Here’s What’s Happening This Week 

 Through-Running Panel Discussion / West Side Fest / Free Outdoor Events in Bella Abzug Park / Disability Unite Festival / Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea / Ice Cream Social

Pick of the Week (next week)

Could “Through-Running” Help Un-Clog Penn Station: A Moderated Panel Discussion on Tuesday, July 14, 5:30pm at FIT Fisch Presentation Hall (220 W. 28th St.) | Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal moderates this panel discussion, in which transit experts contemplate a future Penn Station fitted for through-running (the practice of an incoming train that arrives on one rail line and leaves on another). Through-running’s relative merits will be examined, including the possible impact of the federal government’s plan for Penn Station. The proceedings begin with remarks by Special Advisor to the Amtrak Board of Directors Andy Byford. Get more info and register here.

West Side Fest: Friday, July 10 through Sunday, July 12 at Various Locations | Presented by the West Side Cultural Network, this annual Fest invites you to partake of (mostly) free arts and culture events taking place at 20+ museums, parks, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions. There, you’ll find all manner of performances, workshops, artmaking, outdoor programming, and family-friendly activities. Among the participating venues, Poster House offers a July 10 2pm-3pm docent-led tour of Love & Fury: New York’s Fight Against AIDS. “When AIDS hit New York,” notes the promo material, “posters spoke where institutions stayed silent.” Educator Leo Murzenkoa will provide historical context and examine some of the design techniques behind the posters. On July 11, 3-4pm, Shoreline Strolls sees reps from Hudson River Park’s River Project team guide you through Gansevoort Peninsula’s ecosystems (“from a sandy shoreline beach with tide pools to a pine grove, pile field, and salt marsh”). On July 12, 11am-12pm on the High Line, Tai Chi with Pin Pin Su is a mind/body workout designed for all levels of experience; and from 12pm-5pm, explore the creative process on a self-guided tour of Westbeth Artists Housing studios. There are dozens of other events. For the full schedule, visit westsidefest.nyc.

Disability Unite Festival: Sunday, July 12, Online 12pm to 6pm at DisabilityUnite.org & In-Person 11am to 4pm at the Central Park Naumburg Bandshell (south of the 72nd Street Transverse; enter the park at E. 72nd St. & Fifth Ave.) | Project Access for All—a national platform for “advancing access, inclusion, and systemic change” to benefit the disabled–is the organizing entity behind the Disability Unite initiative, whose “groups, communities, and individuals” are united in the fight for disability rights. Their annual Disability Unite Festival—equal parts celebration and activism—takes place this year on July 12. Using the occasion to mark the 36th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fest offers Disability Inclusion Training, On-Stage Performances, and an exclusive online experience. Register here for this free event.

Free Outdoor Events in Bella Abzug Park (524 W. 34th St. btw. 10th & 11th Aves.) | With July practically upon us and the weather heating up, the roster of free events and activities offered annually by the Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance (HYHK) is back to firing on all burners. From music to movies to mindful movement, there’s something for every age and inclination. Now through October, instructors from Bien Good Well lead yoga classes at 5pm on Mondays and Wednesdays, as well as mat pilates, Saturdays at 10:30am. To register, click here . On select Thursdays and Saturdays, Vinyl Nights is a DJ dance party that gets you moving to the grooves that defined NYC in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  For the kids, Mike Messer Music offers acoustic concerts on Tuesday mornings. Click here to visit the HYHK Event Calendar, where you’ll find info on all of their free programming.

Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea: Saturdays, 9am-2pm on West 23rd St. off Ninth Ave. | An April through December presence in Chelseda for over a decade, this opportunity to eat well while supporting local vendors is a win-win. See the below flyer for details. To sign up for the Market’s email newsletter (sent every Thursday),click here.

Ice Cream Social: Monday, July 20, 6pm-8pm at Clement Clarke Moore Park (10th Ave. & W. 22nd St.) | “We all scream for ice cream,” goes to old saying–but no noisy protests are necessary at this upcoming event. Hosted by the West 400 Block Association and scheduled to coincide with National Ice Cream Day, all are welcome to claim their complimentary sweet treat. See the below flyer, which contains all the info you just read about, but has the added advantage of a triple-scoop visual…

—-Listings Compiled by Scott Stiffler

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