FREE Bryant Park Family Day on August 10

Bryant Park’s summer of season of free activities continues with the first-ever Bryant Park Family Day on Saturday, August 10. From 10am to 6pm, kids and families can find a wide range of activities. Explore circus on the Upper Terrace; watch stilt-walking, be entranced by Francis Stallings’ hula hooping, and learn to juggle with the Bryant Park Jugglers. Sing and make music at the Reading Room during Camp Kids and with special guests Bash the Trash. Drop by Kids Creative Corner to try your hand at science experiments, bubble blowing, and more! Don’t forget to visit the other park amenities, including Le Carrousel and the Art Cart, which will host crafts and workshops throughout the day. The finale of Family Day features a Picnic Performance from renowned dance companies Ephrat Asherie Dance and Barkin/Selissen Project, in collaboration with New Victory Theater, as well as interactive moments for younger audiences.  

Ephrat Asherie Dance(EAD) is a dance company rooted in African-American and Latino street and social dances. Dedicated to revealing the inherent complexities of these forms, EAD explores the expansive narrative qualities of various street and club styles – including breaking, hip-hop, house and vogue – as a means to tell stories, develop innovative imagery, and find new modes of expression.

Barkin/Selissen Project, a New York City-based contemporary dance company founded in 2009, presents the choreography of Artistic Directors Kyla Barkin and Aaron Selissen through live performance, film and workshops. The company strives to blur lines between the emotional and intellectual, dream worlds and waking states. With dramatic shifts from nuance to explosive athleticism, Barkin and Selissen’s choreography infuses fresh perspective on subjects ranging from the complexities of mathematics to the complexities of human nature.

Attendees may bring their own food or purchase from on-site food and beverage vendors near the lawn. At all performances, attendees can discover new dishes and celebrate classics from the five boroughs with a rotating line-up of artisanal vendors by Hester Street Fair. Stout NYC offers light bites as well as a selection of beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages for purchase.

Bryant Park is situated behind the New York Public Library in midtown Manhattan, between 40th and 42nd Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Take the B, D, F, or M train to 42nd Street/Bryant Park; or, take the 7 train to 5th Avenue.

For the most current performance information please visit bryantpark.org/picnics

Jalopy Theatre at Bryant Park Picnic Performances 2023, Image credit Da Luo