City Parks Foundation's PuppetMobile visited Seward Park for Puppet Time performances on Wednesday, August 24.

SUN AND FUN IN SEWARD PARK THIS SUMMER

Heatwaves and drought warnings couldn't keep us down — it was another eventful summer in Seward Park!

We kicked off the season with some help from our friends at the New York Junior League. As their Playground Improvement Project of the year, Seward Park started its summer with trash-free paths, weeded garden beds with new plants, and a fountain spruced with new flowers and plants.

We committed our time and energy to revamping the Seward Park Meadow to meet its official Pollinator Place designation. With the help of some incredible local volunteers, non-native plants were transplanted out of the meadow and found new homes throughout the park. We added almost 150 new native, pollinator-friendly plants to the meadow, including smooth aster, wild strawberry, narrowleaf mountain mint, and bee balm. We also added new signage to the meadow's fencing to educate our community on the Pollinator Place's ecological mission.

We partnered with some of our favorite organizations to bring fun and educational events to Seward Park. We welcomed back the Films on the Green Festival for two screenings of free films in the park — Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress and The Class were both huge hits. City Parks Foundation brought their popular PuppetMobile to the park for some musical performances — our littlest park-goers were enthralled by their Puppet Time variety show!

It was a wonderful summer in Seward Park, and that's all thanks to you — summers like this happen because of your support! Your help allows us to continue caring for Seward Park and providing community programming. Fall is right around the corner, and we want it to be just as amazing as this summer— will you help us reach our goals?

POLLINATOR PLANT OF THE MONTH

Monarch butterflies will begin migrating south in the coming weeks and when they return next year, they'll be looking for this fragrant flower! Swamp Milkweed is a favorite of many pollinators, including bees and swallowtails, but monarch butterflies won't lay their eggs anywhere else. For monarchs, milkweed is an important part of keeping new larvae safe: the monarch caterpillars will feast on the leaves, accumulating the milkweed's toxic compounds and becoming poisonous to predators. With monarch butterflies recently declared endangered, milkweed is key to making sure our Pollinator Place remains a safe haven for these beautiful insects.

COMING UP IN THE PARK

The Museum of Chinese in America is hosting a Mid-Autumn Family Festival on Saturday, September 17.

AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD

The Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy and the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative have joined forces to present a new historical walking tour of the Lower East Side. This tour focuses on architecture, landmarking, and preservation efforts and will be led by Urban Historian Barry Feldman. Sunday, September 11, 10:45am - 1:00pm.

The Museum at Eldridge Street is hosting a virtual cinema chat for a behind-the-scenes look at the documentary Passage to Sweden. Filmmaker Suzannah Warlick and narrator Chana Sharfstein will join moderator Lucy Shahar in discussion. Tuesday, September 13, 6:00pm.

The Museum of Chinese in America is hosting a Mid-Autumn Family Festival. Activities include arts & crafts, storytelling, shadow puppet performances, and mooncake tastings. Saturday, September 17, 3:00pm - 6:00pm.

Matsuri NYC Fall Fest is coming to Corlears Hook Park. Presented by The Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York, the all-day festival celebrating Japanese culture will include traditional performances and cultural activities for the whole family. Sunday, October 2, 12:00pm - 4:00pm.

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