Every Monday and Wednesday in November, Le Carrousel in Bryant Park turns into a small free stage for children. From 11 a.m. to noon, performers set up beside the carousel for a puppet show, a magic act, a kids' fitness class or a sing-along, and families can walk up: no tickets and no reservations are needed.

The series, which the Parks Department lists as Le Carrousel Extravaganza, started on Monday, November 2, and runs through the day before Thanksgiving. It is aimed at the youngest park visitors, the stroller and preschool crowd who are in the park on a weekday morning.

The schedule for the rest of the month

  • Monday, November 9: Zing! Kids Fitness, a movement and games session.
  • Wednesday, November 11: Repertorio Español's Scaramouches Puppet Theatre.
  • Monday, November 16: Music with FunkyTown Playground.
  • Wednesday, November 18: Magic with Lee Barrett.
  • Monday, November 23: Music with Andy & Suzanna.
  • Wednesday, November 25: Magic with Looney Louie.

The first two shows, Music with Erin Lee on November 2 and the Scaramouches puppets on November 4, have already played. Each session runs one hour, from 11 a.m. to noon.

Who is on the bill

The lineup mixes puppetry, live music, magic and exercise. Repertorio Español, the Spanish-language theater company on East 27th Street, brings its Scaramouches Puppet Theatre twice. Two family music acts, FunkyTown Playground and Andy & Suzanna, take two of the Mondays, and two magicians, Lee Barrett and Looney Louie, take the last two Wednesdays.

Around the park

The shows sit inside a busy stretch of the year for Bryant Park. The park's free-admission ice rink is open for the season, and the holiday market stalls fill the lawn around it, so a morning at the carousel can run into skating or lunch at the kiosks. The carousel itself runs on its own schedule with a fare per ride; the shows beside it cost nothing.

How to go

Bryant Park sits between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown. The B, D, F and M trains stop at 42nd Street-Bryant Park, the 7 stops at Fifth Avenue on the park's east side, and Times Square-42nd Street, with most other lines, is one avenue west. Look for Le Carrousel and the performers between 11 a.m. and noon on the scheduled Mondays and Wednesdays.

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