BROOKLYN FLEA + SMORGASBURG OUTDOOR SEASON BEGINS APRIL 5+6 AT 5 LOCATIONS
The Flea’s seventh season features a revamped Park Slope market with free kids programming and more food, a new Fort Greene layout, and more; Smorgasburg brings in 20+ upstart vendors, increases total vendors to 100 Saturdays and 80+ Sundays; Berg’n beer hall to open this spring in Crown Heights with market-vendor food court, Garrett Oliver beer list; District Flea relaunches April 5 in Washington with close to 100 vendors.
Brooklyn Flea’s seventh outdoor season starts April 5+6 with markets in five Brooklyn locations plus Washington, DC, featuring a combined 300+ individual vendors selling every weekend through November 22+23, 2014.
The new Park Slope market at PS 321 (Seventh Ave. + 1st St.), which the Flea took over last fall, will relaunch with free childrens programming every weekend and 10 new food vendors, in addition to a stable of 20-30 antiques and handmade vendors. Among the organizations providing “edutainment” that combines fun teaching and performance are 826NYC, Mark Morris Dance Center, Carmelo the Science Fellow, and the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. (See full schedule below.)
The Saturday Flea in Fort Greene gets a modest makeover in its seventh year, with a streamlined booth layout, a more cohesive food section, and lots of fresh vendor faces.
The Sunday Flea will move to a new location for 2014, which will be announced soon. It will no longer be held at East River State Park on Sundays.
Smorgasburg remains on Saturdays in East River State Park in Williamsburg and on Sundays at Pier 5 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The Saturday market will feature 100 vendors each week, its most ever, and the Sunday market will have more than 80, also a peak. Among the highlights are Fort Greene restaurant Martha’s famous General Tso’s fried chicken; Dun-Well Doughnuts’ exquisite vegan donuts; seafood tostadas by newcomer Fanny Moy; mushroom-shaped meringues by Girl Meets Whisk; West Indian-style patties with sustainable-meat fillings, an addition to existing vendor Mr. Cutters’ booth; Txorizeria, the handmade sausage (on their own bread) stand by two Uruguayan friends; cold-press juices and hacked coconuts by Summers, the new South Williamsburg shop; and fresh mushroom varieties from Kennett Square Mushrooms, located in the Pennsylvania town of 6,000 that is the mushroom-farming capital of the world, producing a million pounds a week.
Two special events at the Saturday Smorgasburg are on tap: On April 26, Food Book Farm, an extension of the annual Food Book Fair, features an all-ages “interactive schoolyard” with butter-making in Mason jars, a petting zoo, and an observation beehive; and on May 10, the twice-annual Brooklyn Flea Record Fair, which is again part of the Red Bull Music Academy, brings 50+ labels, shops, and collectors, plus DJ sets by Optimo, Sandra Electronics (Regis + Silent Servant), Autre Ne Veut, and Tanlines.
SmorgasBar returns to the Saturday market on April 12, featuring new cocktails concocted at Flea HQ—including our housemade Bloody Mary, a Maple Mint Julep, and a Dark + Stormy with Brooklyn Soda Works Ginger Beer—as well as Other Half IPA and Naked Flock cider. The Sunday Smorg will also include a bar area this season, opening in April or May.
This spring will also see the launch of Berg’n the Flea’s 9000sf Crown Heights beer hall, at 899 Bergen St. between Classon and Franklin Ave. Berg’n will include four permanent booths for longtime market vendors Asia Dog, Mighty Quinn’s BBQ, Pizza Moto, and Ramen Burger, plus a beer list curated by Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster Garrett Oliver, ice cream from Blue Marble, and pastries by Choice and Dough in a cafe area operated by the Flea.
District Flea returns April 5 to northwest Washington, DC, with 100 vendors, nearly doubling the total during its limited run in Fall 2013. In addition to the region’s best antiques vendors, District Flea adds a Spanish sandwich food booth by Pepe, from renowned chef Jose Andres; Indian street food by Baltimore’s Verandah; and Luke’s Lobster rolls. The market is open weekly from 10am to 5pm at 945 Florida Ave. NW, off the U Street Corridor.
Park Slope Flea Family Program Schedule
826NYC, April 5+6, May 3+4, June 6+7
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, April 12+13
Carmelo the Science Fellow, April 19
Brooklyn Music Factory, April 26+27
Reel Works, May 10+11
Construction Kids, May 17
Memorial Day (No Programming), May 24+25
Urban Glass, June 14+15
Mark Morris Dance Center, June 21