Join the Brooklyn Arts Council in Celebrating Borough Diversity at These Five Summer Festivals

Throughout this summer, the Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC) will present dance, storytelling, and other live performances at five Brooklyn festivals. Slated to take place from July to September, the events celebrate borough diversity with food, movement and song. Here are the details:

International African Arts Festival
July 1-4 at Commodore Barry Park in Fort Greene

This four-decade-old festival celebrates African arts with a sprawling open-air market, live performances, traditional eats and spiritual ceremonies. As part of the event, BAC will host a folk arts tent from 2-6 p.m. on July 2 and a traditional West African religious ceremony from 4-6 p.m. on July 3.

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Our Lady of Mount Carmel & San Paolino di Nola Fest “Giglio Festival”
July 6-16 at 275 N. 8th Street in Williamsburg

This 12-day religious event, which has been taking over the streets of North Brooklyn since 1903, recalls Williamsburg’s Italian roots. The main attraction is the lifting of a wood boat replica called the Moorish Galleon, and the Giglio, a four-ton, 72-foot tower that’s brightly painted and topped with a statue of San Paulino, the Feast’s patron saint. At 7 p.m. on July 12, BAC will host “Dance the Giglio and Sing to the Saints,” an evening of live Southern Italian folk music.

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Borough President Eric L. Adams International Day of Friendship
August 7 at Brooklyn Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn

A more recent addition to Brooklyn’s roster of annual celebrations, this multicultural festival explores the borough’s diversity through dance, music and poetry. As part of the main stage performances, BAC will present folk artists who will perform various regional dance types, such as the Hawaiian Hula and the Egyptian Whirling Dervish, among others. The event takes place from 12-5 p.m. on August 7.

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Pakistan Independence Day Mela
August 20 on Coney Island Avenue between Avenue H and Newkirk Avenue in Midwood

Midwood’s Mela (Sanskrit for “gathering”) street fair honors Pakistan’s Independence Day, and features vendors selling Pakistani cuisine and crafts as well as live performances by Pakistani pop artists. The event goes from 12-6 p.m., and BAC will host a teahouse-like folk arts tent beginning at 2:30 p.m.

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Guyanese Folk Festival
September 4 at 18 Marlborough Road in Caton Park

Family Fun Day is the final event of the Guyana Cultural Association’s annual program series celebrating and advocating for the preservation of Guyana’s rich heritage. From 12-5 p.m. BAC will host a folk arts tent featuring a storytelling program, bhangra lesson, and discussion of Guyana’s independence.

Brownstoner is a media partner of the Brooklyn Arts Council.

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