The Center of It All

My post from a couple of weeks, 1,700 and One., included a disclaimer. If you don't remember, you can either click here or I will gladly refresh your memory. My disclaimer was simple. I reserved the right to subsequently post about one specific park in NYC… Central Park.

Yes, Central Park. Heard of it? It's a little park smack dab in the middle of Manhattan. As the most famous park in the city, and possibly the country, it really doesn't need much of an introduction. It's beautiful, spacious and offers wonderful summertime activities. Because it is so well known, I've decided to skip over the standard amenities Central Park offers (bike tours, outdoor yoga, etc.). Instead, I want to share with you the best free events offered in the park this summer.

Every summer, the Public Theatre produces Shakespeare in the Park in Central Park's outdoor Delacorte Theatre. This year, "revenge, rage, grief and delusion thunder upon the Delacorte as Tony® and Emmy® Award winner John Lithgow takes the stage as one of theater’s great tragic heroes, KING LEAR."  Tickets to Shakespeare in the Park, performed every night (except Mondays) from July 22nd to August 16th, are free to the public. Because they're free, they are a little tough to come by. However, the Public Theatre gives you some options:

• wait in line the day of the performance (tickets are distributed at noon but arrive early!)
• enter an online lottery (more information here)
• look out for distribution around the five boroughs (view distribution schedule here)

With a hop-notch cast, great location, and free tickets, Shakespeare in the Park is a New York summer tradition you have to try at least once!

Do you love films set in NYC? Of course you do, who doesn't? And what better place to enjoy a movie about NYC than in Central Park. Well, you're in luck because this August the Central Park Conservancy Film Festival will celebrate "Scenes From Our City". During the week of August 18th, bring a blanket and spread out in Sheep's Meadow to watch Big, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Way We Were, Ghostbusters and Rear Window on the big screen. Tickets are free and a DJ will warm up the crowd when gates open at 6 p.m. (the film will start at 8 p.m. but arrive early to get a good spot!) So park a picnic (sorry, no alcohol), cozy up and enjoy all these movies about the world's greatest city in the city's greatest park.

I know Central Park can sometimes seem played out, or just a large square tourist trap with trees, but I guarantee you that even the most seasoned New Yorker can find something new to do. Almost any activity done in Central Park in the summer is a magical experience. And if you have never visited, go now because my words will never do it justice.