Atlantic Antic, the city’s longest-running street fair, returned to the borough yesterday with a host of performers, family-friendly activities and vendors, reports The Brooklyn Paper.
The Antic spanned 10 blocks of Atlantic Avenue between Fourth Avenue and Hicks Street, covering four different neighborhoods—Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill and Fort Greene.
Despite the heavy rain on and off throughout the day, locals came out to enjoy the borough's eccentric talents and favorite local eateries.
The Amber-Aba Orchestra kicked off the event with their beloved belly dancers at the main Brooklyn Heights Stage and over at the second stage, the festival’s newest sponsor, TF Cornerstone Inc., put on a wide range of performances from the Brooklyn Ballet, Batala; a Brazillian group of all-female drummers and local rock bands and R&B musicians.
The Antic is hosted annually by the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation. Howard Kolins, AALDC’s acting executive director, said Sunday’s event was a borough tradition chock-full of culturally diverse food, creative vendors, and unique entertainment.
“We’re very proud of the Antic, it’s a very multicultural, multiethnic street fair that represents so many people in Brooklyn — so many shapes, so many sizes, so many colors,” Kolins said to the Brooklyn Paper.
“[There is] food of all types and it also has participation from many of the merchants who are here [year-round.]”
Little Amal, the Syrian 12-foot-tall puppet, also paid the festival a visit as part of her 6,000-mile journey across the world raising awareness about the refugee experience.
Atlantic Avenue was lined with vendor booths stuffed with foods and other goods created by local shops and businesses. There was also a kids' zone complete with bouncy houses, face painting and a band for the little ones.
