A lot of events in Central Park emphasize its grandness, but the park also offers neighborhood events that are just as magical, like the one that took place Wednesday night on the Harlem Meer, at East 110th Street.

Just as the fishermen and teens on scooters headed home, about 100 people spread out on the lawn for a performance of Ivorian drummers and dancers from the Kotchegna Dance Company, followed by a screening of a 2008 documentary about Bob Marley, "Africa Unite."

The event was the first in a series presented by Central Park Conservancy, the African Film Festival, and Jazzmobile Inc., and it proved that free, public park events can be extremely effective outreach tools: More than half of the attendees raised their hands when asked if this was their first time visiting the Harlem Meer.

The series continues on Saturday, September 6, on the Great Hill at West 106th Street, with performances by the Jimmy Heath Big Band, the Wycliffe Gordon Septet, and others. A screening of the 1959 film "Jazz on a Summer's Day," a documentary about the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival featuring Louis Armstrong, Anita O'Day, Thelonious Monk, and other greats, rounds out the series on Saturday, September 13, also on the Great Hill.

agordon@nysun.com