Annual Events in East Harlem (El Barrio)

Annual Three Kings Parade

Date: January 6, 10:00 am
Location; 106th Street, Third Avenue

Filling the streets of Spanish Harlem with camels, sheep, donkeys, hoards of schoolchildren, men dressed as kings and Latin music, the Three Kings Day Parade is a thoroughly colorful and festive Christmas affair, Latin American-style. In Latin America, as in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and Spain, 6 January commemorates the day the three kings visited baby Jesus. Arriving on camels, elephants and horses, Melchior, Caspar and Baltazar brought gifts for Jesus and declared him the Messiah. Organized by El Museo del Barrio, the parade starts at 10am from the corner of 106th Street and 5th Ave and terminates at 106th St and 5th St. The parts of the three kings are usually played by local community celebrities and figureheads, who lead the parade for ten or 12 city blocks. The walk is followed by a program of storytelling, music and toy distribution.

Cinco de Mayo Festival

Date: First Sunday in May
Location : 116th Street from Lexington to Second Avenues; Third Avenue from 106th to 122nd Streets

The Cinco de Mayo Festival in held annually the Sunday closest to May 5 on 116th Street, between Second and Lexington Avenues, East Harlem. Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The burgeoning Latino community is not limited to Puerto Ricans as the Mexican American community's growing presence can be felt in East Harlem. This annual event is a showcase to celebrate Mexican culture and heritage. Street vendors offer every variety of foods, while local artists entertain with music, dance, crafts, and more.

116th Street Festival / El Abrazo Fraternal

Date: June 11
Location : 116th Street from Lexington to Second Avenues; Third Avenue from 106th to 122nd Streets

The 116th Street Festival, with over one million attendees, is the premier Hispanic event in the metropolitan city of New York. This massive festival stretches along 116th Street from 1st Avenue to Park Avenue through Third Avenue and from 106th Street to 122nd Street. Concert stages are located throughout the festival showcasing sports and TV personalities, business and political officials, as well as the very best in Latin music. Vendors are on hand throughout the festival, offering everything from Puerto Rican pasteles to Italian pastries; t-shirts and other souvenirs.

Museum Mile Festival

The annual Museum Mile Festival traditionally takes place the second Tuesday in June from 6:00 - 9:00 pm, from 106th Street to 82nd Street. Well over one million people have taken part in this annual celebration. Festival attendees can visit nine of New York City's finest cultural institutions open free that evening to the public. Several of the participating museums, such as El Museo del Barrio at and the Museum of the City of New York, will offer outdoor art activities for children.

Fifth Avenue is closed to traffic and become a strollers' haven. Special exhibitions and works from permanent collections are on view inside the institutions and live music is featured in front of each museum. Additional street entertainers will perform along Fifth Avenue all evening. Established in 1978 to increase public awareness of its member institutions and promote public support of the arts, the festival has served as a model for similar events across the country.

Dance of the Giglio / Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Imagine 125 men carrying a Five-Ton, Five-Story, Hand-Sculptured Tower and a 12- piece Brass Band on their shoulders dancing it through their neighborhood in tempo to joyous Italian folk songs. The Dance of the Giglio in East Harlem is generally held on Sunday, July 16 on 115th Street between 1st and Pleasant Avenues. Typically, the feast opens 10 to 12 days before the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, culminating with the Annual Dance of the the Giglio.

It is one of the original Giglio feasts held in the United States since the early 1900s. The roots of this feast differ somewhat from others in the U.S. in that the descendants of this feasts originated from the town of Brusciano, Italy which is located several miles from Nola, Italy.

In the town of Brusciana, six Giglio are danced each year in honor of San Antonio, the town's patron saint. As the story goes, in 1875 a gentleman named Francisco Vivolo made a vow to San Antonio to erect and dance a Giglio in his honor like they do each year in Nola, if his deathly ill son miraculously recovered. Needless to say, Francisco's prayers were answered and the Dance of the Giglio was born in Brusciano, still carrying on today.

Descendants of Francesco Vivolo and others from the town of Brusciano settled in East Harlem shortly after the turn of the 1900 and started a Dance of the Giglio feast annually in honor of San Antonio. This tradition took place on 106th Street until 1955. In 1957, the feast was moved to 108th Street where it remained until 1971.

For over 300 years in Italy, and the past century in communities throughout the greater New York area, this glorious ritual known as 'The Dance of the Giglio' has been celebrated each Summer with unbridled passion and devotion. This annual 65 to 85 foot-high moving monument to faith, folk-art and family honors a Roman Catholic Saint, San Paolino di Nola and his heroic act of sacrifice & valor in the ancient Italian city of Nola in the year 409 A.D.

Through the years, each generation had been steadfastly loyal to the traditions embodied by the Giglio Feast. But, from 1971 through 1999, no Dance of the Giglio Feast took place in East Harlem. But the feast returned in 2000 - held in conjunction with Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. After an absence of 29 years, a Giglio was erected and once again danced in East Harlem. The Giglio tradition has continued each year.

Annual Stickball/Streetball Tournaments

Although known for its cultural influence on Latin music and dance forms, El Barrio is also "Stickball territory," giving rise to some of New York's great players and teams.

El Barrio's stickball tradition dates from the 1930s and every summer is special as the neighborhood now hosts both the annual the East 111th Street Old Timers Weekend and the World Series of Stickball.

If you're talking about stickball, and the people who played a big role in it, you've got to talk about Pete Velez. Pete is one of the game's main organizers and historians. From the '40s through the '90s, Pete was a member of East Harlem's Devils, and the leader of the team called the Young Devils. He recalls the early days of the group. "When we were kids either the cops would break up our stickball games, or the big guys would kick us off the streets, so they could use them. There was a lot we had to overcome just to be able to play. After World War II, stickball really reached its prime."

Annual Father-Son "baseball" games are also held on Pleasant Avenue, which is usually closed off for two blocks -- one for the baseball "field", the other for use as a parking lot.

Galeria 106

Date: June 4; 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Location: 106th Street between Park and Third Avenues.

Outdoor showing and sale of work by Puerto Rican and other Latino artists, including event founder Carlos Laster.

Miracles on 104th Street

Date: June 18; 12:00 - 5:00 pm

El Museo del Barrio, Museum of the City of New York, and the City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation provide a full afternoon of art, live music, food, and fun for families and the community. Free admission and gallery tours are offered in both museums and in the Conservatory Gardens in Central Park.

Enjoy tours, music, films, and family activities at the Museum of the City of New York. Cross 104th Street for more music and activities at El Museo del Barrio and the Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts. Cross Fifth Avenue to enjoy tours of Central Park’s Conservatory Garden with the Urban Park Rangers. Walk along 104th Street and find fun and games on all sides.

Annual International Troubadour Festival

Date: July 30; Noon to dusk
Location: 106th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues

Puerto Rico's finest interpreters of la decima espinela will be battling for top honors at this year's International Troubadour Festival in the historic neighborhood of East Harlem. "Decima espinela" refers to the ten-verse lyrical form that is the basis for what many affectionately refer to as "la musica jibara." The Troubadour Festival is where the best improvisors of the form come to compete. Many begin the competition, but in the end, only two remain standing to face each other in a battle of lyrical wit and improvisational skill. This family-friendly, open-air event is free to all.

Community Board 11's East Harlem Arts Festival

Date: 3rd Saturday in August, Noon to 5 p.m.
Location: 106th Street / Julia de Burgos Blvd. between Third and Park Avenues

Community Board 11 and State Senator José M. Serrano co-host the East Harlem Arts Festival, which brings together more than 100 local artists to sell and promote their work in the cultural crossroads of East Harlem, on 106th Street between Third and Park Avenues.

The arts festival is more than great entertainment. It is expression of the strong ties that bind together East Harlem, with free music, dance and theatrical performances.

East Harlem has a long and strong legacy in the arts. This is a fantastic opportunity for East Harlem to showcase the talent that exists within its boundaries.

The East Harlem Arts Festival allows local residents to foster and strengthen the arts in our community and we are proud to bring this to fruition.