Gowanus Goes Green festival

The Gowanus Canal Conservancy's first annual Gowanus Goes Green festival held on Sunday June 1, 2008, was blessed with a gorgeous, sunny day. Held on Carroll Street, crowds were thrilled with a children's yoga class held on the historic Carroll Street Bridge and later children and adults stood on the bridge as the Dept. of Transportation slid this retractile bridge into its open position and then closed it again, to a big round of applause. Throughout the day, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection's skimmer vessel, Jamaica Bay, cruised the waters removing debris and other floatables from the surface as children on shore watched in fascination.

Out on Carroll Street, shoppers perused an assortment of natural bags, toys and crafts, skin care products, and organic T-shirts; learned more about green roofs and NYC's first green spa; and children had their faces painted and indulged in free arts and crafts projects re-using discarded materials, as well as other fabulous goods and services. Visitors swarmed to the raffle where they bid on ten different prizes, from a beautiful handbag made from recycled paper to the services of a professional packer coming to your home to help prepare you for your move. Meanwhile, in The Yard, a unique open space characterized by its two silos, revelers relaxed on picnic tables under the trees, munching on delicious vegan empanadas provided by V-Spot Cafe of Park Slope, sampled organic chocolate from Theo's Chocolates and wonderful desserts from the Treats Truck, and enjoyed beer from Union Hall while listening to the toe-tapping hillbilly music of the Brooklyn-based band, The Defibulators.