Friends Of Carroll Park Throwing A Party For Volunteers Past, Present, And Future

Friends Of Carroll Park, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving our park for everyone, is throwing a party for all volunteers: past, present, and future! Whether you’re looking to get involved, are currently active, or are an esteemed alumni, join the membership of Friends of Carroll Park in the Robert Acito Park House for eats, drinks, and conversation with some of the neighbors who help keep our park and community vibrant and beautiful. Save the date!

Click here for more history and information on the group, which was founded in 1975.

Tthe group meets the first Thursday of every month in the park house at 7:30 PM.

And just a reminder about Carroll Park's City Harvest “Feed the Kids” Food Drive. There will be a collection this Saturday, June 15th from 11 to 3 in front of the park housePlease consider dropping off canned vegetables and fruit, mac & cheese, peanut butter, and cereal. (No glass, please)

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A Meaningful Memorial Day Celebration In Carroll Park

Joan D'Amico welcomes everyone

Father Astor Rodriguez 

Patrick Watson sings the national anthem

Assemblywoman Joan Millman with several veterans

Assemblywoman Millman address those in attendance. "This Holiday is not about sales.  It's about people who sacrificed their lives."

Bruce McDonald of Friends Of Carroll Park

The Memorial Day Ceremony in Carroll Park has become a tradition in the last few years and it is nice to see that more and more local residents, young and old, are taking the time to remember those who gave their lives for this nation.
After a blessing by Father Astor Rodriguez and a beautifully sung rendition of the national anthem by Patrick Watson,  a wreath was laid in front of the war memorial by veterans from the neighborhood.

Several firefighters of Ladder 131 were also in attendance.  After the ceremony, they placed flowers at the memorial for Lou Valentino on Court Street at President Street.  Lou was a fire fighter who grew up in Carroll Gardens.  He lost his life in a blaze in 1996.


The event is organized by Court Street Merchants Association with the help of Friends Of Carroll Park.

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Popular Carroll Park Fair Scheduled For June 1. Reserve Your Spot Now

The Yearly Carroll Park Fair Has been Scheduled

The neighborhood institution is back! 

 Meet your neighbors while browsing for housewares, books, music, 

clothes, jewelry, antiques and collectibles!

Saturday, June 1

Valentino Ballfield, Court Street between Carroll and President

All proceeds benefit Friends of Carroll Park. 

Don't wait too long to reserve your spot.  They have a tendency to go fast. Here is all the important information from the Friends:

The Deal:
Spaces (10’ x 10’) are $35, or $50 if you want a space next to a fence (the advantage of the fence is that you can hang stuff on it).
We provide only the space – you need to provide your own table and chair.
Sorry, but we cannot allow sales of food or drink.
The rain date will be the next day, rain or shine.

How To Reserve:
To reserve a space, you can mail in a check, stop by and pay by check or cash, or use Paypal.

Mailing Payment
Make checks payable to CICP. Send to Gary Dolan, 213 Carroll Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231. Please include a note with your name, phone number, email address and a brief description of what you will be selling (for example, “miscellaneous household goods” or “jewelry” would be fine).

Drop Off
Call 917-574-0745 first to make sure I will be in. 213 Carroll is between Court and Clinton – ring the bell under the stoop. You can also put your payment in an envelope, along with the info requested under “Mailing Payment, and slip the envelope through the basement locked gate, and I will email you to confirm receipt.

Paypal
To net the full fee through Paypal, we need to get paid a little more. For a $35 space, the Paypal payment is $36.35, and for a $50 space it is $51.80. Use this email address to make payment:carrollparkflea@gmail.com

Non-Profit
100% of the space fee goes to the Friends of Carroll Park, a non-profit group that has been around for over 30 years. It is run entirely by volunteers. All funds received are spent on the Park, mostly on gardening and free children’s concerts. We’re sort of the PTA for the park, supplementing what the City does.

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Looking Forward To Spring: 'Friends Of Carroll Park' Planning Another Great Season In Third-Oldest Park In Brooklyn

There may be a blizzard in the forecast for this week-end, but Friends of Carroll Park, the nonprofit organization dedicated to helping maintain and improve our neighborhood park, is gearing up for spring and summer. The all-volunteer group just announced a great line-up of events and volunteer opportunities for the 2013 season. So grab you calendar and mark down the dates below and get involved in your community.

MONTHLY MEETINGS RESUME MARCH 7th

It's almost time for us to come out of hibernation, and we hope you'll join us to map out a terrific season of programs, events, and volunteer activities when we resume our monthly meetings in March. Unless otherwise specified, we'll hold them at 7:30 p.m. the first Thursday of every month inside the Robert Acito Park House until the end of the year, so please make it part of your monthly routine!

ANNUAL VOLUNTEER RECEPTION

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. 

We're throwing a party for all volunteers: past, present, and future! Whether you're looking to get involved, are currently active, or are an esteemed alumni,  join the membership of Friends of Carroll Park in the Robert Acito Park House for eats, drinks, and conversation with some of the neighbors who help keep our park and community vibrant and beautiful. Save the date!

SMITH STREET STAGE FUND RAISER FOR SHAKESPEARE IN CARROLL PARK 

Sunday, February 17

Fresh off the success of their terrific production of A Christmas Carol, we couldn't be more pleased that our talented friends at Smith Street Stage are planning another open air run of Willie the Shakes in Carroll Park this summer! To help fund their Shakespeare-ing, they're paying tribute to another lyrical legend, Bruce Springsteen. The Bard and The Boss meet at NYC's The Living Room! 

*This is a ticketed event, and is not taking place in Carroll Park. To buy tickets, click here.

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'This The Season: Carroll Park Tree Lighting Ceremony This Friday

The Carroll Park Tree Lighting Ceremony is always a great neighborhood event.  It is organized by the Court Street Merchants Association with the help of Friends Of Carroll Park.  It has been scheduled for this Friday, December 7th (the rain date is December 14th) at 6 PM.  The ceremony will feature Santa and his elves plus caroling and free refreshments.
See you there?

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Several Old Majestic Trees In Carroll Park Fall Victime To Sandy

Carroll Park along Carroll Street

 Tree next to bocce court along Carroll Street

 Beautiful old tree in the rock garden along President Street

 A view of the same tree

 Rock garden border with fallen tree

Tree leaning dangerously along Carroll Street entrance 

(photo credit: Gary Dolan)

Just received these heartbreaking photos of Carroll Park this morning from Friends Of Carroll Park president Gary Dolan, who was up early to survey the damage.  Carroll Park lost two huge trees and one is leaning dangerously. Quite a bit of fencing was also damaged.
These trees were over a hundred years old and with them goes a bit of Carroll Gardens history.

Just a warning:  the ground is still waterlogged and more trees can come down.  All New York City Parks are still closed and people should stay out of Carroll Park.  It is too dangerous.
Also be careful of the trees lining the streets.

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As Always, Carroll Park Halloween Parade Was Great Fun

I am currently out of town, so I missed the yearly Kids Halloween Parade in Carroll Park yesterday. Too bad.   I love seeing all the little princesses, superheroes and ghouls parading around the park and the neighborhood.  It must have been lots of fun judging by the photos sent to me by Gary Dolan, president of Friends Of Carroll Park
Gary reports:

There were over 300 participants. Weather was great, mostly cloudy but warm and no wind. Kathleen Henderson led the parade. We had an auxiliary police escort with a vehicle front and back. The parade headed out of the park on President near Smith, went west on President to Henry, to First, to Smith, and back to the park. Residents along the route were delighted, some surprised, some waiting for it. We had a drummer and Kathleen handed out 200 noisemakers. There were several large puppets that Pearl lent to us. We played Halloween music and served refreshments afterward -- water, apple juice, milk and cookies and pastries and apple slices. Local politicos handed out candy. We assembled in the park at 11:30, headed out at noon and wrapped up the post-parade refreshments about 1:45.

Hope all the little Carroll Gardeners got to participate.
Thanks to all the Friends of Carroll Park for organizing the event and thank you also to Smith Canteen on Smith Street for sponsoring the fun

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Halloween Kids Parade And Karaoke In Carroll Park

Friends Of Carroll Park is celebrating Halloween in a big way this Saturday with the annual kids parade followed by a karaoke party at night.

Below are the details from the group: 

Last year's parade turnout was amazing, and we'd love to see you all again this year! Gather at 11:30 in front of the Robert Acito Park House, and at noon our Carroll Park 'den mother' Kathleen Henderson will lead you and your little monsters throughout the neighborhood, then back to the park for refreshments, socializing, and photo ops. We'll also have free noisemakers for the first 200 costumed kids, so step out and have fun showing off those costumes!

"Our karaoke party got canceled last year because of snow, but the forecast calls for balmy climes on Saturday evening, so come on down to party with friends and neighbors while singing some of your favorites! Lion's Roar Karaoke will have their 10,000 song catalog, and we'll have hot cider and delicious snacks, so come warble the night away! Suggested donation of $1/song to benefit Friends of Carroll Park. Costumes encouraged, but not required."


MORE CARROLL PARK EVENTS TO COME BEFORE YEAR'S END!
Stay tuned for full details on the following:

Sat. November 17, 10am - 4pm
City Harvest "Feed The Kids" Food Drive

Sun. November 18, 10am - 4pm
City Harvest "Feed The Kids" Food Drive

Thur. December 6, Fri. December 7; Sat. December 8
Smith Street Stage  presents "A Christmas Carol"
(live radio play - ticketed event)

Fri. December 7, 6pm
Tree Lighting and Holiday Party
(sponsored by Court Street Merchants Association)

Fri. December 14, Sat. December 15; Sun. December 16
Smith Street Stage presents "A Christmas Carol"
(live radio play - ticketed event)

Sat. December 15, 10am - 4pm
City Harvest "Feed The Kids" Food Drive

Sun. December 16, 10am - 4pm
City Harvest "Feed The Kids" Food Drive

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This Saturday, E-Waste Recycling Event In Carroll Gardens

It's time for some fall cleaning action, but if you have some broken or outdated electronics, don't just throw them in the trash.  Rather, dispose of them responsibly by bringing them to an electronics recycling event in Carroll Gardens this Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm in front of the Rite Aid on the northeast corner of the park.
The event is hosted by Friends Of Carroll Park in association with the Lower East Side Ecology Center.
The following items will be accepted:

Working or non-working computers, Monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, cables, fax machines, TVs, VCRs, DVD players, PDAs, phones, A/V equipment, cable or satellite receivers, digital converter boxes and video game consoles.

E-Waste Recycling Event In Carroll Gardens

Saturday, October 6,2012

from 10 to 4 PM (rain or shine)

Corner of Smith and President Streets

(Across from Carroll Park, in front of Rite Aid)

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Carroll Gardens Kids Organize Funday In Carroll Park

Kathleen Henderson, Carroll Park Playground Associate with her little friends

Kids For Carroll Park Committee.

Grace O'Keefe  (on far right) with her friends.

Though summer is almost over and the beginning of school is just around the corner, the fun has not stopped at Carroll Park. On Tuesday, Kathleen Henderson, beloved Playground Associate, hosted a "Funday" party, completely funded by the Kids For Carroll Park committee.

Kids For Carroll Park was founded by young Grace O'Keefe and her girlfriends in the spring to help raise money to provide Kathleen with more funds for additional art materials and toys for the park.

The girls held a bake sale and, as Grace proudly told me, they made $170. Some of the proceeds were used to organize yesterday's Funday, but the group also donated $65 to Friends Of Carroll Park, which will go towards an improvement project in the park.
Well done, girls!

Yesterday's party was also an opportunity for the kids to say good-bye to Kathleen. Yes, alas, her summer program ended today.

Judging by the giggles and smiles on everyone's face, the party was a huge success.

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