A visitor to Harvard yesterday could have seen a Shakespearean comedy, watched a hip-hop dance group, or played word games with Louisa May Alcott without ever stepping foot indoors.

These performances were just a few of the many events going on yesterday at the kick-off of Harvard's fourth annual Arts First Weekend.

Arts First is a four-day celebration of the arts featuring more 200 plays, exhibitions, concerts and other performances.

Originally founded by actor John Lithgow '67 in 1993, this year's Arts First Weekend will be the biggest ever. Lithgow introduced the events at the Prism Concert last night, which featured more than 300 students in a number of musical groups.

The best Arts First performances, however, may be the ones right in students' own backyard. One of the most remarkable aspects of the weekend is the number of free performances that go on right in Harvard Yard, Harvard Square and Radcliffe Yard.

Cantabrigians, students and others passing through the Square outside Au Bon Pain yesterday did not hear the familiar greetings from the man selling Spare Change newspapers.

Instead, they were treated to a full day of performances sponsored by the Shops by Harvard Yard, including a folk song tribute to singer Pete Seeger '40, this year's recipient of the Arts First Medal, as well as a cappella and dance numbers by Harvard companies.

Groups such as the Harvard Noteables performed for the multitudes of chess players, tourists, coffee-drinkers and those who would quietly sing along to songs like "Ain't Misbehavin."

"I just happened to be walking by and I asked if they were going to sing," said Carlos Rengifo, a self- described frequent tourist from Caracas, Venezuela.

"The culture is at its peak here," he added. "This is why I come to Boston frequently."

The stage was not limited to Harvard groups, however. As part of a community outreach program, Holyoke Center also sponsored Project Concern, a group of African-American youths aged 9 to 19 who performed choreographed hip-hop dance numbers.

Elsewhere on campus there was more traditional fare. In front of the steps from Memorial Church, on a small wooden platform surrounded with leaf-covered microphones, the Hyperion Shakespeare Company made their debut with a production of "Much Ado About Nothing."

Sam Speedie '99, who created the all-first-year group in December, said that he was very happy with the show despite the difficulty of performing outdoors.

Performing in Harvard Yard can mean fighting the wind, the open space, the spring showers and the city sirens.

Still, a responsive crowd of nearly 175 people sat on blankets and enjoyed the two-hour long performance.

"It was a little chilly and then it started to rain," said Betsy A. Herbin '99. "Obviously the audience was compelled, because they didn't flee at the first drops."