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Go On, Get Out! Great Outdoor Events in June

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By Troy Segal

For once, the calendar and the climate agree: Summer is here. Celebrate with some al fresco activity—the merry month of June is filled with tours, programs, events, and talks taking place in the sun or under the stars, all throughout New York City.

LEAVES AND LITERATURE: A bucolic setting, beautiful poems being read aloud—what better sums up a summer’s day? Let it unfold around you at the Bryant Park Reading Room (an open-air library open to all) Word for Word Poetry event on June 3.

City Hall subway station. © Michael Freeman Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York

City Hall subway station. © Michael Freeman. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York

ON YOUR FEET: On June 7, take a Greenwich Village Art Gallery Tour, led by a guide with a doctorate in arts education, and get a glimpse of not just great works, but one of the town’s cutest ‘hoods. Or perhaps you prefer learning about the wizards of Wall Street: On June 13, the Museum of American Finance docents lead a walking tour of the historic Financial District, plus lunch back at the museum. Architecture aficionados will appreciate the chance on June 29 to tour projects designed a century ago by the Guastavinos (a father-and-son duo famed for their vaulted tile ceilings) around upper Manhattan, under the auspices of the Museum of the City of New York.

The New York Botanical Garden's Rose Garden. Photo: John Peden

The New York Botanical Garden’s Rose Garden. Photo: John Peden

PARTY TIME: To herald the awakening of everyone’s favorite flower, the New York Botanical Garden is throwing The Rose Garden Celebration. The two-day party — running June 7-8 — features tours, Q&A’s with gardeners and tunes from the Great American Songbook, courtesy of live singers alternating with original recordings. Can’t get enough of that vintage sound? Break out the straw boaters and flapper dresses and head to a Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governors Island, another two-day festival (June 14-15) that offers dancing to a live orchestra, vaudeville-type acts, 1920s gramophone and car exhibits, and period food and cocktails. On June 14, you can dance under the stars on another island—Staten Island, where the 19th-century Alice Austen House is holding its Annual Gala. The dinner and festivities unfold on the waterfront grounds overlooking the Verrazano Bridge.

UP ABOVE: As the name implies, the Rooftop Films: Underground Movies Outdoors series offers an elevated perspective (literally) on the cinema. Today’s screening, Skanks, atop Industry City, is bookended by a live concert and an after-party. Jun. 28.