Events
Events
We encourage you to check out our upcoming events calendar. Due to COVID, all in person events require social distancing and registration in advance.
Rockaway Market Street @ Beach 60th
Saturday, August 13, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Under the A train's elevated tracks at Beach 60th Street
Join us for the Rockaway peninsula’s first outdoor market, ROCKAWAY MARKET STREET @ BEACH 60TH. Gio Fernandez-Kincade and the Bachata Boys play this Saturday!
The market is located by the A train's Beach 60th Street subway entrance and makes use of the underpass as a community space protected from the sun, rain, and foul weather.
Market vendors are Alomaloni, Althea's Tropical Delights, Blacksmith’s Breads, Cassey's Cookies and Cobblers, Crazy Ed Art 84, Edgemere Farm, Godiva Valley, Muddy Living, Mushroom Queens, My Grandma's Kitchen, Otherwordy Services, Pure Earth Magic, Rockaway Microgreens, Rockaway Soda, and Saratoga Peanut Butter Company.
Make a day of it! Come and enjoy our beautiful beaches; shop our market; and support regional farmers, food vendors, and artisans with your purchases.
Move & Groove with Maria Spizuoco
Monday, August 15, 11:00 am to 11:45 am
RISE (outdoors), 58-03 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Far Rockaway, NY 11692
Chair Yoga at RISE
Tuesday, August 16, 10:30 am to 11:15 am
RISE (outdoors), 58-03 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Far Rockaway, NY 11692
Certified yoga instructor Ruth Graves is offering a free chair yoga class on Tuesday mornings, 10:30 to 11:15, right outside RISE. Ruth has practiced all kinds of yoga (chair, mat, Shivananda) for more than twenty years. She studied with Lakshmi Voelker, worked at Rockaway YMCA, and even refined her skills at Shivananda in the Bahamas.
All are welcome! From beginners to seasoned practitioners--and everyone in between--are invited.
Cooking with Claudette
Wednesday, August 17, 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm
RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Far Rockaway, NY 11692
Master Chef Claudette Flatow of Cuisine by Claudette is hosting free cooking classes as part of our summer series (August 3, 17, 31) for the community!
Registration is required because space is limited! Come and enjoy the company of others in creating a simple, but healthy and affordable, meal.
Masks are required, and safe physical distancing must be maintained.
Cooking with Claudette
Wednesday, August 31, 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm
RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Far Rockaway, NY 11692
Master Chef Claudette Flatow of Cuisine by Claudette is hosting free cooking classes as part of our summer series (August 3, 17, 31) for the community!
Registration is required as space is limited! Come and enjoy the company of others in creating a simple, but healthy and affordable, meal.
Masks are required, and safe physical distancing must be maintained.
International Coastal Cleanup
Saturday, September 17, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Beach 59th Street & the Boardwalk
Join RISE for the annual International Coastal Cleanup in partnership with the American Littoral Society. People of every age are encouraged to participate. All trash collected will be entered into the national database, which goes to help establish legislation to reduce trash along our shores.
Students can receive community service hours for their efforts.
Registration is not required. This event will take place rain or shine!
Special thanks to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for its sponsorship.
Bird-watching Tour Fundraiser
Saturday, September 24, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Far Rockaway, NY 11692
Join us for a bird-watching tour with birder, naturalist, and RISE Youth Development Program Manager Russell Jacobs. Rockaway hosts a variety of breeding shorebirds such as black skimmers, common and least terns, American oystercatchers, and the endangered piping plovers during the summer. Like all the barrier beaches, the Rockaways offer excellent birding during migration, particularly in the fall, when south-migrating birds wing their way along the coast. Expect to see migrating shorebirds, seabirds, and songbirds making their way toward their winter habitats! Many of the native wildflowers along the shore will be in bloom, and participants also will get the opportunity to learn about Rockaway's native plants and insects.
RISE will provide binoculars for use during the bird-watching tour, but feel free to bring your own scoping equipment and cameras. You will receive A Field Guide and Handbook on the Rockaways as a keepsake.
All funds raised by this event will support RISE youth programs.
After the bird-watching tour, we invite you inside RISE’s renovated firehouse to enjoy light refreshments.
Masks are required inside RISE, but they are not required for the walk itself.
If you feel any signs of COVID-19, please test yourself before joining the tour or refrain from attending. We will offer you a refund, if you choose.
Tour will be limited to 20 registrants.
Jamaica Bay Community Cleanup
Saturday, September 24, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
Dubos Point, Bayfield Avenue & Beach 65th Street
Rockaway residents of all ages are encouraged to participate in this stewardship event along Jamaica Bay. For this cleanup, we will be clearing the area of any litter in order to prevent marine debris in our waterways. As members of our community, we need to do our best to keep our bay clean for all visitors and wildlife.
Students can receive community service hours for their efforts. Registration is not required. This event will take place rain or shine!
Special thanks to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for its sponsorship.
Community Workshop: Greater Rockaway Coastal Plan
Thursday, September 29, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Far Rockaway, NY 11692
Join RISE for an updated presentation and status meeting on the Greater Rockaway Community & Shoreline Enhancement Plan. Local stakeholders and partners will review the final designated areas for restoration and first draft of conceptual designs.
Registration is required. Light refreshments will be served. Click here for more background about the project.
Masks are required, and safe physical distancing must be maintained.
Foraging Tour with "Wildman" Steve Brill
Saturday, October 1, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Far Rockaway, NY 11692
RISE will host a tour with the go-to foraging team of "Wildman" Steve Brill and his daughter, Violet. The natural habitat of the Rockaways offers all the best wild foods of the seashore.
The sandy soil limits tree and grass growth, but it benefits other species that can take advantage of the sun and nutrient-poor soil. Wild greens and dozens of species thrive here.
This event is free and will happen rain or shine. Registration is required because this event fills up fast.
Masks are required inside RISE, but they are not required for the tour itself.
Daffodil Giveaway
Saturday, October 1, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Beach 60th Street & Rockaway Freeway
Join the 21st anniversary of the Daffodil Project. Sign up now to get free bulbs! This event is in partnership with New Yorkers for Parks. The Daffodil Project is a living memorial to the victims of 9/11 and the largest civic effort in New York City history. Free bulbs are given out to plant in public spaces across all five boroughs. RISE is hosting one of the Queens distribution sites.
Bulbs will be distributed to those who register in advance.
Registration will open later this year. Check back here for updated information.
Beach 60th Street Community Cleanup
Saturday, October 1, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Beach 60th Street & Rockaway Freeway
Come and join RISE for a cleanup to help make our community a spotless place for everyone. To ensure a safe and effective cleanup, RISE will hand out gloves and bags to all participants.
Adults and kids alike are welcome!
Registration is not required, but students looking to do community service hours are encouraged to bring paperwork from their schools.
Special thanks to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for sponsoring this event.
Fitness Class at RISE
Monday, October 3, 11:00 am to 11:45 am
RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Far Rockaway, NY 11692
Ann Fosteris's Fitness to You embraces making a positive impact and living a healthy lifestyle, which includes staying active and maintaining a healthy weight. There is no need to register. Just show up at RISE on Monday morning at eleven o'clock and join neighbors of all ages and fitness levels. You will feel good and look great in no time!
Masks are required, and physical distancing must be maintained.
9th Annual Hip Hop Halloween & Harvest Celebration
Saturday, October 15, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm
RISE, 58-03 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Far Rockaway, NY 11692
Join RISE for the 9th Annual Hip Hop Halloween & Harvest Celebration, as we celebrate Halloween with family and friends in the RISE Community Garden. Come and take part painting pumpkins, face painting, music, dancing, festive food, and more!
This event is free and open to the public. Masks are required, and safe physical distancing must be maintained.
Sandy Anniversary Cleanup & Planting
Saturday, October 22, 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Beach 44th Street & the Boardwalk
For the tenth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, RISE is bringing people of all ages together to care for our shoreline and create a natural protective buffer for the Rockaway community.
As we learned from Sandy, the natural vegetation and dunes that exist off our shores serve as a protective buffer to the homes and businesses in the area. Many of these dunes are compromised by storms and shoreline erosion and need to be cared for to be effective.
Families, friends, and neighbors are welcome to participate in this dune planting and restoration project. Students can receive community service hours. This event is rain or shine, so please dress accordingly.
Special thanks to L&M Development and Bluestone Group for supporting this event.