The annual Opera in the Italian Garden is as much an event as a concert. Taking place in the Italian Cultural Garden in Rockefeller Park, it attracts mobs of people enjoying a night out who bring their blankets and chairs and a lavish picnic and spread it out on the lawns around the garden for an evening of fresh air, friendship and music.

The host company, the Cleveland Opera, brings its core of singers, along with guest singers, to perform familiar opera arias (expect “Nessun Dorma”), Broadway tunes, and familiar Italian songs (expect “Mama”), and in recent years, the Cleveland Ballet has joined them for a few numbers as they perform steps around the central fountain. There are also free wining tastings courtesy of Little Italy Wines.

You can purchase a seat in front of the stage if there are any left, but admission to the lawn is free. Come early in any case to stake out a spot; it will get crowded.