Join us for a special treat this week! Move to the music as we explore the liminal spaces between Irish traditional music and West African Ghanaian music. Revel in lively, blended compositions drawing from both traditions, as performed by renowned musicians. Watch! Learn! Join in!

New Line Up for the Movies! Unfortunately, we just found out that we are unable to show any Spider-man movies this year. But we are excited to announce that The Muppets will be taking over Van Cortlandt Park on Friday, September 26th as part of our Starlight Cinema Series.

Can’t help but smile when you see the hibiscus growing at our Learning Garden. 🌺 Want to see them in person? Join us on August 12 and 26 from 10-1pm for Tune Up Tuesday!

Tonight's Yoga in the Park is being rescheduled to next week due to the heavy rains and flood watch for today. We hope to see you on Thursday, August 7 on the lawn next to Memorial Grove. #vancortlandtpark #yogainthepark #rescheduled #rainyday

It's going to be another hot one on Friday! For the safety of our staff and program participants we are canceling this week's Forest Fridays and Family Fridays in the Garden. Both events will be back next week as long as it's a little cooler. Stay cool and hydrated!

Positive photo day 1953: I had the opportunity to do a photo shoot with a very cooperative Red-tailed Hawk this morning in Van Cortlandt Park and captured a lot of different poses. #birds 🪶of the #Bronx #NYC #birdphotography #wildlifephotography @vcpalliance.bsky.social

Odane Whilby’s band is back for BAE’s Van Cortlandt Park summer series. Join us for a delightful lineup of oldies, pop, and R&B hits from the 50s to the 80s that appeal to all ages. 📌 6/12 at 3 PM 🗺️ Van Cortlandt House Museum Lawn 🔗 bronxartsensemble.org/event/2025-summermusic-50s-80s

Today is Opening Day! We are very excited to bring our Youth Run Farmstand featuring fresh local produce at affordable prices back! Wednesdays 7/9-10/ 29 from 2-7pm
Gale Place & Orloff Ave We accept WIC, FMNP Checks, EBT, Snap, Fresh Connect Checks, Cash and Credit/Debit

Positive photo day 1929: With the heat wave behind us, we now have to turn down the temperature in our lives, too. So I'm celebrating a need for calm with a Green Heron in Van Cortlandt Park. #birds 🪶of the #Bronx #NYC #birdphotography @vcpalliance.bsky.social

Bronx Arts Ensemble will host a Juneteenth celebration at Van Cortlandt Park, featuring music, dance and a procession honoring enslaved Africans buried at the site. Read more: http://specne.ws/8daRDk 

Check out this great interview with Adam Ganser of ny4p! www.cityandstateny.com/nyn-media/20...

VCPA and Bronx Arts Ensemble are holding their annual celebration of Juneteenth on the lawn of VC House Museum vancortlandt.org/event/junete... This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the NYC Council.

Van Cortlandt Park is a great place to make new friends.

Positive photo day 1909: You never know what you will find along the Putnam Trail in Van Cortlandt Park. Today it was a Wild #Turkey 🦃. #birds of the #Bronx #NYC #birdphotography 🪶 @vcpalliance.bsky.social @nycparks.bsky.social

Last summer was sooooo hot and buggy for our Starlight Movie Series so we are moving to September. We hope you will join us Friday Nights in September for great movies, music, crafts and more!

Thank you NY Philharmonic and @nycgovparks.org for a magical evening in Van Cortlandt Park

Our friends at the New York Philharmonic in Van Cortlandt Park on June 5 for a free evening of world-class music as Gustavo Dudamel, who becomes the Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Music & Artistic Director Designate in September. nyphil.org/concerts-tickets/2425/van-cortlandt-park

Sending HUGS and HUGE congratulations from the Board & Staff of VCPA to newly minted NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriquez-Rosa on her well-deserved appointment. Commissioner Iris has always been a true friend of Van Cortlandt Park and the Bronx.

Grab a seat or a blanket, and join us on June 5th at 8pm for the free New York Philharmonic concert in Van Cortlandt Park on the Parade Ground. For more details: vancortlandt.org/event/ny-phi...

Last Thursday we were delighted to honor two veterans who supported the restoration of Memorial Grove in Van Cortlandt Park: Herb Barret, Memorial Grove champion and NYC Commissioner of NYC Veterans’ Services James Hendon.

This Saturday, May 17 – Join us in Van Cortlandt Park We’ll be planting native wildflowers and continuing woodland restoration as part of our Woodlawn Weekends series. All are welcome — vancortlandt.org/calendar-of-...

Happy Mother’s Day! 🌺 It’s a beautiful day to visit the park with the mom(s) in your life. 💚 From all of us at Van Cortlandt Park Alliance! Photos by Laura H.Twersky.

UPCOMING EVENTS BAE & Courtney’s Stars of Tomorrow 5/16 • 7:30 PM | Our Lady of Mount Carmel BAE Presents Windscapes 5/18 • 3 PM | Bronx Music Hall BAE Presents Windscapes 5/25 • 2 PM | Christ Church Riverdale Juneteenth Celebration 6/19 • 5 PM | Van Cortlandt Park bronxartsensemble.org/events

Get up and dance to live West African Drumming with Yahaya Kamate and friends. West African dance energizes mind, body, and spirit and opens the heart to cultural connections. Fun for the whole family… parents and kids of all ages are welcome. www.eventbrite.com/e/west-afric...

Vital @NYCParks funding was NOT restored in the Executive Budget, jeopardizing NYers’ livelihoods and quality of life. 📣RALLY with Play Fair to demand investment in safe, clean, accessible parks! 📍City Hall Park 📅 Tuesday 5/13 at 11am 🔗 RSVP at bit.ly/5-13-PlayFair-Rally

Best Budget Ever? We don't think so. Tell the Mayor to restore NYC Parks Funding

inkster Festival is on for tomorrow, Saturday May 3rd from 12-4pm at Van Cortlandt House Museum. Rain or shine! vancortlandt.org/event/pinkst...

free new york philharmonic concerts this summer -> www.nyphil.org/concerts-tic...

All events in NYC Parks with 20 or more people require a permit! Check out this great article from The City o learn about getting permits for Van Cortlandt Park and other parks around the City. www.thecity.nyc/2025/04/29/n...

"Tucked within the thick greenery of Van Cortlandt Park lies a largely forgotten burial ground with no headstones and little indication of its existence or its dark past. But the stories of those buried beneath the soil are emerging from the shadows" www.riverdalepress.com/stories/brin...

Happy Earth Day from all of us at VCPA today and everyday! Join us as we care for the Earth right here in Van Cortlandt Park with several volunteer events a week to show Mother Nature some TLC. vancortlandt.org/calendar-of-...

"Disappointingly, the level of funding allocated to our forests in the Fiscal Year 2026 preliminary budget makes clear that City Hall is not meeting the moment with the urgency and investment it requires,” said NAC's Emily Walker in @crainsnewyork.bsky.social article on FY26 budget: bit.ly/4jFbzJ0

Thank you to the great group from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for helping to plant trees yesterday in the Northeast Woods of Van Cortlandt Park.

Thank you to the volunteers, including a few of our former interns, for coming out for yesterday’s Forest Friday and helping us with our first plantings in the Northwest Woods this season.

VCPA is excited to be the recipient for this year's proceeds from Arbor Fest. ARBORFEST 2025 Friday, April 25th at 6:30pm at Arlene's Grocery Tickets: $10 in advance; $15 at the door Get your tickets now for a great show and support your favorite park! www.arlenesgrocerynyc.com/upcoming-eve...

We have two fun events coming up for you! Family Fun Nature Walk on April 16 from 11am-12:30pm And Family Fun: Freshwater Friends on April 17 from 11am-1pm vancortlandt.org/calendar-of-...

Due to Saturday’s cold and rainy forecast, we are postponing Family Fun Day and our induction into the Old-Growth Forest Network to Saturday, June 28th from 1 to 4pm. Stay tuned for more details. Stay warm and dry this weekend.

Applications are closing soon for VCPA's Summer Internships for High School Students. Garden 2 Market Internship applications close this Friday 4/11 Urban Ecology Teen Internship applications close on Friday 4/25. For more details and to apply: vancortlandt.org/programs-ove...

Special thank you to Lehman College’s Students Uplifting Ancestral Spaces who helped with our first planting of Spring 2025 yesterday! This dedicated group of students comes biweekly to help beautify the Enslaved African Burial Ground with us. 🌼 🌱 🌞

While NYC Parks officially recognized the Enslaved African Burial Ground in Van Cortlandt Park in 2021 with signage and fencing, the space remains largely unmarked. Van Cortlandt Park Alliance is partnering with the Design Trust to reimagine the space: www.designtrust.org/news/press-r...

I held a press conference with Bronx-based environmental organizations to protest the Trump Administration’s illegal termination of EPA grants. The public health and environmental protection of the Bronx is too important to be defunded by Donald Trump.

Our merch shop has moved to Dashery! We have a new look but all our cool merch is still available at the same price to you! The exciting news is that VCPA will receive a larger portion of each purchase so that means more funding for your favorite park. vcpalliance.dashery.com

Tomorrow is going to be another windy day with gusts over 40mph. For everyone’s safety we are canceling Forest Fridays. We hope to see you all next time. Stay safe.

At sunset on the last day of winter, 16 of us hiked to Vault Hill to welcome the equinox. We tossed acorns—collected from the park—into the wind, a simple symbolic gesture connecting our actions and the health of the forest. Happy Spring!

Positive photo day 1829: The early morning light was just right when I saw this Great Blue Heron this morning in Van Cortlandt Park. #birds of the #Bronx #birdphotography @everyheron.bsky.social @vcpalliance.bsky.social 🪶

Thank you to the wonderful group of students from Manhattan University who created this PSA video for us. lnkd.in/eA8Cg8er

⚠️RALLY/HEARING UPDATE⚠️ The #PlayFair rally & @NYCCouncil budget hearing have been rescheduled to Thurs, 3/20. Rally & testify to demand @NYCParks budget restorations! 📅Thurs, 3/20 📍City Hall 🕛Rally: 12-1pm 🕐Hearing: 1pm #ParksPowerNYC RSVP: bit.ly/ParksRally320

Due to tomorrow's wind advisory, we are canceling our Forest Friday event for 3/7. Check out our Calendar of Events to find more opportunities to volunteer in your favorite park aka Van Cortlandt Park. vancortlandt.org/calendar-of-... Stay safe and warm!

#DYK natural areas save the city $194 million dollars in stormwater capture infrastructure? If NYC natural areas did not capture stormwater, the cost of investing in the sewer overflow system and additional treatment plants would add up to this hefty sum. #StormwaterStats

📢RALLY with the #PlayFair Coalition on 3/17 and testify at the @NYCCouncil preliminary budget hearing to demand @NYCParks budget restorations and investment! 📅Monday, 3/17 📍City Hall Steps 🕛Rally: 12pm-1pm 🕐Budget Hearing: 1pm #ParksPowerNYC RSVP: bit.ly/ParksRally317