Harlem Meer Performance Fest In Central Park Returns This Weekend

HARLEM, NY — The Harlem Meer Performance Festival is making a triumphant return to the north end of Central Park this summer after being forced to go virtual last year due to the pandemic.

The lively festival, focused on world music and dance, will kick off on Sunday with a 2 p.m. performance by Afro Dominicano: a world music group specializing in "Afro Caribbean soul," who blend roots music from the Dominican Republic with Afro beats, reggae, funk and more.

It will be followed by three more Sunday performances on July 25, Aug. 1 and Aug. 8. Each show will be free, with no tickets required, and held at the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center near 110th Street at the northeast corner of the park.

The Harlem Meer Performance Festival was founded in 1993 to celebrate the restoration of the Harlem Meer and its surrounding 225 acres above 96th Street. Over the years, it's been "known to get audience members dancing to an eclectic array of world music," according to the Central Park Conservancy.

Subsequent performers this summer will be the Harlem Blues & Jazz Band on July 25, the Kenyan singer Wangari Fahari on Aug. 1, and Nikki Holloway and the New Generation Gospel Ensemble on Aug. 8.

Learn more about the festival from the Central Park Conservancy.