MAY 22-24, 2026
Memorial Day weekend
Artistic output of this fabled neighborhood will be showcased in three days of free showings for live audiences.
In and around Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. (at E. 10th Street)
FREE (donations accepted)
Info: www.theaterforthenewcity.net, (212) 254-1109
Lineup of performances (available after May 19): http://www.jsnyc.com/season/LES-2026.htm
Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/VGZyTSf9RXf8z5St5
NEW YORK — As of May 2, with the roster still building, Theater for the New City has currently scheduled over 200 performing arts organizations, independent artists, poets, puppeteers and film makers for its 30th annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, which will be mounted May 22 to 24 in and around Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. (at E. 10th Street). Admission is free but donations will be gratefully accepted.
The festival has been presented annually since 1996, with a cohort of theater, dance, performance, music, film, literary and visual artists participating on all three days. This year, the festival is mounted with the theme “Courage Through the Arts: A Vote Against Tyranny.” The subject will be addressed in some of the playlets and acts written for the festival.
Multidisciplinary indoor performances will take stage from 6:00 PM to midnight each evening, utilizing two of TNC’s four theaters. From 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Saturday, vendors and food sellers, including booths from nearby restaurants, will line the closed-off block of East Tenth Street between First and Second Avenues. On Saturday afternoon inside in the Johnson Theater, there will be performances by and for children, curated by T. Scott Lilly, Danielle Hauser and Miguel Loyola, emceed by John Grimaldi. A fine art show, curated by Carolyn Ratcliffe, will be displayed throughout the fest in the theater’s lobby gallery. A film program will be presented Saturday from noon to 10:00 PM in the Cabaret Theater, featuring works by auteurs from the Lower East Side/East Village along with works that reflect the essence of the neighborhood. Over 20 films curated by Burak Tatar will be screened, accompanied by talkbacks with a number of the film makers. On Saturday from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, an Outdoor Stage adjoining the theater will offer music and multi-discipline performances curated by Richard West, assisted by Didi Champagne. On Sunday from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM in TNC’s Community Theater, there will be a “Poetry Jam with Prose on the Side” curated by Lissa Moira and emceed by Richard West and Didi Champagne.
The performers’ roster includes such luminary performers as David Amram and Penny Arcade. Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and NY City Council Member Gale A. Brewer (6th District) will address the gathering on Saturday, May 23 at 8:00 PM.
Performing ensembles participating will include Bond Street Theater, Chinese Theatre Works, Cobu, The Drilling Company, Folksbiene National Yiddish Theater, Kinding Sindaw, New Yiddish Rep, Textile Theater Collective, Wise Guise, and many more.
There will be original writings (many penned exclusively for the festival) by Anne Lucas, Barbara Kahn, Douglas Lackey, Elizabeth Ruf, Larry Littany Litt, Miguel Loyola, Toby Armour, Tom Diriwachter, Stefan Diethelm, Briana Bartenieff and Victor Vauban Jr.
Excerpts of plays performed will include “Tortas Y Tacones” by JC Augustin (an excerpt of his “Detonation Rat Cabaret”), “Dana II” by Jasmine Hyman, projects of Mary Tierney’s TNC Theater Workshop, “Decay of a Rose” by Victor Vauban, and songs from TNC’s 2025 Street Theater production, “Home Sweet Home, or a Life In New York.”
Individual performers appearing will include Glitter Kitty (Emily Vetch and Jeff Davis), John Grimaldi, Stan Baker, Terry Lee King (Amazin’ Grace), Tym Moss, Zero Boy, David F. Slone Esq. and Ed Malin.
Dance performances will include works by Ashley Liang Dance Company,Carol Tandava, Rastro Dance Company (Julieta Valero), Rod Rodgers Dance Company, Thunderbird American Indian Dancers and aerial dance by Constellation Moving Co.
Musical performers appearing will include Alessandra Belloni, Art Lillard Quartet, David Amram, Joe Bendik, Louisa Bradshaw, Michael A Green, Mimi Block, Mister Pablo, Noam Fainegold’s Burning City Orchestra, Peter Dizozza, Richard West, Robert Gonzales Jr. and Yip Harburg Rainbow Troupe.
Comedy performers will include Joan Reinmuth, Fei Lin Yang and others TBA.
“Poetry Jam with Prose on the Side,” curated by Lissa Moira and hosted by Richard West and Didi Champagne, will take stage Sunday, May 24 from 4-7pm in TNC’s Community Space Theater. Wordslingers are TBA. An open mic will follow as time permits.
This year, the film program, curated by Barak Tatar, is screening over 20 projects, shorts, documentaries, and animations, all projects created by New York Artists or shot in New York, particularly emphasizing LES Artists. Talk backs follow each screening. (Saturday from noon to 10:00 PM.)
Throughout the festival, an art show curated by Carolyn Ratcliffe will grace the TNC lobby spaces. This exhibition will have its own free, special opening Wednesday, May 21 from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM. Participating artists are TBA.
In the Johnson Theater, emcees will be Crystal Field, Robert Gonzales Jr., Danielle Aziza, Melanie Goodreaux and Sabura Rashid. In the Cabaret Theater, emcees will be Tim Moss, Elizabeth Ruf and Wendy Stuart. The film program will be emceed by Burak Tatar.
Specialty curators of the festival include Lissa Moira (Poetry), Burak Tatar (Film), T. Scott Lilly and Danielle Hauser (Kids’ performances), Carolyn Ratcliffe (Visual Art) and Richard West and Didi Champagne (Outdoor theater-dance-music). The whole festival is organized by the LES Committee (see below) and chaired by Crystal Field.
BACKGROUND
The first festival, presented June 14 to 16, 1996, was a three-day, indoor and outdoor multi-arts festival, organized by TNC and a coalition of civic, cultural and business leaders. The aim was to demonstrate the creative explosion of the Lower East Side and the area’s importance to culture and tourism for New York City. It employed two theater spaces at TNC plus the block of East Tenth Street between First and Second Avenues, featured over 100 attractions, drew favorable press and attracted crowds from all around the City. Its success prompted TNC to continue the festival annually on Memorial Day Weekend. For 28 years it has been presented free each year to an average attendance of over 4,000. (In 2020 it was held online due to pandemic concerns).
The concept of the festival was developed by Crystal Field, Executive Artistic Director of TNC, and Esther Cartegena, President of Loisaida, Inc., to portray the Lower East Side (LES) as a haven for artists and artistic creation. The region is a unique multi-ethnic community with an unusually high level of artistic vitality. Large populations with differing languages and cultures coexist there successfully and a large artistic population helps glue the neighborhood together. Its theaters are also an unprecedented source of tourism. Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Buried Child,” was commissioned and first produced by TNC. The committee envisioned an event that would demonstrate the region’s cultural fervor, its large artistic population and its multiplicity of ethnic influences to contradict the neighborhood’s stereotype as a dangerous refuge for drug dealers and criminal activity. The Village Halloween Parade was also first conceived and produced by TNC.
Disciplines presented have always included theater, music, dance, poetry, puppetry, cabaret, visual art, film and children’s programming.
SPECIAL CREDITS
Festival Director is Crystal Field. Assistant Directors are Gloria Chang, Leona Minseo Koo, Arun Saini and Alex Sisk.
The LES Committee for 2026 is: Crystal Field, JC Augustin, Joe John Batista, Alex Bartenieff, Briana Bartenieff, Asher Cohen, Walter Corwin, Eva Dorrepaal, Myrna Duarte, Renee Edelman, Alberto Ferreras, Andrea Fulton, Robert Gonzales Jr., Willie Ann Gissendanner, Melanie Goodreaux, Robert Greer, Susan Hemley, Barbara Kahn, Dan Kelly, Miguel Loyola, Anne Lucas, David Mandelbaum, Lissa Moira, Stephan Morrow, Rome Neal, Emily Pezzella, Roman Primitivo, Carolyn Ratcliffe, Devorah Shubowitz, Jonathan Slaff, David F. Slone Esq., Claude Solnick, Mary Tierney, Jenne Vath, Robert Varcony, Jimmy Walker, Richard Weber, Jonathan Weber, Peter Welch, Richard West, and Lewis Widoff. Press Representative is Jonathan Slaff.
