Dumbo gives you a few very different ways to spend an afternoon: browsing handmade goods beneath an archway, making art with a teacher, or working with friends to avoid a blast of paint.
4 events in the next 7 days
Sellers bring vintage pieces, handmade goods and one-of-a-kind objects to Brooklyn Flea on Saturdays and Sundays. You can browse antiques and design alongside work made by contemporary makers, with the DUMBO Archway giving the market its distinctive setting.
For a weekend outing centered on browsing, I’d put the flea before an art class or the waterfront. From the archway, the art studio is nearby on Water Street.
Teachers at Creatively Wild Art Studio work with adults, teens and children in separate classes, so you can make art yourself or find a program for a younger artist. A single class gives you an individual session; a semester offers an ongoing course.
Private lessons are another option, while the younger programs extend from toddler classes to kids’ and teen art camps. Animation camps add a separate focus for children interested in that medium. For an outing with friends, the studio also offers adult art parties and group activities. After time spent making your own work, the restored carving at the waterfront carousel offers a different encounter with craftsmanship.
Jane Walentas restored the horses at Jane's Carousel with details as small as beveled bridle mirrors and faceted jewels. You can see those embellishments on a 1922 carousel with 48 carved horses and two chariots arranged in three rows. A ride puts you among the painted figures, while Jean Nouvel’s glass pavilion keeps the East River waterfront in view around them.
The restoration began in a Dumbo studio in 1984. Removing decades of later paint revealed the original colors and carving, which guided the repainting, decorative striping and replacement of missing ornaments. That history is visible in the object itself: the horses’ elaborate trappings, the scenery panels and the mirrors are all part of the restored design. Its place within Brooklyn Bridge Park also makes the surrounding waterfront a natural continuation.
If you’re out with children, the Main Street area of Brooklyn Bridge Park pairs a nautical playground with room to spend time beside the river. You can settle on the elevated lawn, visit Pebble Beach or take in the bridges from the waterfront. This is the Dumbo portion of the park, close to the carousel and Empire Fulton Ferry, so the outdoor stops connect without making the park’s farther piers part of your outing.
There’s also a more focused activity at the 99 Plymouth Environmental Education Center: interactive exhibits about the park’s plants, animals and waterfront ecology. That gives children and adults something specific to explore alongside the playground and open grass. Main Street Terrace adds another place to spend time in this stretch of the park.
Your team’s communication and coordination drive the games at Beat The Bomb Brooklyn, where you suit up in hazmat gear and tackle five interactive game rooms. The mission builds toward disarming a paint, foam or slime bomb; failure can end with the team getting blasted.
Farther east on Water Street, this is a separate group destination you can pair with the waterfront. Arcade Bomb Battle offers a different format: tournament-style play with food and drinks while you compete, plus an optional blast at the end. The Bomb Bar also has food, cocktails and arcade games for after a mission, and mission photos and videos capture the result. I’d pick between the game-room mission and the arcade tournament based on whether your group wants to solve challenges together or compete while eating and drinking.
On Saturday or Sunday, browse Brooklyn Flea, visit Jane’s Carousel and continue into the Main Street area of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Pair a class at Creatively Wild Art Studio with Brooklyn Bridge Park, or make Beat The Bomb Brooklyn your group activity before the waterfront.
Browse current events in Dumbo for a class or program to build your outing around.
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Find upcoming art classes, games and other events in Dumbo.
Tue Oct 6Follow Brooklyn Bridge Park docents on a waterfront walk tracing how the park came to life.
Outside Van Leeuwen on Fulton Ferry LandingSat Oct 10Violinist Mark Peskanov joins the Semplice Players for a program pairing Mozart and Beethoven.
Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse, Pier 5Brooklyn Bridge Park Greenway, Brooklyn Heights, BroSat + SunHear live music at Bargemusic.
Bargemusic, DumboSun Oct 11Hear Beethoven’s piano trios performed by violinist Mark Peskanov, cellist Samuel Magill and pianist Beth Levin.
Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse, Pier 5Brooklyn Bridge Park Greenway, Brooklyn Heights, Bro4 things worth doing in the next 7 days · Monday, October 5th – Sunday, October 11th
No events listed for Monday, October 5 yet.
| Event | Date | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
 Walk along the East River: Learn about History, Architecture, & Ecology | Tue, Oct 6 | 8 Old Fulton St, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, 11201Dumbo · Brooklyn | 6pm |
No events listed for Wednesday, October 7 yet.
No events listed for Thursday, October 8 yet.
No events listed for Friday, October 9 yet.
| Event | Date | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
 Concerts at the Boathouse | Sat, Oct 10 | Bargemusic, DumboDumbo · Brooklyn | 2pm |
 String Works by Mozart & Beethoven with East River View | Sat, Oct 10 | Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse, Pier 5Brooklyn Bridge Park Greenway, Brooklyn Heights, BroDumbo · Brooklyn | 2pm |
| Event | Date | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concerts at the Boathouse | Sun, Oct 11 | Bargemusic, DumboDumbo · Brooklyn | 2pm |
| Piano Trios by Beethoven with East River Views | Sun, Oct 11 | Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse, Pier 5Brooklyn Bridge Park Greenway, Brooklyn Heights, BroDumbo · Brooklyn | 2pm |
A price sits under the hours when an event is not free. Tap an event for its details, the time and place, and the organizer's link.
Follow Brooklyn Bridge Park docents on a waterfront walk tracing how the park came to life.
🚇 High St (A C) · 6 min walk
🍴 Eat nearby · 4 places, closest 2 min walk
More info ▾
Violinist Mark Peskanov joins the Semplice Players for a program pairing Mozart and Beethoven.
🚇 Clark St (2 3) · 7 min walk
🍴 Eat nearby · 4 places, closest 3 min walk
More info ▾
Hear live music at Bargemusic.
🚇 Clark St (2 3) · 7 min walk
🍴 Eat nearby · 4 places, closest 3 min walk
More info ▾
Hear Beethoven’s piano trios performed by violinist Mark Peskanov, cellist Samuel Magill and pianist Beth Levin.
🚇 Clark St (2 3) · 7 min walk
🍴 Eat nearby · 4 places, closest 3 min walk
More info ▾
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