The most important 6 weeks of shopping of the year are between Thanksgiving and Christmas. During that time, the BID strings holiday lights across each street covering the entire length of 5th Avenue from 38th to 64th Street. They are like strings of pearls. Illuminations by Arnold designed special LED rope lights for Sunset Park which light our avenue from Thanksgiving through Three Kings Day.
The Sunset Park BID places an 18’ holiday tree on the sidewalk in front of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica. It can be seen from the week after Thanksgiving until Three Kings Day. Throughout the season, we see families taking pictures in front it to send home to relatives still living abroad.
As an official start of the holiday season, the Sunset Park BID, in cooperation with OLPH Basilica, holds a special ceremony on the street in front of the church, usually on the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Santa sits in front of the tree and children can have their picture taken with him, compliments of the BID. Each child gets a goody bag of toys too. Then choirs from our local schools and organizations ring in the season, entertaining their neighbors for several hours. There is also a free magic show which entertains the children adults alike. As night falls and it gets dark, the tree is lit to a countdown from the crowd.
The Sunset Park BID has sidewalk Santas walking the avenue giving out candy canes. During the course of the holiday season, the BID gives out about 5,000 candy canes, bringing extra joy to children of Sunset Park.
What is Christmas and the holidays without music? Since 2007, the BID has hired Sound on the Run to place speakers on each corner along 5th Avenue from 38th St to 64th St. For 6 hours each day, from 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM, festive holiday songs can be heard throughout the avenue. Every year the BID receives emails and calls thanking us for the special sounds which made the holiday even more memorable.
This year, the BID decided to try something new. We went out and recorded Sunset Park's own children and neighbors as they celebrated the holidays with music. When you walk down 5th Avenue, you will hear young Sunset Park residents wishing Sunset Park residents happy holidays through music and shoutouts in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic.
All the BID businesses along 5th Avenue would like to thank the following schools, churches, and organizations for allowing us to share their holiday joy with all of Sunset Park:
- P.S. 506
- Bay Ridge Christian Center
- St. Agatha’s School Chorus
- Brooklyn Chinese American Association Youth Chorus
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help School Chorus
- P.S. 1
- P.S. 69