Check Out Some of NYC’s Best Museums for Free During the Museum Mile Festival

Enjoy free museum access and live entertainment at the 39th annual Museum Mile Festival, which kicks off at El Museo del Barrio on June 13 at 5:45pm.
 

The festival, which started in 1978 as a way to create support for the arts, runs from 105th Street to 82nd Street on Fifth Avenue, which is known as Museum Mile. During the Museum Mile Festival, access to the seven museums along the mile is free. Visitors can also enjoy 23 car-free blocks, art-in-the street activities for kids, and live bands and entertainment. 

The opening ceremony at El Museo del Barrio will include performances by Fogo Azul Bateria Feminina, DJ Shabbakano, and street performance by Carlos Jesus Martinez Dominguez and Leslie Jimenez. Kids will also have the opportunity to create their own musical instruments with the Little Orchestra Society.

Other festival stops include:

  • Museum of the City of New York where guests can enjoy salsa music and dancing
  • The Jewish Museum where you can incorporate yourself into a theatrical scene inspired by the paintings of Florine Stettheimer using colorful drawing materials
  • Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, which will feature an Imagination Playground on the lawn and hands-on design activities
  • Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum with a performance by Sarah King and the Smoke Rings
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET) where you can draw from a live model and watch a dance performance by Sidra Bell Dance New York
     

The Museum Mile Festival, dubbed New York’s biggest block party, welcomes all ages. Kids can get in on the fun with special attractions at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, which will feature children’s magician and entertainer, Silly Billy. Sammie & Tudie’s Imagination Playhouse is also a stop along the festival route, which will entertain kids with multiple comedy magic circus shows.

The Museum Mile Festival is free and takes place rain or shine on June 13 from 6-9pm. El Museo del Barrio is located at 1230 Fifth Ave. For more information visit museummilefestival.org


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Main image: Twenty-three car-free blocks means more room to stroll and create art in the street.
Courtesy Museum Mile Festival