Festival of New York Galvanizes City’s Cultural, Economic, and Spiritual Comeback

Unprecedented Collaborations Across the Five Boroughs Push Forward New York’s Next Chapter, Focused on Diversity and Resiliency

200+ Organizations Come Together, Spanning the Worlds of Culture, Education, Hospitality, Business, Media, Wellness, and more

Launches Summer 2022

Join at FestivalofNY.com and Follow #FestivalofNY

New York, NY (March 23, 2022) – A growing collective of 200+ organizations across the five boroughs today announced the first Festival of New York, an unprecedented movement to marshal the creativity, resiliency, diversity, and spirit of collaboration that makes New York one of the strongest and most inspiring cities on earth. [FestivalofNY.com]

Kickstarting the summer season, Festival of New York invites anyone and everyone who believes in New York to contribute, take part, and come together as we collectively recover from one of the most difficult periods in our history and see our way through to a kinder, more equitable, more collaborative, and more inclusive future.

“Time and again, New York has shown that our grit and resilience is unmatched, and our culture and diversity make this the greatest city in the world,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “And now, 200+ organizations, across all five boroughs, will collectively showcase all the creativity, the resiliency, the diversity, and the spirit that makes New York City all that it is. I am thankful to each of these organizations that are helping us to recover, helping us to build back, and helping us to succeed together.”

During the summer months, Memorial Day through Labor Day, Festival of New York will animate the city with events and opportunities to honor, grow, rejoice and give back together through cross-borough collaborations, performances, installations, family fairs, community service opportunities, participatory arts and culture experiences, career fairs, and more.

“Our arts and culture sector makes up the heart of New York City’s comeback story, and I’m thrilled to join these 200+ partners from all sectors and corners of our city to celebrate what makes New York City the cultural capital of the world,” said Maria Torres-Springer, Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development. “This summer, I encourage all New Yorkers to participate in the Festival through one of the many activations, performances, block parties, and small business opportunities being offered. This is an opportunity to celebrate the talent, music, history, and communities that have shaped the character of New York City – and work collectively to chart a stronger, inclusive future for all of us.”

Media partners, including MNN (Manhattan Neighborhood Network), WABC, WNYC, and WQXR will co-promote the Festival through their airwaves and there will be special ticket discounts for programming in The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space.

Festival of New York activations to look forward to include:

BAAND Together Dance Festival: Returning for a second year and born from close pandemic-era collaboration, five of the city’s most beloved companies will share the stage at Lincoln Center for thrilling outdoor performances over five evenings: Ballet Hispánico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Citywide Dance Party: On Saturday, August 6, thousands of New Yorkers will be dancing in the streets in a moment of mass joy and celebration. Spearheaded by the New York Public Library in partnership with the Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Public Library, partners in all five boroughs will host dozens and dozens of outdoor dance parties—come out, and let’s all dance together.

Expansive Pride Calendar: A lineup of free public events May through August will honor the lives and invaluable contributions of Black Queer civil rights giants such as Pauli Murray, Sylvia Rivera, and Marsha P. Johnson. STARR, America’s oldest Trans civil rights group, invites everyone to expand their Pride programming; in collaboration with Claim Our Space Now, National Queer Theater, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Make Music New York, and more.

France Rocks Summer Fest: The largest festival of Francophone music in the U.S., France Rocks Summer Fest highlights the rich diversity of music from these countries featuring over 30 concerts across 25 New York venues. The festival presents a high-profile lineup of diverse artists for a series of concerts showcasing the best French electronic, jazz, world music, and pop/rock artists across multiple cultures in iconic New York venues throughout June. This year’s fifth edition will culminate with La Fête de la Musique 40th Anniversary at Central Park Summerstage in partnership with French Institute Alliance Française NY, Make Music New York, and more.

Giulietta e Romeo: A rare jewel of opera history, Battery Park City Authority in collaboration with Teatro Grattacielo presents a full production of “Giulietta e Romeo” for its 100th anniversary. Composed by Riccardo Zandonai, the 3 act opera is full of love, passion, and tragedy, epitomized to their most pure and intimate essences. Known for its forward-thinking, multimedia exploration of opera, Teatro Grattacielo creates a site-specific work for the open-air riverside setting of Wagner Park, within Battery Park City. A once in a lifetime experience; free and open to the public. Presented by Battery Park City Authority in collaboration with Teatro Grattacielo and partners Parsons School of Design, New York Institute of Technology, Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School, and more. (June 4 & 5)

Grooving Under the Apollo Marquee: Playing under the Apollo Theater’s iconic marquee, DJs will spin their best sets to give 125th Street a taste of the multifaceted flavors of Harlem. This fun dance party will get New Yorkers and visitors alike moving and grooving through a musical journey of Motown, Soul, Hip-Hop, Afrobeat, Latin Music and more.

Poster House Block Party: A block party presented in the heart of the Flatiron District celebrating the art and cultural impact of the poster through performances, activities, and activations by local community groups and arts institutions. The day-long event is sponsored by Poster House, the first and only poster museum in the United States.

Small Business Weekends: A series of special activations and offers focused on small businesses in each borough. Along Tompkins Avenue in Brooklyn, for instance, home to 14 small businesses owned by Black women, Black Girl Magic Weekend will be spearheaded by the Tompkins Avenue Merchants Association and Bridge Street Development Corporation, in collaboration with Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

Discover Parks and Open Spaces Across the Five Boroughs: Experience the restorative power of the City’s 30,000 acres of parks and open spaces through various opportunities to learn about and celebrate these essential greenspaces that energize New Yorkers every day. Throughout the summer, parks organizations across NYC will host outdoor events, performances, and educational programs, and welcome attendees to give back by getting involved in their local park’s care. Participants include: Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Battery Park City Authority, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, Central Park Conservancy, Hudson River Park Friends, New York Botanical Garden, Channel Gardens at Rockefeller Center, NYC Parks, Prospect Park Alliance, Randall’s Island Park Alliance, Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, and Wave Hill.

New Victory Dance: The New Victory Theater presents the ninth season of its beloved dance program. Designed to provide free summertime dance and dance education for kids in New York City day camps, schools and youth programs, New Victory Dance features compelling contemporary dance performances from across the five boroughs curated for kids eight and older. $10 tickets will be available to the public for evening performances in July.

This Is NY: Celebrating Our Immigrant Heritage and Communities: Cultural institutions across all five boroughs will create activations, such as food events, photo exhibits, oral history exhibits, documentary film and theatrical debuts, panel discussions, concerts, digital content, and other cultural programming, that highlight and celebrate the remarkable immigrant history and communities of NYC from June 11th through June 21st. Spearheaded by the Queens Night Market with partners that include Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Tenement Museum, New York Public Library, Rockefeller Center, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), Make Music New York, NY Forever, and many others.

We Love New York by New York Liberty: Throughout the 2022 WNBA season, the New York Liberty will host a variety of events in and around NYC, as well as games at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. As part of Festival of NY, Liberty players will share why they love NYC in a social media campaign. Discover what makes NYC home for these world-class athletes.

“There is no better time than summer in NYC, and nothing can compare to our energy. Festival of New York is emphasizing this after two years of this energy being suppressed by the pandemic,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “We are coming back from this pandemic ever stronger, ever prouder of our City and ever more committed to the great impact we must make together. We’re looking forward to the time together and our city’s renaissance.”

“Culture never truly closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and not even an unprecedented public health crisis can diminish Queens’ world-renowned cultural institutions and arts scene. The Festival of New York will undoubtedly be a tremendous celebration of what makes our city so dynamic and unique,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “From music and dance to the joyful celebrations of our heritage, there will be so much for our families and visitors to enjoy this summer. I encourage everyone to come together and be a part of the festivities.”

“COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on our borough, and highlighted the importance of our creativity and collaboration,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. “When New Yorkers come together, we are able to do amazing things, and in order for our City to come back stronger than it was before, we will need residents from every borough working together towards that shared goal. I look forward to seeing the partnerships from across various industries that will highlight not only the diversity of our City, but also its resiliency.”

“Festival of New York honors our city’s collaborative, artistic spirit, and this multicultural, multi-sector celebration will help usher us into brighter times,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “These performances, activations, and partnerships showcase the creativity that makes New York unique. There’s something for everyone, so I hope New Yorkers take advantage of these amazing opportunities.”

Festival of New York launch partners are:

Join and learn more at [FestivalofNY.com] and follow [#FestivalofNY].

Trailer available [here].

Additional details and activations will be announced in the coming months.

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