Kick up your heels and dance at Grand Street BID’s Weekend Walk Block Party

Grand Street is more than just a commercial street — it’s a community.

That’s why the Grand Street Business Improvement District’s (BID) Weekend Walk Block Party is such a great chance for neighbors and shoppers to combine the two in a Saturday full of dancing, music, food, family, and shopping.

“Weekend Walks is an opportunity for the community to look at Grand Street not just as a busy thoroughfare but as a public space,” explained Grand Street BID Executive Director Artineh Havan. “There is a lack of public and green space in North Brooklyn, unfortunately, and this is a means of creating one for the weekend.”

Continuing last Saturday’s festivities, this Saturday, July 20, Grand Street between Manhattan and Bushwick Avenues will be transformed into an outdoor playground for the whole family, with live music, dance classes and sidewalk shopping and art taking over the streets, car free, rain or shine.

From 2 to 8 p.m., the entertainment will include:

• DJs
• bands
• free dance lessons with Nieves Latin Dance Studio
• silkscreen printing demonstrations with Rebelution Designs
• games
• sidewalk cafes
• ping-pong
• a water slide
• aerial acrobats with a Sky Box from the House of Yes (from 4 to 7 p.m.)
• face-painting
• bike-riding lessons with Bike NY (3 to 6 p.m.; bring a bike and a helmet!)
• a picnic area
• More!

The day’s band schedule is as follows:

• 2 to 3 p.m. — Suenalo
• 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. — Christine Sweeney and the Dirty Stayouts
• 5 to 6 p.m. — Dig For Honey
• 6:30 to 7 p.m. — Progress
• 7:30 to 8 p.m. — Bella Diva Trio

For local businesses, the Weekend Walk Block Party is also a chance to set up pop-up sidewalk cafes where people can enjoy food outside in the sunshine.

As Havan explained, “this initiative also helps with economic development as businesses can display their merchandize on their sidewalk, and eating establishments can have sidewalk cafes.  It is also a great opportunity for the new to be acquainted with the old in a very quickly changing neighborhood.”

For more information, visit http://grandstbklyn.com/2013/06/26/weekend-walk-block-party-2013 and the BID’s Facebook page, at

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grand-Street-BID/318501004827109.