Free Summer Fun at Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan

Bryant Park is located in Midtown Manhattan, between 39th and 42nd Streets on the Avenue of Americas (Sixth Avenue), and it is a beautiful and peaceful retreat amidst the city hustle and bustle. In the summer Bryant Park offers many free delights for both regulars and tourists, including adults and children. You can partake in reading, movie watching, T'ai Chi, cultural enlightenment, and much more. All you have to do is show up and the treats are free.

If you want to limber up for the summer, stretch and relax and strengthen your inner resilience, you can stop in early on Thursday morning, from 7:30 to 8:30, May through August, to attend free T'ai Chi on the Fountain Terrace at Sixth Avenue and 41st Street. Tai Chi is designed to develop harmony between the body and the mind, as well as between the individual and his or her intrinsic nature. The classes are led by Master C.K. Chu, the founder of the Tai Chi Chuan Center in New York City. Wear casual clothing and comfortable shoes, and be prepared to peacefully exercise beneath the beauty of the trees.

On the entertainment side, visitors to the park can partake in the Bryant Park Summer Film Festival, the Good Morning American Concert Series, and Broadway in Bryant Park. The film festival runs from June 18th through August 20th and is free for all, every Monday night, weather permitting, beginning at sunset. Classic films are show on a huge screen as a sea of folks spread out blankets and picnic baskets on the lawn, ready to watch the great stars under the stars. If music is your gig, every Friday morning, from 7:00 to 9:00, from May 18th through August 24th, go to the concert stage at the Upper Terrace, opposite Fountain Terrace, to dance and sing with some of America's hottest and newest acts, sponsored by the Good Morning America new show. If you like music but Broadway is more up your alley, then get a taste of some of the most popular musicals on Broadway. Broadway in Bryant Park is free, presented by 106.7 LiteFM, and is held on Thursday, from 12:30 to 1:30 PM, from July 5th through August 9th. Other musical activities include Piano in the Park, Classic Kids, and Afternoon Arias.

Bryant Park also offers free activities for literary park-goers. Any day of the week you can settle into the Bryant Park Reading Room for free, grab a table and a chair in a quiet section of the park, and choose to read any of the available books, magazines, and newspapers. The Reading Room also presents author readings and writing activities. Word for Word Author is held from May 16th through August 22nd and allows you to hear the current works and experiences of well-known authors. Word for Word Poetry presents emerging poets from the Academy of American Poets, reading from recent poems. Free writing classes in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction are offered Thursday nights, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, and are led by a member of the NYU Creative Writing Faculty, Colin Cheney.

The Reading Room also offers great activities for children. On Saturday afternoons, from 12:00 to 1:00, from June 23 through August 18th, some of your children's favorite book characters and stories are brought to life by the authors, with special events catering to children of all ages. Scholastic, Inc. also sponsors Word for Word Storytime, where popular children's books are read aloud, on Tuesday mornings, from 10:30 to 11:30, July 3rd through July 31st. After some literary fun, take your child across the grass for a ride on Le Carrousel. Though it does cost $2.00 a ride, any child will adore the brightly colored animals and the French cabaret music.

Regardless what your delight is, Bryant Park is sure to offer a free event that will please your palate. Relax, bask in the sun, watch the trees wave in the breeze, and delve into a bit of culture while you're there. The park is convenient and clean and, very important in New York City, the restrooms are wonderful! And don't forget to smell the flowers!