The Atlantic Antic is now set for Sunday, October 4, noon to 6 p.m., rain or shine. It lost its original date of September 27 when the city let organizers postpone ahead of last weekend's nor'easter. In an Instagram post quoted by Brooklyn Paper, organizers wrote that they wanted "everyone to enjoy the festival safely." The Brooklyn Eagle reported that the city's Street Activity Permit Office approved the change.
The 51st Antic covers 10 blocks of Atlantic Avenue, from Hicks Street to Fourth Avenue. The fair returns every year, but the avenue it runs along has changed. Since the last Antic, a worker-owned bakery, a Thai cafe, an Asian grocery and a Roberta's-alumni pizzeria have opened along the route, and a new Ingas Bar sibling sits one block off it. For a Boerum Hill resident, the October 4 walk passes more new storefronts than any Antic in recent memory.
Where Everything Sits, West to East
The Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation, which produces the fair, put out its program on September 15, before the storm moved the date. No post-postponement update we found confirms that every set time still holds. Treat the times below as the announced schedule and check the Antic's page on Sunday morning.
| Cross street | What's there | Announced times |
|---|---|---|
| Henry Street | Mommy Poppins Kid Fest, free, sponsored by Woom | During the fair |
| Henry to Court | Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, clowns and jugglers | 1, 3 and 5 p.m. |
| Clinton Street | Middle Eastern Stage, musicians and belly dancers | During the fair |
| Boerum Place | Playtopia by Brooklyn Bridge Parents, free | Noon to 4 p.m. |
| Boerum Place | Kids Zone, priced per attraction | Noon to 6 p.m. |
| Nevins Street | Kids Rock for Kids, presented by The Met | Throughout the afternoon |
| Third to Fourth, at 540 Atlantic | Maimonides Medical Center Community Stage | All day; award 1:30 p.m.; Antic Sing 2 to 2:45 p.m. |
The layout puts music at the two ends of the route and children's programming in Boerum Hill's middle stretch. Playtopia has about a dozen free activities, including manga art with the Brooklyn Museum and LEGO building. Prospect Schools sponsors it. The Kids Zone next door has bounce houses, pony rides and face painting, each priced separately. The Met has a table at the Boerum Place corner with information on its current exhibits. Its Kids Rock for Kids lineup of young musicians plays a few blocks east at Nevins.
At the east end, the Maimonides Medical Center Community Stage hosts rock bands and jazz singers all day. A Brooklyn Nets basketball court is set up nearby. At 1:30 p.m., the AALDC gives its 13th Atlantic Avenue Ambassador Award to READ 718, which helps children from low-income Brooklyn families build strong reading skills. Antic Sing, now in its second year, runs from 2 to 2:45 p.m. Contestants sing hits from the '70s through the '00s for prizes of $300, $200 and $100.
The Storefronts That Weren't Here Last Antic
The program's note for the Clinton Street block suggests pairing the Middle Eastern Stage with the "long-standing local businesses on the block." Those long-standing businesses are why the Antic feels familiar every year. The openings below are what's different this time. We haven't confirmed that any of them will have a booth, so think of them as stops along the walk, not part of the official fair.
Listed in the same west-to-east order as the route:
- Frenzie, 129 Atlantic Avenue at Henry Street. This is the pizzeria and wine bar next door to Confidant. It was first announced as Lou & Bev's. Eater reported in July that co-owners Brendan Kelley and Daniel Grossman, who both worked at Roberta's, planned New York-style pizza, natural wine, cocktails and boozy shots they call "1 Sip Wonders." Frenzie's own site now lists hours at the address, opening at 2 p.m. on weekends, so it's open for most of Antic Sunday. It sits on the same corner as the Kid Fest.
- Khob Khun Cafe & Bistro, 226 Atlantic Avenue. This spot opened in July with Thai curries, noodles and cafe drinks. Its site lists daily hours and online ordering.
- Hashi Market, 299 Atlantic Avenue. This Asian grocery was announced for the address, and its location directory now lists it as open. We couldn't find a reported opening date.
- Sea & Soil, 388 Atlantic Avenue. The worker-owned sandwich shop and bakery reopened at this address in spring. Eater reported sliding-scale sandwiches and bakery items, with espresso and beer and wine planned for later. The bakery's site still links to its menu and online ordering.
The four addresses span the Boerum Hill stretch of the fair. On foot, that means one new place to eat or shop between almost every pair of program stops: Frenzie by the Henry Street Kid Fest, Khob Khun between the circus and Clinton Street, Hashi Market and Sea & Soil on the way to Nevins.
One Block North, After the Stages Close
The fair ends at 6 p.m. Lonnies, at 112 Bond Street at Pacific, opened May 20. It comes from Ingas Bar owners Sean Rembold and Caron Callahan, and Rembold runs the kitchen with executive chef Eddie Acosta. In its June review, Brooklyn Magazine listed Lonnies as open daily from 5 to 10 p.m. If those hours still hold, the dining room opens at the same hour the last Bindlestiff show starts. That makes it the closest new sit-down dinner to the Nevins and Boerum Place end of the fair.
Planning Around a Fair That Lost Its First Date
Because of the postponement, the Antic now shares a weekend with other rescheduled events. According to Brooklyn Paper, Park Slope's Super Stoop moved to Saturday, October 3, and Bay Ridge's Third Avenue Festival moved to the same Sunday as the Antic. For a Boerum Hill household, that leaves a full fair weekend without leaving the neighborhood's own avenue on Sunday.
Things the published materials don't settle yet:
- Set lists. The announced program names genres and groups for the Community Stage, not a full lineup of acts.
- Vendors. The organizers say hundreds of vendors and local businesses will be on the route, but we found no searchable full vendor list.
- Closure hours. We found no published start and end times for the street closures, so plan Sunday errands and deliveries with some margin.
- Post-storm changes. No vendor or performer dropouts have been reported since the move, and none of the reports we found confirm that the times above are final.
The 51st Antic's sponsors include NYU Langone Health, Weill Cornell Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn Friends School, NYC Ferry and Dodge YMCA, among others. More openings are on the way nearby. Whole Foods has signed a lease for a 35,000-square-foot store at 182 Smith Street, on the Boerum Hill and Cobble Hill edge, though as of a June report it had no official opening timeline. The Neighbors & Makers fair comes to Smith Street in Cobble Hill on Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a free Kids Zone from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
We keep track of which Atlantic Avenue storefronts open, change names or change hands, because those shifts are part of how we talk about value on these blocks. If you'd like to know how this year's changes on the avenue could affect your own Boerum Hill home, the Rosenberg Sackin Team is glad to talk it through. Get your free home valuation and consultation.
