Littlefield Reopens On Sackett Street, Will Host Party For Sunny’s

Last week, Gowanus music/art/comedy/performance space, littlefield, officially moved from its longtime location at 622 Degraw Street to a bigger and better space around the corner at 635 Sackett Street.

Back in May the team set up a Kickstarter page with a $26,000 goal to help with the relocation as well as the transformation of an empty, adjoining lot into a green space. Littlefield exceeded its goal by about $5,000.

The new venue, featuring a restaurant called Parklife as well as the outdoor space, hosted its first event last Friday, June 16—an album release party for What Cheer? Brigade, an 18-piece brass band from Providence, Rhode Island.

Wyatt Cenac’s regularly featured Night Train comedy show returns Monday, June 19, and littlefield will host the Sunny’s Forever Celebration on Wednesday, June 21, to help Sunny’s, the beloved Red Hook bar (located at 253 Conover Street), celebrate its own fundraising success.

Back in January, Tone Balzano Johansen, widow of Sunny Balzano, the founder of the quirky dive bar, started a campaign to raise the money needed for a down-payment on the building that houses the bar to prevent it from shutting down.

The Sunny’s Forever campaign included an online fundraising page, benefit concerts, various parties, and art auctions to raise the $65,000 she needed to secure the $2.6 million contract she signed to purchase the building. The campaign exceeded its goal by $3,000.

“We have the down-payment in the bank!!! Any extra money coming in at this point will be used to cover our legal fees,” a message on Sunny’s website states.

“It is so heartwarming to know that there are so many friends that care! It’s because of you all that we’ve planned a big party.”

Due to increasing rent and operating costs, Olivier Conan, the owner of Barbès (located at 376 9th Street on the corner of 6th Avenue in Park Slope) also had to set up an Indiegogo page recently to raise $70,000 to help keep his venue open for another five years (when the current lease ends).

A benefit concert was held on Friday, June 9 in the East Village, and as of yesterday (the last day of the crowdfunding campaign), the Barbès Needs Help page has raised $64,713 of its $70,000 goal. So close!

Hopefully someone will step up and help the live music venue come up with the remaining funds it needs.