High Line to host festival celebrating NYC pigeons

Celebrate the winged icon of New York City’s gritty streets at the High Line next month. On Saturday, June 14—also National Pigeon Day—Pigeon Fest will take over the elevated park along 30th Street and the Spur with a day of free programming, including games, art workshops, a pigeon impersonation pageant, and more. The festival centers around Iván Argote’s “Dinosaur,” a 16-foot-tall hyper-realistic pigeon sculpture installed at the park in October above the intersection of 10th Avenue and 30th Street.

The celebration promises a slew of engaging, pigeon-themed programming. At 12 p.m., join a Zumba class led by Maria Assis Silva right next to Argote’s towering sculpture. The free class is open to all ages and skill levels.

At 1 p.m., catch a family-friendly puppet show inspired by the real-life travels of Mother Pigeon, the beloved Union Square artist and wildlife advocate. The performance features lively sing-alongs with Mother Pigeon, Frankie the Pigeon, and Max the Rat.

Then at 2 p.m., show off your best coo and strut in NYC’s first-ever Pigeon Impersonation Pageant, where contestants will vie for the title of NYC’s top pigeon impersonator. Hosted by costume designer Machine Dazzle, the playful competition will be judged by an expert panel based on costume, walk, and sound—and will include a special appearance by artist Iván Argote.

By 3:30 p.m., join an insightful conversation on making cities more livable for both birds and people. The panel will feature leading voices at the intersection of policy, ecology, and urban design, including Qiana Mickie, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Urban Agriculture; science writer and birding advocate Christian Cooper; horticulture specialist Ethan Dropkin; and moderator Richard Hayden, senior director of horticulture at the High Line.

At 4:15 p.m., Argote will join Cecilia Alemani, the Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director & Chief Curator of High Line Art, for a conversation about the making of “Dinosaur” and the essential role of public art in city life and civic memory. The talk will explore Argote’s artistic practice and examine how monuments can challenge dominant narratives, honor overlooked histories, and create spaces for collective reflection.

The festival will end with a special concert curated in collaboration with the Birdsong Project, celebrating nature’s sounds and the city’s rhythms through a dynamic lineup of performers.

Pigeon Fest will also feature a “Discovery Fair,” where over a dozen organizations focused on birds, urban wildlife, migration, and monuments will teach visitors about their work, host demonstrations, and lead interactive educational activities.

The event brings together artists, musicians, scientists, horticulturists, activists, educators, and the public to have fun and learn together while discovering the deep ties between art, nature, and city life.

Pigeon Fest, like Argote’s “Dinosaur” sculpture, pays tribute to the city’s evolution, encouraging viewers to confront humans’ constantly evolving relationship with the natural world in this dense, urban landscape, as 6sqft previously reported.

It also pokes fun at the grandeur of traditional monuments that honor historical figures who often lack the merit deserving of being recognized. Instead, the sculpture chooses to honor a common but iconic member of NYC’s wildlife.

“Over time, I’ve realized how much Dinosaur is about empathy,” Argote said. “This sculpture pays tribute to a humble companion, and in doing so, it challenges our ideas of monumentality and invites us to rethink our relationship with the other species we live alongside. I feel Pigeon Fest will, without a doubt, be a memorable moment in New York—an ‘I was there’ kind of memory.”

When they first arrived in the United States in the 1880s, they were kept as pets, used for food, and even presented as symbols of beauty and wealth—very different from how they are perceived today. They were also used as message carriers and relied upon for their homing skills, an internal navigational mechanism that allowed them to find their way home.

Today, New Yorkers have a complicated love-hate relationship with these winged creatures. Many see pigeons as dirty and invasive, but through his sculpture, Argote looks deeper into the misunderstood bird and encourages conversations about the urban ecosystem and how humans can better share cities with nature and wildlife.

“Pigeons are New York’s unofficial mascot. We’ve been awed by the overwhelming response to Iván Argote’s ‘Dinosaur’ sculpture, and we saw an opportunity to explore urban ecology and the important relationship New Yorkers have with nature and wildlife,” Alan van Capelle, executive director of Friends of the High Line, said.

“Love them or hate them, people are fascinated by our feathered neighbors, and this festival felt like a fitting way to celebrate New Yorkers’ dynamic relationship with art, nature, and, most specifically, pigeons.”

You can RSVP for Pigeon Fest here.

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