Cultural Festival in Bay Ridge a smashing success

Local artists and performers were on display over the weekend of Saturday, August 12 and Sunday, August 13, as Owl’s Head Park was the setting for the Bay Ridge Cultural Festival.

Put on by brooklynONE Productions and the Brooklyn Streetcare Artists’ Group (BSAG), the two-day event featured six performances of Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure” put on by bkONE at the top of a hill, as well as visual art, entertainment for children and musical performances.

“Culture is necessary in any society, and there is a need for what we’re doing down there,” said Arthur Melnick, executive director of BSAG, which provided some musical entertainment, including up-and-coming reggae performer King Riising Phoenixx. Also performing were members of the Brooklyn Streetcar Players, including lead vocalist Anthony True and guitarist Steve Stickney.

Melnick said each form of art spoke to him in its own way — from the work of photographers to that of artists creating in shadows and metals He said the next step for BSAG was to expand and hold a festival of its own in the near future.

Also among the visual artists? Bay Ridge Rocks! There to paint rocks all Saturday and a part of Sunday, mother and member of the group Dawn Kendall said there were some Shakespeare-themed rocks. She was particularly excited to connect with people she had only gotten to know online.

“You see all their posts and rocks,” she said, “and so it’s fun when you finally get to meet them.”

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