Central Park, Nov 7–13: seven days of sun, a charity run on the Upper Loop, and the Conservancy's gala

Seven consecutive sunny days. Not one of them above a 10% chance of rain, highs from 55° to 63°, and the only real cost is wind — 16 to 20 mph through Monday. After the rain that just cleared out, this is the best week of weather the park has had since the marathon.

Two things to put in the calendar: a charity run staging on the Upper Loop tomorrow morning, and the Conservancy’s annual gala taking Rumsey Playfield all day Friday.

Weather this week

Sunny every single day — 62°, 61°, 59°, 63°, 61°, then cooling to 55° and 51° by Friday, with rain chances at or near zero all week. Breezy to properly windy Saturday through Monday at 16–20 mph, which is the only thing to plan around.

Sat Nov 7, 9 AM–noon — Saving the Elephants Run on the Upper Loop

The permit covers Bandshell Plaza and the Upper Loop, 9 AM to noon. That is the northern stretch of the loop drive, so if you are running or riding the full loop tomorrow morning, expect the north end to be congested or coned. Go early — before 8:30 — or take the Bridle Path or the Reservoir instead.

I want to be straight with you about this one: our own pipeline did not flag it as loop-affecting, and it should have. I caught it reading the raw permit this morning, not from the tag. It is in this email by hand.

62° and sunny once it clears, and the rest of Saturday is good:

• Woodland Walk: The North Woods, 10 AM from Dana Discovery Center.
• Seneca Village Tour, 2 PM from Mariners’ Gate.
• Model Yacht Racing at Kerbs Boathouse, 9 AM–3 PM.
• Birding Bob at Loeb Boathouse, 7:30 AM.
• East Meadow closed — the lawn, not the drive beside it.
• Twenty-two private bookings, the heaviest ceremony day in over a month. One of them is a picnic on the Great Lawn — see below, because that is news.

Sun Nov 8 — the week’s one real cluster

61° and sunny, windy at 16 mph. Four things inside two hours:

• Leaf Peeping Hike with the Urban Park Rangers, 1–2:30 PM from Boys’ Gate at West 100th. Free, no registration.
• Animal Rescue Red Carpet at Literary Walk, 10 AM–noon.
• NYMS Mushroom Research Meeting, East 102nd Street Landscape, 10 AM–3 PM.
• International Folkdancers at King Jagiello Plaza, 11 AM–3 PM.
• Plus the Ramble walk 10 AM, Iconic Views 2 PM, Birding Bob 7:30 AM at Loeb, and East Meadow closed again.

Mon Nov 9 – Thu Nov 12 — nothing booked, and it is sunny every day

Four days, zero scheduled events. 59°, 63°, 61° on Veterans Day, then 55°. Sunny throughout, and the wind drops after Monday.

The marathon envelope finally expires Tuesday, November 10. It has flagged a loop closure every day for ten days after the race; from Wednesday the record will be honest again, and the drives have been open the whole time regardless.

• Birding Bob: Strawberry Fields Monday 8:30, Loeb Boathouse Thursday 8:30.
• New Dendrology at the Arsenal Gallery, weekdays 9–5, free.
• Lawn maintenance at the East 106th Street Lawn, Monday to Thursday.

Tuesday at 63° and sunny is the ride and the long run of the week.

Fri Nov 13 — the Conservancy gala takes Rumsey all day

CPC Annual Fall-Winter Gala, 9 AM to midnight, holding Rumsey Playfield and Bandshell Plaza. This is the Conservancy’s own fundraiser — the organisation that maintains the park — and the whole SummerStage footprint is theirs for the day. Not open to the public, but it means the Bandshell area is out from breakfast onward.

51° with a slight chance of rain, the first wet day in a week. Iconic Views at 2 PM; Birding Bob at the Conservatory Garden 8:30 AM, the best stop in his rotation.

Steady all week

• The Great Lawn has its first permit in sixteen weeks — a picnic, tomorrow. After four months of total blank with no closure permit to explain it, the lawn is evidently bookable. I have been reporting that absence since July; this is the first crack in it.
• Bethesda Terrace is closed every day, now through December 6 — a thirteenth extension. And there is now a second, differently-titled closure permit on the same spot running November 19 to December 6. Two overlapping permits, same place; I do not yet know why.
• Field permits down to 53 for the week, 41 at North Meadow.
• Coming up: St. Martin’s Parade at Summit Rock Nov 14, Race to Deliver 4M Nov 22 (a real loop closure, 8–10 AM), and the 30th Annual Holiday Lighting at Dana Discovery Center Dec 3.

Quick recap

• Saturday 9 AM–noon: Saving the Elephants Run on the Upper Loop. Run or ride before 8:30, or use the Bridle Path.
• Seven straight sunny days, 55°–63°, no rain. Windy Sat–Mon.
• Sunday 10–3 is the cluster: leaf peeping, rescue dogs, mushrooms, folkdancers.
• Mon–Thu: nothing booked at all. Tuesday at 63° is the pick.
• Friday: the Conservancy gala holds Rumsey and the Bandshell all day.
• A permit on the Great Lawn, for the first time in sixteen weeks.

See you out there, Kin