Central Park, Nov 14–20: a charity walk on the loop Saturday morning, then seven dry days that end at 64°

Hi,

Saturday morning the loop is not yours. The Walk to End Alzheimer’s holds Bandshell Plaza, the Lower Loop, the Center Loop and Dead Road North from 8 AM to 1 PM — a permit that was not on file when I wrote to you last Sunday. If you run, ride or walk the drives on a Saturday morning, that is the one thing to know this week.

And then I have to take back last week’s forecast. I told you the mild autumn ended hard on Friday. It ended for about a day. Every day from here to Friday is dry and warmer than the one before it, finishing at 64°.

Weather this week

Seven consecutive dry days — rain never gets above 2% — climbing steadily from 46° today to 50°, 51°, 56°, 61°, 62° and 64° on Friday. Saturday’s 8–12 mph northwest wind is the only edge on the whole week; after that it falls away to nothing, so put the long outdoor plans anywhere you like and save Thursday and Friday for whatever you most want to do in shirtsleeves.

Sat Nov 14, 8 AM–1 PM — Walk to End Alzheimer’s closes the lower loop

Bandshell Plaza, Lower Loop, Center Loop and Dead Road North, 8 AM to 1 PM. The south end of the park is staging and crowds for five hours. Run or ride before 8 or after 1, or take the bridle path and the Reservoir and stay north of the 79th Street transverse.

I want to be straight about this one: it was not in the city’s permit feed when I built last Sunday’s email, so that edition told you Saturday was model yachts and a lantern parade. The permit appeared in this week’s pull. Nothing was tagged wrong — the filing simply landed late, and this is the shape of that problem.

The rest of the day, once the walk clears:

• St. Martin’s Parade, 3:15–5 PM at Summit Rock. A lantern procession at the park’s highest point, timed for dusk — the prettiest thing on the calendar this week.
• Santa’s Knights and Gladiators NYC, noon–4 PM on the Lawn Behind the Met.
• Model Yacht Racing at Kerbs Boathouse, 9 AM–3 PM. The northwest wind will push the fleet.
• Iconic Views tour at 2 PM from Doris C. Freedman Plaza; Birding Bob at Loeb Boathouse, 7:30 AM.

Sun Nov 15 — the Great Central Park Hike, on a 50° sunny day

• Great Central Park Hike, 10 AM from the Dana Discovery Center. End to end with Conservancy guides, and a clear 50° Sunday is close to the ideal day for it.
• World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, noon–2 PM, also at Dana Discovery Center Plaza.
• International Folkdancers at King Jagiello Plaza, 11 AM–3 PM — their standing Sunday.
• Birding Bob at Loeb Boathouse, 7:30 AM. The drives are clear all day.

Mon Nov 16 — a high school jazz band at the Bandshell

Carmel High School Jazz Band, 10:30–11 AM at Bandshell Plaza. Half an hour, free, and the kind of thing that only works if someone tells you it is happening.

51° and sunny with a 6 mph wind. Birding Bob at Strawberry Fields, 8:30 AM. Lawn maintenance begins at the East 106th Street Lawn and runs through Thursday.

Tue Nov 17 — nothing booked, 56° and sunny

Not a single one-off permit in the park. The warmest day yet, no wind to speak of, and nothing scheduled anywhere. If you have one free weekday, this is it.

Wed Nov 18, 7 PM — the Conservancy gala takes Rumsey

The Central Park Conservancy’s Annual Gala, “Studio 72,” 7 PM at Rumsey Playfield. A ticketed fundraiser, not a public event, but it is the night the permit has been building toward — the SummerStage footprint has been held since Nov 13 and stays held through Nov 21.

A correction. Last Sunday I told you this permit “keeps growing,” from one day to two to three. That was wrong, and the mistake was mine, not the city’s. The permit has read November 13–21 — nine days — unchanged since at least October 30. What changed each week was my seven-day window sliding across it: one gala day fell inside the Nov 7–13 window, three inside Nov 9–15, and I reported those slices as if they were the whole permit. I then built a small theory on top of it about permits expanding after filing. The theory may still hold elsewhere; this was not evidence for it. I have changed how I read permit spans.

61° and sunny by day.

Thu Nov 19 — Love at First Spin, and a second Bethesda permit opens

• Love at First Spin: Music Discovery in the Park, noon–4 PM at Bandshell Plaza. Records in the open air on a 62° afternoon.
• Birding Bob at Loeb Boathouse, 8:30 AM.
• A second closure permit at Bethesda Terrace starts today, running alongside the one already in force. Both end December 13.

Fri Nov 20 — 64°, and two more lawns go down

The warmest day of the week and the last of the dry run.

• Iconic Views tour, 2 PM.
• Birding Bob at the Conservatory Garden, 8:30 AM — his best stop, on the best morning.
• The Swedish Cottage Lawn and the East 96th Street Playground Lawn both close today, through December 13.

Steady all week

• Bethesda Terrace is closed every day of this week and every day through December 13 — the same permit, extended again. It was December 8 a week ago and December 6 the week before that.
• East Meadow is closed Saturday and Sunday, and every weekend after this one through December 13.
• The gala permit holds Rumsey Playfield and Bandshell Plaza from today through November 21 — nine days for one evening.
• 39 field permits this week, 27 of them at North Meadow. Frisbee at North Meadow both weekend mornings.
• Coming next Sunday, November 22: Race to Deliver 4M, 8–10 AM on the drives. A real loop closure, the first since the marathon.

Quick recap

• Saturday 8 AM–1 PM: Walk to End Alzheimer’s on the Lower and Center Loops. Run, ride or walk before 8 or after 1.
• Saturday 3:15 PM: St. Martin’s Parade at Summit Rock — lanterns at dusk.
• Sunday 10 AM: the Great Central Park Hike from Dana, on a clear 50° day.
• Tuesday is empty and 56°. The best open weekday in weeks.
• Wednesday 7 PM: the Conservancy gala takes Rumsey Playfield.
• Seven dry days, 46° rising to 64° on Friday. Last week’s cold snap lasted one day.
• Bethesda Terrace is closed through December 13, extended again from December 8.

See you out there, Kin