Looking for fun things to do with your kids in Brooklyn this May? Our list includes the County Fair in Marine Park, a Cajun music festival in Columbia Heights, a fun concert in Prospect Heights, and more family events throughout the borough.
‘In the Garden’ at BAM
BAM’s Fisher Theater, Fort Greene
May 3-5
BAMfamily’s In the Garden surrounds kids in a vast multimedia world based on theater. Presented by Spain’s Teatro Paraiso Antzerkia and Belgium’s Theatre de la Guimbarde, the narrative tells of a man and woman who encounter a cloth stuck in a forest’s trees. This object becomes a blank canvas, a tabula rasa of sorts, in which videos, shadowplay, illustrations, and drawings are displayed. Through interaction with the audience, and children in particular, wonderful and spontaneous things happen. The program is designed for preschoolers, and who knows what they’ll come up with!
Sugar Free Allstars in Concert
Brooklyn Public Library, central branch, Prospect Heights
May 4
Lots of kindie rock bands pass through our fair borough, and as cool as this whole “rock the cradle” thing is, it can be a bit overwhelming. But the Sugar Free Allstars might sell you with its mission statement: “Imagine that Deep Purple and Sly and the Family Stone had a love child that grew up in New Orleans listening to Ray Charles, Black Sabbath, and Booker T. and the MGs.” The band is essentially an organ and drum duo that lately has been laying down grooves for kids and families. If you’ve ever heard classic organ trios playing soul, gospel, and R&B, you know it’s energetic and infectious music that’s ripe for dancing. But here’s hoping your budding kindie rocker doesn’t ask you for a 500-pound Hammond B-3 organ after an afternoon with the Allstars. FREE!
A Brooklyn Navy Yard Adventure and Tour
Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at Building 92, Vinegar Hill
May 4 and 27
The Brooklyn Navy Yard is a hulking reminder of NYC’s past glory days as a mecca of industry, particularly as seen from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Indeed, if you look at old photos of the Navy Yard, the skyline’s smokestacks are billowing as factories—which have since been converted into mega-priced condominiums—churned out everything from navy boats to Checker automobiles and Domino sugar. The Brooklyn Navy Yard employed hundreds of thousands of men and women to build vessels like the USS Arizona (the vessel destroyed in the Pearl Harbor attack) and the USS Missouri (on which the US and Japan signed the peace treaty that ended World War II). The Yard’s industrial might remains visible today via industrial cranes, dry docks, boat-making artifacts, architecture, and more. And during Inspector’s Tour: A Brooklyn Navy Yard Adventure, kids and their grownups can engage in a hands-on scavenger hunt that yields perspective on the city’s past.
Celebrate Mother’s Day
Crown Heights, Gowanus, Prospect Park, Wiliamsburg, and beyond
Throughout May
Don’t forget Mother’s Day; you’ll feel guilty. Plus, Mom deserves the attention and respect. Brooklyn is teeming with things to do on and for Mom’s big day: Check out our list of 22 fun Mother’s Day activities in NYC, including 6 family events in Brooklyn.
Bayou-N-Brooklyn Music Festival
Jalopy Theatre and School of Music, Columbia Heights
May 10-12
Zydeco music, native to Louisiana, features a two-step rhythm driven by rollicking accordions, washboards, fiddles, spoons, and guitars, all of which makes it the perfect party music for kids to shake around to. The Bayou-N-Brooklyn Music Festival celebrates all things zydeco, Cajun, and Louisiana—a culture that’s uniquely regional and American. The three-day festival offers performances for all ages as well as workshops about Cajun guitar, fiddle, and accordion; opportunities to learn Cajun dance; community jam sessions; and a jambalaya dinner. Performers include Megan Brown, Christine Balfa, and Ed Pouilliard. All said, this is a family affair that offers a taste of Louisiana without leaving Brooklyn.
‘Angelina Ballerina the Musical’
College of Staten Island Center for the Arts, Staten Island
May 11
Households with televisions and little girls know all about Angelina Ballerina, the central character of Katherine Holabird’s children’s book series who stars in Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps on PBS. Angelina, a young mouse, studies ballet at Camembert Academy, where she meets several talented friends and pursues her love of dance. The live version of her tale, Angelina Ballerina the Musical, finds Angelina and her friends preparing for a visit by a famous guest and dealing with many mishaps along the way.
The Kings County Fair of Brooklyn
Aviator Sports & Events Center, Floyd Bennett Field, Marine Park
May 16-27
Fairs and carnivals seem like relics of the past, when a caravan of entertainers would show up in a small town or city out of nowhere, bringing performers, sideshow freaks, some small-scale rides, and maybe a haunted house. Much of this can be found during an average day at Coney Island, but you can enjoy the fun parts while avoiding the freak show that is normal life at Coney simply by heading over to Floyd Bennett Field for The Kings County Fair of Brooklyn. There, you’ll find acrobats, tiger trainers, equestrian artistry, carnival foods like cotton candy, and about 100 rides for thrill-seekers of all ages.
Sing-a-Long-a ‘Sound of Music’
Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, Midwood
May 19
Think of The Sound of Music and your head may fill instantly with music. “Edelweiss,” “My Favorite Things,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” and so on. The Broadway musical and its motion picture counterpart are among the greatest examples of musical theater. Brilliant songwriting courtesy of Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein, a charming but somewhat turbulent narrative based on an Austrian family’s (the famous Von Trapps) musically rich life, struggles against the Third Reich and Nazism, and the eventual annexation of Austria into Germany. Indeed, there was tension beneath the gleaming smiles and frolicking on the hills. Mary Martin was brilliant as Maria in the Broadway production, which debuted in 1959, yet Julie Andrews melted the screen and the audience’s hearts in the 1965 motion picture, which screens at the Brooklyn College Center for the Arts this month. As everyone familiar with the movie knows, it’s impossible to not sing along as those wonderful musical numbers unfold onscreen. Hence, this screening is a Sing-a-long-a Sound of Music. So brush up on the soundtrack (don’t worry, the film includes subtitles with lyrics), practice with all your enthusiasm, and get ready to sing your heart out. Note: This event runs almost four hours and is not recommended for children younger than 6.
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