Stewardship Sunday: JBENC Pollinator Garden Solarization Experiment
Solarization uses the sun's heat under clear plastic sheeting to kill invasive mugwort without chemicals—and volunteers are needed to help set it up at the Jones Beach pollinator garden. Wear closed-toe shoes and bring gloves if you have them; the Nature Center is just off Bay Parkway in Wantagh with free parking at Field 10.
Solarization uses the sun’s heat under clear plastic sheeting to kill invasive mugwort without chemicals—and volunteers are needed to help set it up at the Jones Beach pollinator garden. Wear closed-toe shoes and bring gloves if you have them; the Nature Center is just off Bay Parkway in Wantagh with free parking at Field 10.
Other Family events
Editor's Pick Historic Cemetery Restoration - Ketcham Cemetery in Melville
Volunteers are cleaning and restoring Revolutionary War grave sites at Ketcham Cemetery, one of the older burial grounds in Melville. Bring work gloves and expect a few hours of clearing brush, resetting stones, and preserving markers from the 1700s. Free to participate, and the cemetery sits right on Old Country Road with easy parking.
- When
- Where
- Ketcham Cemetery, Melville
Editor's Pick Old Westbury Gardens — Family Picnic Sundays
Old Westbury Gardens' summer Sunday picnic concerts on the West Pond lawn. Family-pricing ($15 adult, $10 ages 4-15), classical + swing acts rotating weekly, abundant lawn space for blankets, the Children's Garden + maze 3 minutes from the music. The LI family Sunday-afternoon default.
- When
- Where
- Old Westbury Gardens, Old Westbury
- Price
- See ticket page
Editor's Pick Queer Night
The Islip Arts Council is hosting a drop-in Pride craft night where you can paint sections of a community Pride flag or work on your own project. Free, all ages, Friday, June 26 at 6 PM in Bay Shore.
- When
- Where
- Islip Arts Council Gallery, Bay Shore
Read before you go
- town spotlight Sayville Village: A Local's Guide for 2026 Sayville Village — the South Shore walkable downtown that locals refuse to gentrify, with restored 19th-century Main Street, the Sayville Cab Company since 1958, the Sayville Restaurant Group anchors (Casa Luis, Cull House), the Saturday Farmers Market on Foster Avenue, the Fire Island ferry terminal at the harbor, and an annual event calendar that runs from Memorial Weekend Classic Car Show through Holiday Stroll. Walking distance from the LIRR. The slow-paced South Shore village that works.
- town spotlight Northport Village: A Local's Guide for 2026 Northport Village — the North Shore harbor village with restored 19th-century Main Street, the working harbor + town park, the Engeman Theater, the Saturday farmers market, and the John W. Engeman Theatre + Northport Yacht Club rituals that anchor the village's calendar. Walking distance from the LIRR. The North Shore family Saturday at its best.
- seasonal What We're Tracking: The Long Island Summer 2026 Calendar Takes Shape The Editors' Memorial Weekend reset on what we're tracking for Long Island summer 2026. Programming announcements, venue updates, the new restaurants worth a drive, the festivals that bumped their dates, and the East End rhythm shifts. Updated weekly through Labor Day.