Brooklyn · Kings County
Prospect Park Drummers Grove
NYC Parks
- Location
- Southeast section of Prospect Park, near the Parkside Avenue entrance
- Size
- Part of Prospect Park acres
- Hours
- Prospect Park hours (drumming typically Sunday afternoons)
- Type
- NYC Parks
Prospect Park Drummers Grove is a gathering spot near the Parkside Avenue entrance where West African and Caribbean drumming circles have convened every Sunday afternoon for decades, creating one of the most vibrant and beloved community traditions in Brooklyn.
The drumming circles began informally in the 1960s when members of Brooklyn's growing Caribbean and West African communities brought their musical traditions to the park. The gatherings have grown into a weekly celebration that draws hundreds of participants and spectators.
The drummers play djembes, congas, talking drums, and other percussion instruments, creating complex polyrhythmic patterns rooted in West African and Afro-Caribbean traditions. Dancers respond to the rhythms with movements drawn from the same cultural heritage.
Drummers Grove represents the kind of spontaneous cultural expression that great parks make possible: no one planned the drumming circles, no one manages them, and no one can replicate them. They happen because the park provides the space and the community provides the culture.
Prospect Park Drummers Grove is one of the most joyful public gathering places in New York City, a spot where the African diaspora's musical heritage comes alive every Sunday in Brooklyn's greatest park.