This summer, forgo the L train and enjoy seasonal revelry right in our own backyard when House of Yes kicks off its four-week outdoor festival series at Under the ‘K’ Bridge Park (which is, you guessed it, under the Kosciuszko Bridge at 546 Gardner Ave) on June 12.
“We’ve been looking for big outdoor event spaces ever since last summer when everybody was partying outdoors, so I remember this [park] being under construction during Covid. It was finally ready to open and obviously as a new park, they were open to new ideas and new collaborators, so we were able to create there,” House of Yes co-founder and creative director Kae Burke explained about the roughly six-month planning process. “We really love producing these festival experiences and usually you have to do them so far outside the city. It’s really a gem to find something that’s so, so big and so unique and outside; and also you’re partying under a bridge. It’s such a New York culture thing to party in unexpected places.”
The Summer of Love series boasts everything partygoers love about House of Yes and beyond in a special, new (the park itself only opened last year) open-air venue — and House of Yes’ largest outdoor event space yet — complete with music, art installations, dance parties, live performances, and food trucks. All seven events of the festival’s run feature both day and night dance parties, three of which — Distrikt, Juneteenth, and Fourth of July — are open to children under 12 (for free) with adult supervision.
“There’s a lot of intention and artistry that we’re developing, and there’s a nice mix of if people like to day party, great; If it’s the nighttime party, great. There’s something for everyone,” Burke reflected. “In the true values and ideas of House of Yes — being inclusive — we also wanna be including people that have kids and people that are on the younger side who still like dance music.”
On June 12, the season starts with The Gardens of Babylon, a grand-opening celebration presented by House of Yes in conjunction with Kuna (international purveyors of live music and the arts) with music from Mashrik, Ella Romand, Elif, Budakid, Moscoman, and Mita Gami. Future parties include performances from artists like Louie Vega, Tedd Patterson, DJ Spinna, Mikey Lion, and more. Summer of Love also features events celebrating Pride, Juneteenth, and Fourth of July (serving as a final blowout party to bookend the series).
“We paired up with these party groups and collectives that just resonate really well with open-air outdoor artistic experiences,” Burke said. “So if you look at the whole picture, I’d call it almost like thinking outside the nightclub.”
Learn more and get your tickets here.