They come to relax, exercise, or to meet someone new. They can attend free performances of Shakespeare in the Delacorte Theater or the New York Grand Opera in the Band Shell. The Great Lawn sees annual concerts by the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic, and has been the site of performances by Barbra Streisand and Diana Ross. On this spot a million people may turn out for a political rally or an audience with the Pope or the Dalai Lama. Away from the grand spaces and parental eyes, teenage couples exchange private kisses.
Joggers run around the reservoir.
Riders on horseback trot along leafy trails. Elderly couples walk hand in hand, looking at one of the park's 25,000 trees. Bird watchers dart furtively through the Bird Sanctuary, binoculars at the ready, looking for some avian rarity. Dogs and their masters frolic on special dog runs. Nannies with toddlers visit the Children's Zoo while tourists wander through the one for adults.