After a hiatus of some years, last May the Willowtown Association again hosted a spring fair the full length of Willow Place. We were very pleased with the revival and are now building on its success to plan this year’s fair for Saturday, May 16, from Noon to 5 p.m. again on Willow Place.
The fair will be dedicated to the “great heart and mastermind of Brooklyn’s better self,” Alfred T. White. This is the 120th anniversary of the construction of his progressive Riverside Houses on Columbia Place. We’ll hear about his impact on our neighborhood at an opening rally at noon and the dedication to him of a tree in Riverside’s historic garden. We hope too to have present one of more of the five authors of the newly published “The Social Vision of Alfred T. White” for a book signing.
Please mark the fair on your calendars and get involved in it. Here are some ways:
- Be a fair sponsor
Please make a contribution of $25 or more to the 56-year-old Willowtown Association and thereby become a fair sponsor. Contributions are tax-deductible. This money is used for our mission of “addressing issues impacting the quality of life for the residents and serving as their collective voice and advocate.”
Make checks payable to The Willowtown Association and send them to our treasurer, Andrew Reynolds, 37 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn NY 11201. - Place an ad in the fair journal
Our fair journal will feature the Willowtown Walking Tour Guide available to all who attend. The guide notes the many historic features of our special neighborhood. The journal will carry ads. If you have a business or service or would like simply to convey a message, please buy an ad. Special full-page ads are $100; standard full-page, $80; half-page, $50; quarter-page, $30; and eighth-page, $20. The cost is tax-deductible.
Place ads by May 1 with Linda DeRosa, 47 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn NY 11201. She can be reached at linda@linda-derosa.com. Make checks payable to the Willowtown Association. - Contribute an item for the silent auction
The fair will include a silent auction to which residents are asked to make donations of theater tickets, services such as interior design consultation or babysitting, stays in second homes, merchandise such as wine, collectibles, haute cuisine and items for children.
The association’s president, Craig Bickerstaff, is overseeing the silent auction. Contact him with your donations at cbickerstaff@indigoing.com - Set up a boutique table or sponsor one
Our hope this year is to increase the number of boutique tables offering secondhand articles, antiques, books, records, artwork, plants, baked goods, an advocacy cause and any other possibility you may think of. The fee for a table selling something is $25 and for a cause, $10.
Joe and Mary Merz of 48 Willow Place are overseeing tables for which the fees are payable in advance. Contact them at Josephmerz@gmail.com.
Jean Campbell of 10 Columbia Place is handling the baked goods table. Contact her at jean.campbell@shearman.com - Spread the word–and attend!
The fair promises a good time for people of all ages with a raffle, Willowtown merchandise, standing games, races, face painting, live blues music, a food stand and a performance by the Heights Players in addition to the opening rally, the silent auction, the Willowtown walking tour and the chance to learn the histories of the houses on Willow Place.
