By Carol Tannenhauser
“This summer, Lincoln Center invites you to experience the healing and rejuvenating power of the arts. Whether it’s rejoicing the night away on the dance floor, reclaiming rituals hindered by the pandemic, or moments for collective remembering, we offer this warm welcome to come together after so much time apart.”
With those words, Shanta Thake, Lincoln Center’s chief artistic officer, introduced Lincoln Center’s “first annual” Summer For The City, a three-month-long festival, running from May 14 to August 14. It will feature 1,000+ performers, 300+ free events, 10 stages, and the largest outdoor dance floor in NYC, with a 10-foot disco ball!
The festival opens on May 14 with an outdoor performance and singalong, called Sing New York, featuring The Young People’s Chorus of New York City, Francisco J. Núňez, Artistic Director and Founder, conducted by Elizabeth Núňez. “Audiences (aka singers) are encouraged to come together in song as we celebrate unity and the warmer months ahead,” Thake said. “If you’d like to practice your vocals in advance, the song list includes “This Little Light of Mine,” “Your Song,” “The Barber of Seville,” “La Sopa De Isabel,” “Love Train,” a surprise NYC medley of fan favorites, and many more.”
Wonderful events unfold as the festival goes on. On June 1, The Oasis opens, “sprouting from the center of the concrete jungle like a fantastical mirage,” the website says. The Josie Robertson Plaza will be transformed. “The Oasis invites visitors to dance, gather, and reconnect during daily operating hours (8 a.m. – midnight), and for free curated events for all ages.”
Events will include “social dance, singalongs, pre-performance rituals, civic activations, and much more.” Thake added that Lincoln Center is also “thrilled to be making the arts more accessible to more New Yorkers, with Free offerings all summer long, and select indoor performances using a Choose-What-You-Pay ticketing model.
To see a complete schedule and description of all the Summer For The City events and performances, click here.
