Brighton Beach celebrated its 39th-annual neighborhood Jubilee on Aug. 30, attracting thousands from across the borough and the city to the seaside community.
The executive director of the Brighton Neighborhood Association, the organization behind the yearly summer shindig, said this year’s event was the biggest and best in the tradition’s history.
“We’ve had very positive feedback,” said Pat Singer, who is also the association’s founder. “We saw people from Marine Park, from Bay Ridge, from Manhattan, and all over the city. There was something for everyone.”
The Jubilee, which runs along Brighton Beach Avenue from Corbin Place to Coney Island Avenue and then down to the Boardwalk, featured some popular new attractions. A mini-amusement area for kids on Brighton 11th Street that featured seven rides may have been a bigger hit with parents than children, and everyone loved the pony ride on Brighton 15th Street.
Ice cream impresarios Ben and Jerry, one of several sponsors for the event, provided attendees with free ice cream at Corbin Place. Vendors lined the street with goods, and restaurants and cafes along the avenue offered culinary treats, drawing many to the bash. A Sheepshead Bay woman who spent more than three hours enjoying the Jubilee with her husband, children, and her father, said the experience was worth repeating in the future.
“It was a lot of fun for the kids,” said Lucy Cruz. “My daughter enjoyed the bouncy house. I loved the different vendors with all the food. The music was good. It was just nice being outside.”
Singer said staging the Jubilee was a 37-hour ordeal, but one she cannot wait to take on again next year — the event’s 40th anniversary. She has yet to decide on any special additions to mark the occasion, but said she’s is sure something big will come up.
“I’m not sure what we’ll do just yet,” Singer said. “Whatever it is, it will be a fun time.”
