2018: My Year at FDR Four Freedoms Park in Review

2018 was a busy year for us at FDR Four Freedoms State Park. We had over 200,000 visitors and hosted a multitude of events, performances, and activities. People from all ages came to the park throughout the seasons, rain or shine. Here are some of my favorite moments from 2018:

1. Cherry Blossom Festival

An impressive 11,000 visitors came to see the park’s cherry blossoms in bloom this year. At FDR Four Freedoms State Park, we celebrated the occasion with traditional Japanese music and dance performances. Musicians and performers like Shamisen Japanese String Ensemble and Soh Daiko drummers entertained the crowds, who either explored the park or sat on the park’s monumental stair to listen and relax.

2. Fourth of July

FDR Four Freedoms Park was the place to celebrate birthday of the United States this year. More than 1,000 visitors were lucky enough to get tickets to the waterfront fireworks, which were launched into the sky from 75,000 shells located on seven barges in midtown on Manhattan’s East River. It was an incredible spectacle that lit up the sky.

3. City of Water Day

Every year Waterfront Alliance’s City of Water Day celebrates the importance of water in NYC with a variety of events and educational activities. Four Freedoms Park Conservancy worked with Freshkills Park Alliance to bring their Mobile Education Lab to the memorial. The Mobile Education Lab taught our young visitors how to make field notebooks out of an invasive plant, phragmities, and explored the city waterways using telescopes. It was a celebration of the waterways that are so essential to life in New York City. 

4. Roosevelt Island Fall for Arts Festival 

Visitors flocked to the annual Roosevelt Island Fall for Arts Festival to enjoy music, art, and other activities. There was lots to see and do — muralists turned walls into colorful art works, and visitors could participate in activities like face painting, yoga and story time. As the day drew to a close we had a very exciting moment, the arrival of the one millionth visitor to the presidential memorial. As 2019 nears, we’re looking forward to one million more visitors.