Bay Ridge Fifth Avenue Festival in its 22nd year, and better than ever

It’s officially festival season in Bay Ridge.

The annual Bay Ridge Fifth Avenue Festival, hosted by the Bay Ridge Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District, will be held on Sunday, June 5 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The festival, which is now in its 22nd year, starts at Bay Ridge Avenue and goes up to 85th Street. With a wide range of food, performances, vendors and rides along its 16-block course, the festival is a well-known event that the community looks forward to every year, and which also brings in people from other parts of Brooklyn and around the city.

“The main purpose of this festival is to introduce Bay Ridge to the rest of New York,” said Basil Capetanakis, vice president of the BID.

Capetanakis believes that the local stores that take part are the pride and joy of the beloved annual festival, as they help promote the avenue and give back to the Bay Ridge community.

“When it comes to the festival, people always come back to Bay Ridge. It’s good for the avenue, and it’s good for the community,” said Capetanakis.

This year’s festival will include live entertainment and performances from Narrows Community Theater, the band Full Disclosure, and belly dancers, among other things.

Rides and activities for children will start at the beginning of the festival at Bay Ridge Avenue, and if anyone feels like showing off their secret singing talent, the annual karaoke contest at the Bean Post will be taking place at Bay Ridge Parkway.

Head organizer and longtime Bay Ridgeite Chip Cafiero has been in charge of the festival since it started back in 1994. While he said that there aren’t as many vendors as there were at last year’s festival, he said that, given its home-grown nature, the festival will still be a great one.

“Having fewer vendors isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s always about quality over quantity,” said Cafiero, who predicted good weather for the day of the event.

“It’s going to be beautiful,” he averred.