Bryant Park Corporation has announced the schedule for its newly-renamed summer performing arts series Bryant Park Picnics. At each Picnic, Bryant Park provides over 200 blankets to borrow, and Hester Street Fair curates local food vendors. Beer and wine are available for purchase, and the grass is dotted with jugglers and supersized games.

Grab a blanket, get comfortable, and enjoy the show! All Picnics events are free and open to the public. No tickets, no lines. Come as you are and leave when you please. Hester Street Fair selects acclaimed local food vendors. Beer and wine is also available for purchase. Enjoy lawn games including corn hole, juggling, giant Jenga, hula hoops, and more.

Accordions Around the World – A musical journey representing cultures from all over the globe each week, culminating in the Accordion Festival. Curated by Ariana Hellerman. Accordions Around the World is a five-week series that brings dozens of accordionists, as well as bandoneón, bayan, concertina, and harmonium-players of different musical genres, to perform at Bryant Park. Audiences have a chance to experience the range of the accordion.

The series culminates on a Friday with the Accordion Festival, which showcases five bands, each featuring an accordion, playing music from a range of different cultures.

Performers include:
Wednesday, August 15, 5:30pm – 7:30pm – Bryant Park Lawn; Phil Passantino (Cajun + Zydeco), Maestro Tito Castro (Bandoneón: Argentine Tango), Foncho Castellar (Colombian Cumbia + Vallenato), Gregory Grene (Irish Rock), Eduardo de Carvalho (Brazilian Forró), Christina Crowder (Klezmer & Moldavian Folk), Jenny Luna (Balkan + Turkish), Susan Hwang (Blues + Soul), Jody Kruskal (Concertina: Old Americana), Dmitry Sokolovsky (Retro, Samba, Musette + Jazz), Nathan Koci (American and English Folk Tunes), and Barry Adler (German + Austrian)

Wednesday, August 22, 5:30pm – 7:30pm – Bryant Park Lawn. John Sherman (Cajun, Appalachian + Blues), Tinta Roja (Argentine Bandoneón + Guitar), El Toro de la Sierra (Mexican Norteño), Dan Gurney (Traditional Irish), Felipe Hostins (Northeast Brazilian), Ben Rosenblum (Jazz + Klezmer), The Bumper Crop Boys (Blues and Country), Yuri Lemeshev (World, Classical + Jazz), Sam Reider (American Roots), Erica Mancini (Jazz, Blues + Country), Mario Tacca (French Musette + Waltz), more artists TBA

Wednesday, August 29, 5:30pm – 7:30pm – Bryant Park Lawn. Kenny Margolis (Zydeco + Blues), David Hodges (Bandoneón: Argentine Tango), Harold Rodriguez (Colombian Vallenato), Annmarie Acosta (Williams Traditional Irish), Rob Curto (Brazilian Bluegrass), Ed Goldberg & the Odessa Klezmer Band (Eastern European Klezmer), Peter Stan + Peter Stan (Balkan), George Saenz (Music from Texas-Mexico Border), Smörgåsbandet (Scandinavian), Earl Ball (Polka, French + Tango), Mindra Sahadeo (Harmonium: South Asian), and Rachelle Garniez (Genre-fluid story-songs)

Wednesday, September 5, 5:30pm – 7:30pm – Bryant Park Lawn. Laren Droll (Cajun + Zydeco), Laura Vilche (Bandoneón: Argentine Tango), Nain, Acordeonista de los M-1 (Mexican Norteño), Cordeone (Portuguese Fado), Ilya Shneyveys (Traditional + Original Klezmer), Eva Salina and Peter Stan (Vintage Balkan Roma Ballads), Melissa Elledge (Pop + Rock), Albert Behar (French Musette + Gypsy Jazz), Alan Morrow (Waltzes, Tango + Blues), and Papa Bavarian (German Oktoberfest), more artists TBA

Wednesday, September 12, 5:30pm – 7:30pm – Bryant Park Lawn. Julie Winterbottom (Cajun Music from Louisiana), Javier Sánchez (Bandoneón: Argentine Tango), Sadys Rodrigo Espitia (Colombian Cumbia + Vallenato), Patty Furlong (Traditional Irish), Vitor Gonçalves (Brazilian Choro + Forró), Shoko Nagai (Japanese + Jewish), Papa Joe De Clemente (Italian + American Standards), Will Holshouser (Jazz + Folk), Ismail Butera (Ancient Mediterranean), Ryan O’Donnell + Friends (Ukrainian), Maestro (Electronic Balkan), and Guillermo Vaisman (Coastal Argentine Chamamé)

Accordion Festival – September 14, 5:00pm – 10:00pm; Bryant Park Stage. Shashmaqam (Bukharan Jewish music and and Central Asian dance), Rimel (Norteño from Northern Mexico), Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (Pizzica tarantata from Puglia, Italy), Shilpa Ray (Indie rock with the harmonium), and more TBA