Events Around the Town of Babylon, NY this weekend ~ August 7–9, 2026

Forty-Four Years, Same Park, Still Works

Forty-four years ago, people gathered at Tanner Park with drums, dancers, food and traders, and the bay sitting right there behind all of it. They have done it every August since. Nobody has had to relaunch it, rebrand it, or pivot it. It was correct the first year, so they simply kept doing it.

The rest of us have spent those same forty-four years inventing more and more elaborate ways to arrive at that identical evening. We built a machine to carry a thousand songs, then drove twenty minutes to hear five people play them live — which, to be fair, is the one instinct we got exactly right. We pay for water in bottles while standing beside a bay. We buy machines that let us walk indoors, and drive to them. We schedule “outside.”

And then, once a year, a whole lot of us put down the phone, carry a folding chair across a lawn, and sit in front of a drum. Backwards for fifty-one weeks; correct on the fifty-second. Here is everything happening while we get it right.

☀️ The Forecast — Hot and Bright

  • Friday, Aug 7 — Sunny, high 86°, slight chance of a late storm.
  • Saturday, Aug 8 — Mostly sunny, high 86°, slight chance of a passing storm.
  • Sunday, Aug 9 — Sunny, high 87°. Clear straight through.

Three bright, hot days. We have invented a lotion that shields us from the star that grows our food, a bottle to carry water we are standing next to, and a chair that folds itself. Two of those three are genuinely good ideas. Bring all three anyway, plus shade and more water than you think you need.

📋 In This Guide…

Paumanauke Native American Festival — 44th Annual

Saturday, Aug 8 · 10 AM–9:30 PM & Sunday, Aug 9 · 10 AM–5 PM · Tanner Park, Copiague. Traditional drums, Native food, dance competitions, and quality traders, presented by Paumanauke Native American Festival Inc., the Babylon Citizens Council on the Arts, and the Town of Babylon. Two full days, forty-four years running — the longest-standing tradition on our summer calendar, and the reason to clear your weekend.

Lovesong at Overlook Beach

Friday, Aug 7 · 7:00 PM · Overlook Beach · FREE. The Town’s Free Summer Concert Series, on the ocean side. Chairs, blankets, sunset, no ticket. Somebody figured this format out a long time ago and we have not improved on it since.

Gazebo Concert Series: Liverpool Shuffle

Friday, Aug 7 · 8:00 PM · Babylon Village Gazebo · FREE. A Beatles tribute in the middle of the village, free, outdoors, on a Friday night. Bring a friend, leave with a few more.

Long Island Live Gospel Concert — “Year of the Woman”

Saturday, Aug 8 · 1–6 PM · Wyandanch Park. Five hours of the best gospel music Long Island has to offer, family-friendly and free to attend. Bring a lawn chair, sit back, stay a while.

Babylon Village Classic 10K — The Dirty Sock Run

Sunday, Aug 9 · 8:00 AM · Babylon Village · rain or shine. Presented by the Rotary Club of Babylon. We have named a footrace after a soiled sock and hundreds of people sign up every year. Do not try to explain this to anyone. Just run it.

First Friday Author Series: Effie Kammenou

Friday, Aug 7 · 10 AM–1 PM · Jack Jack’s Coffee House, Babylon Village · FREE. Meet the author, talk about books, drink coffee in the morning. A civilized way to begin a weekend.

Babylon Local ICON Founder's Offer

🌅 Friday, Aug 7

The week ends properly: with people playing instruments outdoors, for free, in front of anyone who shows up. Lovesong plays Overlook Beach and Liverpool Shuffle takes the Village Gazebo — both free, both outside. Morning belongs to the First Friday Author Series, and for those who prefer their evening loud, Strong Island Metalfest and a Bay Jam cruise are waiting.

📅 See all events for Friday here.

🪶 Saturday, Aug 8

The big one. Paumanauke opens at 10 AM at Tanner Park and runs until 9:30 at night — drums, dancers, food, traders. Before or after, there is the Lindenhurst Farmers Market (buying food from the person who grew it: an old idea we recently rediscovered and named a trend), the Long Island Live Gospel Concert in Wyandanch, and a bay bar for every taste after dark.

📅 See all events for Saturday here.

🌤️ Sunday, Aug 9

Two ways to greet the morning: run the Dirty Sock 10K at 8 AM, or walk to the Babylon Village Farmers Market at the Gazebo and let somebody else do the running. Then Paumanauke Day 2 carries the afternoon at Tanner Park, and Tiger Rose plays the Beach Hut to close it out.

📅 See all events for Sunday here.

South Bay Cinemas

🎬 At the Movies: South Bay Cinemas — Aug 7–9

Or: sit in a cold dark room in the middle of a beautiful August day, and watch other people have adventures. We do this on purpose, and honestly, in 86° heat, it holds up. South Bay Cinemas in West Babylon has renovated auditoriums, luxury and VIP seating across five theaters, and unlimited free popcorn refills.

Now Playing

  • 🚔 Super Troopers 3 — R · new premiere · Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme
  • 🕷️ Spider-Man: Brand New Day — PG-13 · Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink
  • 🏛️ The Odyssey — R · Christopher Nolan’s epic (Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway)
  • 🌊 Moana — PG · family adventure
  • 👾 Minions & Monsters — PG · animated family comedy

Ticket Prices & Specials

  • Matinee before 4PM — $8
  • Adults after 4PM — $10
  • Children & Seniors after 4PM — $9
  • Super Tuesdays all day — $8
  • Unlimited free popcorn refills

Showtimes may change — check the theater for the latest.

See Showtimes at South Bay Cinemas →

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📅 The Full August Guide

This is one weekend out of a very full month — free concerts nearly every night, beach movie nights, back-to-school bashes and a bluegrass festival still to come. See the full August guide here →

Babylon Local Directory

See You Out There, Babylon

Twenty-nine things to do, three hot bright days, and one festival that has needed no improvement in forty-four years. Put the phone in your pocket, carry a chair across the grass, and go sit in front of the drum. We will be the ones getting it right for a change.

See you around town,
Ryan Williams
I Love Babylon Events | Babylon Local Directory
I Love Babylon, NY