Three South Brooklyn Halloween Parades.

This weekend will mark the start of Halloween celebrations!  As you already know, unless you're new to this area, we really do it up for Halloween in our hood.  There are so many activities for kids starting this Saturday.  And three parades! You could probably hit them all if you wanted.  Carroll Park will have one on Saturday at 11:30am, Mother Cabrini Park's (above and below) will be on Sunday the 27th starting at 10am and the annual Halloween Parade that's actually on Halloween is at Cobble Hill Park and starts promptly at 4pm.

The Princess Bride Screening!

Here are a couple events going on this weekend at Carroll Park.  The first is very exciting.  A screening of the film The Princess Bride this Friday at 7:30pm in front of Robert Acito Park House.  This movie is a classic loved by kids and adults alike.  The next night, October 19th, from 6-9pm is "Scary-oke".  They'll have hot cider and snacks and a 10,000 song library for you to choose from.  Suggested donation of $1/per song.

Calling all Vendors!

The Carroll Park Fair is coming up.  Well, it's about 5 weeks away.  But now is a great time to start thinking about reserving a spot if you'd like to sell food or goods.  10 X 10 spots are $35 and you can book by emailing carrollparkfair@gmail.com.  For those of you who may want to attend there should be plenty to eat, browse, and lots for kids to do.  So you can put this on your calendar for Saturday, June 1st from 10am-5pm.  They usually have rain dates for events at Carroll Park but we haven't heard that they've set one yet.  Keep an eye out for signs closer to the day of the event.

Festivities in Carroll Park!

Carroll Park has a couple of holiday events coming up.  One is a live radio play of "A Christmas Carol" presented by The Smith Street Stage.  It should be a fun and festive event and tickets are a requested donation of $10 for adults and $8 for children.  For more info you can check out their website.  Another event coming up is the annual Holiday Tree Lighting on December 7th followed by a party at the park house.  That starts at 6pm.  If it's the same as last year you can expect hot chocolate, caroling and Santa!

More to do for Halloween.

We blogged earlier this week about the parade in Mother Cabrini on Sunday and you already know about the parade at Cobble Hill Park on Halloween.  Let's give you one more option of things to choose from or add to your list.  This one (or two) is on Saturday the 27th and sounds really fun.  Carroll Park is hosting both a kids parade in the morning, at 11:30, and a karaoke party starting at 6pm.  Both are at the park and both will have snacks.  Hot cider at the karaoke party along with a 10,000 song library (suggested donation of $1 per song).  So much to do this weekend and coming week.  Have fun!

Let's Pretend it's Still Summer

Okay, so technically it's fall.  We've already started to feel the chill in the air, kids have been back in school for weeks now, and restaurants are starting to carry those autumn seasonal ales.  But there are a couple of things we can do to hold on to the past summer just one weekend longer.  If you have kids and want to stay local, Carroll Park is having it's last summer series children's concert from 2-5 on Saturday the 29th.  It's pretty fun and the kids really enjoy it.  We suggest taking advantage of one of our favorite summer spots.  Governors Island!  It's the last weekend until next spring that the island will be open to the public so head down to Pier 6 Brooklyn Bridge Park and catch that free ferry!

NYPD National Night Out Pics.

The NYPD National Night Out was this past Tuesday.  For anyone who doesn't know what that is there is a little explanation from nyc.gov below.  We were in Carroll Park, which represented Transit District 30.  There was dancing (below), food for all, balloons for the kids, and games as well.  Everyone had a great time and the weather couldn't have been better.  Well, maybe ten degrees cooler.  But other than that it was a hit.  Enjoy the pics.


National Night Out is an annual summer event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watches in which precincts organize anti-crime rallies with the participation of local business and civic organizations. Various Police Department units present displays, and other City, State and Federal agencies also take part. National Night Out has proven to be an effective and enjoyable police/community partnership. It is held on the first Tuesday of August every year.

Twelfth Night in the Park.

Here's another event at Carroll Park.  This one is more for the grown-ups than the last but I'm sure older kid will enjoy it too.  Smith Street Stage brings you William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at Carroll Park!  It begins on June 25th and will run until July 8th (this schedule excludes Wednesdays).  Shows start at 7pm and as most theater in the park, it's absolutely free.  Just bring your own chair if you want to sit down.  Definitely a fun free thing to do any day of the week and we'll be there to check it out during it's run.

Carroll Park Fair!

This Saturday, or Sunday if the weather doesn't cooperate, you can head down to Carroll Park for the annual summer fair.  From 10-5 will fill up the ballpark and sell their goods.  Unfortunately their will be no food or drinks sold, only items like jewelry, clothes, crafts, etc.  There are plenty of places around the park to get food though (tip: Smith Canteen across the street is delicious!)  If you have any questions you can call 917-574-0745.  Maybe they could still fit a vendor in if you're interested, who knows?  Hopefully it's a beautiful day and all the local vendors do well.  Go out and support them!

Memorial Day at Carroll Park.

As you can see by this sign, Memorial Day Monday you can head down to Carroll Park for ceremony at the war memorial monument.  We wanted to learn more about the monument itself and would like to share our findings.  It's been around since 1921 and was made by the Brooklyn-born sculptor Eugene H. Morahan.  This particular monument memorializes soldiers from the surrounding 8th Assembly District who fought and lost their lives in the first World War.  There is a picture from nycgovparks.org of the monument below.

Carroll Park Volunteer Reception.

The Friends of Carroll Park are throwing a party for all their volunteers "past, present, and future!" So, if you are a volunteer, have been one or want to be one you can meet up at the Robert Acito Park House in Carroll Park for food, drinks and hanging out with all the other volunteers. We're guessing they'll also have information if you'd like to join their forces to keep the park clean and beautiful! Start time is 6pm on Saturday April 14th and will run until about 8pm.

Christmas Tree Lighting

As we all know, one holiday ends and preparations for another one begin. This is especially so with Christmas. We see it as we enter the stores around the neighborhood and see Christmas decorations being sold and hear "Jingle Bell Rock" pumping out of the speakers. It's time to get in the spirit and you can start by going to a tree lighting ceremony at Carroll Park this Friday, December 2nd (rain date Dec 9th). The festivities begin at 6pm and will include singing carols and, of course lighting the tree. Also, Santa and his elves will be there and their will be free refreshments a gifts for the children. For anyone who's been to this annual event, you know that the kids really love it and it's good times for all. The forecast is looking good as well so it should be a beautiful night for a tree lighting!

Flick at Carroll Park.

Men in Black will be showing at Carroll Park next Thursday at 8pm. Is it an ironic coincidence that the sequel to this very film was shooting in the park earlier this summer or is the events coordinator giving the film a nod? We don't know but we do know it'll be especially cool for those who saw some of the shooting in the park to some out and see this film. The viewing is, as always, free and will be shown in front of the Robert Acito Park House (seen above). In case of rain the film is still going on but will be held inside the park house.

Kids Concerts

We let you know about some great kids programs at Carroll Gardens library last week. Here are some more fun things to do with kids this summer and beyond.

PS 29 and Friends of Carroll Park bring you the kids summer concert series. On July 27th you can enjoy children's music band Starfish, Karen K and the Jitterbugs will perform August 17th and Bubble do Beatles are having a show on September 25th.

All performances start at 4pm at Carroll Park. There will be refreshments beginning at 3:30. No rain dates mentioned.

MacBeth!

Shakespeare in the park is on it's way! We're not talking about Central Park though, it's coming to our neighborhood at Carroll Park! Last year the Smith Street Stage put up Romeo and Juliet and this year they'll be performing MacBeth. The acting and text will be the stars here since there will no costumes or set. With a small, talented cast and live music this should be a great event to come out for. Bring your own seating. Performances run from July 13-17th at 7pm and 19th-24th also at 7pm.

Flea Market in Carroll Park.

"It's My Park Day" in Carroll Park on May 21st was a big hit. People really came out to support their local park and the courtyard area was teaming with Carroll Gardeners. Hopefully the next event will be just as successful. On June 4th (rain date is June 5th), this Saturday, the annual flea market will begin at 10AM. Come out and check out the merchandise!

There is still room for vendors too, so if you have something to sell or promote just contact Gary Dolan at carrollparkflea@gmail.com or 917-574-0745. It's $30 for a 10X10 spot or $40 for a spot against the fence.

It's My Park!

It's My Park Day is coming up on May 21st. The NYC Department of Parks and Recreation started the "It's My Park Day" in order for communities to coordinate activities and take charge of the well being of their parks. Carroll Park's activities, which include volunteer painting, weeding, planting, and mulching, will begin at 11AM and last until 3PM. After you've put in your time to beautify Carroll Park cool off and have some refreshments in the Park House. It's a great way to meet people in your community. Check out what's happening at your local park!