The 41st annual West Indian–American Day Carnival will be held on Eastern Parkway between Utica Avenue and Grand Army Plaza on Monday, September 1, 2008 starting with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Governor Patterson and Mayor Bloomberg at Utica Ave & Eastern Parkway at 11AM and continuing until 6PM
The Carnival Parade takes over Eastern Parkway during Labor Day weekend, with events Thursday through Monday. The famous Carnival parade -- probably the largest parade in North America -- takes place on Labor Day (always a Monday) along Eastern Parkway between Utica Avenue and Grand Army Plaza / Flatbush Avenue Extension.
The best way to get to the Parade is to use the subway:
or trains to Grand Army Plaza or Utica Avenue
or the train to Utica Avenue.
The police department wants you to know that subway riders planning to attend the parade are strongly urged to avoid the Eastern Parkway station, the Nostrand Avenue station, and the Franklin Avenue station on the 2 and 5 lines, due to the heavy congestion that is expected at those stations.
Driving to the parade is very strongly discouraged. Parking is already very tight in this neighborhood on a "normal" day, and during the parade the police block off a lot of additional parking spaces and they will tow away illegally parked cars! You don't want to come back from the parade and find your car missing.... DO NOT DRIVE TO THE PARADE!
Expect LARGE crowds, street closures, and NYPD crowd control measures very similar to Times Square / New Years Eve!
For the full event schedule, click "read more" below...
Soul diva Patti Labelle will close out the 2008 Martin Luther King Concert Series at Wingate Field on August 25th, 2008, at 7:30PM
Admission is FREE
For more information, subway or bus directions, and a map
please see our MLK Concert Series page
Note: this concert is NOT at Prospect Park!
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That's a Wrap
Huey Lewis and the News will finish out the season at the Seaside Summer Concert Series / Asser Levy Park, Coney Island, on Thursday, August 21st at 7:30PM.
Jamaica's greatest practicing singer/songwriter Beres Hammond will perform at the Martin Luther King Concert Series at Wingate Field on Monday, August 18th, 2008, at 7:30pm, along with the King of Calypso Mighty Sparrow and Soca Monarch Bunji Garlin and Asylum.
For more information, see our Wingate Field Information Page.
9th Annual Universal Hip-Hop Parade
Come join the world's longest celebration of Hip Hop Culture. The 9th Annual Universal Hip-Hop Parade steps off in Bed-Stuy on Saturday August 16th at 3:00PM on Marcus Garvey Boulevard at DeKalb Avenue and proceeds down Marcus Garvey Boulevard to Fulton Street, makes a right turn, and finishes up at the corner of Franklin Avenue.
The parade is an annual non-profit educational and cultural event is held on the Saturday before the anniversary of Marcus Garvey's August 17th birthday. It covers all the traditional elements of Hip Hop including rappers, break dancers, singers and actors performing both on floats and on foot.
The Seaside Summer Concert Series at Asser Levy / Seaside Park presents one of the most famous groups in Salsa, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. along with the Princess of Salsa La India and reggaeton duo R.K.M. and Ken-y
Brooklyn-born Sadam Ali is the first New York boxer to qualify for the Olympics since Riddick Bowe in 1988.
The 19-year-old Canarsie resident is considered a long-shot to win a medal in the 132-pound lightweight division.
Ali began boxing at the Bed-Stuy Boxing Club at age 8. Sadam plans to turn pro after the Olympics.
The first Arab-American boxer to compete in the Olympics,
Sadam's parents are Yemeni immigrants, and he has four sisters and a baby brother.
His first bout at the Olympics will be on Monday, August 11th at 8:30PM (Beijing time) vs Georgian Popescu of Romania.
Also from Brooklyn, brother and sister Keeth and Erinn Smart will be competing in fencing in the Olympics. Keith is a 30-year-old Brooklyn Tech Graduate who graduated from St. Johns University and currently works for Verizon as a financial analyst.
Keith's sister Erinn is 28, also graduated from Brooklyn Tech, and then went to Barnard College at Columbia University to study Economic History. Erinn wears something red in every competition. Both Keith and Erinn began fencing at the Westbrook Foundation, an organization that mentors inner-city kids through the sport of fencing, founded by six-time Olympic Champion Peter Westbrook.
Singer, Songwriter, and Poet Jill Scott at Wingate Field
Multi-Grammy award winner and actress Jill Scott will perform at the Martin Luther King Concert Series at Wingate Field on Monday, August 11th, 2008, at 7:30pm
Originally known primarily as a spoken-word artist, Scott was discovered by ?uestLove (Amir Thompson) of The Roots, and together they wrote You Got Me which, when recorded by Erykah Badu and The Roots, won the Best Rap Performance by a Group or Duo Grammy in 2000. Her debut album, Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Volume 1 was also released in the year 2000. In 2005, she won the Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative R&B Performance for the song Cross My Mind. In 2007 her collaboration with George Benson and Al Jarreau God Bless The Child won the Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance and her 2008 work with Lupe Fiasco won the Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the single Daydreaming. Her performance with The Roots can be seen in Dave Chappelle's concert film Block Party.
This class (formerly known as Teach Your Child to Ride a Bike) teaches a safe, easy, effective way to learn to ride. Using this "balance first" method, parents help get their children rolling while the child does most of the work.
Participants learn the basics of balancing, starting, stopping, and steering a bike. Most people learn to ride their bike while taking the class, but even if they don't, they will leave with an easy, hands-free, crash-free, and low-stress way to learn to ride.
J.J. Byrne Park 4th St. & Fifth Av.
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Saturday, August 9th, 10AM-2PM
Free, but registration is required.
Requirements: All cyclists must wear a helmet and have a bicycle that fits. The cyclist must be able to rest his or her feet flat on the ground while sitting on the bicycle seat. The program works best for children ages 5 and up.
or 
trains to Grand Army Plaza or Utica Avenue
train to Utica Avenue.
