SEE RED (HOOK)

For a neighborhood
that merely a decade ago was mired in crime and poverty, Red
Hook has undergone drastic changes recently.



In addition to visits from the majestic cruise ship Queen Mary
2 and the opening of the bustling new Fairway supermarket, there
is another reason to visit Red Hook this weekend: the 12th annual
Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival, which will provide free entertainment
for the whole family on the revitalized neighborhood’s Beard
Street pier.



"Red Hook has been very hot over the last 10 years or so,"
the festival’s producer, Martha Bowers, told GO Brooklyn. "We
really pride ourselves on the festival, and we see it as a way
for our community to celebrate the waterfront and our area’s
youth."



Performances by more than 200 musicians and dancers from local
schools will be a highlight of the festival, as well as feature
films made by and for kids.



Also appearing at the festival will be the Williamsburg-based
Radio Mundial, performing its unique blend of Latin rock and
reggae music, singing and dancing; the improvisational Hip Hop
Commedia troupe, which combines freestyle hip-hop with the centuries-old
tradition of Commedia dell’arte improvisational comedy; and Fort
Greene’s own Urban Bush Women dance company, which will perform
a new piece that will be fiercely physical, said Bowers (who
is also the executive director of Dance Theatre Etcetera).



Mecca Bodega, a local, percussion-oriented band that has played
outdoors and in subways across the city, will round out the program.
Following their performances, both Mecca Bodega and Hip Hop Commedia
will host free workshops where kids can learn percussion, beat
boxing and comedy techniques. Younger children can explore the
Brooklyn Children’s Museum’s traveling petting zoo, free canoe
rides, face-painting workshops and roaming circus performers.



The Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival is June 3, from noon to
6 pm at the Beard Street pier (480-500 Van Brunt St. at the water
in Red Hook). For more information, call Dance Theatre Etcetera
at (718) 287-2224 or visit www.dancetheatreetcetera.org.
The New York Water Taxi will shuttle passengers between Manhattan,
Queens and Red Hook every hour the day of the festival. For a
schedule, call (212) 742-1969 ext. 207 or visit www.nywatertaxi.com
for schedule.