by LeeAnn Mailly

First Friday brings Mother Nature to downtown Nyack, along with featured artists around town. Memorial Park is bustling on Saturday with the Annual African-American Day Festival and Nyack’s Bike Meetup. On Sunday, get lost in history during the Oak Hill Cemetery Walking Tour or the Piermont During WWII film screening. Here’s the rundown of what to do and where to do it this weekend.

Friday

• First Friday, organized monthly by the Nyack Art Collective, transforms venues throughout the village into galleries for local art from 5-8p. Entertainment at the gazebo on Main St. includes arts and crafts for the kids, the Jake James Irish Music Band from 5-6p, and the For Vibrations drum circle from 6:30- 8p. Mother-Nature, a group show, takes place from 8-10p at Prohibition River, 82 Main St. Other venues throughout downtown Nyack display artists’ work from 5-8p.
• Artist Kerri Lee Green opens her exhibit “What Separates Suffering From Imagination: Small Works With Large Titles” with a reception and talk by main gallery artist, Jordan Matter at 7p. Exhibit runs until May 30. 6-8p at Edward Hopper House,
• Local artist, Erin Girling, raffles artwork to raise money to go Nicaragua to work with students. Artwork being raffled is priced at $750; tickets are: 2/$25, 5/$50 and 15/$100. Purchase tickets or donate online or at Maria Luisa, 75-77 S. Broadway, 6-9p.

Saturday

• The Annual African-American Day Festival. Don’t miss the food, vendors, live entertainment, DJs, and more! Cause Kidz perform at 4:30p while collecting slightly used and new clothes for children in El Salvador and non-perishables for Legacy X Food Box. 12 – 7p at Memorial Park, Piermont Ave, Nyack.
• The Bike Nyack Meetup group rides from Nyack to Hillsdale, NJ and back. Meetup at 9a at the upper level of Memorial Park on S. Broadway. Visit Meetup.com for details and to join this free group to learn about future events.
• Amy Bezunartea of Kiam Records plays a Tour Kick Off Concert. Come send Amy off in style! 12n at Kiam Records, 95 Main St, Nyack.
• Hitchcock at Hand – A gala to benefit Rivertown Film. Remaining tickets available. Hitchcockian attire optional. 7p at the historic Hand Mansion, 122 S. Franklin Ave.
• Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison and entrepreneur, and Underground Railroad conductor Cynthia Hesdra are featured in an exhibition, 1-4p, every Sat through May. Historical Society of the Nyacks, 50 Piermont Ave.

Sunday

• Piermont During WWII; Last Stop USA, narrated by Tom Chapin, screens at 11:30a at St. John’s the Baptist Church, 895 Piermont Ave., Piermont.
• Walk scenic Oak Hill Cemetery & celebrate the lives of many “permanent residents” of the Nyacks who made their mark on the national state and local stages. Actress Helen Hayes, playwrights Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, artist Edward Hopper, author Carson McCullers and other early settlers of the Nyacks are buried here. The fee is $5. Tours start at 2pm at Oak Hill Cemetery, 140 N. Highland Ave, Nyack.
• Rock the River Half-marathon, 5K Run, and 6K Trail Run to benefit the Palisades Parks Conservancy. Pre-register online. Check-in from 7:00-8:30a at Ross Dock Picnic Area, Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Next Week

Monday

The United States Air Force Heritage Band performs a concert to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Town of Stony Point. Reservations required. 7p at North Rockland High School, 106 Hammond Rd, Thiells. Presented by the Arts Council of Rockland.

The Nyack Weekender
is sponsored by

The Arts Council
of Rockland