Central Park Family Plans: Week of May 10–16

Hi families,

Happy Mother’s Day. The park’s a great place to be today, and the week ahead has a couple of standout family events. Here’s what to plan around.

Today (Sun May 10) — Mother’s Day in the park

It’s a busy day for celebrations. A few low-key picks for moms and kids:

• Central Park International Folkdancers at King Jagiallo Plaza (75th & CPE), 11 AM–7 PM. Costumes, live music, kid-friendly.
• Skate Circle at Dead Road North, 2–7 PM — fun to watch, music playing, energetic.
• Bow Bridge, Bethesda Terrace, Cherry Hill all have small ceremonies and celebrations today — lovely to walk past, but expect crowds.

Best Mother’s Day move with kids: early walk to Conservatory Garden (105th & 5th, much calmer than the south end), or early picnic on the Great Lawn.

Closures to know

• East Meadow is closed today (5/10) and again Sat 5/16 for events
• Bowling Green Lawn closed all day Tue 5/12, and morning of Fri 5/15
• East 72nd Street Playground Lawns — was closed Mon–Wed last week, should be open this week

Best family day of the week — Saturday May 16

Three family-friendly things in one day:

• Model Yacht Racing at Kerbs Boathouse, 9 AM–3 PM. Free, drop-in, remote-controlled sailboats on Conservatory Water — kids love this.
• Sacred Sites Open House Day 1 at Mineral Springs, 10 AM–3 PM. NYC-wide program; the park location features tours of historic park structures. Older kids get something out of this.
• PS 77 PTA Spring Festival at Lawn Outside Levin Playground (Section A), 2–5 PM. Public school spring festival — typically open to the community, games and food.

Theater note

Julius Caesar is running daily at The Pool (100th–103rd, west side), 10 AM–9 PM all week. Check the company’s actual show times before heading over — kids 10+ may enjoy it, especially the outdoor staging.

Quick recap

Sun 5/10 — Mother’s Day, head north for calm Conservatory Garden, Great Lawn, North Woods.

Tue 5/12 — Bowling Green Lawn closed

Sat 5/16 — best family day Model boats (9–3), Sacred Sites tours (10–3), PS 77 festival (2–5).

Have a good week with the kids, The Central Park Guide