Annual Street Festivals Driven Indoors By Rain Sunday
Two annual outdoor street festivals, the Kings Bay Y’s Israel Celebration and the Lena Cymbrowitz Community Health Fair, were driven indoors Sunday by foul weather.
Rain seems to be the theme of the season this year. Bayfest and Gerritsen Beach’s Memorial Day Parade were both hit with occasional downpours. Only the Sheepshead Bay Summer Stroll had a clear day for the festival.
The periodic rain on Sunday was hardly the fierce thunderstorm that had been expected, but it was enough for the organizers to seek shelter inside.
The Kings Bay Y had expected to close traffic on Nostrand Avenue, between Avenue U and Avenue V, for their afternoon festival. The event was expected to attract thousands and include activities like a petting zoo, live music, food, Israeli crafts, carnival rides, face painting and an open-air market place.
Leonard Petlakh, executive director for the Kings Bay Y, explained organizers decided to move the event indoors Saturday night. Despite the damp weather, turnout of was still strong and families maneuvered through the crowds in the Kings Bay Y gym to enjoy the bouncy castles, food, and entertainment. Most of the attractions were able to fit in the building, Petlakh said, but the petting zoo canceled.
They were still able to hold a falafel eating contest and two twins from France entertained the crowd with acrobatic stunts.
“Today, the weather did not cooperate,” Petlakh said, noting it was the first time the event had to be moved indoors. “But I’m happy we were able to pull it off and give people the opportunity to celebrate Israel, engage with kids and neighbors, and have a great time.”
Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz’s annual health fair, named after his late wife, Lena Cymbrowitz, moved from its planned location along Emmons Avenue to the inside of I.S. 98. Attendance was sparse in the afternoon, but a few families gathered around Zippy the Clown, who made balloon animals for the kids.
There were tables set up from the Health Department, Coney Island Hospital, Maimonides, the Metropolitan Jewish Health System, the Brooklyn Public Library and other organizations.
The event raises funds for Dynamic Youth Community, an organization that provides drug rehabilitation services to adolescents and young adults. Dynamic Youth Community partnered with the Kings Bay Y, with funding from Cymbrowitz, for Stand Against Drugs, a community-wide awareness initiative to combat the rising opioid epidemic.
“We’re talking about the drug problem facing our community and Assemblyman Cymbrowitz has been a big supporter of our efforts,” said Dynamic Youth Community Program Director James Schneider.