Find free and low-cost family and kids’ events in Brooklyn this July, including fireworks in Park Slope, outdoor movies in Brooklyn Heights, and free outdoor family programs in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
July 1-4
Cultural Street Fair
The International African Arts Festival brings cultural food, crafts, and performances to Commodore Barry Park.
July 4
Independence!
Another summer, another Fourth of July. Will you be mixing lemonade and reapplying sunscreen while the grill sizzles away? Maybe you want to avoid that scene and do something cultural in recognition of the holiday. If you’re ready for a change of pace, here are some fun options.
July 5
Spielberg Classic
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial screens July 5 as part of the Syfy Movies with a View series at Brooklyn Bridge Park.
July 11
Fireworks and the Philharmonic
One of the world’s finest symphony orchestras performs this month, and you won’t need to shell out the big bucks or trek up to Lincoln Center to hear it. Each summer, the New York Philharmonic plays for the people, and Prospect Park plays host. It’s the perfect opportunity to lay out a blanket, let the kids enjoy the park, and gaze at the stars as the strains of Tchaikovsky and Respighi float through the air. The evening is rounded out by a fireworks display.
July 28
Muppet Mantra
If you believe the Muppets know the answer to life’s meaning, Celebrate Brooklyn’s The Muppet Movie Sing-A-Long with the Loser’s Lounge in Prospect Park is the event for you. Before the movie, you’ll sing and swoon to tunes by Loser’s Lounge—a band of notable NYC rock/pop musicians—including the Muppety madness of “Ma-Na-Ma-Na” and other hits. After the Loser’s, you’ll laugh then cry then laugh again with the emotional peaks and valleys of 1979’s The Muppet Movie, in which Kermit and Co. hitch a ride to Tinseltown to become movie stars.
Weekends in July and August
Weekends on the Waterfront
On weekends in the summer, Brooklyn Bridge Park hosts Weekend Family Programs, which present family-friendly activities such as boating, sports and games, arts and crafts, and educational activities related to recycling, seining, and more. Two sessions are offered each day. FREE!
Through Sept. 23
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Gardening can be a great bonding activity between parents and children, and you don’t need a backyard to do it. The horticultural geeks at Brooklyn Botanic Garden know this full well and a new exhibit, Summer Urban Gardens, gives us Brooklynites mega ideas for maintaining gardens with minimal landscape. Visitors will learn how containers allow for gardening on patios, courtyards, rooftops, and other tight spaces. Those fortunate souls with a patch of sacred earth will learn to overcome obstacles like vermin and poor soil to grow a wide range of flowers, fruits, herbs, and vegetables. Indoor gardeners can learn about keeping the right kinds of plants and thus allowing nature to exist in an apartment.
Find even more fun and low-cost family activities in Brooklyn and the NYC area in our full calendar of events!
