What’s Up Miss Lil: Harlem Summertime Happenings In Harlem

By Lil Nickelson

During the summer months of July through August, I find it almost impossible to leave my beloved village of Harlem. Why?

Because there are so many cultural, musical, and artistic activities that take place from July 5th until the end of August every year that I love to experience year after year, and the best part is these most of these events are free to attend, but you are going spend some money.

Jazzmobile, Inc, was founded in 1964 by the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master pianist, Dr. Billy Taylor, and philanthropist and arts administrator, Ms. Daphne Anstein. For sixty years the non-profit group’s mission is to present, preserve, promote, and propagate America’s classical music, Jazz. Jazzmobile’s Summerfest program begins the first Wednesday or Friday after July 4th and runs through the end of August. Free jazz concerts are held from 7 pm to 8:30 pm in two different outdoor parks in Harlem. On Wednesday evenings you need to bring your own fold-up portable chair over to Grant’s Tomb. On Friday evenings no seat is required for the amphitheater inside Marcus Garvey Park’ except for special occasion events like the Charlie Parker Festival when the theater is jammed pack.

Around the second Saturday in August Jazzmobile collaborates with the Central Park Conservancy for “Great Jazz on the Great Hill.” An afternoon of sitting on chairs and blankets with good company, great food & beverages grooving to some serious jazz music up on a hill in Central Park. Weather permitting you can have a wonderful time, and it does not cost you nothing for the entertainment, so as executive director Robim Bell Stevens reminds us at every concert you can donate funds “to keep the music playing.” In addition, they offer concerts in the other four boroughs and communities outside New York City.

Through the past 60 years the names of all the talented jazz musicians that have played Summerfest are too numerous to begin citing; even this year’s roster was phenomenal. I will share that I attended my first concert when I was 16 years old at Grant’s Tomb the summer before I started college hanging out with my oldest brother and Dizzy Gillespie performed. I have continued to attend concerts since then for 50 years.

The Classical Theatre of Harlem (“CTH”) takes over most of Marcus Garvey Park’s amphitheater in the month of July with free theatrical performances of the classics by productions anchored in the context of the African diaspora to the delight of one of the most racially, generationally and socio-economically diverse theatre audiences that flock to their productions in Harlem. Since its founding in 1999, CTH’s mission is to maintain a professional theatre company dedicated to returning the classics to the stages of Harlem; to create employment and educational outreach opportunities in the theatre arts; to create and nurture a new, young, and culturally diverse audience for the classics; and to heighten the awareness of theatre and of great art in Harlem and beyond.

NAACP and OBIE Award Winner, Ty Jones, is CTH’s producing artistic director who launched CTH’s Uptown Shakespeare in the Park series in 2013. In addition, Mr. Jones has assembled an exceptional board and staff and developed an organizational template for similar sized arts organizations to potentially replicate for their own stability. This past summer A Midsummer Night’s Dream was their latest production, and past seasons CTH has presented Twelfth Night, Seize The King, and The Three Musketeers.

The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce’s mission (“GHCC”) is to improve the business and professional services to our community. GHCC produced the idea for Harlem Week in the summer of 1974 as a “one-time only,” one-day event with the idea of creating a much-needed “positive vibe” about my beloved village of Harlem. 2024 marked Harlem Week’s 50th anniversary of pulling together the best of the greater Harlem community’s residents, businesses, religious, educational, arts, and cultural institutions. Harlem Week was the first NYC event that last for an entire month versus the week of Caribbean, Hispanic, and European history, as well as arts, culture, religion, business, entertainment, and sports.

At every Harlem Week event you can expect great musical talents from established artists like Ray Chew and the All-Star band he assembles when he plays the two Sundays, he graciously gives each year as the Harlem Week musical director displays one of his annual givebacks to the community, he started out in. Gospel music, hip-hop music, R & B, soul spoken word artists, fashion shows, up-and-coming singers and fashion designers are given the opportunity to display their unique talents. Special programs and locations are incorporated for the young such as education, coding projects, children’s festivals, and teen poetry slam, and for “well-seasoned” older Harlem residents such as health and wellness, and business.

A Great Day in Harlem has been GHCC’s kick-off event for Harlem Week on a Sunday afternoon until like 8 pm in the evening up at Grant’s Tomb. You can bring your own chair or blanket and food & beverages if you choose but get ready to do some serious retail shopping too. You can purchase food & beverages as well if you choose to from a multitude of food vendors on hand. I prefer to bring my own, so I have more money to shop. The third Saturday “Summer in the City,” and the third Sunday “Harlem Day” of August from 12 noon to 8 pm, 135th Street is closed off for four avenues from Saint Nicholas Avenue to Frederick Douglass Blvd to Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd to Malcolm X Blvd (Lenox Avenue) to 5th Avenue, in Harlem, NY.

Marija Juliette Abney, artist, actor, and producer is the founder of The Soapbox Presents (“TSP”) began in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd using free arts programming from some of NYC’s most talented artists to build platform—both literally and figuratively—for Black and brown expression. Marija wanted us to celebrate the rich heritage and stories of Black and Brown communities by curating diverse artistic events, breaking down barriers of access, and amplifying voices that have been historically marginalized.

TSP started out as pop-up stoop sessions on the steps of Central Harlem brownstones in July and August highlighting various musical genres such as a house, big band, hip-hop, mix tape, music from the nineties, or R&B soul music. I was in attendance the night “Babyface” himself made a personal appearance and sang “Whip Appeal,” and the crowd went wild. What began in Harlem is growing in appeal; this past summer they collaborated with a Brooklyn group for a Juneteenth celebration as well as partnering with CityParks Summerstage in last August to present “The Life of The Party” in Marcus Garvey Park’s amphitheater for a 3-hour music extravaganza one Saturday evening. What will they produce in 2025? Let us just wait and see.

So, if you plan to come to Harlem consider visiting when you can enjoy the best of my beloved Harlem.

Lil Nickelson

Lil Nickelson is a Senior Consultant with an MBA degree focused on Finance and Financial Management Services from New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business. Skilled in sales, management, business development, marketing strategy, and social media, with a history of working in the food and beverages industry. Her column “Dining with Miss Lil” has been featured in Harlem newspapers and with Harlem World Magazine for numerous years.

Photo Credits: 1) Lil Nickelson and Marija Juliette Abney at The Soapbox Presents event in Marcus Garvey. 2) Vivian Scott Chew, Lil Nickelson and Phyllis Spencer at A Great Day in Harlem.