The history of festivals in Brooklyn can be traced back to the early 19th century when the borough was still a small town. The first recorded festival was the Brooklyn Fair, held in 1829. It was a celebration of agriculture and livestock that drew people from all over the state.
In one way or another, this fair could be considered one of the first events dedicated to food. Brooklyn is known for its diverse culinary scene, and that has had an impact on the types of festivals organized in the borough. The Taste of Bushwick, a food festival that began in 2014, was created to showcase the neighborhood’s diverse culinary offerings. It features tastings from local restaurants, as well as live music and art installations. You can find more details at brooklynski.info.
A Festival’s History
The first annual Taste of Bushwick in June 2014 had a rather humble beginning. It was held at The Bushwick Starr, a theatrical space on Starr Street, with just 12 food and drink vendors and 150 attendees. After this “incredible” success, the organizers teamed up with Boar’s Head Provisions, a Taste of Bushwick sponsor, and moved the event to the private grounds of their legendary distribution plant in Bushwick.
As a result, the second annual event in June 2015 hosted 30 vendors and 600 attendees, nearly tripling in size. The third and fourth annual Bushwick food festivals each attracted around 40 vendors and 850 visitors. The fifth Taste of Bushwick at Brooklyn Steel drew more than 1,000 attendees.
Tickets, available for $55, gave guests the opportunity to sample some of the neighborhood’s best food in a spacious, open-air music venue. Children under ten were admitted free of charge.
It’s worth noting that if you’ve lived in Bushwick for the past few years, you’ve witnessed a truly amazing explosion of culinary diversity in the neighborhood. With so many culinary awards being handed out quickly and frequently in New York, it can be hard to step back and realize that recently, thanks to The Taste of Bushwick, another major gastronomic district has emerged in the United States and the world.
Those who have attended at least one of the festivals and tasted everything there was to try have surely appreciated and enjoyed the taste of Bushwick. The phrase “Food Party” alone is inspiring, and for a food festival, it’s absolutely thrilling.
The Fifth Festival
More specifically about the fifth Taste of Bushwick. It all started on a summer evening when a crowd gathered at the Brooklyn Steel concert venue to properly appreciate Bushwick’s vibrant culinary scene. The fifth annual Taste of Bushwick became a crucial guide for those trying to keep up with the new, trendy bars and restaurants that are constantly opening in Bushwick. The long-awaited tasting festival proved to be one of Brooklyn’s premier culinary events.
The variety of restaurants participating in the fifth event represented nearly the entire spectrum of Bushwick’s culinary scene. To prove it, some of the first-time participants that year included Precious Metal, which served both vegan and non-vegan queso alongside a “Bloody Clean Mary.” There was also Bushwick Grind with their shrimp tacos, signature toasts, and zesty turkey burgers.
There was plenty of booze and coffee, too. Mint lemonade from Tito’s Vodka, Spanish-style dry ciders from Brooklyn Cider House, and beer from Braven Brewing Company. The local wine shop, Irving Bottles, offered wine, and some restaurants provided wine pairings. Locally roasted coffee beans from Sey Coffee and ginger ale from Bruce Cost, as well as beverages from House of Kava, kept everyone energized. For dessert, there were pastries from L’Imprimerie, which is known for making some of the best chocolate croissants in the city.
Like any event worth attending, the Taste of Bushwick that year had a GIF photo booth from Bosco and high-energy beats from local DJ Monikkr.
To this day, The Taste of Bushwick prides itself on celebrating and showcasing the diverse flavors of the neighborhood. After all, the area is home to more than four dozen restaurants, bars, and shops. They are all Bushwick establishments that sell food to people of different backgrounds—different faiths, and from different countries around the world.
And it’s a wonderful thing that many of these establishments—including some of Bushwick’s most famous restaurants—have the opportunity to gather in an open-air space from time to time to celebrate the neighborhood’s active gastronomic life, offering their most popular food and drink.
Working with Theatricals
It’s also great that all the proceeds from the 2018 event went to the theater, dance, and puppet season at the non-profit theater, The Bushwick Starr, located at 207 Starr Street. By the way, this is the same theater that won an Obie Award in those years.
As a reminder, The Bushwick Starr was founded in 2001 with the goal of supporting young artists in the theater community, whose productions often combine different performance styles. The Bushwick Starr started as a developmental space for the New York theater company Fovea Floods, Inc.
In 2004, the company helped fully transform the space into a “black box,” creating large-scale theatrical productions. In the years that followed, as the Bushwick neighborhood began to transform into a thriving arts network in need of space and support, the theater decided to open its doors to other artists. Since then, the theater has quickly become a bustling performance space that appeals to both artists and audiences.
Through its work with both emerging and established artists, as well as by creating a strong and meaningful connection with local schools and the community, The Starr has become a pillar of cultural life not only in Bushwick but throughout all of New York City. It has also earned a reputation as a reliable theater where people can enjoy new, high-quality work, regardless of what’s currently in vogue. The Bushwick Starr presents new shows by a highly skilled group of young and established artists who challenge the traditional perception of theater and performance.
The theater believes in the power of art to communicate in amazing ways. The works presented here are bold, new, and expressive, often blending genres. The Starr always supports all artists, offering an attentive, caring, and supportive environment for them, helping them create their best work under ideal conditions. At The Bushwick Starr, they provide a space that fuels and contains discussion about intersecting communities and creates a cultural bridge through their ongoing programs and events.
Art Unites
The Bushwick Starr strives to be a successful cultural institution grounded in the founder’s mission: to develop artists in the creation of their most innovative work, and to demonstrate the idea that accessible art with equal access can erase the boundaries of class and cultural divides, and that live theater is essential for preserving the current generation’s ability to communicate, engage, and participate in the present moment. The fruitful collaboration between the theater and the festival has certainly paid off.
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