vip in the city

Bay Ridge Festival

Yes, another street festival! I just can’t help myself!

But this one is different. It’s in Brooklyn. It’s the 34th annual Third Avenue Street Fair and Festival in Bay Ridge.

I hopped on the R at Times Square and an hour later — no weekend express service, thanks a lot, MTA — joined the rest of our group at DK and LC’s home. The scene upon my arrival was one of shellshock: three pairs of eyes were riveted to the travesty unfolding on television. Top of the first inning, and with the Mets still to come up to bat, we could not bear to watch any more. So off to Third Avenue, where the scene was somewhat more joyful.

Over the next couple of hours, we explored the length of the fair, from 69th to 95th Streets. SK and KC met us for a bit, en route to J’s soccer game, so we got to hear from the perspective of a six year old, all about High School Musical: The Ice Tour at MSG and yesterday’s Ragamuffin Parade, a Bay Ridge tradition in which children dress in costume and march along Third Avenue.

There were plenty of activities for the kids today as well: facepainters, miniature ponies, games, rides, and two solid blocks devoted to those inflatable bouncy-castles, none markedly different from the last.

Prayer stations were set up at almost every corner, and tables for politicians (Bay Ridge for Obama, anyone?) and local organizations and businesses. The New York Blood Center brought in a blood mobile… and a clown.

Over 100 merchants participated, from the usual array of street market vendors to restaurant-sponsored buffet tables stacked with almost every type of food imaginable, reflecting the neighborhood’s rich culinary variety. Absurdly large Italian sausages, trays of zeppoles — ours had a chocolate surprise in the middle, which was worrying until we realized that the centers were purposely filled with near-black paste — Thai, Japanese and Chinese food stands, Greek gyros, French crêpes, pastas, pizzas, corn on the cob. Clouds of thick smoke wafted through the air from huge cage-like grills loaded up with slabs of cooking meat.

We couldn’t decide upon one place for lunch among the abundance of Bay Ridge eateries, so opted instead to food sample our way through the fair. Here at the popular Tanoreen station, we picked up plates of tasty kebbie balls (minced meat, bulgur wheat, onion and pine nuts), mini pies topped with spinach and chicken, and the restaurant’s lemonade brew, spiked with fresh mint and a splash of rosewater.

Karaoke singers and street musicians battled for our ears all along the fair route: local bands, Christian rockers, musical theatre performers performing Smoky Joe’s Café, the Beatles tribute band Yesterday And Today, even an Elvis impersonator.

The Brooklyn Eagle estimated 300,000 in attendance that afternoon which seemed high, until we saw the teaming crowds lining the streets towards the bridge.

Check out the rest of the street fair photos on flickr. And while you’re at it, take a peek at my photo sets from openhousenewyork weekend (October 6 & 7) since it probably will be a couple of weeks before I get around to those blog entries:

The Voelker Orth Museum and Bird Sanctuary
The Paul Rudolph Foundation
The Rockefeller Center Rooftop Garden
Murray’s Cheese caves tour
and
Scandinavia House

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