Governors Island will be open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from May 30th through October 11th. On Friday, the Island is open from 10 AM to 5 PM; on Saturdays and Sundays, the Island is open from 10 AM to 7 PM.

To download a map of Governors Island, click here.

A list of some Governors Island activities and events are as follows. Please check back often as events are continually being added.


Signature exhibits open on Governors Island

Creative Time presents Plot 09: This World and Nearer Ones
Creative Time commissions projects by over 20 major international artists, which will be installed across Governors Island this summer. Free and open to the public on June 27. For more information, visit www.creativetime.org

City of Dreams – Interactive Sculpture Garden, June 12 - October 11
In the City of Dreams, come explore 17 fantastical pieces of all shapes, sizes and materials. In the spirit of FIGMENT, these works are participatory and interactive, inviting you to think, act, and respond. www.FIGMENTnyc.org

May 30th to October 4th: The Sculptors Guild presents “Formative Lines: Working in Drawing and Sculpture”
An exhibition featuring drawings and sculptures from 25 members of the SCULPTORS GUILD, juried by curators Rachel Liebowitz and Joanna Kleinberg of the Drawing Center. To learn more, please visit http://www.sculptorsguild.org.

Every weekend: Painting Governors Island
In historic "Building 408," eight painters exhibit their watercolors and oil paintings made on- site, on Governors Island.

The 4 Heads present the second annual “Art Fair” on Governors Island
The 4 Heads bring back the “Art Fair” with more artists and works that last year. Come out to historic Building 12 and see the work of these incredible artists. Opens September 4.
 

May - October

A list of activities and events is as follows. Please check back for additional programs that may be added.

Every Wednesday and Thursday: National Park Service Programs,10 AM and 1 PM
Take a walking tour of the National Historic District with National Park Service rangers. Ferries leave from the Battery Maritime Building at 10 AM and 1 PM. June 3 – August 27.

Friday Morning Summer Programs on Governors Island with the National Park Service, programs run continually beginning at 10:15 with the final program ending at 1 PM. Program begins on July 3.

Children have the opportunity to meet with a National Park Ranger, Union Soldier, Confederate Prisoner or a middle class lady from 1863 in Fort Jay and Castle Williams every Friday.

Every weekend: Children's Museum of the Arts (CMA) Free Arts Island Outpost. Experience free arts programs on Governors Island, presented by CMA. Programs run from 11 AM to 3 PM May 30 to October 4.

CMA is bringing its Summer Art Colony to Governors Island this summer. The Summer Art Colony was voted Best Day Camp in NYC by Nickelodeon & GoCityKids.Kids ages 7 to 14 can choose from a broad range of one and two-week long day camps on Governors Island, a short 8 minute ferry ride away. Check out www.cmany.org for details.
 

MAY

May 30th, Saturday: Opening Day Family Festival, 12:00 PM
Join us for arts and crafts, musical and theatrical performances for kids and MORE! Sponsored by the Governors Island Alliance.

May 30th, Saturday: Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic, 2:30 PM
The Manhattan Polo Classic returns to Governors Island for the second consecutive year. The polo match is open to Governors Island visitors free of charge.

May 31, June 6, 7 & 13: White by Zvi Dance
Zvi Gotheiner collaborates with composer Scott Killian using the Fort's eerie sense of abandonment to reflect on our attempts to feel secure by arming our borders.
 

JUNE

June 6, 7 & 13: White by Zvi Dance
Zvi Gotheiner collaborates with composer Scott Killian using the Fort's eerie sense of abandonment to reflect on our attempts to feel secure by arming our borders.

June 6th & 7th,  Saturday and Sunday, all day: Michael Arenella and the Dreamland Orchestra Presents the Jazz Age Lawn Party
All weekend long, Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra will cast a magical spell of hot jazz and open-air merriment that will delight the whole family. This Jazz-Age Lawn party brings you back in time to the 1920s for a rollicking and delightful afternoon rendezvous of live music and dance, instruction in period dances, picnicking, and games. Admission is $5 each day (free for children under 5).

June 12 - June 14th, Friday through Sunday  : FIGMENT*, all day
FIGMENT is an explosion of creative energy on Governors Island. It’s a free, annual celebration of participatory art and culture where everything is possible. For one weekend each summer, it transforms Governors Island into a large-scale collaborative artwork… and then it’s gone. For more information visit www.figmentnyc.org.

June 20th, Saturday: Celebrate Army Heritage Day with the National Park Service, 11 AM to 4 PM
Join NPS staff for special programs and tours highlighting the military history on Governors Island.

June 21, Sunday: Gastropolis: Food and New York City, 1 PM
Gastropolis: Food and New York City (Columbia University Press, 2009) editors Annie Hauck-Lawson and Jonathan Deutsch and contributors Anne Mendelson, Cara De Silva, Annie Lanzillotto and Mark Russ Federman read from and discuss their appetizing, historic and food voice perspectives on food and New York City. A book signing follows the panel.

June 21, Sunday: Make Music New York presents Punk Island, 11 AM to 5 PM
MMNY presents a "one-day experiment that transforms the stately island into a punk rockers’ paradise" (NY Times). With Reagan Youth, Blanks 77, and dozens more.
 

JULY

July 18th, Saturday: City of Water Day, all day. Celebrate our City of Water! Food, family activities, tours, fishing, prizes. Take free ferry from Battery Maritime Building or come in your boat info at www.waterfrontalliance.org.

July 26, Sunday: Folks on the Island with Judy Collins Presented by Trinity Wall Street, 2:30 PM
For forty years, folk music legend Judy Collins has created music of hope and healing that speaks to the heart and inspires the world. www.folksontheisland.com.
 

AUGUST

August 8, Saturday: African Film Festival, noon
Have you ever wanted to experience the sights and sounds of Africa? Now you can! Join the African Film Festival on Governors Island and welcome world class music, drumming and song in an all-day festival.

August 8 & 9, Saturday and Sunday: Civil War Weekend
The National Park Service, 119th New York Volunteers, The GawdAwful Mess and Battery G of the First Pennsylvania Light Artillery will provide family friendly activities, living history demonstrations, music and other programs designed to introduce you to the men and women of the Governors Island Garrison and Confederates imprisoned on the Island.

SEPTEMBER

September 10-13, Thursday – Sunday  and September 20 – 23 Thursday – Sunday New Island Festival, all day
The best of what outdoor theatre festivals in the Netherlands has to offer! Governors Island will be the stage for site specific performances and art.

CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities Summer Lecture Series

June 27, Saturday, at 12:30 p.m. in Pershing Hall
Projjal Dutta, Director of MTA Sustainability
“How Transit Riders Are Saving The Earth”
Learn what we’re doing right in New York City and how we can make mass transit work better for cities nationwide.

July 11, Saturday, at 12:30 p.m. in Pershing Hall
Carey Pulverman, LES Ecology Center
“Composting in the City? Yes We Can!”
New Yorkers discard more than a million tons of organic material a year. Learn how to curb waste and compost—it’s easy, and you can even do it in your apartment!

July 18, Saturday, at 12:30 p.m. in Pershing Hall
Dylan Gauthier, Mare Liberum & TheFreeSeas.org
“How To Build a Boat from Recycled Materials in a Day”
Join us as we build a true water-ready 15-foot boat from scratch in an afternoon—made from discarded plywood!—and learn how you can build one yourself.

July 25,  Saturday, at 12:30 p.m. in Pershing Hall
Andy Padian, Community Preservation Corp.
“How To Curb Catastrophic Waste in Your Home or Condo”
Learn 10 things that you can do in your apartment, building, and office to dramatically reduce energy waste and make your cash flow increase. Money is the real green!

August 1, Saturday, at 12:30 p.m. in Pershing Hall
Dan Miner, Chair of Sierra Club NYC
“Easy Ways To Green Your Workplace”
Toss aside the hype and learn which workplace greening steps provide solid cash savings and help save our environment at the same time.

August 8, Saturday, at 12:30 p.m. in Pershing Hall
Sarah Pidgeon & Colin Weatherby, Solar One
“Renewable Energy in NYC!”
New York City is on the cusp of a renewable energy revolution! Learn about the latest developments and what’s possible for our city’s future.

August 15, Saturday, at 12:30 p.m. in Pershing Hall
Bilen Berhanu, Green Thumb NYC
“A Garden in the City? Of Course! Window Box and Container Gardening 101”
Want to eat from your own garden? Learn how to do it yourself—it’s cheap and fun!—no matter where you live.

August 22, Saturday, at 12:30 p.m. in Pershing Hall
Chris Brunson, Recycle a Bicycle
“Urban Biking in New York City”
Learn why NYC is one of the best cities in America for biking—we have more than 600 miles of bike trails!—and learn how to keep yourself safe.

August 29, Saturday, at 12:30 p.m. in Pershing Hall
Jeremy Friedman, NYU Sustainability Task Force
“Green NYU, Green City, Green World”
Learn how NYU is greening their campus and office spaces. The exciting changes happening at NYU can be made everywhere!

September 5, Saturday,  at 12:30 p.m. in Pershing Hall
Prof. Bill Solecki, Hunter College
“Putting Sustainability Into Practice”
Explore personal experiences with integrating sustainability into our everyday lives in an open, interactive audience format.