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Draft:Celebrate Brooklyn!

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Celebrate Brooklyn![edit]

A Celebrate Brooklyn! performance at the Lena Horne Bandshell in July 2022.

Celebrate Brooklyn! also known as BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! is New York City’s longest-running, free, outdoor performing arts festival. Performances are held at the Lena Horne Bandshell in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Over the course of its history, the festival has presented over 2,000 artists and ensembles reflective of the borough's diversity, ranging from internationally acclaimed performers to emerging, cutting-edge artists. The festival attracts upwards of 250,000 attendees each season from across the city. The festival is produced by BRIC Arts Media–Brooklyn Information and Culture–a nonprofit organization in Downtown Brooklyn that presents contemporary art, performing arts, and media programs throughout the borough.

The festival was launched in 1979 by Nannete Rainone, the founder of the then Fund for the Borough of Brooklyn, and Burl Hash, the festival’s first producer. Celebrate Brooklyn! was created as a catalyst for Brooklyn’s performing art scene and to bring people back into Prospect Park after years of neglect. Celebrate Brooklyn! was an anchor in the park’s revitalization and is one of the city’s foremost summer cultural attractions.[1]

Format[edit]

Unlike multi-stage destination festivals, Celebrate Brooklyn! is a summer-long experience that features several shows each weekend from early June through late August.[2] As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a shortened month-long season took place in August 2021.[3] Full capacity performances without vaccination requirements returned in the 2022 season, although COVID-19 protection is still encouraged at the venue.[4] The outdoor amphitheater also called the Bandshell has 2,000 seats and a lawn that can accommodate over 6,000 more. Celebrate Brooklyn! members gain early access to the venue, and private seating in two tents at the side of the stage.[5]

Except when indicated, all concerts are performed rain or shine.[6] Food and drink is served at each performance. Past food sponsors include the outdoor food festival Smorgasburg and canned water company Liquid Death.[7] Celebrate Brooklyn! has also partnered with the NY Handmade Collective, a non profit that has sold souvenirs, clothing and crafts in past seasons.[8] The venue is fully wheelchair accessible and free shows are interpreted in American Sign Language for Deaf and hard of hearing audience members.

Celebrate Brooklyn is presented in partnership with the Prospect Park Alliance and NYC Parks. Other past sponsors include Bud Light, 400 Conejos, Ticketmaster and J.P Morgan Chase. Media Partners include ABC 7, 90.7 WFUV, WBGO Radio and the Brooklyn Paper.[9] Former executive producer of Sonos Radio Saidah Blount was named the festival's new executive director in early 2024.[10]

History[edit]

In 1865, designer Calvert Vaux and famed architect Frederick Law Olmsted envisioned Prospect Park as the centerpiece of Brooklyn's cultural institutions, including the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Brooklyn Public Library. The Bandshell was added to the Park in 1939 to serve as a site for live outdoor entertainment.[11]

The Bandshell was constructed under Parks Commissioner Robert Moses and lies on the former estate of the nearby Litchfield Villa. The land was originally designated as a zoological sight but served as an archery and hockey field until Bandshell construction began.[12]

Aymar Embury II designed the Bandshell itself which stands on the park’s perimeter called Prospect Park West bordering the historic Park Slope neighborhood. The Bandshell design features entrances on both 9th and 11th street and a playground on the property. The outdoor amphitheater has a traditional semicircular, fan-shaped design. At its inception, the Bandshell featured the acoustic shell, raised stage, public restrooms and a large circular plaza.[13]

The plaza was a popular place for public concerts and dances in the 1950s. However, the Bandshell and much of the park experienced mass deterioration in the late sixties and seventies as a result of budget cuts and the broader effects of urban neglect. Prospect Park was deemed unsafe, and the Bandshell was abandoned. Celebrate Brooklyn! was created as part of the “New Prospect Park” to bring people and music back outdoors. The first concerts featured performances by New York jazz performers and emerging choreographers held at night, which was radical at the time.[14]

In 1983 a renovated Bandshell was introduced. Celebrate Brooklyn! grew rapidly from 24 performances in 1982 to 44 performances in 1985. After funding cuts in the early 90s, Celebrate Brooklyn! was again scaled back. A new team was brought in to revive the program, and new focus was placed on pairing international artists with local talent. World music, roots music, film, theater and spoken word were introduced and the number of performances increased again to 32 in 1995.[15]

The renewed popularity and problems associated with the large lighting and sound towers encouraged a plan for a second redesign and the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President funded a $3 million reconstruction which took place in 1998-99. This project dismantled the three towers which were responsible for sound bouncing back into the neighborhood, renovated backstage areas, expanded public restrooms, re-graded the site for better viewing and drainage, added a new stage roof that facilitates rigging, lighting and projection, and allows performances to go forward in inclement weather, and added a new "distributed" sound system which directs sound at the audience and away from other areas.[16]

In 2000, the Bandshell’s surrounding landscape, and the Harmony Playground underwent reconstruction. The playground was given a music theme to celebrate the long tradition of music in Prospect Park. It has since been restored again in 2021.

In 2021, the Prospect Park Bandshell was renamed for Lena Horne the legendary singer, actress, dancer and Bed-Stuy native. The renaming was part of the New York City Park’s Department’s pledge to stand in solidarity with the Black community in its fight against systemic racism. The 2021 season honored Horne’s legacy showcasing an array of Black musicians including Ari Lennox, LAMAUU, Mr. Easi, Junglepussy and Son Little.[17]

Mission[edit]

Since its creation Celebrate Brooklyn’s mission has been to bring Brooklyn together.[18] Celebrate Brooklyn! shows are free for all. The suggested attendee donation is $5 per person. Ticketed benefit concerts occur several times each season.

Performances[edit]

In previous years, the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park has hosted music artists such as Phoebe Bridgers, MUNA, The Roots, Busta Rhymes, FeliciaTemple, DJ StephCakes, Kamasi Washington, Prince and more.[19]

The festival also shows films, often accompanied by live performances of their soundtracks. In past seasons, the  “Live Music for Film” program screened silent, animated and short films including The Alloy Orchestra/Phantom of the Opera, Yo La Tengo/Sounds of Science, The Jazz Passengers/Creature From the Black Lagoon, and Philip Glass & Kronos Quartet/Dracula.[20] Non-live movie showings have included In the Heights, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Fame.[21]

Celebrate Brooklyn! has also featured dance performances including the Mark Morris Dance Group, Noche Flamenca, Streb and Philadanco.

Past theater and spoken work performers have included ​​the New York Shakespeare Festival, The Blue Man Group, and Brave New World Repertory Theatre.[22]

Most recently Celebrate Brooklyn! has partnered with NPR’s Tiny Desk, and has featured performances by Tiny Desk Contest winners in their lineup for the past two summers.[23]

The Celebrate Brooklyn! summer 2024 season lineup has yet to be announced.[24]

Summer 2023 Lineup [25][edit]

For all past lineups visit: https://bricartsmedia.org/celebrate-brooklyn/past-seasons/

External Links[edit]

  • Official Website https://bricartsmedia.org/celebrate-brooklyn/
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