The annual antics continue!
The Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation (AALDC) will present the 47th Annual Atlantic Antic Festival — a mile-long street fair packed with an exciting selection of entertainment, homemade crafts and well-loved food vendors.
On Sunday, Oct. 2, Brooklyn residents are invited to make the 10-block stroll to shop from a variety of merchants in neighborhoods including Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn.
According to Howard Kolins, AALDC’s acting executive director, the festival is both the oldest and longest street fair in Brooklyn and many consider it a borough tradition. This year, the organizing team has worked hard to include long-standing partners of the summer event, including those who have been present for “60 years or more and have watched the avenue grow” as well as new local businesses eager to get connected with the community.
“We are committed to making this festival a true representation of everything that makes Brooklyn one of the most special places on earth, and we look forward to celebrating culture, tradition, creativity and, of course, food with the community,” Kolins said in a statement.
The Antic will host shops selling clothing, jewelry, handcrafts and favorite foods from an array of cultures, including barbecue, street corn, crepes and more.
“We’re very proud of the Antic, it’s a very multicultural, multiethnic street fair that represents so many people in Brooklyn- so many shapes, so many sizes, so many colors,” the executive director said. “Food of all types and it also has participation from many of the merchants who are here [year-round.]”
Organizers say the attraction that makes their event unique will be the two main stages presenting youth dance troupes, drummers, actors, and singers.
“Unlike some of the other street fairs, we have two main stages,” Kolins told Brooklyn Paper. “One of them this year is sponsored by Mount Sinai Doctors-Brooklyn Heights and that [stage] by Clinton Street has always been the more traditional stage with belly dancing and middle eastern musicians.”
Kolins says the community stage will host performances ranging in various styles from hip-hop and RnB to country singers and acts for children. The stroll will draw an expected several hundred thousand people in the course of the afternoon and with plenty to see, do and eat, AALDC partners are excited to bring the community together for one final summer activity.
“We’re bringing in the fall season but we’re [also] at the very end of street fairs. It’s a nice way to end the season,” Kolins said. “The weather is neither too hot nor too cold. Last year, the weather was perfect.”
