After a 25-year break, June Balloon is set to float back into Brower Park, bringing a full day of kids' games, music and neighborly hangouts to Crown Heights on Saturday, June 20, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Organizers say the free, family-focused festival will center on children's activities and conversations about the neighborhood, echoing the block-party energy longtime residents remember from the 1980s and 1990s.
The return marks the first June Balloon since 2001 and revives a tradition that ran every summer from 1980 through 2001, according to Brooklyn Eagle. That outlet reports the reboot is being organized by the Crown Heights CARE Collective along with community space Another World, with plans for games, music, contests and plenty of chances for neighbors to talk and reconnect.
Planners and activities
Organizers have been gathering at local community hub Another World, which has been recruiting volunteers and listing June Balloon on its calendar along with several volunteer-orientation sessions leading up to the big day, Another World notes.
The event website lays out a packed schedule, including a basketball tournament, bounce house, cardboard-village build, double-dutch, a “Battle of the Generations” dance competition and a drag-queen story hour. It describes the revival as community-supported and grassroots, with private backing from City Parks Foundation and Partnership for Parks through the NYC Green Fund, per JuneBalloon.
Community response
Some longtime Crown Heights residents see June Balloon's disappearance as one more casualty of rapid neighborhood change and rising rents, and organizers have framed the comeback as an attempt to rebuild local public life and neighborhood institutions. The event fundraiser calls the revival a community act against “predatory landlords and organized abandonment,” and characterizes it as both a celebration and a community response, according to GoFundMe.
How to go
June Balloon is free and open to the public. Volunteers and attendees are encouraged to check the event website for sign ups and updates, JuneBalloon says. Orientation sessions and volunteer-shift details are posted on the organizers' calendar at Another World.
The June Balloon site lists contact information and volunteer sign ups for families planning their day in the park, while Another World shares logistical notes for those interested in helping out. Attendees should plan for family-friendly activities, pack water and sunscreen and expect community tables and performances across Brower Park from late morning into early evening.
