Family fun reigns at Sunset Park street festival

September 15, 2014 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The festival’s main stage at 54th Street featured musical performances all afternoon as well as lots of fun activities for children, like a hula hoop contest.

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Family fun was the main item on the menu at the Sunset Park Fifth Avenue Street Festival on Sunday, where children got the chance to compete in a hula hoop contest, ride ponies, board a vintage Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus from the mid-1960s and dine on sausage sandwiches, corn on the cob and plenty of ice cream.

Sponsored by the Sunset Park Business Improvement District (BID), the annual street fair tens of thousands of people to Fifth Avenue, one of Brooklyn’s most famous shopping strips. And the weather was perfect! Visitors strolled along the avenue under sunny skies and warm, but not hot, temperatures.

The avenue was closed off to vehicular traffic from 44th St. to 59th St. for the street fair and on every block there was something to see and do.

The main performance stages were set up at two spots: 44th St. and 54th St., where festival goers could enjoy everything from opera companies to rock and roll bands. The Young Dancers in Repertory and the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Twirlers were also among the performers getting lots of applause from the crowds.

The festival also featured sand art, a Brooklyn Public Library Bookmobile, a Fire Department of New York safety demonstration, an animal adoption booth, free face painting and even a vintage bus, courtesy of the MTA. Bus operator Lenny Ingram welcomed visitors aboard for a tour of the green-colored vehicle. “It’s from 1966,” he told the Brooklyn Eagle. The bus boasted wide aisles and cushioned seats for passenger comfort.

And the food! In addition to guys like Al Diaz and Corrabo selling sausage sandwiches, there was barbequed pork, corn on the cob, lemonade, ice cream and other treats for the palate.

The festival was a bargain hunter’s paradise. On nearly every block, booths were set up offering T-shirts, socks, jewelry, music CDs and even prom dresses for sale.

Catalina Amel and Miguel Bravo bought their children Mexican hats as souvenirs to take home with them. “Nice day,” Amel told the Eagle.

The BID is a public-private partnership of business leaders and city officials representing the interests of 384 property owners and more than 500 merchants on Fifth Avenue between 38th and 64th streets. The city’s Department of Small Business Services oversees the BID. The BID’s day to day operations are guided by its executive director, Renee Giordano, and its president, Liamil Nunez.