Thanks Dana Rubinstein for writing such a nice piece about Stoopendous in the Brooklyn Paper. She explains how the summer solstice event came about and gives fun details about what’s being planned. One note: the All-Slope Solstice Shout-Out will not be limited to KAZOOs. You can make a whole lot of joyful noise any way you want to. By the way, have you seen any of the gorgeous posters, designed by Good Form Design, yet?

Park Slopers will celebrate the longest day of the year by sitting
on their stoops and blowing kazoos — part of the first annual
“STOOPendous” party to celebrate Brownstone Brooklyn’s trademark
feature.

On June 23, the neighborhood-wide stoop party will (at
least its organizers hope) culminate in an 8:31 pm, kazoo-blowing,
all-Slope solstice shout-out.

Technically, summer solstice falls
on June 21. But Thursdays aren’t all that convenient for full-on
sun-worship, with most adults basking in the fluorescent lights of
sun-starved office buildings, and children growing pale in school.

So Saturday it is. And what a stupendous STOOPendous it will be.

The idea stems from a brainstorming session held earlier this year by the Park Slope Civic Council.

“This
was overwhelmingly the most popular idea at the brunch,” said Council
President Lydia Denworth, whose recollections were interrupted by
sneezing (spring equinox allergies).

“It’s important and exciting
to celebrate the community we have, and this is such a Park Slope way
of doing it,” said Denworth. “These are the kinds of things that help
build the spirit of the community, which helps when you have to do
other stuff, like the hard work of advocacy.”

Even though the
Civic Council is underwriting the event with $1,250 worth of
advertising and kazoos, Denworth herself won’t be sitting on her stoop
on STOOPendous day.

“Unfortunately, I have a long-term commitment
to go visit my mother,” said Denworth. “I’m really sad. But I will be
blowing my kazoo from Maryland.”

Not so Susan Fox, a trustee on
the Council and the founder of Park Slope Parents, who will be hosting
a meet-and-greet in her building’s courtyard.

“Our building
doesn’t really have a stoop,” said Fox. “But STOOPendous is going to be
everything you can think of. Some blocks will have a street-wide stoop
sale. … Some people are having wine and cheese on their doorstep. Some
people are bringing out the chalk. We are planning a children’s art
show.”

Lest anyone think this is another example of Brooklynites
romanticizing the past, the stoop has always been a prized possession
and symbol of Brownstone Brooklyn, according to Simeon Bankoff,
executive director of the Historic Districts Council.

“The
wonderful thing about stoops is that they became this semi-public space
where you could sit,” said Bankoff of the stairways fronting the
late-19th-century rowhouses. “In Park Slope, you didn’t really have
yards. It was like a porch.”

Whether this inaugural 21st-century STOOPendous is a success, however, remains to be seen.

“If
you build it, they don’t necessarily come,” said Fox. “At this point,
the next three weeks will be all about getting people excited and
interested.”