Forget pricey tickets and velvet ropes—this weekend, the circus is coming to town, and you won’t need to shell out a dime to see it. The brand-new Down to Earth Festival is set to turn New York City parks and plazas into open-air stages, with a lineup that mixes contemporary circus, high-wire thrills, opera installations and participatory dance. It all kicks off Friday, August 29, and runs through September 7.

The festival is the brainchild of the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at The CUNY Graduate Center, which pulled together an international roster of performers and a patchwork of local partners—from Bushwick Starr to Green-Wood Cemetery —to bring the arts directly to the streets. The goal is to prove that world-class performance doesn’t need a proscenium or a $150 ticket.

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