Central Park, Oct 19–25: two fall foliage photo walks, geology at the Harlem Meer, and marionettes at Diana Ross

Friday’s email ran through the 23rd, so the midweek will be familiar — the weekend is new.

Seven sunny days, 59–66°, and the foliage has arrived to meet them. Saturday brings two Fall Foliage Photo Walks in the north end, and Sunday is the best family day in a month: glacial geology at the Harlem Meer, marionettes at the Diana Ross Playground, and the North Woods walk.

Weather this week

Sunny or mostly sunny every day — 65°, 66°, 62°, 66°, 61°, 59° — with rain chances of 0–12%. Nights fall to 44–51°. Cold mornings, and the kind of midday light that makes late October the best photography fortnight of the year.

Mon Oct 19 – Thu Oct 22 — quiet, with two small civic moments

Weekdays are soccer training, school programmes and the standing Arsenal exhibits. Two things on the public calendar:

• Tuesday, 4–5 PM: bench dedication for Bruce Rosenfeld at the Central Park Zoo.
• Wednesday, 6:30–9:30 PM: the City Parks Foundation dinner at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre. The organisation behind SummerStage, holding its annual dinner inside a puppet theatre — a lovely detail, and not a public event, but worth knowing the building gets used that way.

New Dendrology at the Arsenal Gallery, weekdays 9 AM–5 PM, free, is the indoor standby. Bird Watching with Birding Bob rotates: Strawberry Fields Monday, Loeb Boathouse Thursday, the Conservatory Garden Friday.

Fri Oct 23 — the North Woods

Woodland Walk: The North Woods, 10 AM from the Dana Discovery Center. The park’s wildest and least-visited end, with a Conservancy guide, at 61° and sunny. Iconic Views tour at 2 PM.

Sat Oct 24 — two foliage photo walks

Fall Foliage Photo Walks, two of them:

• from The Pool, 9:30–11:30 AM
• from Boys’ Gate, 10 AM

Both in the north end, both timed for peak colour, both with someone showing you where to point a camera. If you own a camera and have been meaning to use it properly, this is the Saturday.

Also on, 59° and sunny:

• Ronald McDonald House Fun Run at Bandshell Plaza and Dead Road North, 8 AM–2 PM.
• Free Yoga and CPC Yoga, both East Meadow at 11 AM.
• Model Yacht Racing at Kerbs Boathouse, 9 AM–3 PM.
• UnityMarketsNY at Farmers’ Gate, 9 AM–7 PM.
• Awareness Meetup for Namrud Wegahta Tessema at Ross Pinetum, 3–6 PM.

East Meadow closed.

Sun Oct 25 — the best family day in a month

• Geology: Central Park Rocks! at the Harlem Meer, 1–2 PM. The glacial history written into the park’s outcrops — far more interesting than it sounds, and once somebody shows you the scratches on the schist you cannot stop seeing them.
• Pinocchio and Geppetto’s NYC Adventure at the Diana Ross Playground, 2–3 PM. Note the venue — it has moved from the Swedish Cottage this week.
• Woodland Walk: The North Woods repeats at 10 AM.
• Seneca Village Tour at 2 PM; Iconic Views at 2 PM.
• International Folkdancers at King Jagiello Plaza, 11 AM–6 PM.
• Central Park Skate Circle at Dead Road North, 2–7 PM.

Looking ahead

The marathon build has started. The city permit runs Oct 18 to Nov 10 across the finish-line end of the park, so expect scaffolding and fencing around Tavern on the Green and the west side to thicken over the fortnight. Race day is Sunday Nov 1, with the Dash to the Finish Line 5K the day before.

Steady all week

• NYC Parks’ 44th Annual Wreath Interpretations Open Call at the Arsenal all week.
• Bethesda Terrace and Fountain closed all day, every day — permits now run to November 18.
• No league play on the Great Lawn for an eleventh week; North Meadow carries the whole field calendar.

Quick recap

• Two Fall Foliage Photo Walks Saturday — The Pool 9:30, Boys’ Gate 10.
• Sunday: geology at the Harlem Meer 1 PM, marionettes at Diana Ross Playground 2 PM.
• Seven sunny days, 59–66°, peak foliage light.
• Fri and Sun 10 AM: the North Woods walk.
• Marathon build underway; race day Nov 1, Dash the day before.
• Bethesda Terrace now closed through November 18.

Enjoy the best light of the year, Central Park Guide