Summer Streets is a Weekend Treat!

The month of June ushered in the 2nd annual Summer Streets on Vanderbilt, a month-long weekends-only event that turns the normally bustling, noisy expanse of Brooklyn's up-and-coming Vanderbilt Avenue into a bustling noisy expanse of a more pleasant nature. Modeled after a similar festival on Manhattan's Park Avenue, each day of the festival will feature live music and arts entertainment, large areas of outdoor seating for neighborhood's many bars and restaurants, classes and impromptu shows and entertainment for Brooklyn-dwellers of all ages and inflatable mazes, tents and Foosball tables for the young and young at heart. With NY City Explorers' Prospect Heights location at 186 Underhill Ave now a mainstay among the community's children and their parents and caregivers, there was no doubt that Summer Streets was the perfect spot for us to set up some summer weekend fun for the month of June!
The morning of June 12th saw NY City Explorers' co-owner Keyanna Murrill and babysitter extraordinaire Sam, hauling tables, tents and fun from our playspace at 186 Underhill Ave to Vanderbilt Avenue to set up shop. With sidewalk chalk, a walk-in bubble castle and, of course, the bubbly personalities and creative minds of Keyanna and Sam on hand, the afternoon was off to a great start. It's always remarkable to see creativity in bloom, and by the end of the day there was no doubt that Brooklyn's babies have no lack or imagination, as the pavement in front of the NY City Explorers tent was positively drowning in colored chalk drawings of fish, flowers, people and names.
While kids focused on putting pen to paper, in a manner of speaking, it was all Sam and Keyanna could do to keep their tent and the colorful parachute that covered its top from being swept away by the afternoon's wind! With colorful tents, a sky full of bubbles and children on bicycles zooming in and out of the crowd, the vibe was more circus than piazza, and we wouldn't have had it any other way! Stop by our table this Sunday for some chalky fun, a balloon, ask about our newest programs, babysitting services and classes, or just to say "Hi!" to Amy, NY City Explorers' Creative Director and Childcare Coordinator.