Your Neighborhood – Your News Including Flatbush Life - 18th Ave. feast is cancelled

Q: Why was the 18th Avenue Feast cancelled this year?

Organizers said the city delayed issuing permits, leaving too little time to set up for the scheduled Aug. 25 start.

Q: Where is the 18th Avenue Feast typically held?

It is held along an eight-block stretch of 18th Avenue between 67th and 75th streets.

Q: What details were provided in the announcement?

Organizer Joe DeMarco said there would be no Feast this year and cited insufficient time for 250 vendors and entertainers due to permit delays.

Sep 27, 2026

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Brooklyn’s annual 18th Avenue Feast was cancelled after organizers said the city delayed issuing permits, leaving insufficient time to prepare for the Aug. 25 kickoff. Organizer Joe DeMarco announced the decision via a Facebook post, ending a tradition that typically brings thousands of residents and hundreds of vendors to an eight-block stretch of 18th Avenue. The dispute centers on permit timing and the ability to coordinate vendors and entertainers on schedule, with the planned festival not taking place this year.

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Serving Ditmas Park, Flatbush, Kensington, Kings Highway & Midwood

18th Ave. feast is cancelled

Arm wrestling feature: ONE STRONG BOND

Police Blotter and letters

Aug. 25-31, 2011 Your Neighborhood – Your News Including Flatbush Life SERVING DITMAS PARK, FLATBUSH, KENSINGTON, KINGS HIGHWAY & MIDWOOD 18th Ave. feast is cancelled By Daniel Bush Organizers have pulled the plug on this year’s 18th Avenue Feast, quashing a decades-old tradition with a surprise Facebook post last Thursday that blamed the city for the festival’s demise. “I am sad to inform you that there will be no Feast this year,”organizer Joe DeMarco wrote on a Facebook page dedicated to the annual street fair, which draws thousands of Brooklynites and hundreds of vendors to an eightblock stretch of 18th Avenue between 67th and 75th streets. DeMarco claimed that the city dragged its feet in issuing the permits for the Feast — not giving organizers enough time to set everything up for its scheduled Aug. 25 kickoff. “There is no time to get the 250 vendors [and] entertainers to make the feast happen and [we] Continued on Page 10 noise’s off! A CNG Publication • Vol. 66 No. 34 K_\i\Ëj X e\n jfliZ\ ]fi e\nj `e pfli e\`^_Yfi_ff[j1 :c`Zb fe 9iffbcpe;X`cp%Zfd \m\ip [Xp ]fi Zfm\iX^\ f] 9iffbcpek_Xk `j ]Xjk\i\# Y\kk\i Xe[ [\\g\i k_Xe Xep fk_\i fec`e\ glYc`ZXk`fe% iXg_`Z\# B`e^j :fli`\i\# D`cc$DXi`e\ :fli`\i\# 9Xp I`[^\ :fli`\i Xe[ 9iffbcpe :fli`\i Ç Xe[ dfi\􀀘 9iffbcpe;X`cp%Zfd Ç pfli fe\$jkfg j_fgg`e^ ]fi 9iffbcpe e\nj% FEC@E< EFN􀀘 INSIDE | NNN%)+J 􀂛 ( DONE STRONG BOND
Gowanus couple two of the best arm wrestlers in the city
By Meredith Deliso
Talk about a power couple.
Two of the best arm wrestlers
in the state are not only from Brooklyn—but they’re also boyfriend and girlfriend.
Joyce Boone and Harry Wilson have been together longer than they’ve been handily taking down competitors from Long Island to Niagra Falls. The two met 18 years ago—literally crossing paths while working as messengers. It wasn’t until a few years later that Wilson spontaneously joined in an arm wrestling competition during the Atlantic Antic. He won. Later, Boone gave it a shot while accompanying Wilson
to a match. She won, too. The Gowanus couple has been mostly winning ever since, and look to take down their respective genders at this Sunday’s Brooklyn-Kingsboro Arm Wrestling Championships, held during the Brighton Jubilee Festival.
Boone is the returning female champion, and the 44-year-old is the clear favorite to take home the $100 prize.
“She is no less the best arm wrestler in Brooklyn and New York State and maybe the world right now,”said Gene Camp, founder of the New York Arm Wrestling Association.
Wilson agrees. He is Boone’s biggest fan, gladly giving her the spotlight and even deferring to her responses during an interview.
“I don’t think anybody in the city can beat her right-handed,” said Wilson.“She wins every tournament.”
Well, not every tournament. During a regrettably memorable match in 1997, Boone broke her arm after slipping into the aptly named “broke arm position.”
“I definitely lost that one,” said Boone. That experience has stuck with her at every match since.“I hope I don’t break my arm and just go up there and do my best,” she said.
It seems to work — Boone is the best female arm wrestler in the state, after winning last year’s Empire State Championship.
Her boyfriend’s no slouch himself— the 49-year-old righty’s won 25 championships, including the Long Island Championships last month, and has an arm like Popeye’s on spinach. During this Sunday’s match, Wilson will look to beat Giorgi Gelashvili of Sheepshead Bay, who won last year’s Brooklyn-Kingsboro Arm Wrestling Championships.
Arm wrestling is hardly king of sports in this city — this competition, for instance, is occurring during a block party. So besides the modest cash prizes and free

FAQs

Why was the 18th Avenue Feast cancelled this year?

Organizers said the city delayed issuing permits, leaving too little time to set up for the scheduled Aug. 25 start.

Where is the 18th Avenue Feast typically held?

It is held along an eight-block stretch of 18th Avenue between 67th and 75th streets.

What details were provided in the announcement?

Organizer Joe DeMarco said there would be no Feast this year and cited insufficient time for 250 vendors and entertainers due to permit delays.

Sep 27, 2026

Upload by Callum