NYC’s ultimate festival Summer for the City is officially returning this summer for its second year!
Over the course of three months, Lincoln Center will turn into the ultimate go-to spot for summer fun, featuring hundreds of free events, thousands of artists, and food from across the city for New Yorkers to browse and enjoy.
“We are blessed to be in the heart of the most diverse city in the world, and to have sixteen acres of outdoor space to celebrate the magic of this bustling global city,” said Shanta Thake, Ehrenkranz Chief Artistic Officer of LCPA. “Over three months, we welcome all New Yorkers to come dance, love, and celebrate together with long-standing traditions…and new traditions.”
This year Lincoln Center’s full campus will undergo a total transformation in partnership with visionary artist Clint Ramos, who will incorporate playful designs throughout the space–think: an installation containing 200 flamingos and a 10-foot disco ball–creating multiple outdoor spaces for New Yorkers to come together and celebrate the city’s vibrant community.
Greenery and colorful botanic inspirations will take over the campus, with several different spaces to enjoy such as The Garden, a greenhouse-like retreat, Hearst Plaza with outdoor games, a new performance space, and al fresco dining options from Lincoln Ristorante, Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi, and nearby food trucks.
The Dance Floor at Josie Robertson Plaza will also return as the centerpiece of the festival, and it also happens to be the city’s largest outdoor dance floor with a mega disco ball!
This year’s Summer for the City will build on last year’s success, which saw an audience of over 300,000 people–of which more than 3/4 had never before reserved a ticket to a Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts presentation.
Programming highlights for this year’s Summer in the City include:
Outdoor Movies
Film at Lincoln Center is expanding out of the theater to under the stars with an exciting selection of free outdoor movie screenings as part of Summer for the City. Hip Hop on Screen, a five-film mini-festival honoring the genre’s 50th anniversary, will be part of the lineup, paying tribute to the many ways in which Hip-Hop’s history and cultural impact have influenced and intersected with the American cinema over the last half-century. The full screening schedule will be announced soon.
The Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra
Performing a series of engaging concerts in celebration of Renée and Robert Belfer Music Director Louis Langrée’s twenty-first and final year with the Orchestra.
Several events to celebrate Pride Month throughout June
- National Queer Theater’s Criminal Queerness Festival
- Queer pop duo The Illustrious Blacks’ silent disco
- Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles
- The world’s first LGBTQIA+ mariachi group
- A tribute to Sylvester, one of the first openly gay artists in disco and R&B
Cultivating Access Ecologies
A hybrid in-person and virtual series, curated by disability artistry guest curator Kevin Gotkin, which includes performances by Deaf and disabled artists.
Korean Arts Week
A full-campus takeover with a K-Indie Music Night, DJs, a film festival, silent discos, K-pop, wellness events, family programs and more, along with a feature program with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra.
Freedom is a Constant Struggle
An evening of orchestral performances and readings that highlight the African American struggle to reap the benefits of liberty and justice as part of American citizenry.
Big Umbrella Day
A one-day iteration of Lincoln Center’s Big Umbrella Festival, creating relaxed spaces which specifically welcome neurodivergent audiences through multi-sensory experiences, performances, installations, and workshops.
Presentation of The Bessie Awards
NYC’s annual celebration of the best in dance and performance.
A campus-wide celebration honoring Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary
Spotlighting the music, fashion, dance, poetry, and global cultural influence of Hip-Hop, including a Live Mixtape with Brooklyn DJ J.PERIOD performed live.
“Nothing captures the spirit of NY better than our arts, and this summer, thanks to Lincoln Center, thousands of NYers will have access to hundreds of free cultural events,” said NYC Mayor Eric Adams.
“Summer for the City will include performances by critically acclaimed music artists and curators and be a celebration of our city’s creativity, diversity, and, most importantly, our resilience,” he added.
Summer for the City will run from Wednesday, June 14 and run through Saturday, August 12. The full calendar of events can be found here.