More than 15,000 flower bulbs go into the ground along the Long Island City waterfront on Saturday, November 7, at the 12th annual LIC Bulbfest. The Hunters Point Parks Conservancy runs the planting across Gantry Plaza State Park and Hunter's Point South Park, and volunteers of any experience level can sign up to help. The tulips and daffodils planted that morning are the ones that will bloom along Center Boulevard in the spring.

Bulbfest opens a full week of free and low-cost programs from the conservancy, including a guided walk the same afternoon and a night of telescopes on the waterfront on Monday.

Saturday morning: the planting

The planting runs from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Check-in is at Gantry Plaza State Park, near 49th Avenue and Center Boulevard. The conservancy supplies every tool and shows newcomers how to plant, so nobody needs to bring gloves or a trowel or know anything about gardening. Registration is through the conservancy's sign-up page, linked from the event listing. NYC Parks lists the morning as part of its It's My Park volunteer season, and its listing adds a cleanup of Hunter's Point South Park to the planting.

The bulbs are donated by the Van Zyverden company. The New York City Green Fund, Con Edison, the city's Department of Youth and Community Development and the neighborhood's City Council, State Senate and Assembly members are listed as supporters.

Saturday afternoon: a walk through the wetlands

From 3 to 4 p.m. the same day, the conservancy leads the second walk in its series called The Walk: Umbilical City. This one, Waters and Wetlands, is led by the local artist January Yoon Cho and the conservancy's executive director, Jessica Sechrist, and looks at how animals use the park's ecosystem along the East River. It meets at the Oval near Borden Avenue and Center Boulevard in Hunter's Point South Park. Registration is on the conservancy's Eventbrite page.

Monday night: watercolors and telescopes

On Monday, November 9, the local artist Donna Levinstone teaches a watercolor class at the conservancy's boathouse from 6 to 7:30 p.m., with registration on Eventbrite.

At the same hour, from 6 to 8 p.m., the conservancy sets up Astronomy on the Waterfront at the overlook in Hunter's Point South Park, using two new telescopes it bought with a grant from the Asterion Foundation. Volunteers point the telescopes at different objects in the night sky over the two hours. The park entrance for the overlook is at 56th Avenue and Center Boulevard. Walk-ups are welcome, though the conservancy recommends registering so it can send weather and cancellation updates.

November 14: painting what was planted

A week later, on Saturday, November 14, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., a Bulbfest watercolor class follows up on the planting. It opens with a short presentation on the history and science of flower bulbs, then teaches the basics of color mixing, brush control and the wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry techniques, with practice on petals, leaves and stems before each person paints a tulip or another flower of their choice. The class is for beginners, and all materials are provided.

How to go

Gantry Plaza State Park and Hunter's Point South Park run along Center Boulevard on the Long Island City waterfront. The 7 train stops at Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue, a few blocks inland, and the NYC Ferry lands at Hunters Point South. Sign-up links for Bulbfest, the walk, both watercolor classes and the astronomy night are on the conservancy's events calendar. Questions about Bulbfest go to info@hunterspointparks.org.

Sources