Take A Trip To Bangladesh This Weekend Without Leaving The Neighborhood

Join neighbors in a two-day celebration of the Bangladesh New Year this Friday, April 19 and Saturday, April 20. Enjoy kid-friendly events including dance and musical performances at PS 230, a parade down Dahill Road, and an Alpona drawing workshop at Dome Playground. All events are free!

Saturday, April 20 at 11am
Dome Playground, Dahill Road off Cortelyou
Friends of Dome Playground will host a 3-hour art workshop on Dome‘s stage. People of all ages are encouraged to join in the painting of a 50-foot scroll with Alpona designs, led by artist and muralist Melissa Marino. Alpona designs are traditional arabesque patterns from South Asia.

Saturday, April 20, 2pm
Departing PS 230, 1 Albemarle Road
The parade will depart PS 230 for its march down Dahill Road to Dome Playground and back, a 3/4-mile walk away. Pulled along on a dolly, a gigantic 10-foot sculpture will head the parade, leading a procession of dancers, singers, and drummers, as well as kids, teachers, parents, neighbors, community activists, and assorted spectators, snaking their way to Dome. Masks of owls, tigers, and humans — approximately 150 of them, either worn or carried by the marchers — will punctuate the crowd, and gigantic King and Queen puppets will mark the parade’s end. A squad-car escort from the 66th Precinct will keep traffic at bay.

Friday, April 19, 7pm and Saturday, April 20, 12-5pm
PS 230, 1 Albemarle Road
The dance and music performances will showcase traditional Bangladeshi dances, singing, and music as well the owl and puppet masks associated with the New Year. These were created by students of Jill Reinier, The Singing Winds’ director, at PS 230 and PS 179:

• The Friday performance will feature the Rhythms of Boishakhi, the Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts’ 20-member troupe, and a singing group composed of students and staff from PS 230, along with The Singing Winds’ gigantic puppets.

• On Saturday, five more dance groups, singers, musicians, and a tabla player will continue to perform until 2pm on the Albemarle Road outdoor stage, between McDonald Avenue and Dahill Road, when everyone lines up for the parade. Just as they would in Bangladesh, skilled Alpona artists — the mothers and aunts of local students — will decorate the Albemarle Road sidewalk in front of PS 230 with Alpona arabesque drawings during the Saturday afternoon show.

• The closing ceremony, a performance by the Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts, is scheduled for 4pm on the outdoor stage, once the parade has returned from its jaunt through the neighborhood.