Sunday, June 21, 2026 from 12:00–4:00 PM
Join us in celebrating 25 years of our festival showcasing the cultures of the Lower East Side and Chinatown!
New York, NY (March 11, 2026) – On Sunday, June 21, from 12:00 – 4:00 PM, the Museum at Eldridge Street will present its 25th annual Egg Rolls, Egg Creams & Empanadas Street Festival, a long-standing celebration of the Lower East Side. For nearly 25 years, the festival has celebrated the diverse traditions that give the Lower East Side and Chinatown its identity. Set against the backdrop of our Museum’s home, the landmark 1887 Eldridge Street Synagogue, the festival will take over Eldridge Street for a one-of-a-kind block party with Jewish, Chinese, and Puerto Rican tastes, sights, sounds, and crafts for folks of all ages to enjoy!
Over the years, the festival has grown and evolved. The Museum launched the festival in 2001 to celebrate the Jewish and Chinese communities of the Lower East Side and Chinatown. What began as a modest but enthusiastic celebration for 500 attendees has grown into a cherished New York City summer event celebrating not only Jewish and Chinese cultural traditions, but also the Puerto Rican community that has long called the Lower East Side, or Loisaida, home. In 2020, the festival moved online, drawing 27,000 digital participants from around the world. Returning to Eldridge Street in 2021, the event has attracted more than 13,000 visitors in a single day each year after year.
The Egg Rolls, Egg Creams, and Empanadas Street Festival honors traditions that bind generations together through communal resilience and creative evolution. Housed in the Eldridge Street Synagogue, an anchor of community life since 1887, the Museum at Eldridge Street is proud to continue welcoming and showcasing the dynamic fabric of the Lower East Side and Chinatown through the Egg Rolls, Egg Creams, and Empanadas Festival.
The street festival event is free and open to the public with bites available for purchase.
For a taste of what’s to come at the 2026 Egg Rolls, Egg Creams, and Empanadas Street Festival, check out a video of highlights. A media kit for the festival can be found here.
Highlights Include:
Freshly made egg creams and egg rolls
Klezmer, bomba, and Chinese lion dancing
Face painting
Puerto Rican Vejigantes paper mache masks and Chinese paper cutting and folding
Jewish and Chinese Mahjong
Arts and crafts for kids
… and more!
Stay tuned for a full schedule of events and activities to be listed on our website soon!
The 2026 Egg Rolls, Egg Creams, and Empanadas Festival is supported, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council; Museum Travel Alliance; Council Member Christopher Marte; Valley Bank; and the Jewish Community Youth Foundation.
The festival will take place on Eldridge Street between Division and Canal Streets. The Museum building will be closed to the public during the festival.
Museum at Eldridge Street is housed in the Eldridge Street Synagogue, a magnificent National Historic Landmark that has been meticulously restored. Opened in 1887, the synagogue is the first great house of worship built in America by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Today, it is the only remaining marker of the great wave of Jewish migration to the Lower East Side that is open to a broad public who wish to visit Jewish New York.
Exhibits, tours, public programs, and education tell the story of Jewish immigrant life, explore architecture and historic preservation, inspire reflection on cultural continuity, and foster collaboration and exchange between people of all faiths, heritages, and interests.
Museum at Eldridge Street
12 Eldridge Street (between Canal and Division Streets)
New York, NY 10002
212.219.0302
Hours
Sunday – Friday, 10 AM – 5 PM
Saturday, Closed
Admission on Mondays and Fridays is pay what you wish
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