Liquid Cartographies
2025-09-19 08:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York) | Waterfront Museum, 290 Conover Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
Please join a network of social artists seeking new processes to address age-old problems, to imagine our world differently.
Learn about the emerging agenda, propositional questions, and our contributors on the Liquid Cartographies webpage.
Come listen, write, dance, dream, make art, study old maps, make new maps. There are limited tickets, so get yours soon here.

CLOSED
2025-09-27 08:00 - 2025-10-10 17:00
The barge will be closed on Saturday, May 2nd, for a private event.

HUGHIE
2025-10-18 18:00 - 21:00
Eugene O’Neill wrote eight one-act plays toward the end of his days. He threw seven into his fireplace one night. Only HUGHIE remained…
On October 18th and 19th, Red Hook’s own Bobby Cole returns to the stage as Erie Smith in Eugene O’Neill’s HUGHIE more than thirty years after first performing the role at Sunny’s back in 1992.
Set in 1928, just after New York’s infamous train derailment and on the cusp of the Great Depression, Hughie captures the smoky solitude and fragile hope of the city’s sleepless souls in O’Neill’s hauntingly lyrical style.
On Saturday the hour long performance of Hughie will be accompanied by two new short pieces in develpment by local writers.
On Sunday, The Milkman and Sons—a lively local four-piece 1920s jazz band—will keep the spirit swinging before and after the performance. Feel free to dress the part, and be ready to dance! O’Neill would’ve raised a glass to that.

Boat Banter on the Barge
2026-01-17 14:00 - 15:00
Join us January 17 for a low-key conversation about boats, maritime, and ideas connected to water and waterfronts featuring professional sailor, educator and advocate, Margaret Flanagan. Barge captain David Sharps, host Stefan D-W, and Waterfront Museum guests sit down with Maggie for a casual conversation about waterfront access and management, boat stories from the harbor and beyond, and whatever other topics the tide washes in on Saturday, January 17 between 2 and 3pm at the Waterfront Museum barge moored at Brooklyn’s Pier 44 (290 Conover St.). This is during the museum’s regular open hours and admission is by suggested donation (people usually leave between $2 and $20).
Boat Banter on the Barge brings experts to the Waterfront Museum’s showboat barge during the winter months for low-key conversation about boats, maritime, and ideas connected to water and waterfronts. Experts draw up a chair in the heated side of the barge during the museum’s regular open hours on Saturday afternoons, and all visitors are invited to participate in the conversation as much or as little as they like. Our guest experts come from academia, industry, preservation, and beyond. They include tug and ship captains; marine and industrial historians and archaeologists; journalists, preservationists, and advocates; scholars in blue humanities, coastal studies, landscape history, and related fields; engineers, boatwrights and more.
Margaret (Maggie) Flanagan is a native New Yorker, who after years of teaching environmental education to city youth, brought her expertise out to the waterfront. While sailing professionally in our harbor, down the coast, and on the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, she continued inspiring students and community members to better understand and appreciate our valuable natural resources and vibrant maritime heritage. Back at homeport, Maggie developed innovative community access and education programs for Waterfront Alliance and currently works aboard harbor passenger vessels while serving as a subcommittee chair with the NY-NJ Harbor & Estuary Program and with the Harbor Safety, Navigation, and Operations Committee. She believes that our waters and waterfront are precious public resources, deserving increased public access and transparent management. Though she’s sailed far and wide, Maggie considers herself lucky to go to work every day on New York Harbor!

The 2026 World Ferry Safety and Technology Conference
2026-05-06 - 2026-05-07
The Ferry Safety and Technology Conference will take place in New York City on May 5-7, 2026. On May 6, the main part of the conference will take place at the Waterfront Museum Barge. Speakers will update us on the latest news about electric ferries coming to NYC, operational and structural approaches to the dilemma of carriage of electric vehicles aboard ferries; to the impact and response to changing global weather, innovative design solutions, and global opportunities. Live music will be provided by the indie rock band New Yeller.
This conference is being convened by the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association (WFSA).
REGISTER HERE

Swamp in the City: A Cajun & Creole Music Festival
2026-05-07 19:00 - 21:30
Get ready for four days of great music, delicious food, and inclusive community at the 9th Annual Swamp in the City: A Cajun & Creole Music Festival. Held along the scenic Red Hook waterfront, this festival brings the best of Cajun and Creole culture to Brooklyn, featuring some of the most talented musicians from Louisiana and beyond, plus plenty of opportunities to dance, eat, and celebrate.
The official kickoff party will be held at the Waterfront Museum on Thursday, May 7th, from 7 – 9:30 pm. The festivities will begin with a dance lesson, followed by performances from accordionist and Cajun musician Jesse Lége, and Louisiana music group The Revelers.
For a complete schedule of events, visit swampinthecity.com/schedule.
TICKETS HERE

The Fish Who Saved New York
2026-06-28 11:00 - 14:00
Starring Phoebe Legere, The Fish Who Saved New York is a family-friendly musical featuring comedy, audience participation, and high-seas adventure that kids will talk about all summer. Join us on Sunday, June 28th, for giant puppets, fun songs, and a cast of unforgettable undersea heroes aboard the historic Waterfront Museum Barge.
Schedule
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: World Championship of Drawing a Soccer Ball Finals (for children aged 9-12), and How to Draw a Seahorse, a Starfish, and a River (for children aged 6 – 8)
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Break/Waterfront Exploration
2:00 PM: The Fish That Saved New York Harbor, World Premiere Performance
Phoebe Legere is a Juilliard-educated, multi-disciplinary artist. Her experimental music and performance art have established her as an NYC legend; she has opened for David Bowie’s 1990 Sound + Vision national tour, received a Pulitzer nomination with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and exhibited her work in the Brooklyn Museum, Venice Biennale, and Pompidou Centre. Her interactive work always reinforces her belief in art as a social and spiritual necessity.
Click here for tickets and more details.
