The Harlem River Festival at Swindler Cove Park is hosted annually in September by New York Restoration Project (NYRP) in celebration of National Estuaries Day. The festival also features the Peter Jay Sharp Head of the Harlem Regatta during a day that fosters community access to the Harlem River – emphasizing its revitalization as an environmental and recreational resource.

A favorite among thousands of New York City families, the festival includes a variety of activities that emphasize exploration Swindler Cove’s magnificently restored wetlands, indigenous plant and animal life, freshwater pond and Riley-Levin Children’s Garden – which, in the fall, is bursting with tomatoes, peppers and seasonal vegetables. Other family-oriented events invite attendees to sample local cuisine, enjoy music and learn fascinating ecological and historical details of the Harlem River in this green oasis that sits alongside a concrete jungle.

Head Races, a class of regattas, feature boats racing both against each other and the clock. Races begin near the base of Yankee Stadium and finish at Swindler Cove’s unique, floating Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse. Spectators enjoy spectacular views of Olympic racing shells from the greenway along the Harlem River Drive, recently made more beautiful through the planting of hundreds of cherry trees by NYRP.