Get Outdoors: Explore Brooklyn This Spring

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It’s finally spring in Brooklyn, and the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge team can’t get enough of the warmer weather! We’re in full nature mode, dusting off our sunglasses and getting ready the spend the next few months out and about, exploring our new borough in the spring sunshine.

The sights and sounds start right outside our back door, in Brooklyn Bridge Park, with a few exciting art installations. By Pier 5, artist Tom Fruin’s installation, Watertower 3: R.V. Ingersoll, lights up the night with its colorful tiles and solar-powered lights, while also paying homage to New York’s iconic watertowers. Right here in DUMBO, the artist has installed another colorful watertower—see if you can find it! (Hint: Look up.) On May 3rd, Anish Kapoor’s Descension opens at Pier 1 for its first-ever New York City installation. A massive, downward-spiraling water funnel, the artwork inspires awe up close, but we confess we’re most excited for the view of it from our rooms and rooftop right here at the hotel.

Let the sounds of Brooklyn’s classical musicians serenade you at Bargemusic, located on an historic coffee barge that’s been transformed into an open-air performance venue and permanently moored next to Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park, at Fulton Ferry Landing. Every Thursday at 4pm, Bargemusic holds its free Neighborhood Family Concerts—complete with a musician Q&A session after the show—while tickets to regular chamber music performances are available for most weekends in the warmer months.

DUMBO’s own Archway—a restored public plaza under the Manhattan Bridge—kicks off its outdoor concert series on June 2nd. Every Thursday at 6pm, for four months, a wide range of Brooklyn artists perform everything from salsa and swing to Italian modern dance and puppetry. Local vendors set up food stalls to supplement the Archway Lighthouse, which serves beer and wine Wednesday through Sunday from its lighthouse-shaped booth. Even if you miss the concerts, the Brooklyn Flea—New York’s favorite outdoor market—takes over the Archway every Sunday until the fall.

Music-lovers and culture fiends looking to explore other Brooklyn neighborhoods shouldn’t miss Celebrate Brooklyn!, a popular summer performance series in Prospect Park that kicks off on June 7th with a gala and concert by Lake Street Dive. The series takes over the Prospect Park Bandshell with shows all summer long, many of which are free. We recommend taking a picnic and a blanket and staking out a spot early in the evening.

Even if you’re not in town for Celebrate Brooklyn!, Prospect Park is celebrating its 150th Anniversary season with special events all spring and summer, including art installations, guided nature walks, family days, and more. Next door, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden celebrates cherry blossom season on April 29th and 30th with its Sakura Matsuri festival, which includes taiko drumming, tea ceremonies, a Japanese market, and much more. Even if you miss the cherry blossoms, the Botanic Garden offers regular tours, workshops, and family weekends all summer long.

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