Winter Tea in Prospect Park

Join and to welcome 2026!

This Winter Tea offers an afternoon dedicated to connection and beauty, experienced through the elements of tea, nature, art, and community. Created by our beloved community members and artists, it is a shared moment to reflect on the vastness of the world and find reassurance that the small moments we share together will endure through time.

What’s Planned for Our Winter Tea Experience:

Fireside Conversations and Tea with our community members
Gather around the outdoor fire to enjoy tea, conversations, and the serenity of the winter in Prospect Park. Reflect on one thing you would like to let go of in the new year. You can write it down and release it into the fire at the end of the event.

Odes to Common Things Poetry Writing with Robin Lampman
Participate in our ongoing community art project, Odes to Common Things, through poetry writing to reflect on our shared experiences and this moment. Learn more about the project.

Sound performances by Chris Williams, Kirin McElwain & Testu Collective

"Music is the language of the soul” - Hazrat Inayat Khan

In a time when political divisions, social media echo chambers, and global tensions threaten to fracture our shared humanity, music remains one of the few forces that can still unite us across every border and belief system.

Curated by Testu Collective, the Winter Tea Music performances feature artists they deeply admire. The first act is the premiere of a music collaboration between Kirin McElwain and Serena Stucke/Dan Tesene. Kirin McElwain is a cellist and composer who creates contrasting sonic worlds merging modular synth and cello. Serena Stucke and Dan Tesene use handbuilt sound devices and modular synth to create lush, tactile sound worlds. The closing act is trumpeter and electroacoustic composer Chris Williams, who creates ethereal soundscapes with trumpet and electronics.

Third Life Ikebana Exhibition by Flower Heart Collective

The exhibition, titled Third Life: Before the Mulch, transforms discarded Christmas trees into ikebana (sculptural floral arrangements), giving the trees a fleeting third life as a public expression of form, impermanence, and quiet celebration before the trees are mulched by the Parks Department. Open to the public on January 2 -4.

For more details and artist profiles, visit here.

Please note: this is a free event with limited space, so registration is required. We encourage you to bring your own cup and a cushion if you’d like to sit on the floor comfortably, as chairs and cushions may not be guaranteed.

Can't make it? Please remember to cancel your order so that others can join.

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Host or Publisher Prospect Park Alliance