Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club

Wednesday Night Walk-Up Paddling
2025-08-06 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-07-23 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-07-09 18:30 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
FREE (donations encouraged) self-guided canoeing of the Gowanus Canal!
Participants utilize club canoes for a paddle at their own pace inside the protected Canal. Enjoy discovering the canal’s unique mix of wildlife and urban waterway infrastructure! After being fitted with a life jacket (which must be worn at all times) at the dock, we give instruction on how to paddle, safety tips on how to use a canoe and we help with boarding and supervise your departure. We ask for a donation contribution upon your return as funding to sustain our programs.
Self-guided voyages can be limited to 15-20 min. if there’s a crowd but otherwise, we expect you to return to the dock 15 min. prior to closing.
Weather (wind, waves or evidence of storm) may cancel programming with one hour advance notice. Meet at Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY 11231, wear sunscreen and bring a bottle filled with water. Close-toed shoes are recommended, and wear clothing you don’t mind potentially being splashed. All paddlers must sign a waiver, minors require guardian signature on site to authorize canoeing.

The Boathouse Jam
2025-08-06 18:00 - 20:30, 2025-07-30 18:00 - 20:30, 2025-07-23 18:00 - 20:30, 2025-07-16 18:00 - 20:30, 2025-07-09 18:00 - 20:30 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
Wednesdays April 2 through October 29th, 2025 6:00 – 8:30 PM
The Boathouse Jam is hosted by the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club to activate our shoreline while fostering the continued resurgence of acoustical collaborations in Brooklyn. We are inclusive of all – young & old, new & seasoned musicians. Just bring a smile and your musical instrument and/or your voice to join our one night makeshift band.
Christian Apuzzo leads most sessions. He is a Brooklyn-based vocalist, guitarist, and music educator. Long Island-raised, this musician started his journey as a certified public school music teacher but has since found the wide-open pastures of the freelance music world in NYC. Playing mostly folk, bluegrass, and country music, Christian plays with numerous groups all over our five boroughs including bluegrass group Cole Quest and the City Pickers and local supergroup the Grass Messengers. He also teaches music lessons and classes for all ages at Jalopy Theatre in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Free but a $5 suggested donation is encouraged, limited beverages are provided.
The Boathouse is located at 165 2nd Street, Brooklyn NY between Bond Street and the Gowanus Canal. Sessions are rain or shine, we gather outside the Boathouse unless it’s cold or raining then we move inside.

Guided Sunset Paddle
2025-08-04 19:30 - 21:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Bunker (19th St.), 2 19th St., Brooklyn, NY
Join the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club for a secret, one of a kind, personal sunset cruise in canoes above Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal. Meet at the the Gowanus Dredgers Bunker, at the end of 19th St / off 3rd Ave, 11232 – NOT our 2nd St. boathouse.
🎟️ Tickets required, get yours here. 🎟️
After a short presentation where you and your crew our outfitted with safety gear, we embark on a narrated voyage filled with questions and conversation on how recreation can have a positive influence on improving and encouraging environmental awareness and activism in an urban setting.
Sunset 8:08 | Civil End 8:38 | Nautical End 9:15
Paddle along our Gowanus Canal to see a hidden side of Brooklyn, including the underside of bridges and our transforming industrial neighborhood. Discover the fun of canoeing as you explore the history of our Brooklyn neighborhood’s rich past, present, and future.
Close-toed shoes and a light jacket are recommended, and wear clothing you don’t mind potentially being splashed. Use a restroom before arrival, as we have limited facilities on-site.
Due to EPA cleaning of Gowanus, voyage will head towards the 9th St bridge and return to Gowanus Bay and our new South Gowanus Bunker.
If raining or threatening weather by 6:30 pm, we may cancel or reschedule.
Tickets are nonrefundable for any event that proceeds as planned. We will offer the option to transfer your ticket to another event if we have to cancel for weather. Transfer must be requested before the tour starts. If you choose not to transfer, the cost of your ticket becomes a tax-deductible donation to the Gowanus Dredgers.

FREE Walk-Up Paddling - 2nd St.
2025-08-03 15:00 - 18:00, 2025-07-19 15:00 - 18:00, 2025-07-06 15:00 - 18:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States

A Persistence of Cormorants Poetry Reading
2025-08-03 13:30 - 15:30, 2025-07-27 13:30 - 15:30, 2025-07-20 13:30 - 15:30, 2025-07-13 13:30 - 15:30 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
A Persistence of Cormorants is a summer-long poetry reading series on our shoreline featuring accomplished and exceptional poets from the New York area, many of who live in Brooklyn. On each of the scheduled Sundays, from 1:30 to 3:30, up to four featured poets will read for 10 to 15 minutes each.
Gerry reads poetry at the canal
The readings will be followed by open mic time limited to ten readers (one poem no longer than 3 minutes) who have signed up the day of the reading on a first come basis.
Reading will be outdoors at the Gowanus open shoreline and we invite you to engage with the emerging Gowanus Canal habitat as we witness the EPA conduct their SuperFUN/d cleanup program. Event may move to inside the boathouse if it begins to rain or we want to escape the summer heat. If other activity is occurring on the street or esplanade, event may move inside.
Participation is free but we encourage donations to sustain the efforts of the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, an advocacy stewardship organization who has been representing neighborhood interests for over two decades.
May4th: Gregory Crosby, Brad Vogel, Melinda Wilson, Anthony Cappo18th: Scott Hightower, Abigail Wellhouse, Kristina Andersson, Estha Weiner 25th: Michael Broder, James Diaz, Kristine Esser Stenz, Sarah Sari
June1st: Susan Cohen, Sarah Wallace, Jiwon Choi, Caroline Hagood 8th: Jo Solfren, Amy Lemmon, Sam Cha, TBA22nd: Bruce E. Whitacre, Gerry La Femina, Jordan Franklin, TBA29th: Ruth Danon, Miranda Beeson, Matt Coonan, Joanna Fuhrman
July13th: Mervyn Taylor, Pichchenda Bao, Carla Carlson, Sarah Arvio20th: Jennifer Micael Hecht, Amy Holman, Billy Cancel, Genevieve Farnsworth27th: Broadstone Books: Hilary Sideris, Myra Malkin, Meredith Trede, Amy Barone TBA
August3rd: Lynn Mcgee, Ashley Mabbit, Jennifer Franklin, Sarah Sarai 10th: Linda Lerner, David Francis, William Lesard, Mary Newell 17th: KGB Hosts: John Deming, Tyler Allan Penny, Susan Lewis, Selena Spier, Jada Gordon 24th: Michael Montlack, Jerome Ellison Murphy, Sarah Sala, David Formanek
September7th: Terence Degnan, Caitlin McDonnell, Nicole Callihan, Zoe Ryder White, Denver Butson14th: Tom Sleigh, Neil Shepard, Karen Neuberg, Dennis Nurkse 21st: Richard Levine, Wendy Sloan, Elaine Sexton, JoAnne MacFarland, Rachelle Parker28th: Austin Alexis, Karen Hildebrand, Lisa Badner, Lisa Andrews
October5th: Sean Singer, Arden Levine, Robin Rosen Chang, Lily Greenberg 13th: Broadstone Books: Ellen Devlin, Margo Stever, Susana H. Case, Mary Moloney, Macia Le Beau

PAST PRESENTS the FUTURE: Joann Amitrano and AURAxDR
2025-08-02 13:00 - 17:00, 2025-07-26 13:00 - 17:00, 2025-07-19 13:00 - 17:00, 2025-07-12 13:00 - 21:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
PAST PRESENTS the FUTURE is a show by 2 Gowanus artists (Joann Amitrano and AURAxDR) whose work connects feelings, places, and the passing of time.
Participate in Our Collaborative Art Raffle, starting July 19th!
The artists invite you to be part of a unique, interactive art experience—and support the Gowanus Dredgers at the same time.
How to Enter:
Donate $5 (or more!) directly to the Gowanus Dredgers’ PayPal using the QR code on-site or this link. Be sure to leave your name and contact info.
Paint Together:
With your donation, you’ll get the chance to add your own creative touch to a collaborative canvas. Art supplies will be provided. On August 2nd at 3pm, AURAxDR will add his signature “AURA” image to the completed piece, transforming it into a one-of-a-kind artwork.
Win Big: At 4pm on August 2, we’ll draw the winning ticket. The lucky winner will take home this unique, community-created artwork—an original piece—valued at $4,500! If the winner isn’t present at the drawing, they’ll be contacted directly.
All proceeds go directly to support the Gowanus Dredgers’ ongoing community programming. Don’t miss your chance to create—and win—a piece of Gowanus art history!
PAST PRESENTS the FUTURE
Reception: July 12 6-9pm
Artists at the Gallery Saturdays in July (19, 26, Aug 2) 1-5PM or by appointment
Curated by Pam Wong

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Joann began her artistic career in 1986, when she would create wearable art from beads and found objects. As time went on she ventured into working with metals and would specialize in sculptural wire work jewelry and unique home decor art pieces.
She creates what she feels and has many mediums in which she works. She is currently creating works that use her photographs combined within her paintings. The combination of an abstract painting and a familiar place in a photo come together to create a semi abstract landscape.
Driven by the desire to document the ever-changing environment around her, Joann has naturally began cataloguing as much of the changes as she could. Through her lens, she is saying these places, people or times won’t be forgotten. While bearing witness to and capturing the transformations of entire neighborhoods and the complexities of the landscape she is also finding the source of her next mixed media painting. Her belief is that photographs serve as a living journal and that change is the one constant in life.
The street art of AURAxDR is the work of an established artist and musician that needed an anonymous space to share his deeper reflections of life and emotion on. The works evoke a mood or a meditative state.

Unheard-of + The Gowanus Dredgers Present: System Architecture
2025-08-01 19:30 - 21:30 | Gowanus Dredgers Bunker (19th St.), 2 19th St., Brooklyn, NY
Multimedia exploration of digital excess and AI featuring ensemble and Vocaloid

System Architecture: Quiñones and Van Zandt Lane
Date: August 1st, 2025, 8PM Music, 7:30PM Boat Launch
Location: Gowanus Dredgers Bunker (2 19th Street Brooklyn, NY 11232)
🎟️ Free RSVP for land viewing, Paddle Tickets available here 🎟️
System Architecture features the workshop premiere of Eyecandy, a multimedia song-cycle by Christian Quiñones for chamber ensemble and virtual singer (Vocaloid Synthesizer), exploring themes of virtual excess, internet fatigue, and digital humor, drawing from personal experiences with mental health and the online world. Christian Quiñones is a Puerto Rican composer who explores personal and vulnerable stories through the lens of cultural identity. From sampling to auto-tune, interactive multimedia, Christian is interested in interacting with existing music to create intertextual narratives. We also feature Quinones’s Loud Music for Quiet Places.
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This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Unheard-of’s performances are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Weather may postpone event.

Gowanus Jug & String Band Sessions
2025-07-31 18:00 - 20:30, 2025-07-24 18:00 - 20:30, 2025-07-17 18:00 - 20:30, 2025-07-10 18:00 - 20:30 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
Thursday evenings starting May 1st, 6-8:30 at the Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse 165 2nd Street between Bond and the Gowanus Canal. We are excited to expand our musical offerings with this new weekly jam.
Jam Leader: Papa Ernie Vega
Dredger Host: Liz Rabson Schnore
$5 Suggested Donation

What Jug band and String band music?

Let’s start with String band music. Black String band music, which will be our focus, was created by Southern Blacks and pre-dates the Blues & Jazz. Groups which consisted of mostly stringed instruments (guitar, banjo, bass, violin, mandolin, ukulele, etc) performed a wide variety of songs and styles for all manner of social functions and for personal enjoyment; two-steps, waltzes and breakdowns for dances, ballads and love songs, humorous & novelty songs, as well as blues, jazz, and pop tunes as they came into fashion. This genre, sadly, was under-represented by the burgeoning recording industry in the 1920’s and 30’s, which helped contribute to its already declining popularity in the wake of the success of the Blues and Jazz: though groups like the Mississippi Sheiks and the Dallas String Band did make great and popular recordings. The genre never completely died out, however, and is alive and well today thanks to the perseverance of its practitioners and the dedication of its fans, which has led to a rediscovery and a new appreciation by audiences young and old.
Jug band music developed in the early 20th century within Southern Black communities and was essentially a string band with a jug used as a “poor man’s tuba”, in the role of a bass instrument. Other household items as instruments were popular as well; washboard and/or spoons for percussion, washtub bass, and kazoo. These combined with the guitars, banjos, mandolins/violins of the traditional string band, along with the harmonica, made for a unique sound that won the hearts of the public in the early days of the recording industry. The Memphis Jug Band and Cannon’s Jug Stompers recorded well over a hundred examples of blues, ballads, pop and dance numbers – and they’re just the tip of the iceberg. The genre found new life in the Folk Music Revival of the 1960’s and remains popular to this day.
These sessions will be open to Intermediate and above players, and we encourage you to sing along and bring a song to lead. To lead a song, you will be expected to sing it loudly enough for those around you to hear, to know the key you will sing in, and to explain the chord changes and form of the song if need be. We may also discuss some ideas for performing in an ensemble to help everyone find their place in the music.

Papa Ernie Vega is a NYC singer, instrumentalist, bandleader, teacher, songwriter and performing/recording artist. He has over 20 years of professional experience and has performed at the Newport Folk Festival, the Jug Band Jubilee and the Osaka Jug Band Festival. He also taught and performed at the Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival from 2016-2021. He is a lover of fine cheap food, old movies, humor, and photography.

Guided Sunset Paddle
2025-07-23 19:45 - 21:15 | Gowanus Dredgers Bunker (19th St.), 2 19th St., Brooklyn, NY
Join the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club for a secret, one of a kind, personal sunset cruise in canoes above Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal. Meet at the the Gowanus Dredgers Bunker, at the end of 19th St / off 3rd Ave, 11232 – NOT our 2nd St. boathouse.
🎟️ Tickets required, get yours here. 🎟️
After a short presentation where you and your crew our outfitted with safety gear, we embark on a narrated voyage filled with questions and conversation on how recreation can have a positive influence on improving and encouraging environmental awareness and activism in an urban setting.
Sunset 8:20 | Civil End 8:51 | Nautical End 9:31
Paddle along our Gowanus Canal to see a hidden side of Brooklyn, including the underside of bridges and our transforming industrial neighborhood. Discover the fun of canoeing as you explore the history of our Brooklyn neighborhood’s rich past, present, and future.
Close-toed shoes and a light jacket are recommended, and wear clothing you don’t mind potentially being splashed. Use a restroom before arrival, as we have limited facilities on-site.
Due to EPA cleaning of Gowanus, voyage will head towards the 9th St bridge and return to Gowanus Bay and our new South Gowanus Bunker.
If raining or threatening weather by 6:30 pm, we may cancel or reschedule.
Tickets are nonrefundable for any event that proceeds as planned. We will offer the option to transfer your ticket to another event if we have to cancel for weather. Transfer must be requested before the tour starts. If you choose not to transfer, the cost of your ticket becomes a tax-deductible donation to the Gowanus Dredgers.

Public Paddling Days at Bush Terminal Park
2025-07-19 14:00 - 18:00 | Bush Terminal Piers Park, Marginal St. &, 43rd St, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Demonstration Public Paddling Days at Bush Terminal Park
Saturday, July 19, 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Saturday, August 16, 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Saturday, September 13, 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Join us for three weekends of on-water fun at Bush Terminal Piers Park with free, walk-up paddling in Sunset Park.
We’re planning on having a mixed fleet of sit-on-top kayaks, canoes, and stand-up paddle boards — along with a wooden rowing dory, available for use on a first-come, first-served basis. Kayak Polo will have some demonstrations available in August and September! Check back for more updates from our partners.
The Gowanus Dredgers, NYC Watertrail Association, Red Hook Boaters, The Kayak Foundation, and New York Kayak Polo are presenting demonstration public paddling days at Bush Terminal Park (in Sunset Park, Brooklyn) to show the Parks Department and other stakeholders what’s possible this unique location is made into an official NYC kayak and canoe launch site, and to advocate for a community boathouse on site. Join us!

Monthly Meeting + Paddle
2025-07-17 18:30 - 20:30 | NY
Socialize with the Dredgers at our BUNKER (2 19th St, off of 3rd Ave) for a casual volunteer orientation (sign-up here), member catch-up and paddle! We’ll gather at 6:30 to start the orientation and aim to be on-water around 7:15.
Meet at the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club 19th St. Launch, 2 19 St, Brooklyn, (off of 3rd Ave.). If you plan to join the paddle, wear sunscreen and bring a bottle filled with water. Close-toed shoes are recommended, and wear clothing you don’t mind potentially being splashed. Use a restroom before arrival, as we have limited facilities on-site. All paddlers must sign a waiver.
Weather (wind, waves or evidence of storm) may cancel the paddling portion with one hour advance notice. In case of inclement weather, meeting will be relocated follow us on Instagram or sign up for our mailing list to stay informed.

Full Moon Gowanus Voyage - July
2025-07-10 20:30 - 22:30 | Gowanus Dredgers Bunker (19th St.), 2 19th St., Brooklyn, NY
Join our Crew on a full-moon guided adventure!! Meet at the the Gowanus Dredgers Bunker, at the end of 19th St / off 3rd Ave, 11232 – NOT our 2nd St. boathouse. Tickets are required, get yours here.
Sunset 8:28 | Moonrise 8:54 | Civil End 9:01 | Nautical End 9:42
The stars should be on display along with harbor lights. We will provide lights for each canoe, you’re welcome to bring/wear your own head lamp as well. Each canoe will have up to 3 people. Solo paddlers are welcome, you will be paired with other members of the group based on experience and comfort in a canoe. Close-toed shoes are recommended, and wear clothing you don’t mind potentially being splashed. Use a restroom before arrival, as we have limited facilities on-site.
Due to EPA cleaning of the Gowanus Canal, voyage will head towards the 9th St bridge and return to Gowanus Bay and our new South Gowanus Bunker.
If raining or threatening weather (high winds, lightning) by 6:30pm we may cancel. Attendees will be notified via the email used to purchase tickets. Tour is not cancelled due to clouds but let’s hope for a clear sky for the moon rise!
Tickets are nonrefundable for any event that proceeds as planned. We will offer the option to transfer your ticket to another event if we have to cancel for weather. Transfer must be requested before the tour starts. If you choose not to transfer, the cost of your ticket becomes a tax-deductible donation to the Gowanus Dredgers.

Release
2025-07-05 16:00 - 17:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
Come witness and participate in Release, a temporary installation and informal movement session developed as part of a two-part workshop held at Coney Island Creek and Gowanus. Join us at the Dredgers Boat House to witness and explore: what gets collected and recorded when we connect to a place and the living things that occupy the place? What gets activated when these recordings are shared in a different space and time? How to move and make movements from these activations?
Presented by Nora Almeida and iki nakagawa
