Union Square offers both active and passive recreation. In addition to the park’s playgrounds and dog run, there is a full program of free summer events, Summer in the Square, offered by the Union Square Partnership. Cyclists in the monthly Critical Mass bike ride — passing the park’s pavilion at the Memorial Day weekend ride, above — meet and depart on the last Friday of each month from the square’s northern plaza. As the weather becomes nicer, the park’s benches become popular spots to sit and eat lunch, meet friends, people watch or just grab a quick nap in the sun — beneath the shade of a newspaper — as demonstrated by the man at right.
