At Governors Island, NYC: Jazz Age Lawn Party Returns for a Fall Weekend

The Jazz Age Lawn Party staged an autumn edition on Governors Island on November 7 and 8, billed as a second weekend returning by popular demand for 2026. Guests in 1920s dress gathered among the island's fall foliage for two days of period music, dancing and picnicking.

The party began in 2005 as a small gathering on Governors Island and is now in its 21st year. It is founded and hosted by Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra, a hot-jazz band that plays songs Arenella has transcribed himself. Singer Risa Branch performed, and Roddy Caravella and the Canarsie Wobblers, a dance troupe, led the dancing.

A large dance floor sat under the trees. Saturday featured Charleston lessons and a contest, and Sunday did the same with the Peabody. Sunday also had a children's parade for kids 12 and under and the High Court of Pie baking contest, with pies baked by attendees. Elsewhere on the lawn were a "Paper Moon" photo booth that printed pictures on the spot, a tintype portrait booth from the Penumbra Foundation, croquet and pétanque, vintage clothing vendors and the Dreamland General Store for blankets, parasols and fans.

Food and drink came from the Social Hour bar for vintage cocktails, a Taste France wine bar, and the Gourmet Picnic Market, which brought food trucks, sweets, ice cream and old-time snacks.

Gates were open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. All ages were welcome, with alcohol limited to guests 21 and over with ID, and the site is ADA compliant. Reaching the island required a ferry reservation, with boats leaving from the Battery Maritime Building at 10 South Street in Lower Manhattan or from Pier 6 in Brooklyn.