2nd Annual Gowanus Harvest Festival
Saturday October 11th, 2008
Brooklyn! Fall! Brews! Bounty! Yes, its that time of year again. The Yard is once again hosting a day of farm fresh food, live music, local vendors, delicious brews and other triumphs of sustainable urban living. Join us! Last year, over 1,000 people flocked to the banks of the Gowanus Canal. This year, with pony-rides, arts n crafts, pumpkin carving, pie bake-offs, urban chickens, raffle prizes, composting, transportation alternatives, voter education, and tons of surprises... it will be a day to remember. Best of all, proceeds from the Gowanus Harvest Festival will be donated to Just Food.
11am-9pm
$12, Children under 5 *FREE*
advanced tickets available at www.TheYard.ws
The Yard // 388-400 Carroll St btw Bond and Nevins
The 34th Annual Atlantic Antic will be held on October 5th, 2008 10am-6pm RAIN OR SHINE!
Spanning 10 blocks of Atlantic Avenue, from 4th Avenue in Boerum Hill all the way to Hicks Street in Brooklyn Heights, the Atlantic Antic is New York's number one street festival, offering something for everyone!
Best known for its eclectic delicacies, the Antic features an exciting array of foods from around the world, from baklava and funnel cake, to grilled sardines and pulled pork sandwiches, to street fair favorites like fresh lemonade, fried mozzarella, and roasted corn.
Ten live musical stages offer free performances all day, featuring blues, rock, country, R&B, jazz, music for kids, and belly-dancing.
Atlantic Avenue's trendy restaurants and boutiques along with a host of local vendors, craftspeople, and nonprofits offer a hodgepodge of one-of-a-kind merchandise.
Kids and families enjoy plenty of pony rides, face painting, balloon sculptures, live storytelling, and more!
or HERE to find out where to go to vote on election day.
Medgar Evers Open House
Medgar Evers College Adult & Continuing Education Fall Open House
Are you unemployed or underemployed and looking for a new career? Always wanted to work in the medical, business or legal fields? Dreamed of publishing your own magazine? Children need additional academic enrichment? Want to learn to dance like a pro? Begin a new career, advance your education, enhance your child’s educational skills or just explore a personal talent with one of our classes. Come explore your future, meet instructors, get answers to questions and more information at our Open House. Receive a 5% tuition discount if you register at our Open House.
2008 Great Irish Fair Keyspan Park September 20th and 21st
The 2008 Great Irish Fair of New York (at Keyspan Park / Coney Island) is a two-day, family-friendly celebration of Irish art and culture. Admission is $10 per person, $5 for children under 12, and all proceeds go to Catholic Schools of the Brooklyn/Queens Diocese.
For the fifth year running, Southpaw (Park Slope) presents the Brooklyn Country Music Festival. The tentative line-up lists 15 bands over two evenings, and admission is a paltry $10 per night.
Southpaw is located at 125 Fifth Avenue (map) which is close to the N/R/Q/2/3 subway lines or a < $20 cab ride from Manhattan.
If country &/or bluegrass are your thing, you might also enjoy the Kings County Opry (next installment: Thursday, September 18th, Freddy's Backroom, 485 Dean Street in Park Slope, 8:30PM, no cover) or the The CasHank Hootenanny Jamboree (next one: September 25th at Buttermilk, 577 5th Ave in the South Slope).
Here is a whole calendar of regular country music nights in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Book Festival 2008
Sunday, September 14th, 10AM-6PM
Held on Borough Hall Plaza (209 Joralemon Street, map), the annual Brooklyn Book Festival is a huge, free event presenting both literary stars and emerging authors.
There will be appearances by Joan Didion, Richard Price, Jonathan Lethem, Dorothy Allison, Russell Banks, A.M. Homes, George Pelecanos, Terry McMillan, Jonathan Franzen, Susan Choi, Esmeralda Santiago, Thurston Moore, Paul Beatty, Jacqueline Woodson, Chuck Klosterman, Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill, Ed Park, Pico Iyer, Gail Carson Levine, Cecily von Ziegesar, Chris Myers, Jane O’Connor, Jon Scieszka, Mo Willems, and many more.
Featuring readings and performances at five outdoor stages, indoor reading rooms at Borough Hall, the Brooklyn Historical Society, and the St Francis College Auditorium, the Festival also includes an outdoor marketplace with over 150 booksellers, publishers, and literary organizations.
How do you green a city? Start in Brooklyn! The Center for the Urban Environment Green Brooklyn event attracts city dwellers from all 5 boroughs to its 4th Annual Green Brooklyn event. A full day fair and symposium, attendees can learn first hand from local experts about social conscious investing, how to solar your building, choosing non-toxic home products (and of course where to buy them!) how real urbanites compost, shopping eco-chic, and what New York City is doing to create a more sustainable future. Alongside the Greenmarket this year, attendees can visit booths, make art from recycled products, catch a film, and more! With support from its Founding Sponsor Con Edison, Green Brooklyn will be held indoors and outdoors at Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street, Thursday 9/18 11:30 - 5:00 pm with free giveaways to all workshop attendees. Visit www.greenbrooklyn.org for more information. FREE.
West Indian-American Labor Day Carnival Parade
The 41st annual West Indian–American Day Carnival will be held on Eastern Parkway between Utica Avenue and Grand Army Plaza on Monday, September 1, 2008 starting with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Governor Patterson and Mayor Bloomberg at Utica Ave & Eastern Parkway at 11AM and continuing until 6PM
The Carnival Parade takes over Eastern Parkway during Labor Day weekend, with events Thursday through Monday. The famous Carnival parade -- probably the largest parade in North America -- takes place on Labor Day (always a Monday) along Eastern Parkway between Utica Avenue and Grand Army Plaza / Flatbush Avenue Extension.
The best way to get to the Parade is to use the subway:
or trains to Grand Army Plaza or Utica Avenue
or the train to Utica Avenue.
The police department wants you to know that subway riders planning to attend the parade are strongly urged to avoid the Nostrand Avenue and Franklin Avenue stations on the 2 and 5 lines, due to the crowding that is expected at those stations. No trains will stop at the Eastern Parkway / Brooklyn Museum station, for the same reason.
Driving to the parade is very strongly discouraged. Parking is already very tight in this neighborhood on a "normal" day, and during the parade the police block off a lot of additional parking spaces and they will tow away illegally parked cars! You don't want to come back from the parade and find your car missing.... DO NOT DRIVE TO THE PARADE!
Expect LARGE crowds, street closures, and NYPD crowd control measures very similar to Times Square / New Years Eve!
For the full event schedule and directions, click "read more" below...
or 
trains to Grand Army Plaza or Utica Avenue
train to Utica Avenue.
