In addition to Fashion Week and the MTV Video Music Awards, Manhattan has another big event on the calendar. Yesterday morning aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Dutch crown Prince Willem-Alexander, and his wife, Princess Maxima, launched "NY400," a weeklong series of public events and promotions to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's arrival in New York Harbor and the city's Dutch roots.
The Dutch bonanza has many components, including sailing races between 56 Flying Dutchman-class vessels, the unveiling of the New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion in Battery Park, free bicycle rentals at Bowling Green, speed dating, and talks on topics like global trends in sustainable mobility. Two of the biggest events are the New Amsterdam Village and the New Island Festival. The village involves the re-creation of Dutch canal houses, a windmill, and an outdoor stage designed to educate the public on traditional crafts from the Netherlands. There will even be cheese, beer, herring, and flowers for sale from the European nation. The festival, which runs from Thursday, September 10, through Sunday, September 13, takes place on Governors Island, where bands, DJs, theatrical groups, and other visual artists will take perform outdoors.
NY400 will culminate in the "Harbor Day" celebration on Sunday, with a flotilla of Dutch and American sailboats traveling clockwise around Manhattan, an oyster festival at Pier 84, family-oriented music festivities, and other free public events.
