The People's Festival Makes Its Final Stops In Upper Manhattan And The Bronx This Weekend

Following three extraordinary stops in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, The People's Festival will have its final two stops in Manhattan this Friday 9/3 and in the Bronx this Sunday 9/5. A project led by NYC Civic Engagement Commission's Public Artist in Residence Yazmany Arboleda, The People's Festival is a five-borough series of outdoor events in neighborhoods hardest hit by the pandemic celebrating New Yorkers' resilience with live performances, interactive workshops, and community information and resources. The full August 18 press release announcing the festival is available here.

The People's Festival is anchored by The People's Bus, a retired City bus formerly used to transport people detained on Rikers Island, that has been transformed with input from New Yorkers into a community center on wheels to engage people in NYC's civic life through beauty and joy. The People's Bus has been joined at each stop by the Ice Cream Truck of Rights, a new and artistic take on the traditional ice cream truck that will provide free ice cream while creatively educating the recipients about their housing, immigration, labor, and voting rights. At each festival stop these vehicles will also be complimented by an array of additional resources being provided by arts organizations, government agencies, community groups, and neighborhood leaders.