now! Kids Food Festival

Focused on turning kids into discerning foodies (and learning to eat healthy), the pavillions at CitiPond, fresh off the Christmas shopping season, are now host to the Kids Food Festival. Admission to much of the festival is free, with tickets required for food pavilion and performance pavilion. If the James Beard Foundation is involved (and it is), it's probably worth it.

When: January 21-22, 2012 10AM-6PM
Where: CitiPond (Bryant Park - 42nd between 5th and 6th aves)
Website: http://www.kidsfoodfestival.com

New York City Wine & Food Festival: September 29 - October 2 , 2011

Celebu-chefs and professional foodies will be on hand to introduce you to new foods, help you master old ones, and talk about different aspects of the restaurant industry. The website lists several free events, as well as paid events from $25-$150 and up. Favorite events do fill up quickly, buy tickets now!

When: September 29-October 1, 2011

Where: Throughout NYC

Website: http://www.nycwineandfoodfestival.com/2011/index.php

Food Truck Rally Brooklyn... Mmmmm

If you're getting the feeling that food fests are among FB's favorites, you'd be right!!!  Turns out Prospect Park has been organizing a monthly food truck rally during the warmer months up in Grand Army Plaza. Some of the more upscale food trucks will congregate - your chance to try something special (or find that truck you've always wanted to try but never parked close enough to your office), or meet your old standby (FB favors the
Rickshaw Dumpling truck).

When: September 18, 2011 11AM-5PM
Where:  Grand Army Plaza
Website: http://www.prospectpark.org/calendar/event/foodtrucks

Maker Faire

No it's not a True Blood convention. Come see oversized science fair projects that want to push the envelope. Maybe one of them is the next technological convenience we never knew we needed! One of them (hopefully more) just might save the world.

When: September 17-18
Where: New York Hall of Science (Corona Park, Queens)
Website: www.MakerFaire.com

2011 Brooklyn Book Festival

                               

Books. Whether you know them as giant leafy tomes or compact little files that load on a slate-sized e-reader, they provide us all a sweet mouthful of imagination, or perhaps a hard lump of information. Either way, come meet, discover and celebrate Brooklyn's talented bunch (a LOT of published authors live in Brooklyn!).

The festival is held at Brooklyn's Borough Hall Saturday September 17 and Sunday September 18. Brookyn Book End events are literary-themed satellite events taking place around Brooklyn in books stores, parks and other community venues - all to celebrate the written (or typed) word.

When: September 15-18, 2011
Where: Brooklyn Borough Hall (207 Joralemon St, Brooklyn Heights)
Website: http://www.visitbrooklyn.org/BBF/Home

Dumpling Festival

Get experimental or stick to old standbys, but stuff yourself silly with this Asian comfort food. Taste tickets start at $20 for four tastes. Entries from 8 countries will be present. Yum!

When: September 17 12-5PM
Where: Sarah Roosevelt Park (East Houston and Chrystie Streets)
Website: www.dumplingfestival.com

Lincoln Center Met Opera Summer HD Festival Begins Tonight

Don't miss the Met's popular series of free outdoor opera screenings shown on the façade of the Met in Lincoln Center. Hurricane Irene postponed the start of the festival by two days, but things finally kicked off. Some of the Met's most extraordinary stars perform in Live in HD favorites from previous seasons. 

Adams's Nixon in China
Wednesday, August 31, 7:45 pm


Bizet's Carmen
Thursday, September 1, 7:45 pm


Puccini's La Fanciulla del West
Friday, September 2, 8 pm


Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov
Saturday, September 3, 7:15 pm


Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
Sunday, September 4, 8 pm


Verdi's Don Carlo
Monday, September 5, 7:15 pm


The Metropolitan Opera Guild presents same-day, pre-screening lectures for each opera during the Summer HD Festival.


When: Now-September 5, 2011
Where: Lincoln Center Plaza
Website: www.metopera.org