May 29, 2008
Governors Island reopens with polo match, David Byrne
Governors Island will open for the season this Saturday with the island's first polo match in 70 years, a family festival and a music installation from David Byrne at the Manhattan ferry launch site.
 Admission to the former military base and the ferry ride are again free every day the island's open, which this year will be every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. October 5 will be the last day of the season.
In addition, the island will be open Wednesdays and Thursdays for free National Park Service tours from June 4 through August 28. (Reservations.)
The opening day Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic will pit North American Polo League's Black Watch vs. Skeeterville. The game is free and starts at 3 p.m. at South Island. There will be a champagne bar and picnicing will be allowed.
All summer, the island will host two exhibitions" "In Site" organized by the Sculptors Guild and "Emergence" by Figment, an installation from 30 artists and art collectives. The island will also be home to one of Olafur Eliasson's four NYC Waterfalls, which will run from June 26 to October 13.
(For a sneak peak of recent scenes on the island, see silverakshi's Governor's Island photostream on Flickr.)
Other Governors Island events for this summer include the New York Philharmionic's free July 5 concert, the Governors Island Concert Series with moe, (June 15,) the Dark Star Orchestra (July 11,) and the Saw Doctors (August 23;)and the Folks on the Island folk festival with Janis Ian (July 5,) Slaid Cleaves (July 12,) Bearfoot (July 19,) Eric Bibb (July 26,) and Ronny Cox (Aug. 2.)
 The island's long military past will get some respect during Army Heritage Weekend (June 21 and 22,) as well as Revolutionary Weekend (August 2 and 3,) Civil War History Weekend (August 9 and 10,) Battle of Brooklyn Weekend (August 23 and 24.)
The Figment Festival arrives June 28 and 29, while the Pulse Theatre will take up a short residence the last days of August with Shakespeare’s "Twelfth Night� (Aug. 29-31.)
But even before you leave Manhattan, check out David Byrne's Playing the Building, a free, interactive musical installation in the landmark Battery Maritime Building.
 The pitch: The project consists of a retrofitted antique organ, placed in the center of the building's cavernous second-floor gallery, that controls a series of devices attached to its structural features—metal beams, plumbing, electrical conduits, and heating and water pipes. These machines vibrate, strike, and blow across the building’s elements, triggering unique harmonics and producing finely tuned sounds.
Listen here. "Playing the Building" will run from the evening of May 31 through August 10.
Other summer events at Governors Island for 2008:
June 7 and 8 - Michael Aranella and the Dreamland Orchestra
Aug. 9 and 10 -African Film Festival
Aug. 16 and 17 - Battery Dance Company
See the full schedule of events and the Governors Island ferry schedule from Manhattan. (The NY Water Taxi will not serve the island from Brooklyn like it did last summer.) There is no restaurant on the island, but a limited selection of food and drinks are available at food carts Friday through Saturday. You definitely need to bring your own drinks and snacks for the weekday NPS tours.
The whole island is 172 acres total, but only the 92-acre National Historic Landmark District is open to the public. Located between Brooklyn and the southern tip of Manhattan, Governors Island was the first settlement of what became New Amsterdam. It later turned to military uses - including a hospital and prison. It was the launching site of Wilbur Wright's first flight over water, and now has 52 landmarked buildings. It's been open to the public only since 2004. Its ultimate use is much debated.
Earlier: Governors Island ferry trip and tours free all summer
May 29, 2008 1:52 PM in Cheap Stuff, Downtown, History, Kids, Out of Manhattan, Romance, Sightsology, Sports, Tours, Transportology
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