Central Park, Sep 12–18: three races in two days, thunderstorms on top of Sunday, and five nights at SummerStage

        After three weeks of nothing on the drives, everything lands at once. Two charity events stage at the Bandshell on back-to-back mornings, the Fifth Avenue Mile runs Sunday at 7:25, and the forecast puts an 83% chance of thunderstorms directly on top of all of it. Then the weather turns beautiful for a quiet Monday through Wednesday, and SummerStage plays five nights out of seven.

Weather this week

Saturday is the good day — 79° and mostly sunny — then storms arrive overnight and Sunday carries an 83% chance of showers and thunderstorms at 79°, which is the single most consequential fact in this email. Monday through Wednesday are clear and mild at 74–79°, with showers creeping back Thursday and Friday.

Sat Sep 12 — the Buddy Walk takes the Bandshell, and the week’s best weather

The NDSS New York City Buddy Walk holds Bandshell Plaza and Dead Road North, 10 AM–2 PM. Staging spills across the Mall and the 72nd Street approaches from mid-morning. The Fifth Avenue Mile also holds an all-day permit at Grand Army Plaza — that is Saturday setup; the race itself is Sunday.

If you are running or riding, go before 9 or after 2:30, and expect the south end to be busy either way.

Everything else worth the trip:

  Chess lecture and simul with IM Kassa Korley, 11 AM at the Chess and Checkers House — he plays up to thirty people at once.
  Birding Basics 10 AM at Belvedere; Conservatory Garden Tour 11 AM; Seneca Village Tour 2 PM from Mariners’ Gate.
  Marcus King Band at Rumsey, 7–10 PM — SummerStage’s return.
  Model yachts at Kerbs 9–3, That Guitar Man at Hernshead noon–6, tango at the Shakespeare Statue 6–9 PM.

East Meadow is closed, and 32 private ceremony bookings make it the heaviest day of the season so far.

Sun Sep 13 — the Fifth Avenue Mile at 7:25, Race for the Cure at 9, and storms over both

The New Balance 5th Avenue Mile goes off at 7:25 AM, staging at Grand Army Plaza and running up Fifth. Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure takes Bandshell Plaza 9 AM–2 PM with a full loop course behind it.

The loop is not usable Sunday morning. Between the two events and an 83% thunderstorm chance, treat the whole morning as gone: the south end and the Mall are committed from dawn, and the drives carry race traffic through early afternoon. If you need miles, go very early or wait until after 2:30 — and watch the radar, because a 9 AM charity race in a thunderstorm is a schedule that changes.

Still on the board if the weather holds: the Summer Pollinator Walk from Boys’ Gate at 10, International Sunday on the Great Hill 10 AM–2 PM, a Celtic Harp Circle at Cop Cot noon–2, the International Folkdancers at King Jagiello 11–6, and Young Thug at Rumsey 8–10 PM.

Mon Sep 14 – Wed Sep 16 — the reward: three clear, empty days

Sunny and 74–79°, and almost nothing permitted. Dance Is Life at the Bandshell Monday 5–7 PM, the Starlight Dinner at Naturalists’ Gate 6–9 PM, and Danny Elfman at Rumsey Tuesday 8:30 PM. Bowling Green is closed all day Tuesday.

These are the days to take the long ride or the long run. After the weekend, the road is yours.

Thu Sep 17 – Fri Sep 18 — two rescheduled shows close the week

New York Sings Yiddish finally happens Thursday 7–10 PM at Rumsey, moved from a June storm. Friday brings a sold-out, twice-rescheduled Yeat at 8 PM, plus Birding Basics at 10, the Seneca Village Tour at 2, the Osborn Cup on Bowling Green all day, and a Grade 8 picnic at Heckscher. Showers return both afternoons.

Steady all week

  Bethesda Terrace and Fountain — an all-day permit titled only “Closed,” every day again. That is 21 consecutive days now, across three weeks, with no reason on record.
  New Dendrology at the Arsenal Gallery, Monday–Friday 9 AM–5 PM.
  Bird Watching with Birding Bob — five mornings from Loeb Boathouse, 7:30 and 8:30.
  East 106th Street lawn out Monday–Thursday; Columbus Circle Food Market at Merchants’ Gate.
  182 field permits — roughly eighty on the Great Lawn, sixty at Heckscher, 24 at North Meadow. 89 private bookings, 32 of them Saturday.

Quick recap

  Sunday morning is gone: Fifth Avenue Mile 7:25 AM, Race for the Cure 9 AM–2 PM, and an 83% thunderstorm chance over both.
  Saturday: the Buddy Walk holds the Bandshell and Dead Road 10 AM–2 PM.
  Saturday is the weekend’s only good weather — 79° and mostly sunny.
  Monday–Wednesday are clear, mild and nearly empty. Take the long one then.
  SummerStage plays five nights: Marcus King, Young Thug, Danny Elfman, Yiddish, Yeat.
  Bethesda Terrace closed a 21st straight day, still unexplained.

Have a good week in the park,
Central Park Guide