46th Annual GreenThumb Harvest Fair

Join NYC Parks GreenThumb and GreenThumb community gardeners in celebrating the start of fall with workshops, live entertainment, healthy cooking demonstrations, and more! Save the date for the 46th Annual GreenThumb Harvest Fair on Saturday, October 3, 2026 from noon to 4:00 p.m. at Herbert Von King Park & Hattie Carthan Community Garden. Stay tuned for schedule and see below for examples of past Harvest Fair Activities! Volunteer at the 2026 GreenThumb Harvest Fair!We are seeking dedicated volunteers to assist at the 46th Annual GreenThumb Harvest Fair on Saturday, October 3, 2026! Volunteers will help with giveaways, arts & craft stations, live cooking demonstrations, lawn games, and other tasks that are essential for a successful public event.Learn more and sign up by completing the 2026 Harvest Fair Volunteer Sign Up Form by Friday, September 18th.To volunteer, you must be 18 or older, able to commit to the entire event from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and attend a 1-hour virtual volunteer orientation. Lunch and volunteer swag will be provided. Some activities to look forward to this year: Environmental ProgrammingEducational gardening and creative workshops using plants, like flora printingCommunity Garden ToursFree daffodil bulbs and seedlingsStorytelling Community Partner TablingOrganizations, like NYC botanical gardens, community-based programs, city agencies, and more will be on-site to answer questions and share information about their programming.Fun & GamesArts and craftsBuild your own scarecrow for your gardenFace paintingLawn games: cornhole, sack race, tic tac toe, corn toss, jumbo gamesPick and decorate a pumpkin from the harvest patchPumpkin carvingFitness classesThe Harvest Fair Passport is back by popular demand! Complete a few assignments during the event to receive a GreenThumb gardener tote bag with last year's winning T-shirt design by Rina Root.2026 GreenThumb Fresh Chef ContestThank you to everyone who signed up to participate in our Fresh Chef Contest this year! Due to the overwhelming response, the sign-up form is now closed, but we still need people to cheer on the participants! Come join us at the Almira Kennedy Coursey Amphitheatre at Herbert Von King Park to watch guest chef, Hisham "Ham" El-Waylly, demonstrate a surprise dish. After the demonstration, contestants will then have a limited time to prepare their interpretation of the dish, while Marlon Rice of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation MC's the event and visitors cheer them on! The cook-off will conclude with a panel of judges, including Chef Ham, Chef Shorne of the restaurant Fat Fowl, and others who will crown the top three 2026 Fresh Chefs.Ham El-Waylly was raised in Doha, Qatar. He is a chef, recipe developer, and video creator based in New York City, where he is one half of a culinary power couple with his wife, Sohla El-Waylly. His New Orleans–style seafood restaurant Strange Delight is a Brooklyn favorite, and his first cookbook Hello, Home Cooking: Do-Able Dishes for Every Day is a National Bestseller. Hope to see you in October!Photo: (L) The 2026 Fresh Chef Contest guest chef Hisham "Ham" El-Waylly. Photo courtesy of Ham El Waylly. (R) Participants working on their dishes during last year's Fresh Chef Contest at Herbert Von King Park. Photo by Twywana Bush, GreenThumb