Did you get a chance to stop by 17th Street for our third annual Block Party? This year, the event was a celebration of Nepalese culture, inspired by the exhibition Nepalese Seasons: Rain and Ritual and featured family art-making activities, live performances, a family yoga session, Nepalese street food, and more! Thousands of visitors of all ages joined the celebrations—if you missed it, get a glimpse of the fun in some of our favorite photos:
Nepalese pop singer Dikyi helped to kick off the afternoon with a beautiful live performance!
Visitors chose from an array of beautiful henna tattoos at the Block Party.
Our friends with Grassroot Movement in Nepal demonstrated a Himalayan rug-weaving technique.
Toad welcomed visitors to 17th street. The mobile, music-playing toad was a nod to its amphibian cousin, as frogs are honored in Nepalese culture just before the monsoon season begins.
Young visitors created paper crowns, modeled after those belonging to the Hindu god, Indra.
Inside the Museum, visitors present paper lotus flowers to revered art objects simulating a puja prayer ritual.
Some visitors showed off their henna tattoos and colorful creations on social media using #RubinBlockParty!
The Museum’s Himalayan cultural partners educated visitors about the cultural tradition of tikka forehead markings before adorning the red paste on some visitors’ faces.
A delicious mint chutney sandwich from Cafe Serai!
Performers from Brooklyn Raga Massive closed out the afternoon with a special performance.
Thank you to all of those who attended this year’s Block Party, New York Life for sponsoring the event, and all the volunteers who made it such a huge success!
Missed the party? You can still learn more about Nepal and the monsoons by visiting our exhibition, Nepalese Seasons: Rain and Ritual.