Central Park, Sep 21–27: the Global Citizen Festival takes the Great Lawn Saturday, and the whole lawn is held for eleven days

        The biggest event of the park’s year just appeared on the calendar. The Global Citizen Festival plays the Great Lawn on Saturday the 26th, 2–10 PM, free by ticket lottery — and the permit behind it holds the Great Lawn Oval and South West Lawn every day from now through September 30. Everything else this week happens around it.

Weather this week

Monday is the week’s good day at 70° and partly sunny with almost no rain risk, then Tuesday turns damp at 63° and the rest of the week sits in the mid-60s with shower chances from 17% to 35%. Saturday, festival day, is 69° with a 34% chance of showers — not a washout, but bring a layer and something waterproof for an eight-hour show.

Mon Sep 21 — opera at the Bandshell, and the best weather of the week

Opera Italiana Is in the Air plays Bandshell Plaza 6–7:30 PM — free outdoor opera on a 70° partly sunny evening, which is about as good as late September gets.

Nothing else is booked. If you have a long ride, run or walk in you, today is the day: the drives are clear and the weather does not repeat this week.

Tue Sep 22 – Thu Sep 24 — Climate Week, and SummerStage’s last two nights

Music for Action brings Young the Giant and St. Lucia to Rumsey Tuesday 7–10 PM, a Climate Week show about climate change and tick-borne disease. Wednesday, Of Monsters and Men play the same stage 7–10 PM.

These are SummerStage’s last two shows of the season bar one — Charley Crockett closes it out October 1, and then there is nothing until May.

Thursday the Cross-Sector Ecosystems for Climate Action panel runs at the Arsenal 6–8 PM, indoors and free. Brigadoon on the River takes the Bandshell Tuesday 2–3 PM, and Kate Farms Yoga is on East Meadow Wednesday 5–6 PM.

Fri Sep 25 — salsa at the Bandshell

Carlos Konig Salsa, Bandshell Plaza 5–7:30 PM, and the Iconic Views tour at 2 PM from Doris C. Freedman Plaza. 67°, showers possible.

Sat Sep 26, 2–10 PM — the Global Citizen Festival

The Global Citizen Festival takes the Great Lawn — artists and world leaders together on the global food crisis and debt relief. Free, by ticket lottery, and it will draw tens of thousands into the middle of the park for eight hours.

Plan the whole day around it. Mid-park is effectively gone from noon onward; the 79th and 86th Street transverses and every approach to the Great Lawn will be dense. Runners and cyclists: the loop itself is open, but expect heavy foot traffic crossing it all afternoon and evening — go early.

The morning is yours, and it is a good one: Free Yoga in Central Park on East Meadow at 11, the Conservatory Garden Tour at 11, Model Yacht Racing at Kerbs 9–3, and the Farmstand and Unity Market at Dana Discovery Center 9 AM–8 PM. Tango at the Shakespeare Statue goes ahead 6–9 PM for anyone avoiding the crowd.

Saturday also carries 38 private ceremony bookings, the heaviest single day we have recorded.

Sun Sep 27 — greyhounds, marionettes, and a quiet recovery

The park exhales. Greyhounds of NYC Meetup on the Dairy Lawn 10 AM–1 PM — exactly what it sounds like, and delightful. Pinocchio and Geppetto’s NYC Adventure at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre 2–3 PM. International Sunday at Bandshell Plaza 10 AM–2 PM, International Folkdancers at King Jagiello 11–6, and Skate Circle at Dead Road 2–7.

For the quieter hours: Birding Basics at Belvedere Castle at 10 and the Seneca Village Tour at 2 from Mariners’ Gate.

Steady all week

  The Great Lawn is held every day — Oval and South West Lawn, noon to 11 PM, through September 30. There is not a single field permit on it this week; the leagues have all moved to Heckscher and North Meadow.
  Bethesda Terrace and Fountain remains closed all day, every day, through October 13.
  New Dendrology at the Arsenal Gallery, weekdays 9–5, free.
  Bird Watching with Birding Bob — five mornings from Strawberry Fields. Fall migration is peaking.
  East Meadow closed both weekend days; East 106th Street lawn out Monday–Thursday.

Quick recap

  Global Citizen Festival, Saturday 2–10 PM on the Great Lawn. Free by lottery; mid-park is gone from noon.
  Monday is the week’s best weather — 70°, partly sunny, nothing booked.
  Opera at the Bandshell Monday evening, free.
  SummerStage’s last two shows: Young the Giant Tuesday, Of Monsters and Men Wednesday.
  The Great Lawn is under permit through Sep 30 and carries zero field permits.
  Sunday is the recovery day: greyhounds on the Dairy Lawn, marionettes at the Swedish Cottage.

Have a good week in the park,
Central Park Guide