First Night Summer Beat was created in June of 2000 to extend the year round outreach component of the First Night Neighborhood Network.  Continuing with First Night's mission of "unifying the community through creativity, imagination and participation," the goal of Summer Beat is to maintain the presence of artists working with children in the neighborhoods of Boston to conduct workshop that lead to full scale events.
 
One component of this is the Elma Lewis Playhouse in the Park, produced in conjunction with the Franklin Park Coalition, the National Center for Afro-American Artists (NCAAA) and Boston Parks and Recreation. On Tuesdays - from July 17 to August 14, there will be 10:30am performances for summer camps with 6pm perfomances for families.
 
The First Night Summer Beat workshops were developed with the elements of drumming and dance. First Night commissions four principle artists to conduct workshops with children for an intensive week long workshop series.