Free backpacks, free haircuts, and a lineup of Caribbean and hip-hop performers are heading to Barclays Center this Sunday as radio host Angela Yee brings her annual block party back to Brooklyn. The seventh annual Angela Yee Day community block party runs from noon to 5 p.m. on the arena's concourse, offering local families a free back-to-school send-off just as the new school year approaches.
The event will include local vendors, community resources, and free haircuts and braiding alongside live music, according to FOX 5 New York. Yee, a Flatbush native described as a radio host and entrepreneur, joined Good Day New York to preview the gathering ahead of Sunday's festivities, per the same report. Backpacks will be handed out to families attending the free event, held on the Barclays Center concourse in Brooklyn.
From a Bed-Stuy Plaza to a Barclays Center Tradition
The block party has come a long way from its origins. The inaugural event was held in August 2019 at Restoration Plaza in Bed-Stuy, featuring games, giveaways, and live performances by VP Records reggae artists, as Life Entertainment reported at the time. That first gathering was produced in partnership with local small businesses and sponsors before the event eventually grew into its current home at Barclays Center's Ticketmaster Plaza.
The day itself traces back even further, to 2018, when then-Mayor Bill de Blasio officially declared August 28 as Angela Yee Day, recognizing her ongoing community service and literacy advocacy across the city, according to Medium. De Blasio presented the proclamation at Gracie Mansion while also naming Yee a New York Public Library Ambassador, a role she has held ever since. Yee has also served as BSE Global's Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement Ambassador since 2019, per Wikipedia.
A Stacked Lineup and a Coalition of Sponsors
This year's entertainment slate features Baby Cham, Ding Dong, Vanessa Bling, Capella Grey, Lyrikal, Mickael Marabou, Jenn Carter, and TINA, formerly known as Hoodcelebrityy, spanning multiple genres alongside local DJ sets, according to Jockline Daily. The free services on offer, from health outreach to hair braiding to supply giveaways, are underwritten by a coalition of corporate and civic sponsors that includes the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, MetroPlusHealth, Vivace by Kiss and Vivatress, LifeVac USA, Mesidor PLLC, MooreJustice Accident and Injury Lawyers, and the U.S. Army NYC Recruiting Battalion.
The annual gathering is presented in partnership with The Social Justice Fund, a philanthropic initiative created by Joe and Clara Wu Tsai through the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation, according to Atlantic Yards Report. The Tsais co-own BSE Global, which operates both Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Nets. The outlet also notes that Angela Yee Day forms part of a broader summer outdoor event series at the arena's plaza, which includes the Social Justice Fund's Belong Brooklyn community programming.
Yee's Broadcast Roots and the Back-to-School Squeeze
Yee spent 12 years co-hosting Power 105.1's The Breakfast Club before launching her own nationally syndicated daily show, Way Up with Angela Yee, in 2023 across more than 30 iHeartMedia stations nationwide, according to a report from BET. She grew up in Flatbush and attended Wesleyan University before building her media career in New York.
The free backpack giveaway arrives as families nationwide brace for record back-to-school costs. National K-12 back-to-school spending is projected to hit $43.3 billion in 2026, up from $39.4 billion in 2025, according to a Forbes analysis of National Retail Federation survey data, with families facing average household supply expenses exceeding $557 per child. School supply costs also rose 14.5% year-over-year heading into the new school year, leading 78% of shoppers to report higher overall expenses despite buying similar or fewer items, per amNewYork, which noted that local parents are reusing supplies and spreading purchases across several months to cope with the inflation.
Against that backdrop, Sunday's free backpacks, haircuts, and community resources on the Barclays Center concourse offer a tangible, no-cost head start for Brooklyn families heading into the school year. Doors open at noon and the block party runs through 5 p.m.
