Upcoming Events
Mulchfest 2026
Wrap up your holiday season and say goodbye to your tree at Mulchfest. Join NYC Parks in the NYC holiday tradition of recycling your Christmas tree!
How can you participate?
From December 26-Jan 12, bring your Christmas tree to one of the various Mulchfest sites near you and the Parks department will convert it into mulch to make NYC even greener. Just look for a chipping site near you on the NYC Parks website.
Chipping Weekend: Jan 10-Jan 11
Bring your tree to a chipping site on Chipping Weekend to take home a tree-mento! We'll chip your tree and give you your very own bag of mulch to use in your backyard or to make a winter bed for a street tree.
Want to volunteer?
Volunteer with NYC Parks Stewardship Team to help spread mulch from Mulchfest around our trees to insulate them from the cold weather. Find a site near you, and help give back to our trees! Register today
Holiday Festival @ Corlears Hook Park
Bring the kids and join the Friends of Corlears Hook Park as they celebrate the December holidays and winter season by decorating the park. Decorations will be provided and some can be made on site (weather permitting). There will be decorations that celebrate the winter season as well as Hanukkah and Christmas. Feel free to bring your own decorations as well, though we cannot guarantee that you will get them back when the tree is taken down. There will be some holiday treats for the kids as well (while supplies last).
The event is free for all to attend regardless of whether you signed up in advance or not. Advanced registration helps us make sure we have enough supplies on hand for all attendees.
Schedule of Events
4:00pm - Decorating and other activities will start
4:45pm - Music performance by Dorian Lake
accompanied by David Caldwell-Mason
5:00pm - Tree lighting
Holiday on the Hudson @ Riverside Park
Celebrate the season with a holiday tree lighting, live music, decoration making, and hot chocolate (while supplies last). Tree lighting at 5:30pm, rain date Sunday, December 7.
Summer on the Hudson events are free and open to the public. Seating is limited, unreserved, and available on a first-come, first-served basis. If there is heavy rain at the time of the event, the event will be canceled. For weather updates, check nyc.gov/parks/soh 2 hours before the event.
Christmas in the Park @ Washington Market
Santa is not only coming to town — he’s coming to Washington Market Park!
Join Friends of Washington Market Park in the park for pedicab rides and family photos with Santa! This year we’re excited to present for the first time The Jinglettes holiday dancers as well as delicious hot cocoa served by our wonderful neighbors at Laughing Man.
*Santa and The Jinglettes will be in the park from noon until 2pm.
Bring your friends: the more, the merrier! No reservation is required, and as always this is a free community event. The line to meet Santa will be first come, first served!
Thanksgiving Week Clean Up @ Corlears Hook Park
Come help clean the park by raking and bagging leaves and other debris. Friends of Corlears Hook will supply all the tools, gloves and equipment. They just need your helping hands and smiling face for any amount of time that you can give. Student groups and those needing community service hours are welcome to attend. There will be something for all ages to help with. Snacks and water will be provided.
4TP x WMP Planting and Cleanup Day
Come join 4TP and Friends of WMP to plant daffodil bulbs, paint benches, and cleanup the newly renovated Washington Market Park.
Trick-or-Treating @ Corlears Hook Park
Friends of Corlears Hook Park is happy to once again bring a safe, outdoor Halloween trick or treating opportunity to the park for all local families to enjoy.
They will have various stations set up throughout the park during the event, manned by local families, businesses, and community groups, where kids can safely pick up some Halloween treats.
If you would like to set-up a trick-or-treat station please email for more information.
Pumpkin Carving Contest
Washington Market Park is hosting its 11th annual Pumpkin Carving Contest event on October 25th.
Bring your own pumpkin to enter, or just stop by with your family to enjoy the festive display! This is community event – free and open to everyone.
THE CONTEST
3-5pm – Bring your already-carved or decorated pumpkin into the park! Volunteers will check you in, and you will arrange your pumpkin in the designated area.
5-5:30pm – Our contest judges will assess the field of entries in five categories: most creative, funniest, scariest, cutest and most realistic with trophies as prizes for the winners and runners-up. This year we will also introduce a new category: “master blade!” The winner of this specific category will win a cash prize.
5:30pm – All winners will be announced in the park and on our instagram page!
After awards are distributed, you are welcome to take your pumpkin home OR carry it to our garden pumpkin patch where it can spend Halloween week! Afterwards, the remaining pumpkins will be composted.
Rivington St. Playground Activation Day
Come join us on August 2nd to play games, cleanup the park, and encourage neighborhood engagement at Rivington St. Playground, located on the north end of Sara D. Roosevelt park.
Cleanup @ Collect Pond Park
Join Family Harmony at Collect Pond Park to help cleanup litter, rake leaves, and trim the garden.
Goatham 2025
Riverside Park’s goats will be baaaaaaaack for Goatham 2025, and they are hungrier than ever! This summer, we are excited to welcome five tenacious, invasive plant-eating goats to face off in New York City’s most anticipated *NEW* competitive eating event, “The Great Goat Graze-Off.”
Go to https://riversideparknyc.org/goatham/ for more details and to RSVP (free).
Have another event or project in mind?
We love to support other volunteer groups or individuals with parks-related projects and events! Please email us and share any ideas or needs and we can see how best to support.
