During one sweltering summer day in Brooklyn, a group of musicians formed a circle in Prospect Park to continue a tradition that has been taking place on Sundays for 55 years.

At a space named Congo Square in honor of the antebellum site in New Orleans where former enslaved Africans gathered for cultural expression and entertainment, drummers began to beat on their African styled Congo drums.

Community activist Richard Greene and founder of Crown Heights Youth Collective was a part of the circle where musicians joined drummers and performed for an appreciative audience on July 23.

The circle is a symbol of wholeness and integration with the center understood to symbolize spirit – the source. In the early days of Congo Square, local people, picnickers, cyclists and passersby would spontaneously join these spirited drummers who created these rhythmic beats.  

The popularity of Congo Square led to the space being renamed to Drummers Grove and seating being added to the area.  Vendors joined the outside of the circle offering assortments of treats.  It's the perfect venue for enjoying free entertainment, whether seated on a circular bench or stretched out on the grass lawn under one of the numerous trees.  

Thinking about joining in on the fun?  People of all ages are welcome and you can participate with a simple percussion instrument like a shaker, a bell or a woodblock. Drummers Grove is in session from April to October starting at 7:00 pm. You can find the drummers by entering the park at Parkside & Ocean Avenue and walking down the path for a few hundred feet.  For more information, call 718-965-8951