EventMatch.NYC

Inspiration

NYC Parks has many public events, such as family activities, fitness classes, volunteer events, nature programs, and cultural events. The public feed has useful information, but it can be hard to search when a person has a specific need.

I built EventMatch NYC to help people answer practical questions:

“What can I do with two children in Queens this Saturday?” “Which free event near me does not need registration?”

The goal is to make NYC Parks events easier to find, check, and attend.

What it does

EventMatch NYC helps people find NYC Parks events that match their interests, schedule, and location.

Users can:

• Search current NYC Parks events.
• Filter by date, borough, category, family information, registration status, and cost information.
• View the same filtered results in a list or on a map.
• Read official event details.
• Save events.
• Add events to a calendar.
• Check when the source data was last updated.

The app only presents facts supported by the official source. For example, it only labels an event as free when the source says it is free. If accessibility information is missing, the app says “Not listed.”

How we built it

I built EventMatch NYC as a full-stack web app.

• The FastAPI backend gets data from the NYC Parks Upcoming 14 Days feed.
• The backend cleans, stores, and updates the event data.
• The backend records the last successful data update.
• The Next.js and React frontend provides event search, filters, event details, saved events, calendar export, and a map view.
• The list and map use the same filter state and event results.
• The AI concierge searches only current event data, explains matches, links to official event pages, and asks for approval before it saves an event.

Challenges we ran into

The NYC Parks source is a rolling 14-day feed. Events can change, appear, or leave the feed. An event can leave the feed because it is old. This does not always mean that the event was canceled.

Some event records also have missing or unclear details. I had to prevent the app from making unsupported claims about price, accessibility, registration, capacity, or cancellation status.

Map data was another challenge. Some events share a location. Some events have missing or invalid coordinates. I grouped valid locations for the map and kept all events available in the list view.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

• Built a working discovery tool around live NYC Parks event data.
• Created clear filters for common planning needs, including date, borough, category, family events, registration, and explicitly free events.
• Kept map and list results synchronized.
• Added saved events and calendar export.
• Made source freshness visible to users.
• Preserved missing information instead of guessing.
• Built an AI concierge with a limited, source-based tool set.

What we learned

I learned that public-data products need clear source and status information.

A useful event result should tell a user:

• why an event matches the search;
• what the official source says;
• what information is missing; and
• where to check details before attending.

What's next for EventMatch.NYC

Next, I plan to improve personalized discovery with saved interests and event matches. I also want to add notifications for new or changed events that match a user’s interests.

Other future work includes:

• More detailed park and facility information.
• Better accessibility information when official sources provide it.
• More event sources, such as libraries and community partners.
• Weather alerts for outdoor events.
• Transit and route information.
• Shareable event collections and local event guides.

Built With

• claude
• cloudflare
• codex
• fastapi
• langchain
• next.js
• python
• railway
• react