Been to the Riis Park Beach Bazaar?
The summer is in full swing and if you remember my Summer 2015 bucket list then you’ll know that spending time at the beach was a big part of it! Before we get into my time at the shore I’d like to also let you know about another blogger collaboration I did. Last week I teamed up with one lovely style blogger, that you can see here, and this week if you head over to Marina Says you can check out my first beauty post here! Definitely make sure to let me know what you think!
Onto the beach!
Riis Park Beach Bazaar is a new creation from the same group that used to hold weekly events in Brooklyn. Those events were produced under the name “Brooklyn Night Bazaar” and featured vendors of all kinds, mini golf, artists, a few musical acts, plenty of food stations and much more on Friday and Saturday nights. You could get a tattoo, listen to new music, try out several dishes and go shopping all in the same spot. Unfortunately their landlord at the old location reached a deal with a big company that forced them out of the property back in May. Similar things like this happen all over the country and especially in Brooklyn as of late. It’s a sad fact that smaller businesses are being pushed out but, in this scenario there is light at the end of the tunnel.
On the bright side, they moved to the beach and rebranded themselves as Riis Park Beach Bazaar! Recently A and I ventured over to Queens to explore this beach and to see exactly how the transition to the beach may or may not have changed the overall concept of the event. Was it going to seem more corporate? Was having it in a big open space like the beach instead of a warehouse going to take away from the energy of the event? Just so you know, I had not previously been to this particular beach and I had zero assumptions or expectations going into this. All I knew was the fact that I would be playing around in the sand and sea very shortly.
If you’d like a general overview of the set up and how everything works you can find more information about the Riis Park Beach Bazaar here. If you’re in the New York area I’d definitely suggest you drop by for a day, if you haven’t already, and see what all the fuss is about for yourself. For now, I’ll focus on my own experience and how my day went by breaking down my thoughts on the beach, food, price, entertainment, and the crowd.
Food: There is a lot to choose from and the benefit of attending this event as opposed to dining at some other genetic beach boardwalk is the variety. You can get everything from BBQ to mussels, tacos to ice cream and everything in between. You’ll find a lot more than fish n’ chips here. I fell in love with these beyond delicious fries they offered with an assortment of seasonings, sauces and flavors. They were probably the best fries I’ve had in a very long time and I would make the journey back to the Riis Park Beach Bazaar just to relive that taste again.
Entertainment: The DJs and the bands that played were exactly what you would expect. It was a mixture of nice, but not exactly awe inspiring music acts and a few DJ sets in between. I personally preferred the DJs since they played a lot of older tracks that I was familiar with and a few new top 40 faves. Our time at the Riis Park Beach Bazaar was mostly spent on the actual beach so I can only give a brief report on the performances.
Swimwear: Victoria’s Secret (exact here or via image), Sunnies: Urban Outfitters, Cover up: Lux
Beach/Setup: The beach was really nice. I enjoyed how it wasn’t too crowded and spent the vast majority of my time in the ocean. We stationed ourselves in direct sight of the event up on the boardwalk and it wasn’t a long walk from the beach back up to the event space to grab a bite to eat or back down again.
Crowd: The main difference in the crowd between this beach version and the warehouse one is that there were a lot more families. It makes sense that during a daytime event at the beach it would draw in more of the wholesome types and I kind of liked it better. It might be a sign of my getting a bit older but I thought the mix of youthful beachgoers and parents with their toddlers gave the whole event a nice lighter feeling.
Price: Much like the Brooklyn Night Bazaar before it, the Riis Park Beach Bazaar offers the option of purchasing tickets beforehand. Buying a ticket isn’t required though and you can easily enjoy everything without it. These tickets come in two tiers that both include 1 meal, 2 drinks (beer/wine) and a 25% discount on shuttle bus service. The more expensive pass for $28 also includes the added perk of a beach chair rental. This however is separate from the $10 parking fee that you’ll have to pay if you drive in. For A and I the $19 Tier 1 pass was enough and worth it due to the particular meals that we chose. Still, for some it might not be worth it if you aren’t into wine or maybe would prefer to bring your own food or only buy a snack.
Verdict: We had a fantastic time! I would definitely recommend going to the Riis Park Beach Bazaar but I would advise that you reconsider buying tickets if you would prefer your own food or maybe would like to drink a cocktail instead of a beer. You should also be aware that it’s not exactly a spring break movie and you might run into a baby or two.
What do you think of the Riis Park Beach Bazaar? Have you been to anything like it? Let me know what you’ve been up to this summer and check out some cool swimwear styles above!