Launching with this Sunday's Brooklyn Urban Arts Market, we're trying something new with the Explore Myrtle Avenue promotion aimed at getting both our local residents, as well as first time visitors, to explore the length of Myrtle Avenue to check out some of those businesses you didn't even know were there. Or those you've heard about from friends but you haven't had the time to stop by. If you live in Fort Greene, isn't it about time you ventured out to Square Root Cafe on the corner of Myrtle and Classon? Or if you're a regular at Pillow Cafe in Clinton Hill, have you made the effort to have dinner at abistro on Carlton & Myrtle? Well between July 27th and September 30th, we're making it worth your while to branch out from your regular neck of the woods by giving you the opportunity to win a $1000 shopping spree on Myrtle - that is, twenty $50 gift certificates to twenty different participating businesses.

All you have to do is grab a game card, available only at each Sunday's Brooklyn Urban Arts Market (stop by the MARP tent), make at least a $10 purchase at any 5 of the 21 businesses listed on the game card during the time of the promotion (and be sure to present your game card to receive a stamp from the business), and send in your card to us or drop it off at the MARP tent during one of the markets. After September 30th, we'll draw a grand prize winner for the $1000 shopping spree, and two second prize winners of $500 shopping sprees. You can enter up to 5 different times per person, so feel free to improve your odds.

Come by Myrtle Avenue between Grand Avenue and Emerson Place starting at noon for a mix of great music, local vendors selling unique wares, and a sampling of local food.

And be sure to visit the Brooklyn Urban Arts Market site to check out all of the vendors that will be present, and to check out audio and video of the musical performers.

If you have not yet been to visit, to chat, to jump, to twirl, to do yoga, to dance, to experience Move With Grace, the dance and yoga studio located at 469 Myrtle Avenue (Washington/Hall), you do not know what you are missing.

Hatha and Kundalini yoga; ballet, modern, belly dancing, salsa, Brazilian dance and a whole lot more. Classes for children as well as adults.

Stay tuned for more about Move w/Grace...

(photo: the very talented owner, Grace Tappin, as she rehearses Zimbabwean choreography)

Received the invite from Bill & Susan Lee yesterday and wanted to post it to say to our local yokel, our man about town and the neighborhood, the very talented Bill Lee--Happy 80th Birthday.

...and many moreeeeeeeee...

Thanks to everyone who came out to Sunday’s Block Party on Clinton at Myrtle and Willoughby. With music, fashion and lots of Brooklyn flavor, it was a temporary playground for dancers, shoppers and people-watchers alike!

It takes a lot of people to pull off a party this big, and special thanks goes out to our co-sponsors Afro Punk and BAM, and especially to the gracious folks on Clinton Avenue for welcoming 3,000+ people into their lives for a day. While you count down the days until next year’s Block Party, here are some fantastic photos to hold you over:

Block Party photos on Flickr.

Party and shop locally, all summer long and into the fall! The new Brooklyn Urban Arts Market's five Sunday appearances on Myrtle Avenue near the PrattStore will blend the power and pull of Afro-Punk and BAM’s cutting edge creative culture with MARP’s community economic empowerment and small business initiatives. Envisioned as an answer to those ubiquitous NYC street fairs (you know the ones…same perfume and tube socks at every one no matter what location), this open-air market will house 50 local artisans, vendors, and entrepreneurs hand-selected for their innovative creations, fresh urban perspective and DIY spirit.

Afro-Punk returns to curate a musical line up that fuses underground sounds with old-school favorites (see full list below), which will definitely draw a crowd to the avenue on each and every date. You can be sure that we'll be working to help our existing merchants take advantage of this foot traffic – we’ve got a number of plans in the works to get our new visitors to travel the avenue, including the distribution of our new shopping guide and a sort of Myrtle Avenue shopping scavenger hunt (more on that soon).

The focus on small, local and home-based businesses includes an added dimension for the vendor participants: 20 were selected to receive free professional training covering business plan writing, marketing and growing your customer base, accounting/finance, and business law with small business development experts, Project Enterprise.

Major funding for the Brooklyn Urban Arts Market was generously provided by Deutsche Bank Foundation.

Featured musicians:

July 27th
DJ Spinna
The Earthman Experience featuring DJ Hard Hittin Harry
77 Klash

August 10th
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love
THE MOVEMENT PRESENTS:
Hollwood Holt
He Say She Say
Mike Terror
Shala

August 24th
Slick Rick with Band
The Eclectic Collective
Dub Trio

September 7th
Afrika Bambaata
CX KiDTRONiK live KraKstravaganza
w/ special guest rap pioneer "The Ramm:Ell:Zee"
Mickey Factz

September 21st
Rich Medina
Game Rebellion
Millsted
No Surrender

Check back at www.myrtleavenue.org, or visit brooklynurbanartsmarket.ning.com or www.bam.org for the more info and the latest updates.

The printed Myrtle Avenue Shopping & Dining Guide's 2008-09 edition hits the stores next week, with its release at the block party on Sunday, July 13th. The new 7-panel guide features listings of over 150 small mom and pop businesses located along Myrtle Avenue, along with their addresses and cross streets, phone numbers, websites.

The cover of this year's guide features merchant photos from the ‘Home Grown & Locally Owned’ marketing campaign. This cover pays homage to the small, mom-n-pop businesses that line Myrtle Avenue’s commercial corridor, while encouraging local residents to get to know their neighborhood entrepeneurs and to shop close to home in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

The listed businesses represent the rich and wide diversity of enterprises along the Avenue, from much loved old and new cafes and restaurants; to the local hardware store, an offshoot of the old Adami Hardware that recently closed its doors after 35 years in the business; to a popular new dance and yoga studio and funky local artisans—including a local jewelry maker and fashion designer.

The guide also includes a 4-paneled map, complete with arrows to local subway and bus lines and a list of local jaunts and destinations: the sprawling Pratt Institute campus and 25-acre sculpture park; celebrated poet Walt Whitman’s former home; as well as Fort Greene Park and the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument. Also included is the Brooklyn Urban Arts Market, Myrtle’s vibrant new open-air market which kicks off this year on July 27th.

Pick up a copy of the 2008-09 Myrtle Avenue Shopping & Dining Guide, starting this Sunday, July 13th. Guides will then be available to pick-up at avenue stores, at Brooklyn Urban Arts Market Sundays, the Brooklyn Tourism Center, the Fort Greene Park Visitors Center, and by mail if requested while supplies last.

The 4th Annual Afro-Punk Festival parties its way to a close this weekend right here on Clinton Avenue between Myrtle & Willoughby. Afro Punk, BAM and MARP have come together again to organize the 2nd annual Afro Punk Block Party, bringing the best underground local artists and artisans, tasty treats from local food favorites, and family-friendly activities directly to Fort Greene and Clinton Hill for an all-day, all-out neighborhood celebration! Not the usual street fair, there’s enough in store to entertain all day. Make sure you find time to check it out, this is definitely an event not to miss.

Here’s just a sample of what you can expect:

Live Music all day
Kudu, J*Davey, The Carps, The Caesarz , DJ Rich Medina, The Dustbin Brothers

Family-friendly fun DIY T-shirt screen printing is back by popular demand! The folks from Afro Punk will help kids make a statement by offering a quick screen-printing lesson. (All day)
Local artist Derick Cross will also be on hand for free facepainting for the young ones (or young at heart)(1pm-6pm)
Healthy Kids Van – NYC Public Advocate’s office is brining their mobile Community Healthcare Unit, complete with important information for parents and games for kids. Come spin their giant prize wheel and get free stuff like hats and waterbottles! (12pm – 3pm)
Brooklyn Botanical Garden will be on site to teach us how to compost. Put those food scraps to good use and reduce your garbage footprint! (12pm-5pm)
BikeNY is offering free bike safety classes for youth! More information and registration (not required) is available here. Please bring your own bike if you’d like to participate! (1pm-4pm)

Local Dish
Homemade sweet treats by The Bakery (their peach cobbler is one of our favorites!)
Tamboril puts a Nuevo Latino twist on some of your favorite eats
Restaurant New Orleans brings their delicious crab cakes and vegetarian red beans

DIY Fashion, Accessories and Artisan Merchandise
Buy direct from some of the hottest, edgiest local DIY designers! We’ll have clothing, accessories an other goodies for adults and kids alike. Or, beautify yourself with stuff from some of the neighborhood’s best all-natural product-makers. Definitely a shoppers delight!

For more info, visit afropunk.com and bam.org.

The 4th annual Afro-Punk Festival kicks off at BAM on Friday, July 4th with films, a skate park setup in the parking lot next door, a concert in Fort Greene Park on July 12th, and the 2nd annual Block Party on Sunday the 13th from 12 to 8 pm on Clinton Avenue between Myrtle & Willoughby. Be sure the check out the entire schedule of events and more on the Afro-Punk community.