The five best events at Harlem Week 2018

The alfresco, all-day bash kicks off Harlem Week with a wide range of festivities at General Grant National Memorial in Riverside Park. Pack your own picnic or purchase grub from on-site food vendors, then watch Uptown Dance Academy and other hoofers perform. Jazz, Latin and gospel groups provide live music to end the night on various high—and soulful—notes.

This talent-packed event is one of the top highlights of Harlem Week (Aug 15), featuring aspiring singers, musicians, rappers, dancers and spoken word artists doing their best to convince audiences to make them Apollo legends. Your cheers (or boos) will decide who receives the night’s biggest honor—Top Dog—along with a cash prize of $20,000. Consider this your chance to see legends in the making before they become household names.

This outdoor event draws more than 60,000 visitors each year to 135th Street, and no wonder: In addition to live R&B, rock and hip hop, there are vendors and activities for all ages. Kids will enjoy storytelling, double-dutch, face painting and lots of other family-friendly activities. Seniors can swim and take advantage of pool-friendly exercise demonstrations; college-bound attendees can network at the Higher Education Fair & Expo; aspiring designers can draw inspiration from the Fashion Flava Show, which showcases work by designers of color. 

Fans of collectible and vintage cars can check out plenty of drool-worthy models on August 19. In recent year’s, the event featured more than 35 vehicles from the NYC region and beyond. After watching the auto parade through the historical center of Harlem, stick around for the awards ceremony to see which ones are considered the best in eight specially selected categories. 

Run (or walk) through the streets of Harlem at this NYRR-sponsored event, which honors the late Manhattan borough president Percy Sutton. Runners looking to fulfill their NYC-marathon qualifier races can do so by registering for this race.