Amid Midtown’s Bustle, a Street-Level Tea Party for All – New York Times

Byline – Corey Kilgannon

Published Oct. 15, 2017

For the past four years, Liz Gannon-Graydon, who lives on Long Island, has been holding weekly outdoor tea parties in Bryant Park. Anyone is invited.CreditCreditJames Estrin/The New York Times

Every Thursday around noon, a cheery woman lugging several large bags stakes out her spot on a busy walkway near the northwest corner of Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan.

The woman, Liz Gannon-Graydon, 54, corrals a few tables and chairs amid the bustle and noise and sets up the kind of tea party that seems more suitable in a formal parlor or a fancy garden.

Ms. Gannon-Graydon puts down place mats, cloth napkins, teaspoons and steaming teapots, as well as a motley assortment of teacups and saucers that convey a campy elegance.

For the past four years, Ms. Gannon-Graydon has been convening these weekly pop-up tea parties in a setting where the cast of parkgoers can range from office workers, to tourists, to homeless people.

Ms. Gannon-Graydon wakes up at 5 a.m. every Thursday to start baking and packing her bags with cups, saucers, pots and other essentials.CreditJames Estrin/The New York Times

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Amid Midtown’s Bustle, a Street-Level Tea Party for All – New York Times