Here’s What’s Happening (in order of appearance):

 Pick of the Week / Chain Theatre Film Festival / Free Events at Chelsea Green Park / The Sweat Sessions / Free Programming from HYHK (Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance) / Music, Art, and More at Verdi Cannabis /Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea

PICK OF THE WEEK (NEXT WEEK)

Registration for the 2025 Daffodil Project Opens Monday, August 18 | Our thanks to the Chelsea Garden Club for their recent email alert about this upcoming annual opportunity. Monday, August 18 is the day to go online and register with the New Yorkers for Parks’ Daffodil Project. Every year, the 2001-established Project (aka NY4P) distributes hundreds of thousands of free daffodil bulbs to New Yorkers committed to planting bulbs in their public parks, tree pits, community gardens, and elsewhere before the first frost (mid-Oct. through early Dec.). Flash forward to March–when, NY4P notes, “yellow daffodil blooms mark the city’s first signs of spring, a symbol of our collective resilience.” For questions about the Daffodil Project or to place a special bulb order, email ny4p@ny4p.org. To register as of August 18, click here.

The 13th Annual Chain NYC Film Festival: Through August 17 at Chain Theatre (312 W. 36th St.) | Bold voices and original storytelling are hallmarks of this annual film festival, whose 2025 edition screens over 160 narratives, documentaries, and shorts. This Festival distinguishes itself by the special effort made to, organizers note, “curate each block of films by theme or genre. The collective voice of filmmakers from around the world rings out whether in escapist entertainment or heavier themes of the ‘new normal’ in a Covid society, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the continuing pursuit for equality in the LGBTQ community.” Tickets are $13 in advance, $15 at the door. To purchase tickets and access the screening schedule, click here. 

Free Events at Chelsea Green Park (140 w. 20th St. btw. 6th & 7th Aves.) |July 31 Music Event Postponed; New Date, August 6 | The Friends of Chelsea Green continue to bring free programming to the micro-but-mighty West Chelsea park. Free Chi Kung Movement Classes happen on Tuesdays through September 30, at 7pm. Laura Shapiro is your instructor.  To sign up for classes, click here.

The Sweat Sessions: Free Outdoor Fitness Classes / August 5, 12, & 29, in 14th Street Park (10th Ave. btw. 14/15th Sts.) | Brought to you by MEATPACKING (the Meatpacking District’s BID) and the Wellth Collective, these free, 45-minute fitness classes are held at 5:30pm, 6:30pm, and 7:30pm on Tuesday,  August 5, 12, & 29. Yoga, dance cardio, boxing, and pilates are among the workouts offered. To learn more and reserve your space for any of these Sessions, click here.

Free Programming from HYHK (Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance)  | HYHK is back with another season of free and fun programming for all ages in Bella Abzug Park (524 W. 34th St.). Among the events offered–all of them free and open to the public–are a series of yoga classes from Bien Good Well (Mondays and Wednesdays at 6pm,  Saturdays at 10:30am). To register for a class, click here.

Free movie screenings happen Tuesday nights in August. Each week before the movie starts (at around 8pm), a free raffle takes place. The August 12 movie is Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songs and Snakes. August 19, it’s The Goonies. On August 26, the series concludes with La La Land. On select Thursdays and Saturdays through October, Vinyl Nights and DJ The Real offer one of the city’s best dance parties, powered by music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Wednesdays in August, enjoy free salsa and bachata classes, a live band, and dancing in partnership with Somos Latin Dance and Paradis in the Park. And for the kids, head to the playground at Bella Abzug Park on Tuesday mornings through October, for acoustic concerts with Mike Messer Music. To access the HYHK Alliance events calendar, click here.

Events at Verdi Cannabis (158 W. 23rd St. btw. 6th & 7th Aves.) | Legal cannabis distributor Verdi Cannabis offers free arts programming via gallery-style displays of artwork on their walls, and a live Thursday night music series called The Green Room. In August (all times are 6:30pm-9:30pm unless otherwise noted), the series welcomes Dawoud Kringle on August 14 and TB&J on August 21. The musical guest for August 28 is TBA–as in, “To be Announced.”

Check the Verdi events calendar for updates (to do so, click here.). As for special events: Having premiered in May, Wake and Bake Fridays with A-Roastia Coffee is a coffee cart pop-up that next takes place at 9am on Friday, August 29. “The goal is to always have something fun, interesting, and unique happening here at Verdi,” says Assistant GM and Events Coordinator Kenny Cunningham (featured in this Q&A segment). To keep up with what else is up with Verdi, click here to visit their website. To visit the EVENTS page of their website, click here. 

Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea | It takes place every Saturday, 9am to 2pm, West 23rd St. off 9th Ave.  For more info, click here. Down to Earth Markets brings together two kinds of vendors: local farmers and area food and crafts makers using locally sourced ingredients. Their mission is to ensure a future for small scale agriculture and food production in the New York area by creating vibrant marketplaces where community thrives, and shoppers connect directly to the local food system.

—Compiled by Scott Stiffler

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