Top Brooklyn Street Festivals!

good showing for an empty pool, originally uploaded by icopythat.

Brooklyn in the Spring and Summer is all about walking through the tree lined streets discovering hidden restaurants (like Petite Crevette) and then stumbling upon a street you may not have been down before only to discover that there is a massive street fair going on. This happens in Manhattan as well but the fairs there seem to always have the same rigid format and they rarely have any flavor. I have put together a list of the top street fairs here in this generous borough of Brooklyn so mark your calendars and sync up your PDA’s and I hope to see all of you out on the streets!

• Norwegian-American Seventeenth of May Parade
  Sunday, May 20th - Bay Ridge
  1:30 P.M
  It is the purpose of the Norwegian-American 17th of May Committee of Greater New York, Inc. to encourage and develop a deep appreciation of the ideals of independence and freedom that the 17th of May and Norway’s Constitution signifies by holding an annual celebratory parade in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, on the Sunday closest or otherwise most appropriate to the 17th of May

• Atlantic Ave ArtWalk
  June 9-10
  Atlantic Avenue ArtWalk is a self-guided tour of open artist studios and area exhibitions, a range of public art projects, special events, and extensive local merchant participation. The tour provides a relaxed setting for dialogue, collecting, and for artists to discuss current bodies of work, while offering a glimpse into the creation process.

• Brooklyn Pride Festival
  Saturday, June 9th
  Prospect Park West
  11:00am-6:00pm

• Celebrate Brooklyn!
  Prospect Park Bandshell
  Consistently chosen by the press as New York City's best summer performance festival, Celebrate Brooklyn is praised for its wide array of eclectic live performances and film screenings, spectacular venue, and highly diverse audience that cannot be found anywhere else. A program of BRIC/Brooklyn Information & Culture, Celebrate Brooklyn is one of New York City's longest-running, free, outdoor performing arts festivals, offering music, dance, film and spoken word at the Prospect Park Bandshell each summer.

• Mermaid Parade June 23^rd - Saturday
  Coney Island -You have to see this!

• Annual Singapore Food Festival
  Friday June 29th-Sunday, July 1st
  The annual iconic food event of Singapore is back on 29 June to 31 July 2007 ! Like past years, let us take you on a gastronomic journey of Singapore's taste and cultural diversity. Showcasing the gourmet finesse of Singaporean cuisine from authentic hawker fare to modern ethnic food, the Singapore Food Festival is an event not to be missed.

• International African Arts Festival
  July 4-8^th - Commodore Barry Park
  10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
  Today the festival is known as the International African Arts Festival and has an estimated annual audience of 75,000. It is still held in Brooklyn but is now in its third transition to a larger venue to accommodate growing audiences. That original line-up of local folk arts entertainment has also remained but has since been accompanied by artists such as The Mighty Sparrow, Fela Anikaputi, KRS-1 and Lauren Hill, Sun Ra, Fela Kuti, and Gil Scott-Heron.
  
• Puerto Rican State Parade and Festival - July 8^t

• The Village Voice Annual Siren Music Festival
  Saturday, July 15th - Coney Island
  The Village Voice independently produces the Siren Music Festival. Set against the backdrop of Coney Island, this free festival is an alternative-minded music event that showcases renowned and emerging bands on two outdoor stages.

• Bastille Day on Smith Street
  Saturday, July 14, 2007
  Sign up early for Petanque it is the most fun you have ever had playing with balls!

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Concert Series
  Wingate Field
  New York City's most celebrated, FREE outdoor music festival celebrates its 24thspectacular season with some of the greatest names in show business.We invite you, your family and friends to join in the fun every Monday night at 7:30 p.m.

• Seaside Summer Concert Series
  Also, Thursday nights in July and August AsserLevy Park, Coney Island
  Who could believe this concert series which began 28 years ago on Midwood Field would evolve into one of the greatest summertime traditions in Brooklyn. The Seaside Summer Concerts have become the most successful and largest entertainment series of its kind in Brooklyn and indeed, all of New York City. So for the best in family entertainment, Asser Levy Seaside Park is the place to be every Thursday night by the beautiful beach here in Brooklyn. Enjoy the shows!

• Independence Day Parade
  For more information(718) 680-9216

• Giglio Festival
  Williamsburg
  ”Facing a new world of uncertainty and adversity, Italian immigrants did what they could to provide stability into their family lives. They focused on the staples of life that most resembled their world back home. Staples such as Food, Culture, Religion and preserving Traditions would be the foundation from where they could build a new life upon. Enacting the Dance of the Giglio was a natural progression for the Italian immigrants of these neighborhoods to uphold. The first Giglio feast held in the U.S. took place in 1903.

• West Indian Labor Day Parade
  "Labor Day Carnival Parade" has grown over the years from thousands of participants and tourists to over 3.5 million people in attendance since the mid - 1990's.

• Atlantic Antic
  Sunday, September 27th (This is one of my favorites because of the sheer size of it. Last year I bought a great bike for $10 and the guy at the bike store offered me 300 buck for it! Ha!)