A temporary, outdoor pool is coming to Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 2 and we should see it open this summer. According to Ellen Ryan, Brooklyn Bridge Park’s VP of Strategic Partnerships, they don’t know how big it is expected to be, but it will be in place for the next five seasons. “We don’t have any renderings or project specifics as yet, this project is still in the planning phases. We should know more by the end of the first quarter. Certainly we expect this to open for the summer 2012 season. Just to stress that this is a temporary pool and it’s not a floating pool,” Ryan says. I’m intrigued! More to come when I get more information.
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Pool Coming to Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 2
Legos Take the Movies On for Holiday Gifting
Recently, the Lego folks have been in touch, hawking their movie-based play sets for the holidays. And after taking a look, I gotta admit, they look pretty nifty. I’ll start with Pirates of the Caribean-Black Pearl ($99), which coincides with the release of all four flicks. Your 9 to 12 aged kids can put the 805 piece ship together, then model the mini Davy Jones and Johnny Depp lookalive Captain Jack Sparrow on-board wherever they prefer. Next, I’m loving the 
DUPLO Brand Cars 2, Big Bentley ($39.99), which is the perfect first Lego kit for the toddler set. As well as building the famed clocktower from the film, it also comes with a Lighting McQueen, Finn McMissile, and of course, our fave redneck Mater. Lastly, we head over to everyone’s favorite wizard–who’s had a pretty big year. Harry Potter- Battle for Hogwarts ($49.99) is meant 
for years 7 and up, and comes with 7 minifigures: Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, Professor Sprout, Professor Lupin, Gregory Goyle, Death Eater, and Dementor.
Hello Atlantic Antic
It’s that time again. Put on your comfy shoes, tie your children to your waist and head on out to the Atlantic Antic, the quintessential BoCoCa fall event. A little late this year, the Antic will take place this Sunday, 2 October on (yes) Atlantic Ave from Hicks to 4th Ave. Billed as the largest street fair in NYC, it is comprised of local and national vendors intertwined with restaurants and boutiques, as well as music stages and cultural performances. Kid-friendly activities include pony rides, face-painting, storytelling, bouncy castles and tours of vintage buses at the Transit Museum. Come hungry for local delicacies and lots of beer–the fair runs from noon to 6pm come rain or shine. Here’s a schedule of events in case you want to do some planning. See you there (or at least pass you in the crowd).
Governor’s Island Labor Day Fun and Free Bike Sunday
I am not afraid to say it: I LOVE GOVERNOR’S ISLAND. And if you’re like us, home for the big Labor Day weekend, then there are even more reasons to head out on the ferry (full schedule here).
Celebrate Labor Day Weekend with Free Bike Sunday and the Pepsi Playground: Come by for this weekend’s Free Bike Sunday and borrow a bike for free, for up to one hour, courtesy of Pepsi. This Free Bike Day will be bigger and better than ever, as visitors will be able to borrow free bikes from Bike and Roll’s Pershing Hall and Colonels Row. Also, stop by the Pepsi Playground on Monday anytime from 11am to 4pm and play with free toys and lawn games. The Playground will be located on the Parade Ground, and will feature space hoppers, kick ball, croquet, touch football, giant Jenga, hula hoops, Frisbee golf and pogo sticks. Music and other activities will be happening all day long.
NYC Unicycle Festival: Saturday will be a day of unicycle races, games, shows and more. Visitors will be able to watch unicycle hockey, basketball, world record attempts, a one-wheeled show by the public and participate in games and relays. The fun starts at noon so get ready to enjoy some one-wheeled fun in the middle of the Island.
4 Heads Art Fair Opens This Weekend:The 4 Heads Art Fair returns for the fourth year in a row to Building 12. The 4heads jury has chosen 120 independent artists of merit and a select number of innovative galleries to participate in the fair, which runs every weekend in September. Each participant is granted space in Building 12, a former military barracks on the Island’s eastern shore, and is given free reign to design his or her own exhibition.
The epic scope of the 2011 fair includes 116 rooms of sculpture, photography, painting, video, sound, and object installations. While featuring artists from as far away as Switzerland and Morocco, the fair will also provide a unique venue for a large number of New York talents. Highlights this year will range from Jonathan Smith’s photographs of eerily quiet nighttime cityscapes, to Susan Camp’s sculptures made from gourds grown in moulds, to a group exhibition by NYFA’s Artist as Entrepreneur Boot Camp, to Naomi Campbell’s work, made from x rays and light.
Each weekend there will be different events and programs in and around Building 12 as a part of the Fair. Be sure to stop by when you come out this weekend and throughout September!
DUMBO All-Day Family Festival
The dog days of summer are upon us, and if you’re one of the many staying in Brooklyn for the run-up to back-to-school, here’s a family event you won’t want to miss. The All-Day Family Festival at The Archways in DUMBO takes place on 20 August, 10am to 5pm, and includes a fab line-up of live music, family yoga, face painting, balloon twisting and arts and crafts. In the mood for some shopping? Check out the local vendors hawking their wares at the community market place. Here’s a current entertainment schedule, though you may want to check in here for updates as the day gets closer:
10am: Bonga! Afro-Haitian Drum and Songs – an all-ages interactive family performance
11am: The Itty Biddies
12:05pm: P for Puppets presents: “One, Two, Tres”
1pm: Rolie Polie Guacamole
2:05pm: Erin Lee and the Up Past Bedtime Band
3:10pm: Still Saffire
4:15pm: The Mini Max Players
Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6-Volleyball For All
Pier 6 is shaping up. From its opening last summer as a a kid’s paradise–with slides, swings, sand and water–it now boasts some great food and drink from vendor’s like Bark’s rooftop deck, two lawns to kick back and relax on, and three regulation-sized sand volleyball courts. And if you’ve been eying up those courts, wondering how you’d look tearing up the sand in your best bathing suit, this may be your chance to make it a reality. Free volleyball skills workshops for both children and adults started today and will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from instructors at Metro Beach Sports. Head over and get some help with the fundamentals of beach volleyball, as well as more advanced techniques, including setting, spiking, passing and ball control, and diving and rolling drills. Here’s the schedule in case you’re ready to take that first step:
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
4:00pm – 5:30pm for children
5:30pm – 7:00pm for adults
Sundays
9:00am – 10:30am for children
10:30am – 12:00pm for adults
Cobble Hill’s PS 29 Gets a Schoolyard Makeover
I know this may be old news for many of you, but since I was away last week, it was a nice surprise to see the PS 29 schoolyard looking so shiny and new. With a brand new coat of paint outlining a track and some neat-o games, it was hard to even remember the days of the harrowing playground fire in May (the equipment looked new as well although there’s still some work to do before kids can have a go). A shed was also being set up near the gardens, which looks like a nice touch for our tiny farmers-in-training.
Taking a Dip, Brooklyn Style
Cooling down isn’t easy in the city. So why not head to one of the NYC pools, now open for business from 11am to 7pm, (closed between 3 and 4 to clean). Our local options are the Sol Goldman Pool, Red Hook, Bay and Henry Streets and Double D Pool, Gowanus, Douglass and Nevins St. which almost closed due to lack of funding last summer.
The Red Hook option is a little cleaner and larger, but Double D has a kiddie pool for the little ones. And remember, if you want to wear a shirt in the water, it’s gotta be plain white. No colors allowed. Flip flops and hats are ok, but not much else. That means no flotation devices for children, and no balls or buckets or toys. And most importantly, bring a lock because you can’t take your wallet and you don’t want to leave it in the locker room. Trust me. For a more comprehensive Brooklyn overview of the public pools, check out this Brooklyn-Based tip sheet.
Water Balloons on Steroids
KAOS Nemesis Wrist Launcher-for the children
But what if I told you I found a little gadget that makes water ballooning even more fun? Yes, I said MORE FUN. The KAOS Nemesis Wrist Launcher by Imperial Toy is just that. Made of lowly plastic, it kind of looks like a mini-jai alai stick, but can launch water balloons over 100 feet. And man, it’s got precision. Just a flick of the wrist and even the dog won’t be safe. You can pick it up at Target for $15 and it comes with 50 balloons to start with.
Now That School Is Done: Summer Fun
A parent’s summer in South Brooklyn means a lot of hot playgrounds, sprinklers and finding some activities to keep the kids busy. So here are just a few things to check out as we head into July. More to come as we get it.
Pop into the New York Transit Museum Thursday afternoons this summer (7 July to 18 Aug) for a trip back in time with a performer on one of the museum’s vintage subway or elevated train cars. Each week a different costumed character brings transit history to life from 1:30 to 2pm.
Beginning 2 July, head to Prospect Park Saturdays at 1pm and 3pm to join one of Macy’s Fishing Clinics. The free program offers kids fishing instruction and an introduction to aquatic ecology, featuring recreational fishing, fishing safety, and fish-friendly techniques. To join in the fun, meet at the Audubon Center at the Boathouse (just inside the Lincoln Road/Ocean Ave. entrance to the Park). And not to worry, all fishing at Prospect Park is “catch and release” only. For more info, all (718) 287-3400, ext. 303.
The summer afternoon acting workshop at Young Actors Workshop will run from 5 to 15 July at Christ Church, Cobble Hill, corner of Clinton and Kane Sts. Variety is the key with a mixture of improv work, theater games, and rehearsal of a play to be determined. Recommended for ages 9 to 13, it goes from 3pm to 5pm and will cost $275.
And tipping their hats to the adults, Char No. 4 at 196 Smith St. is offering a Wed. night special with your choice of a fried oyster or fried shrimp po’boy dressed and served with a bag of Zapp’s and an Abita Resoration Pale Ale for $19 (Starting 6 July). Begins at 6pm and can be ordered at the bar or in the dining area.
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