The Riverside Oval Association invites John James Audubon’s family and friends to the annual Audubon birthday party, which will take place at the site of the naturalist’s former home Minnie’s Land (now the Audubon Park neighborhood) on Saturday April 28 beginning at 3:00 p.m. The party will take place rain or shine!

If the weather cooperates, the celebration will begin in the oval garden in the center of Riverside Drive at the foot of 156th Street. Celebrants can tour the garden, sing Happy Birthday to JJA, and hear a progress report from head gardener Christina Read.

Then the party moves around the corner to the Grinnell Community Room (800 Riverside Drive at 158th Street) for an Audubon-themed cake and a short talk by Leslie Day, (right) tour guide and author of field guide to the natural life of New York City. Avi Gitler, the “father” of the Audubon Mural and Sculpture projects will be on hand to give updates on new murals and the planned sculptures. And, the Riverside Oval Association will hold a raffle.

In the event of rain, the entire event will be in the Grinnell Community Room.

Celebrate Audubon’s 233rd Birthday

Saturday, April 28

3:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Riverside Oval  (Riverside Drive @156th Street)

Grinnell Community Room (800 Riverside Drive @ 158th Street)

The Riverside Oval Association

Established in the 1980s and now led by co-chairs Vivian Ducat and Steve Simon, the Riverside Oval Association is a not-for-profit organization serving the Audubon Park neighborhood, which stretches from 155th Street to 158th Street at Broadway and includes the interlocking Audubon Park and Audubon Terrace Historic Districts as well as neighboring buildings. In addition to sponsoring work in the Riverside Oval (the Charles and Murray Gordon Memorial Park), the ROA has raised funds for tree-pit guards throughout the Audubon Park neighborhood and has presented a variety of cultural programs for the neighborhood. Each of the eleven past years, the ROA has produced a calendar featuring historical views of the neighborhood. For the last three years, the ROA, Audubon Park Alliance, and Neighbors for the Preservation of 158th Street have been working to expand the Audubon Park Historic District to include the twelve row houses in West 158th Street, designed by architect-developer John P. Leo beginning in 1896.