Things to do in NYC in August 2021 include NYC Summer Restaurant Week, Mets and Yankees baseball, NYCFC and NY Red Bulls soccer, and it’s peak whale watching season. Summer in New York City ends with the US Open grand slam tennis championship.
It’s not a normal August. We are still in the COVID-19 pandemic. Please keep masking and distancing to keep all New Yorkers safe. Every organization (even outdoors) has its own pandemic protocols, so check before you go.
The Month of August
August weather is late summer in New York City. Average temperatures range from 68° to 83°F so it is hot. Humidity rises during the day and breaks into afternoon thunderstorms coming up from the Caribbean.
These events happen all month long.
- New York Mets ⚾️ baseball
- New York Yankees ⚾️ baseball
- NYCFC ⚽️ soccer
- NY Red Bulls ⚽️ soccer
- Peak whale watching season
Things to Do in NYC in August 2021 Week 30
July 26 – August 1, 2021
- NYC Summer Restaurant Week continues through August 15, 2021
- “Merry Wives” Shakespeare in the Park continues at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park through August 29, 2021.
Sunday, August 1
Celebrate Pachamama 😇, the Andean new year celebration of Mother Earth.
Things to Do in NYC in August 2021 Week 31
August 2-8, 2021
Tuesday, August 3
Remember Dolores del Río 🇲🇽 the first Latin American Hollywood star. She was born in Durango, México on August 3, 1905.
Wednesday, August 4
Remember Louis Armstrong, the jazz trumpeter and leader who changed popular music forever. Armstrong was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 4, 1901.
Friday, August 6
Celebrate Bolivian Independence Day 🇧🇴, August 6, 1825!
Celebrate International Beer Day 🍺
Saturday, August 7
Wish Caetano Veloso 🇧🇷 a happy birthday! The Brazilian rock star was born in Santo Amaro da Purifcação, Bahia, Brazil on August 7, 1942.
Wish Carlos Vives 🇨🇴 a happy birthday! The vallenato star and actor was born in Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia on August, 7, 1961.
Remember the Battle of Boyacá 🇨🇴 of August 7, 1819, the tipping point in the struggle for the independence of northern South America.
Sunday, August 8
The National Dominican Day Parade is hybrid virtual with a small in-person celebration.
The Harlem Week festival is in Harlem through next Sunday.
Remember Emiliano Zapata 🇲🇽! The Mexican Revolution leader was born in Anenecuilco, Morelos, México on August 8, 1879.
Things to Do in NYC in August 2021 Week 32
August 9-15, 2021
- NYC Summer Restaurant Week continues through August 15, 2021
- “Merry Wives” Shakespeare in the Park is at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park through August 29, 2021.
Monday, August 9
Wish Juanes 🇨🇴 a happy birthday! The Colombian rock star was born in Carolina del Príncipe, Antioquia, Colombia on August 9, 1972.
Tuesday, August 10
The New York Mets ⚾️ game 1 of 3 against the Washington Nationals is at Citi Field in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens at 7:10pm.
Celebrate Ecuadorian Independence Day 🇪🇨, August 10, 1809.
Wednesday, August 11
The International Puppet Fringe Festival NYC is at Teatro SEA and Teatro LaTea at the Clemente in the Lower East Side, through Sunday, and virtual August 16-31, 2021.
The New York Mets ⚾️ game 2 of 3 against the Washington Nationals is at Citi Field in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens at 7:10pm.
Thursday, August 12
The New York Mets ⚾️ game 1 of 3 against the Washington Nationals is at Citi Field in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens at 12:10pm.
Remember Cantinflas 🇲🇽 the beloved comic actor who was born in Santa María la Redonda, México City on August 12, 1911.
Sunday, August 15
ENDING
NYC Summer Restaurant Week ends today.
Celebrate the Assumption of Mary 😇. This marks the start of summer holidays in Catholic Europe.
Celebrate India Independence Day 🇮🇳, August 15, 1947!
Things to Do in NYC in August 2021 Week 33
August 16-22, 2021
“Merry Wives” Shakespeare in the Park is at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park through August 29, 2021.
Monday, August 16
Celebrate Dominican Restoration Day 🇩🇴, and the cry that launched the Dominican War of Restoration (from Spain) on August 16, 1863.
Celebrate National Rum Day 🥃
Tuesday, August 17
Yankees vs Red Sox is game 1 of 2 at Yankee Stadium in Concourse, The Bronx at 7:05pm.
Wednesday, August 18
Yankees vs Red Sox is game 2 of 2 at Yankee Stadium in Concourse, The Bronx at 7:05pm.
Remember Roberto Clemente 🇵🇷 the baseball star and humanitarian who was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico on August 18, 1934.
Saturday, August 21
Wish Gilberto Santa Rosa 🇵🇷 a happy birthday! The salsa star was born in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico on August 21, 1962.
Sunday, August 22
Celebrate the Queenship of Mary 😇 and the divinity of women.
Things to Do in NYC in August 2021 Week 34
August 23-29, 2021
“Merry Wives” Shakespeare in the Park is at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park through August 29, 2021.
Monday, August 23
Commemorate UN International Day for Remembrance of Slave Trade and its Abolition ⛓
Remember Graciela Grillo 🇨🇺, the legendary salsa singer who was born in Jesús María, Havana, Cuba on August 23, 1915.
Tuesday, August 24
Remember Jorge Luis Borges 🇦🇷 the writer who was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on August 24, 1899.
Wednesday, August 25
Celebrate Uruguayan Independence Day 🇺🇾 August 25, 1825.
Remember Leonard Bernstein 🇺🇸 the legendary classical and Broadway composer, who wrote the music to “West Side Story,” was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts on August 25, 1918.
Thursday, August 26
Wish Thalia 🇲🇽 a happy birthday. The “Queen of Latin Pop” was born in México City, México on August 26, 1971.
Remember Rufino Tamayo 🇲🇽 the surrealist painter, known for his watermelons, who was born in Oaxaca de Juárez, México on August 26, 1899.
Friday, August 27
The New York Mets ⚾️ game 1 of 3 against the Washington Nationals is at Citi Field in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens at 7:10pm.
Saturday, August 28
The New York Mets ⚾️ game 2 of 3 against the Washington Nationals is at Citi Field in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens at 7:10pm.
Sunday, August 29
The New York Mets ⚾️ game 3 of 3 against the Washington Nationals is at Citi Field in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens at 1:10pm.
Things to Do in NYC in August 2021 Week 35
August 30 – September 5, 2021
Monday, August 30
OPENING DAY
The US Open Grand Slam 🎾 is at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens for two weeks through Sunday, September 12.
Tuesday, August 31
Remember Arsenio Rodríguez 🇨🇺 “El Ciego Maravilloso.” The tres player and composer developed the son montuno template which later evolved into salsa music in New York City. He was born in Güira de Macurijes, Matanzas, Cuba on August 31, 1911.
Categories of Things to Do in NYC in August 2021
These are the big Latin culture events in New York City in August.
AUGUST HOLIDAYS
There aren’t any holidays in August, but the last two weeks are summer holiday time in the U.S. In northern Catholic countries, summer holidays begin after the Assumption of Mary on August 15.
AUGUST INDEPENDENCE DAYS & NATIONAL CELEBRATIONS
- Bolivian Independence Day 🇧🇴 August 6, 1825
- Battle of Boyacá 🇨🇴 August 7, 1819
- Ecuadorian Independence Day 🇪🇨 August 10, 1809
- India Independence Day 🇮🇳 August 15, 1947
- Dominican Restoration Day 🇩🇴 August 16, 1863
- Uruguayan Independence Day 🇺🇾 August 25, 1825
AUGUST FESTIVALS
- Pachamama 😇 August 1
- Assumption of Mary 😇 August 15
- Queenship of Mary 😇 August 22
AUGUST PARADES
- Ecuadorian Parade 🇪🇨🥁 (First Sunday) Sunday, August 1, 2021
- National Dominican Day Parade 🇩🇴🥁 (Second Sunday) August 8, 2021 TBD
AUGUST STREET FAIRS
- Ecuadorian Festival 🇪🇨🎪 (Third Sunday) Sunday, August 15, 2021
- Harlem Week is August 8-15, 2021
AUGUST ART
- New York City’s art world is on summer schedule.
AUGUST DANCE
- 40th Battery Dance Festival 💃🏽🎪TBD
AUGUST DANCING
- Orchard Beach Salsa 💃🏽🕺🏽TBD
- Central Park Tango 💃🏽🕺🏽(June – September) TBD
- VolvoTango 💃🏽🕺🏽TBD
AUGUST FILM
- New York Latino Film Festival 🎞🎪 TBD
- MTV Video Music Awards 🎶🏆 TBD (2020: August 30)
AUGUST FOOD
- NYC Restaurant Week 🍽 TBD
AUGUST MUSIC
- SummerStage Anywhere
- Global Music Month TBD (2020: August 29 – October 1)
- Brazil SummerFest TBD
- Afropunk TBD
- Lincoln Center Out of Doors TBD
- Charlie Parker Jazz Festival TBD
AUGUST SPORTS
- US Open Grand Slam 🎾 August 30 – September 12, 2021
- New York Mets ⚾️ baseball, April 1 – October 3, 2021
- New York Yankees ⚾️ baseball, April 1 – October 3, 2021
- NYCFC ⚽️ soccer, April 3 – November 7, 2021
NY Red Bulls ⚽️ soccer, April 3 – November 7, 2021 - Sky Blue FC ⚽️ women’s soccer TBD (April to October)
AUGUST THEATRE
- Puppet Fringe Festival, August 11-15, 2021 & virtual August 16-31, 2021
- NYC Broadway Week cancelled but Broadway reopens in mid-September
- Shakespeare in the Park “Merry Wives” July 5 – August 29, 2021
AUGUST NATIONAL DAYS
- International Beer Day 🍺 (First Friday) August 6, 2021
- NYPD National Night Out 👮🏽♀️ TBD
- National Rum Day 🥃 August 16
- International Day for Remembrance of Slave Trade and its Abolition ⛓ August 23
AUGUST BIRTHDAYS
- Dolores del Río 🇲🇽 first Latin Hollywood star, August 3, 1905
- Louis Armstrong 🇺🇸 jazz legend, August 4, 1901
- Caetano Veloso 🇧🇷 rock star, August, 7, 1942
- Carlos Vives 🇨🇴 vallenato star, August, 7, 1961
- Emiliano Zapata 🇲🇽 revolutionary hero, August 8, 1879
- Juanes 🇨🇴 pop star, August 9, 1972
- Cantinflas 🇲🇽 comic actor, August 12, 1911
- Roberto Clemente 🇵🇷 baseball star and humanitarian, August 18, 1934
- Gilberto Santa Rosa 🇵🇷 salsa star, August 21, 1962
- Graciela Grillo 🇨🇺 singer, August 23, 1915
- Jorge Luis Borges, 🇦🇷 writer August 24, 1899
- Leonard Bernstein 🇺🇸, legendary classical and Broadway composer, August 25, 1918
- Thalia 🇲🇽 pop star, August 26, 1971
- Rufino Tamayo 🇲🇽 surrealist painter, August 26, 1899
- Arsenio Rodríguez 🇨🇺 son montuno composer, August 31, 1911