Memorial Day Events in Brooklyn, 2011

 Yesterday we rode the Sea Streak to Sandy Hook for a day at the beach. We recommend it as a very easy way to get to the Jersey Shore. But you don't have to leave Brooklyn to have a good time this weekend. The photo above, taken from the boat, shows folks relaxing at Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 1, where the great food vendors have returned for the summer. (See below for more about the new Pier 6 opening as well.)

Want to catch some Brooklyn Memorial Day events? Here's a roundup of some of this weekend's highlights:

- The country's oldest Memorial Day Parade takes place in Bay Ridge. The parade starts at 11 a.m. on 87th Street and Third Avenue and runs to John Paul Jones Park.  More here

- Brooklyn Bridge Park has opened Pier 6 in time for the Memorial Day weekend. The new section includes three sand-volleyball courts, an outdoor food court and two swaths of lawn with native plants and trees. Pier 1 is delightful as always, with the same delicious food vendors as last year. More here.

- Take the ferry to Governors Island: Giant sculptures, art workshops, the Burble Bup pavilion, a huge picnic with many vendors (tickets), historic fashion, electronic arts festival, Big Apple Circus circus skills workshops, and more. This Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 10 - 7. Brooklyn ferry leaves from Pier 6. Schedule here.

- Historic Green-Wood Cemetery is commemorating the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War with events all weekend. Here is the list of events:

     - SUNDAY EVENING: THE GRAND PROCESSION
Led by cavalry and musicians, the procession winds past thousands of candlelit graves of Civil War veterans. 7:00 p.m., $10 per person or $25 for families before Friday. At the door: $15/$30. 

     - MONDAY MORNING: THE MARCH OF HONOR
Walk with descendants of Civil War veterans to the graves of men who died at Shiloh, Antietam and Gettysburg. Ceremonies include artillery rifle salutes and musical tributes. 11:00 a.m. Free.

     - MONDAY AFTERNOON: FREE MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT
Bring a blanket and enjoy melodies of the Civil War in addition to the works of Green-Wood’s permanent residents Leonard Bernstein, Fred Ebb, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and others.3:00 p.m. Free.

     - ALL WEEKEND: “HONORING THEIR SACRIFICE” EXHIBITION
This exhibition features fascinating artifacts from the Civil War, much of it never before displayed in public. Open from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM weekdays, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM weekends. Free.

- Dance Africa at BAM: Dance, special dance classes, artist talk and film, plus the bazaar. Takes place all weekend in Fort Greene.

- After you're done riding upside own or getting flung into space in a giant slingshot, visit the Coney Island History Project's exhibition center at Deno's Wonder Wheel Park, free.

- The beautiful Brooklyn Botanic Garden is usually closed Mondays, but it's open for Memorial Day. Have you noticed it's always cooler at the Garden? 

- Don't forget the Brooklyn Flea -- on Sundays in Williamsburg.

- Cave of Forgotten Dreams, a "breathtaking new 3D documentary" from the Werner Herzog (Encounters at the End of the World, Grizzly Man) follows an expedition into the nearly inaccessible Chauvet Cave in France, home to the most ancient visual art known to have been created by man. At BAM Rose Cinemas Friday through Tuesday and also Thursday.

Photo by MK Metz

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