What: DanceAfrica Bazaar 2009
Where: GMCC parking lots at Lafayette and Ashland Place
When: May 23rd, 12-10 p.m., May 24th, 12-8 p.m., May 25th, 12-7 p.m.
Why: You say Flea. Some say Fair. Others say Festival. Instead of calling anything that fits into the whole outdoor vending scene a market, 32 years ago DanceAfrica started calling its outdoor extravaganza a bazaar. Today, it is the granddaddy of them all.
This Memorial Day weekend, more than 250 vendors from as far as the Caribbean and Africa will gather outside of Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House in downtown Brooklyn, where an estimated 30,000 people are expected to attend. Bring an appetite and your inner bargainer to help you purchase wisely as booths will be stacked with everything from African jewels and authentic artifacts to locally handmade and vintage goods to house wares and scents indigenous to the lands that inspire the festival.
In addition to the popular outdoor events, the BAM-produced DanceAfrica Festival features a dance program called Rhythmic Reflection: African Legacies Revealed, with an ensemble of companies; a film series at BAM Rose Cinemas; an art exhibit; and live music performances in BAMcafé.
“The festival is beautiful and it represents Brooklyn so much. It’s so rich in culture,” said Maricia DuPlessis, a Park Slope resident and a native of the Cape Malay tribe in South Africa. “From the performance to the crowd it is an amazing cultural experience.”
Leaving the island or journeying to downtown Brooklyn from within the boroughs for a community celebration such as this is well worth the ride. Whether your nostrils flare at the rising smoke from BBQ pits or your soul starts to feel a groove to the music flooding the streets, you’ll know you’ve found summer and good times to come in the great outdoors.
Cost: Free
How to get there: Be sure to visit the event website below for all the venue locations and more details. Take the $7 BAMbus from Park Avenue between 41st and 42nd Streets. Alternatively, take the 2, 3, 4, 5, B, Q to Atlantic Avenue, the G to Fulton St, or the C to Lafayette Ave. Click on HopStop below for step-by-step directions. (BAM, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 718.636.4100, bam.org)
Photos: Courtesy of Jonathan Barth
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram