CJ Hendry's viral Flower Market is coming back to Rockefeller Center Plaza for just four days this month, and every single guest who shows up gets to walk away with a free plush flower. The pop-up runs September 24 through 27, 2026, with an opening-day session on Thursday from 1 to 8 pm followed by extended hours from 10 am to 8 pm through Sunday.
The installation, located at Rockefeller Center Plaza at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, features plush flower designs meant to represent species native to New York City, according to Secret NYC. Beyond the one free plush flower guaranteed to each visitor, the market will sell additional plush flowers for $5 apiece, along with limited-edition merchandise like bespoke t-shirts and caps, the outlet reports. Guests hoping to bypass the general admission line can opt for the Top of the Rock Flower Market Express Ticket, which bundles observation deck access with expedited entry to the market.
A Second Rockefeller Center Run Follows Last Year's Debut
This marks the second time Hendry's Flower Market has taken over Rockefeller Center Plaza. The concept first landed there in September 2025 with 27 new plush flower designs and a satellite Flower Cart at Top of the Rock offering an exclusive 28th flower, according to Secret NYC's earlier coverage of that three-day run. EB Kelly, senior managing director at Tishman Speyer and head of Rockefeller Center, said the venue is bringing the Flower Market back after the response it received last year, per the same account.
Before it found a home at Rockefeller Center, the Flower Market had a far rockier start. The original plush concept debuted in September 2024 at FDR Four Freedoms State Park on Roosevelt Island with 100,000 felt flowers, but overcrowding forced the NYPD to shut the event down mid-run before it relocated overnight to Industry City in Brooklyn, as reported by BizBash. That chaotic debut helps explain why the Rockefeller Center version now runs as a structured, multi-day partnership with timed hours rather than an open-ended free-for-all.
Restaurants Join the Complimentary Flower Push
Several of Rockefeller Center's dining tenants are tying into the event with their own complimentary flower offers. Naro, Le Rock, Jupiter, and 5 Acres will each give guests a complimentary flower with their bill during the event, according to Secret NYC's report. Those restaurants are part of a broader multi-year dining refresh at the complex that Hoodline previously reported has turned the plaza and concourse into a destination in their own right.
Tishman Speyer's embrace of high-profile pop-ups like this one fits a broader strategy of using public art activations to revitalize Midtown foot traffic and draw commercial office tenants, according to New York YIMBY. Rockefeller Center has hosted other free interactive activations this year, including a two-day hair-care playground from OGX and a lunchtime Broadway takeover on the plaza.
An Artist Who Built an Empire Outside the Gallery System
Hendry is a New York-based artist who creates hyper-realistic, immersive experiences out of everyday objects, and the Flower Market is only the latest expression of that practice. Prior to her floral installations, she built scale interactive public works including a 3,000-square-foot bouncy castle for her inkblot-themed “Rorschach” show and a full-scale pool installation called “Public Pool” set in the desert, according to Thursd. The Australian-born artist studied architecture and finance in Brisbane before dropping out, and she built her career by bypassing traditional galleries to sell directly to collectors via Instagram, per Artsy.
That direct-to-consumer instinct has since drawn interest from legacy art institutions. Auction house Phillips partnered with Hendry in August 2023 to launch its Dropshop platform, releasing 100 bronze crown sculptures alongside thousands of free plastic crowns handed out to exhibition visitors, as detailed by Art & Object. Industry analysts have described her broader commercial approach as “price laddering” — pairing accessible $1 to $10 entry-level items with editioned sculptures and hyperrealistic drawings priced in the tens of thousands of dollars, according to Observer.
The Flowers Live On Year-Round in SoHo
Anyone who can't make it to Rockefeller Center this month, or who wants a piece of the concept that doesn't disappear after four days, can head to Hendry's permanent flagship store. Called the Flower Shop, it opened at 172 Prince Street in SoHo in November 2025 and sells $10 plush flowers seven days a week, a launch Hoodline covered when the shop first opened. The SoHo location offers what Secret NYC describes as Hendry's “everlasting flowers” 365 days a year, giving fans a year-round outlet even as the Rockefeller Center pop-up remains a limited-time event.
