Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
little more recent (1990), with a racing roster growing from four original teak specimens to dozens of sleek fiberglass models. Bands,
craft demonstrations, theatrical and dance performances, and dumpling-eating contests augment the races. It all takes place in Flush-
ing Meadows Park, Flushing, Queens.
718/767-1776.
www.hkdbf-ny.org
.
Subway: 7 to Mets/Willets Point; transfer to the special
event bus. Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 5pm, usually in early August.
September
West Indian-American Day Parade
New York's biggest parade takes place a long way from Fifth Avenue, along
Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. Two million revelers (yup,
2,000,000
) come together on Labor Day to move to Caribbean rhythms and
dine on jerk chicken, oxtail, and
roti.
The route varies, but generally follows Eastern Parkway from Utica Avenue in Crown Heights down
to the arch at Grand Army Plaza, and then Flatbush Avenue as far as Empire Boulevard.
718/467-1797.
www.wiadca.com
.
Subway:
2/3 to Grand Army Plaza. From 11am to 6pm, Labor Day.
September Concert
Under other circumstances, a day bringing hundreds of performers to dozens of venues in all five bor-
oughs would be exciting, but the context of the September Concert is a somber one. To commemorate the World Trade Center attacks,
the city fills with the healing sounds of music. Throughout September 11 (and a day or two on either side of it), find free sounds in cafes,
bars, libraries, squares, and parks. There are multiple venues; check the website.
212/333-3399.
www.septemberconcert.org
.
Around September 11.
The Feast of San Gennaro
This is New York's oldest and biggest street fair—11 days of zeppole, pork
braciola,
and
deep-fried Oreos in honor of the patron saint of Naples. Mulberry Street becomes an extremely narrow small-town carnival. There
are rides for the kids, cannoli-eating contests for the adults, and an abusive clown in a dunking booth that's discomfiting for every-
body. With the heavy emphasis on commerce and the beer-addled crowds, the fair gets old fairly quickly, although you can catch a
passel of free concerts. It's on Mulberry Street, between Canal and Houston, with runoff on Hester and Grand.
212/768-9320.
www.sangennaro.org
.
Subway: N/R to Prince St.; 6 to Spring St. or Canal St. Starts the second Thursday in September, from 11:30am
to 11:30pm (to midnight Fri-Sat).
October
New York's Great Halloween Party
The hobgoblins of little minds can be found in haunted sites across 40 of the
city's back acres come Halloween. Central Park fills with excitable costumed children, looking for the perfect pumpkin among the 7,500
scattered among the straw at the Bethesda Fountain. Once the little demons have made their incisions they take the resulting jack-
o'-lanterns north, to the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, midpark at 110th Street. A parade is followed by an annual pumpkin sail,
where the jack-o'-lanterns glow on the Harlem Meer as they float gently away.
212/860-1370.
www.centralparknyc.org
. Subway: 6
to 68th or 77th St.; 1/2/3 or B/C to 72nd St. Saturday, a few days before Halloween (date varies).
Greenwich Village Halloween Parade
For many New Yorkers, every day feels like Halloween. Come late October,
the last thing we need to wade through is another crowd of freaks. Fight this instinct, however, and you will enjoy New Yorkers' le-
gendary gallows humor at the annual Halloween parade. This parade is one of New York's most participatory events (anyone costumed
can join); no one will think any less of you for not being covered in body paint or latex, but you run the risk of feeling like you're in a wet-
blanket minority. The parade runs up Sixth Avenue from Spring to 16th Street, from 7pm to 11pm.
www.halloween-nyc.com
. Subway:
C/E to Spring St.; A/B/C/D/E/F/M to W. 4th St./Washington Sq.; F to 14th St.; L to Sixth Ave. October 31, with the coming of night.
November
The New York Marathon
The race ends in Central Park near Tavern on the Green, where you can watch the survivors, adorned
in the glory of heat-retaining silver blankets, as they walk it of. The race begins in the morning, with the elite runners getting of around
11am.
212/423-2249.
www.ingnycmarathon.org
. Subway (to Central Park): B/C to 72nd St. First Sunday in November.
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
New York's favorite excuse for dragging bloated cartoon characters down the West
Side comes with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Rocky, Bullwinkle, and Garfield join slightly less-inflated celebrities to march
down Central Park West and Sixth Avenue from 77th Street to the Mothership (Macy's in Herald Sq.).
Tip:
Balloon fanatics can get a
head start on the action the night before, when the balloons get their helium fixes on the broad sidewalks around the Natural History
Museum from 3 to 10pm (it takes until about 5pm for the balloons to really start taking shape).
212/494-4495.
www.macys.com/
