nyc summer 2025: under the open sky in bryant park

“To him who in the love of Nature holds / Communion with her visible forms, she speaks / A various language,” William Cullen Bryant wrote in his 1817 poem “Thanatopsis.” Bryant, who was born in Massachusetts in 1794 and died in New York City in 1878, added, “Go forth under the open sky, and list / To Nature’s teachings,”

Behind the New York Public Library on Forty-Second St. is Bryant Park, one of New York’s most beautiful open-sky settings. Take your time and walk around this gorgeous space; be sure to check out all the monuments in this stunning park where George Washington once fought, paupers were buried, part of the first World’s Fair was held (in 1853), and the Union Army trained (during the Civil War). On the east plaza you will find a statue commemorating the park’s namesake, William Cullen Bryant, sitting nobly under a domed arch, surveying all around him; the bronze statue was made by Herbert Adams and dates from 1911. Continue along the path to your right and you’ll come upon John Quincey Adams Ward’s bronze figure of William Earl Dodge, one of the founders of the YMCA, leaning against a bookstand.

Down the path and to your left you’ll find the lovely Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial Fountain, the first major New York City monument dedicated to a woman — in this case, the suffragist who helped shape the battle for women’s rights. You’ll have to step out of the park near the corner of Sixth Ave. and Fortieth St. (Nikola Tesla Corner) to see Jose Lima’s tribute to José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva, the Brazilian Patriarch of the Independence. Head back east until you are met by the bust of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe by Anton Kunitz, which looks at the colorful children’s carousel. By the Bryant Park Grill, in the shadow of the William Cullen Bryant memorial, sits the small statue of poet Gertrude Stein, designed by Jo Davidson more than one hundred years ago and cast for the park in 1992.

In addition to the below events — all of which are free — there is also chess, Ping-Pong, yoga, tai chi, social board games, writers workshops, juggling, a book club, and other activities.

Live pianists play Monday to Friday in Bryant Park at 12:30 all summer long (photo by Angelito Jusay)

Wednesdays through September 24
Midtown Music, with Terry Waldo’s Gotham City Band, Triad Brass, Sedi Donka, Trio Arrebol, 3:30

Monday - Friday through September 30
Piano, with Isaac ben Ayala, Armen Donelian, Ted Rosenthal, Marc Devine, Victor Lin, Brennen Ernst, Jon Weber, Danny Mixon, Dan Manjovi, Russ Kassoff, Daryl Sherman, Pete Malinverni, Joel Forrester, Larry Ham, Kuni Mikami, Bertha Hope, Peter Yarin, Roy Eaton, Sue Maskaleris, and Charlie Judkins, 12:30

Wednesday, May 28
Reading Room — Author Panel: Writers Read, with Tamara Belinfanti, Jamie Bernstein, Margie Holt, Hunter Klein, Beth Kwon, Ann Levin, George Mannes, Marshall Messner, and Ellen Nenner, hosted by Ed McCann, 12:30

Thursday, May 29
and
Friday, May 30
Evening Birding Tours, with Gabriel Willow, 5:00

Friday, May 30
Picnic Performances — Electric Root: The Sound of (Black) Music, with Brianna Thomas, C. Anthony Bryant, Vanisha Gould, Zhanna Reed, and more, 7:00

Tuesday, June 3
Reading Room: Poetry, with Sebastian Matthews, Nathan McClain, Richard Michelson, and Michelle Whittaker, hosted by Jason Schneiderman, 6:00

Tuesday, June 3
through
Sunday, June 8
Public Theater’s Mobile Unit: Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Rebecca Martínez, music and lyrics by Julián Mesri, 1:00 and/or 6:30

Tuesday, June 3 (and select Tuesdays TBA)
Reading Room: Books on Broadway, hosted by Ilana Levine, 12:30

Wednesday, June 4
Reading Room —Author: Spring into Summer, with Lian Dolan, Sarah Penner, and Ally Walker, hosted by Ilana Levine, 12:30

Thursday, June 5
Picnic Performances: Contemporary Dance, with Limón Dance Company, EMERGE125, KAŌS Dance Collective, 7:00

Friday, June 6
Picnic Performances: Contemporary Dance, with Doug Varone and Dancers, Kyle Marshall Choreography, LaneCo Arts, 7:00

Monday, June 9
Reading Room: Reel Talks, with J. Hoberman, author of Duck Soup, hosted by Scott Adlerberg, 12:30

Movie Nights: Pretty in Pink (Howard Deutch, 1986), 8:00

Tuesday, June 10
Reading Room: Poetry, tribute to Emily Dickinson, with Paul Legault and Donna Masini, hosted by Jason Schneiderman, 6:00

The Bryant Park Reading Room will host literary events from May to September (photo by Angelito Jusay)

Wednesday, June 11
Reading Room —Author: Summer Reads, with Lorna Graham, Nicola Kraus, and Paul Vidich, hosted by Ilana Levine, 12:30

Saturday, June 14
Picnic Performances: Jazzmobile, with the Jimmy Heath Big Band, 7:00

Monday, June 16
Reading Room: Reel Talks, with Philip Gefter, author of Cocktails with George and Martha: Movies, Marriage, and the Making of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, hosted by Scott Adlerberg, 12:30

Movie Nights: The Wood (Rick Famuyiwa, 1999), 8:00

Tuesday, June 17
Reading Room: Poetry, with Molly Peacock, Phillis Levin, Dante Micheaux, and Amy Lemmon, hosted by Jason Schneiderman, 6:00

Wednesday, June 18
Reading Room —Author: Mystery & Thrillers, with Kimberly Belle and James Frey, hosted by Ilana Levine, 12:30

Friday, June 20
Emerging Music Festival Day One, with Tasha, Why Bonnie, Marem Ladson, 7:00

Saturday, June 21
Emerging Music Festival Day Two, with Disiniblud and more, 7:00

Monday, June 23
Reading Room: Reel Talks, with Carrie Courogen, author of Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood's Hidden Genius, hosted by Scott Adlerberg, 12:30

Movie Nights: Kinky Boots (Julian Jarrold, 2005), 8:00

Tuesday, June 24
Reading Room: Poetry, with Sally Keith, Joseph Legaspi, James Shea, and Nida Sophasarun, hosted by Jason Schneiderman, 6:00

Wednesday, June 25
Reading Room —Author: Memoir, with Ruther Ackerman, Mike Drucker, and David Litt, hosted by Ilana Levine, 12:30

Thursday, June 26
and
Friday, June 27
Picnic Performances — New York City Opera: Opera Goes to Hollywood, led by Maestro Constantine Orbelian, 7:00

Monday, June 30
Reading Room: Reel Talks, with Samm Deighan, author of Revolution in 35mm: Political Violence and Resistance in Cinema from the Arthouse to the Grindhouse, 1960-1990, hosted by Scott Adlerberg, 12:30

Movie Nights: Stand by Me (Rob Reiner, 1986), 8:00

Wednesday, July 1
through
Wednesday, August 20
Reading Room —Author, participants TBA, hosted by Ilana Levine, 12:30

Tuesday, July 1
through
Tuesday, September 16
Reading Room: Poetry, hosted by Jason Schneiderman, including Poetry Discussion Circles the third Tuesday of each month, 6:00

Thursday, July 3
Picnic Performances: New York Guitar Festival, with Pedro Cortes Flamenco, Big Lazy, and Marel Hidalgo, hosted by John Schaefer, 7:00

Friday, July 4
Picnic Performances: New York Guitar Festival, with Louis Cato, Jackie Venson, and Jontavious Willis, hosted by John Schaefer, 7:00

Monday, July 7
Reading Room: Reel Talks, with Shawn Levy, author of Clint: The Man and the Movies, hosted by Scott Adlerberg, 12:30

Movie Nights: Good Will Hunting (Gus Van Sant, 1987), 8:00

Wednesday, July 9
Reading Room: Non-Fiction, lectures and conversations with historians, authors, and thinkers, 7:00

Friday, July 11
Picnic Performances: Carnegie Hall Citywide, with the Knights joined by Julien Labro, 7:00

Monday, July 14
Reading Room: Reel Talks, with Chris Alexander, author of Art! Trash! Terror!: Adventures in Strange Cinema, hosted by Scott Adlerberg, 12:30

Movie Nights: Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014), 8:00

Wednesday, July 16
Reading Room: Non-Fiction, lectures and conversations with historians, authors, and thinkers, 7:00

Friday, July 18
Picnic Performances: Carnegie Hall Citywide, with La Excelencia, 7:00

Monday, July 21
Reading Room: Reel Talks, with Odie Henderson, author of Black Caesars and Foxy Cleopatras: A History of Blaxploitation Cinema, hosted by Scott Adlerberg, 12:30

Movie Nights: Ghost (Jerry Zucker, 1990), 8:00

Wednesday, July 23
Reading Room: Non-Fiction, lectures and conversations with historians, authors, and thinkers, 7:00

Friday, July 25
Picnic Performances: Carnegie Hall Citywide, with Cécile McLorin Salvant, 7:00

Monday, July 28
Reading Room: Reel Talks, with Alissa Wilkinson, author of We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine, hosted by Scott Adlerberg, 12:30

Movie Nights: Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994), 8:00

Wednesday, July 30
Reading Room: Non-Fiction, lectures and conversations with historians, authors, and thinkers, 7:00

Friday, August 1
Picnic Performances: Carnegie Hall Citywide, with Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band, 7:00

Monday, August 4
Reading Room: Reel Talks, with David M. Stewart, author of There's No Going Back: The Life and Work of Jonathan Demme, hosted by Scott Adlerberg, 12:30

Movie Nights: Blades of Glory (Josh Gordon & Will Speck, 2007), 8:00

Friday, August 8
Picnic Performances: Carnegie Hall Citywide, with Dez Duron, 7:00

Monday, August 11
Reading Room: Reel Talks, hosted by Scott Adlerberg, 12:30

Movie Nights: The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972), 8:00

Friday, August 15
Picnic Performances: World Music Institute, with Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East + Gamelan Dharma Swara, 7:00

Saturday, August 16
Picnic Performances: New York City Circus Festival, 7:00

Friday, August 22
Picnic Performances: Belongó, with Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, 7:00

Friday, August 29
Picnic Performances: Accordions Around the World, 7:00

Saturday, August 30
Picnic Performances — The Town Hall: New York Loves Sly! Featuring Steven Bernstein, with Vernon Reid, Corey Glover, and Joan as Police Woman, 7:00

Wednesday, September 3
Reading Room: Non-Fiction, lectures and conversations with historians, authors, and thinkers, 7:00

Thursday, September 4
and
Friday, September 5
Picnic Performances — New York City Opera: Carmen, 7:00

Friday, September 12
Picnic Performances — American Symphony Orchestra: New York Profiles, featuring works by Aaron Copland, Henry Cowell, Julia Perry, Ulysses Kay, and Norman Dello Joio, 7:00

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