When is a flea fly? When it’s the Brooklyn Night Bazaar!
The “pop-up” emporium returned for the holidays for a three-night stand last week, this time surfacing in Williamsburg and offering holiday shoppers a moonlit reprieve from their big-box blues while leaving lesser boroughs across the East River in our groundbreaking dust.
Inspired by night markets across Asia, the bazaar filled a huge, custom-decked warehouse at 149 Kent Ave. between N. Fifth and N. Sixth streets, bringing together more than 100 of the borough’s most-creative indie vendors, chefs, breweries and musicians for a sensory feast that was equal parts bustling market, art gallery, food fair and music hall — but with a borough feel.
“We’re ‘Brooklyn-izing’ the tradition,” said its creator, Aaron Broudo, who rounded up the likes of Kill Devil Hill, Dalaga, Eagle Street Rooftop Farms, Luke’s Lobster, Asia Dog, Brooklyn Brewery and other de riguer establishments.
James Murphy, the Hold Steady, and Fucked Up kicked off live music curated by the pre-eminent, though oddly named, music blog, BrooklynVegan. And spontaneous types got their jollies on by getting a tat, meditating inside a beatnik-style dome or goofy-footing the half pipe on a skateboard.
The confluence of Brooklyn’s best was unique, even for the Big Apple, according to Broudo.
“There is nothing that exists like this in New York,” he said.
Pop-up a toast to that!
Reach reporter Shavana Abruzzo at sabruzzo@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2529.
