The Bronx Culture Trolley is a project of the South Bronx Cultural Corridor. The trolley was initiated in December 2002 to encourage, create and maintain a higher level of arts participation and business development along the Bronx's lower Grand Concourse while promoting the “Cultural Corridor” of the South Bronx as a tourism destination.
Making a cultural loop through the lower Grand Concourse and in other sections of the Bronx, it provides an innovative way to travel free while giving Bronxites and tourists alike the opportunity to sample several of the area’s hottest cultural attractions, dining establishments and entertainment venues on the first Wednesday evening of the month except January and September (and now on select Saturdays). Riders travel via a replica of an early 20th-century trolley car, and passengers have the freedom to hop on and off at different stops along the route.
Regular attractions include art exhibits, poetry readings, film screenings, and live theatrical, musical, comedy, and dance performances at such venues as Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos, Hostos Center for Arts & Culture, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Pregones Theater, BronxArtSpace, LDR Studio Gallery, and the Bruckner Bar & Grill.
Special trolley nights include unique bronxArtworks creations – novelty items, arts & crafts, art cards, ceramics, jewelry, and more – all hand-crafted by Bronx artists. Trolley nights have also included tours of local artists' studios and have expanded to such cultural Hunts Point hot spots as the Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance and The POINT.
Trolley riders are occasionally treated to a “Works-in-Motion” performance on board the trolley. Past performances featured dancers, music, Shakespeare sonnets, a pirate high-jacking, puppets, and theatrical readings.
WHEN IS IT?
The First Wednesdays Bronx Culture Trolley runs on the first Wednesday evening of every month, (except in the months of January and September). First Wednesday Aug 3.
Culture Trolley Saturdays offers unique programming and runs during the day on select Saturdays in different sections of the Bronx. This year Culture Trolley Saturdays offers the 4th Annual Mott Haven Open Artist Studio Tour, Fair @ The Square (in the Westchester Square and West Farms sections of the Bronx), and Viva Cultura! Celebrating Puerto Rican Heritage in the Bronx, and more.