This Sunday: The Fabulous Fifth Avenue Fair

New York City's greatest street fair returns this Sunday, May 15th from 12 - 5 pm!

So far, the weather forecast for this coming Sunday is cloudy, 62 degrees. However, the art of accurately predicting the weather 7 days ahead of time is still a bit spotty, so we'll keep an eye on things all week long.

Speaking of forecasts, there are a some who are predicting that the end of the world will take place on May 21st. Sounds like another good reason to come to The Fabulous Fifth Avenue Fair.

See you there!

Happy Mother's Day

- from the gang at All About Fifth and the merchants of the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID.

Don't forget to check out Fifth Avenue's Mother's Day Specials.

Mother's Day on Fifth

Reminder: this Sunday is Mother's Day. Of course, Park Slope is the perfect place to celebrate!

Here are just some of the specials that we know about:

Aunt Suzie's Restaurant: will have a Fixed Price Mother's Day Three Course Dinner starting at $19.90. There will be three Seatings: 2 PM, 4 PM and 6 PM. Please call for Reservations: 718-788-AUNT (2868)

Baluchi's Treat mom to an amazing meal and a free Mango cocktail for just $25 per person! If you "Like" them on Facebook, you'll receive 20% off your meal! Download the special menu here.

Aperitivo:

Mother’s Day Weekend Specials

~Soup ~
Minestrone
~Antipasto ~
Portobello Ripieno
~Ravioli ~
House Made Ravioli Filled with Spinach & Ricotta
~Pasta ~
Capellini Frutti di Mare
with Calamari, Mussels & Shrimp
With Onions, Fresh Tomato, Garlic, Parsley & White Wine
~Carne ~
Bistecca Sigillato
~Pesce ~
Filetto di Sogliola Ripieno
Served with Vegetable Risotto

Pink Olive:Shop at Pink Olive (Park Slope) on Mother's Day and receive a free gift for mom with your purchase!

Melt: Mother's Day at Melt. Brunch: 1 Free Mimosa to all moms with Entree. $25.00 Prix Fixe Special. Dinner: 1 Free Cocktail to all moms with entree.

Kappa Sake House:

Mother’s Day Menu
May, 8th, Sunday, 2011
12:00noon~10:00pm
3 Courses Prix Fixe Brunch or Dinner $25
The First
(A) Omega 3 Sashimi
(B) Shrimp Cocktail with Wasabi Tako Sauce
The Second
(A) Spicy Jerk Saba
(B) Hako Sushi
The Third
(A) Matcha & Azuki Mochi Ice Cream
(B) Umeshu
Dessert plum wine

Southpaw & Bogota Latin Bistro: are teaming up for a dinner/music event. Dine at Bogota (make a reservation here) and then walk down the street to Southpaw to see Bomba Estereo, "from Colombia, mingled electronic beats and drones with Afro-Colombian rhythms, rock and funk, and in …one song, some Congolese-style guitars, keeping up dance grooves while Liliana Saumet rapped and sang about the complexities of modern Latin identity." Buy your tickets now!

And, of course, Fifth Avenue has everything you need for Mother's Day, so come down to pick up some flowers, chocolate or even a nice bottle of wine for this special occasion!

Thanks to ZuZu's Petals for the photo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Today is Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican celebration that "commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862."

What's happening on Fifth for Cinco de Mayo? Well, there certainly is no shortage of bars to help you celebrate the day. And, of course, there are a number of great mexican restaurants (11 and counting).

Specifically, though, this is what we know, so far:

Southpaw: Spanglish Fly / Dalanshar / Silence by Stereo / DJ Tivy Wonder
SPANGLISH FLY
“What Sharon Jones did for oldschool soul, what Antibalas did for Afrobeat and what Chicha Libre is doing for chicha, Spanglish Fly is doing for bugalu.” - LUCID CULTURE
DALANSHAR
21+ w/ ID
admission: $10
door time: 8PM / 830PM SHOW

Black Horse Pub: Cinco de Mayo special music food and drink specials. Beer and tacos $10 and $5 margaritas

Piramide: Specials and giveaways from 8 - 11 pm. See graphic, above.

That's all we know, for now. If you know of some other, specific events or specials taking place tonight on Fifth, post them below and we'll get the word out.

Washington Park/JJ Byrne Playground Renovation

We've been receiving a lot of emails and tweets, asking what is happening at Washington Park/JJ Byrne Playground (5th Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets). If you've been by there lately, you probably noticed the giant chain-link fence and construction equipment around the Fifth Avenue portion of the park.

So, what's going on?

We asked Kim Maier, Executive Director of The Old Stone House, to give us the inside scoop:

We're very excited that the park renovation has started. The playground construction phase will begin the week of May 16.

The renovation incorporates ideas that came out of numerous community listening sessions that were held in early 2008. It represents a 65% increase in play space. Funding for this project was provided by Borough President Marty Markowitz, former City Council members Bill DeBlasio and David Yassky, and current City Council members Brad Lander and Steve Levin. The original plan, and the impetus for this phase, was funded by the JM Kaplan Fund, through the efforts of the Old Stone House.

There will be a new main path through the center of the park starting at 5th Avenue. Water play will include an old-fashioned pump and a "runnel", as well as a low fountain. Play has been divided into three distinct areas - a fully enclosed toddler area near the Old Stone House on the Third Street sided of the Park that will be adjacent to a play area for smaller children with unique play equipment that incorporates some interpretive elements about the history of the site, and an area for older kids on the 4th Street side of the park. There is a small, half-moon shaped lawn area in front of OSH rimmed by benches, and the entire playground aspect of the park will be surrounded by fencing and a new understory garden with native and useful plants.

Construction is expected to last about one year, so we'll do updates on the project from time to time to see how things are going. We look forward to checking out the results of the renovation next spring!

Tomorrow: Social Media Training with Park Slope Eye

Just a reminder that tomorrow (Wednesday, May 4th), the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID and Park Slope Eye are hosting a free Social Media training event. Come to Park Slope Eye (682 Union Street near 5th Avenue) and hear how Dr. Justin Bazan uses these tools to interact with his customers and grow his business.

The event is free and refreshments will be served.

Interested? RSVP to info@parkslopefifthavenuebid.com
We'll see you there!

Family Fun Festival Photos

Try to say the title of this post 5 times, fast. We dare you!

Anyway, this weekend's Family Fun Festival was a big hit. Check out some of the photos from the event, above. Next up, The Fabulous Fifth Avenue Fair on May 15th. Actually, try to say that 5 times, fast, as well!