SUMMER ’16: THINGS TO ENJOY IN PROSPECT PARK WITH YOUR FAMILY!

Photo: Courtesy of the Artist and BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival

written by Jen #supermom

People who don’t live in NYC often wonder how we city folk survive without grass, trees or a yard for our kids to play in.  Prospect Park IS this for us!  And there is always so much going on in the park that we can enjoy with our families.  Here are a few ways we can take advantage of this gorgeous place we’re so lucky to call our backyard this summer.


Nothing beats listening to great music with your family at an outdoor concert. Watching our little ones really FEEL the music, dancing so freely in the summer breeze…while picnicking in the park with friends!  It’s the best.  On June 11th at 4pm Dan Zanes will be performing at the Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival at the Bandshell.   If you are not already familiar, this guy has been playing music for decades, including a performance on Sesame Street (YouTube “Jump Up”, it’s a favorite), and has a Grammy among many other awards to show for it.   For this concert, he’ll be honoring author Ezra Jack Keats along with the Tada! Youth Theater.  You won’t find more fun family music, and bonus: it’s free!http://www.bricartsmedia.org/events-performances/bric-celebrate-brooklyn-festival/dan-zanes-lead-belly-project-tada-youth-theater


Looking for a fun way to spend time together and perhaps include a bit of exercise?  How about a family bike ride?  You can rent from an array of bikes, from traditional 2-wheels to a 4-wheeled, 6-person Double Surrey at LeFrak.  You can rent them hourly or for the day.    What an amazing way to spend the day with your family…exploring the park on bike paths – perhaps see something in the park you have never noticed before (that STILL happens to me after 8 years living in Park Slope)!   http://lakesidebrooklyn.com/activities/biking/


Also at LeFrak Center at Lakeside, one cannot forget the splash pad.  Over 20 water jets pumping at once while you groove to fun pop music.    Another bonus to the splash pad is that there is a great cafe on site to replenish all the energy you burned chasing your little one around in the water.  The Bluestone Cafe has very decent food and picnic benches to enjoy it on.  Stuffed Avocado salad, Mediterranean tuna wraps and chicken tenders are a few of the popular menu options.  Cannot think of a better way to cool off and have fun on a hot summer day!  http://lakesidebrooklyn.com/activities/splash-pad/


And last but absolutely not least, there’s the ridiculously tasty array of food available every Sunday at the Smorgasburg!!!  Through October 23rd from 11am to 6pm, enjoy food from over 100 different vendors: http://brooklynflea.com/markets/prospect-park-smorgasburg/  Few of the favorites include: a homemade Nutella “Ring-Ding” from Duane Park Patisserie, a pile of sticky rice from Bamboo Bites in mango, chicken satay or coconut ….to maple bacon on a stick.  Buzzfeed compiled a list of must-eats here, so you can plan out your next pig-out session (helpful when surrounded by so many choices)!    https://www.buzzfeed.com/juliareinstein/smorg-2016?utm_term=.apY3jdX10#.pcOqNeGXd


In addition, we cannot forget the ever-fun carousel, the Prospect Park Zoo…and of course those wide open fields and hills for Sunday picnics and playing ball with our children.  Happy Summer Everyone!!!