The Third Avenue Festival was originally slated for end of September, but due to the pending Nor’easter, both the Ragamuffin Parade and the 3rd Avenue Festival were postponed to the following week.
The Ragamuffin enjoyed beautiful weather, however we had to miss the family fun as we had a wedding the same day.
We did, however, head on in for the Third Avenue Festival. Weather reports were showing rain to stop at 1PM – the exact starting time for the festival. If there’s one thing we learned that day, it’s to never trust your iPhone’s weather app. . .
We got a great parking space on Ridge Blvd (remember, all of 3rd Ave being closed makes for difficult spot-circling up and down the avenue) – and sat in the car waiting for the rain to let up. 1PM turned into 1:05PM . . .1:10PM – and somehow the rain kept getting heavier.
We made a gametime decision to drive to China New Star as it seemed like perfect hot-tea and sesame chicken weather – with the idea being to come back to the ridge at 3PM – when the iPhone told us rain would definitely stop.
What can I say, China New Star HIT. My wife’s favorite spot having grown up nearby . . . we did mezze style, ordering a few plates and sharing amongst ourselves. We declined the kids’ free ice cream, as we knew we were heading back to Bay Ridge for the inevitable Little Cupcake Bakeshop run.
We made it back to Bay Ridge around 3PM – and the grey, miserable day did not let up. We got a parking space on 87th and Colonial and decided to tough it out. Once we hit the avenue, we definitely made the best of it. It was great seeing the neighborhood still show up despite the horrid weather. Bands and dancers were still out doing their thing and trying their best to brighten the day, plenty of tables and shops were on-hand – although the merch was covered in plastic tarps; vendors who were lucky enough to be under a tent were thriving – and we enjoyed building our own clicky-fidget toys with the kids.
In the end, the weather prevailed – and wouldn’t you know, right around 6:30PM, the rain officially stopped – just in time for the festival to end! What can you do, except wait for next year – but Bay Ridge residents, neighbors, vendors and families all made the best with what we had!