What’s New at Manhattanville Community Day Summer 2026
Columbia’s annual celebration of community makes its return on June 27.
What better way to embrace the energy of the summer season than kicking things off with a vibrant celebration of community, culture, and connection?
From block parties to food festivals, Harlem will be bustling with lively events over the next few months, and among them is Manhattanville Community Day. The joyous occasion makes its return to Columbia’s Manhattanville campus this Saturday, June 27.
This year, the lineup of fun-filled festivities boasts new ways to experience the magic of the neighborhood. From a vendor village where you can shop unique finds created by local artisans and makers to a celebration of the Wallach Art Gallery’s Uptown Triennial exhibition, we’ve rounded up a few new offerings to explore during Manhattanville Community Day.
#1: A Film Screening with World Cup Energy
The summer of soccer is in full swing! While people around the globe are abuzz with excitement for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Lenfest Center for the Arts is bringing some of that electric energy to Manhattanville Community Day. As part of its ongoing Lenfest Kids series—designed to foster connection through cinema—during this year’s Community Day celebration, the Uptown arts space will host a family-friendly, soccer-inspired screening of the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham.
The comedic drama, directed by Gurinder Chadha, chronicles the journeys of two teenage girls who defy their families’ definitions of success to pursue their shared passion for playing professional soccer. They both develop complex schemes to shroud their competitive matches in secrecy. The film, which stars Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley, centers on the themes of teamwork, friendship, confidence, and authenticity. Don the jersey of your favorite World Cup hopeful and join us as we soak up this British cult classic!
#2: Celebrate the Legacy of Harlem’s Children's Art Carnival
Launched in 2017, the Wallach Art Gallery’s Uptown Triennial exhibition series centers and celebrates the creativity of established and emerging artists who live or practice in Upper Manhattan.
This year’s iteration is an ode to the local legacy of the Harlem-based arts education nonprofit The Children's Art Carnival (CAC). During Community Day, the gallery is hosting an array of artistic activities inspired by the newly opened exhibition, “Children's Art Carnival in Harlem: The Making of Contemporary Artists,” including a dynamic discussion offering a lens into the curatorial vision behind the art show and how the CAC has shaped the Uptown community’s creative landscape.
Panelists include the exhibition’s curator Souleo, Harlem artists Michael A. Cummings and Tomo Mori, and Michael Unthank, who currently serves as co-chair of the Board of Directors for the Children’s Art Carnival. The Wallach’s lineup of festivities for the day also includes an exclusive look at the exhibition, a paper puppet-making workshop for youth, and more.
#3: Stitching and Storytelling With Artist Maya Ciarrocchi
From in-lab neuroscience exploration activities to sidewalk STEM sessions with Bio Bus, Columbia's Zuckerman Institute’s Saturday Science is one of the main attractions of Community Day.
While the Jerome L. Greene Science Center will still be buzzing with excitement, the institute is going beyond the lab and putting the emphasis on bridging STEM and the arts this year. Pulling the thread of celebrating Uptown’s vibrant local arts scene, it will also host a guided needlepoint workshop at the Lee C. Bollinger Forum inspired by its 2026 Art in the Education Lab commission, The Shape of Memory by interdisciplinary artist Maya Ciarrocchi.
During this session, dubbed “Cartographies in Thread: A Sewing Circle,” you’ll learn different stitching techniques and how textile art can be used as a form of storytelling from Ciarrocchi herself. You’ll also be able to channel your inner artist and create a 4-by-4-inch canvas tapestry design—a Community Day keepsake that will make the perfect conversation piece!
There will also be a “Smartphone-tography Photo Showcase” that spotlights the work of local community members who participated in a workshop offered by Art in the Park.
#4: A Manhattanville Makers Market
From its well-attended restaurant crawl that spotlights neighborhood favorites like Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and Dear Mama NYC to its food sampling experience that highlights the culinary creations of alumni from the Harlem Local Vendor Program, Community Day has always been a space for championing local small businesses.
While those culinary experiences will still be on the itinerary this year, the event’s entrepreneurial imprint will expand with the curation of a vendor village featuring New York City-based artisans, makers, and designers. During the celebration, part of the Lee C. Bollinger Forum will transform into a marketplace where you can shop locally made, sustainably crafted artisanal goods.
The lineup of local vendors includes Body Vanity, Botanical Moment, OmSutra, Arabian Nights Foods LLC, Couleurs NY, Framiati, Howard Fink, Jillian Trumpet Creative, and True Natural. Whether you’re in search of soothing skincare goods for the summer season or you’re looking for a handmade fashion accessory to gift, this market will be the perfect place to discover unique finds while supporting local businesses in the process.
#5: Connect with Community Organizations
Community Day offers the opportunity to learn about local nonprofits and groups at the forefront of social-impact-driven projects and initiatives in Morningside Heights and across the greater Upper Manhattan community.
In addition to returning community organizations and Columbia affiliates like the New York Public Library and Columbia Center for Community Health, this year’s event will welcome neighborhood champions, including The Community Initiatives of New York (a Columbia Community Service grantee!) and the Washington Heights-based STEM Educational Institute. The team from Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s Dental Clinic will also be at the event.
Whether you need healthcare resources or want to roll up your sleeves and learn how you can get involved in volunteer projects Uptown, this is your chance to connect with community change-makers and gather great resources at the festive block party.
While we’ve only highlighted a few of the activities slated for this year’s event, there will be so much more to explore at Manhattanville Community Day. Join us on June 27!