Third Stroll on Third brings the fun

Third time’s a charm.

Third Avenue’s Summer Stroll did it up big for the third time this summer on Friday, August 7, combining all the community allure the Ridge has to offer.

Showcasing great food, music, and vendors from Bay Ridge Avenue (69th Street) to 80th Street, the third Friday on the strip of Third Avenue really brought the summer fun.

“Summer Stroll has really become a Bay Ridge summer institution,” said Justin Brannan, one of the Stroll’s organizers. “The same way that the Ragamuffin Parade kicks off the fall, this really sets up the summer.”

And with all the different restaurants, cafés, and entertainers participating in the summer celebration, it’s easy to see why so many Ridgeites love to come out and enjoy food and fun with their friends.

“I love summer stroll, it’s great,” said lifelong Ridgeite Van McCray. “We’re here with all of our neighbors and were having a great time. We love it because all of us are down on Bay Ridge Place over here. We have a nice little block and we have little kids and they all play together and it’s good fun.”

Along with the fun aspect of the Stroll, there are also opportunities for local vendors to get their names out there and really connect with the community.

“It’s a great event because for me, being an artist, it gives me an avenue to represent the area creatively,” said Salvatore Sgroi of Salvatore Sgroi Photography. “It gives me an outlet to show my work, sell my work and also build an important relationship with the people in the community.”

“For people that don’t go to the Hamptons or Montauk, this is where you go, you come out with your friends, your neighbors and what’s really cool is that everyone that’s out tonight, all the businesses they’re all from the neighborhood so there’s no one coming here selling zeppoles from Astoria,” added Brannan.“These are business owners, brick and mortar business owners on the avenue coming out and showing what they’re all about. Plus, you have all the cultural groups and you get to see some of this deep fabric that Bay Ridge has that you don’t normally see in one place. It’s like the best of everything that Bay Ridge has to offer all in one place.”

To soak in all the fun before the summer’s up; make sure to make it to the season’s fourth and final Summer Stroll on Friday, August 14 from 6 to 10:30 p.m. between 69th and 80th Streets.

Check homereporter.com later for more photos!