Bleary-eyed, but Making Strides Brooklyn

Making Strides Brooklyn – The parking strategy

Brooklyn Roads Team – Oct. 16, 2016

Today Making Strides Brooklyn descends on Prospect Park.  This is one event of many to help the American Cancer Society combat breast cancer, and they anticipate a huge turn-out.  Brooklyn Roads (a digital magazine dedicated to the Brooklyn music scene) proudly supports the cause, and I am a consulting editor of the magazine.  Our team has a skeleton crew this year…only 4 members are able to make it, and since we hail from different directions, carpooling is not an option.

So I am up before the rooster crows, because I am vying for coveted parking near the park entrance, along with thousands of other people.  I am bleary-eyed because I was out late last night.  Even so, I manage to find a good spot quickly…my reward for sleep deprivation!  It’s about 8:00 a.m. now, the air is brisk, the sky is clear, and the sun warms my face as I walk to the registration tent to check in.  We couldn’t ask for better weather for this event!

A pink tsunami hits Brooklyn…

The Nethermead in early morning

At the moment all is quiet on the Nethermead in Prospect Park, where it all begins today for Making Strides Brooklyn.  The walk doesn’t kick off until 10 a.m., and I am one of the few participants already on the scene.  But there is a steady influx of pink:  pink tutus, pink hair, pink balloons, pink sneakers…even a dog spray painted pink!  One guy walks past wearing a pink shirt and pink lacy tutu.  The back of his shirt says, “save the ta-tas.”  Another family has a photo of a loved one on a banner.  It’s a huge turn-out!  By the time the MC hops up on the stage, a vast sea of pink spreads out in all directions.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn Roads founder and publisher Howard Leibowitz is circling like a vulture for a parking spot.  He passed me twice earlier, and I’m not sure he’s going to make it.  A dance troupe performs on the stage, followed by a round of thank yous to the Making Strides Brooklyn sponsors.  At last, the MC announces the official start of the walk.  Morale is high, and people chant and cheer their way to start the 3 mile journey to show their support.  Howard finally joins us around 10:30, and we join the pink ocean as it recedes from the Nethermead.

Time for a restraining order!

A group with their own portable CD player stalks us.  I guess they are frequent concert-goers…it is LOUD!  As they get closer, I feel the bass start to reverberate in my stomach.  And it is rap music they are blasting – not my cup of tea.  I purposely slow down so they can over-take us, and sweet (relative) silence follows in their wake.

Maybe it’s these guys…?

After a while my ears recover, and I can hear a marching band playing up ahead.  Cheerleaders rally everyone at strategic points along the way, and vendors have carts set up in the park.  We pass one with pretzels, another with drinks, and one guy is selling churros!  Boy they smell good.

Back at the finish there are goodie bags waiting for us and bottles of water.  The organizers did a really good job with such a huge event.  They provided a fun, family atmosphere, engaging entertainment, and plenty of bathroom facilities.  The volunteers are friendly and helpful, and I applaud the coordinated effort of the emergency services and the police.  As Making Strides Brooklyn winds down, I wonder how much of an impact the people gathered here today made.

These ladies are Making Strides Brooklyn in a nutshell

The current statistics: 1,005 teams and 5,117 participants raised just over $484,000.  Great job, Making Strides Brooklyn!