“It’s going well; everyone seems to be having fun,” said Victoria Hofmo, president of the Bay Ridge Arts and Cultural Alliance (BRACA), which organized the festival. “There are different age groups enjoying themselves. It also gave us an opportunity to check out the new places, like the Butcher Bar, which is not officially open yet.”

Each participating venue had seasonal blue and white balloons outside. At the Butcher Bar, paintings by local artist Michelle Farkouh were for sale. Singers from Regina Opera performed some arias at Vesuvio’s Restaurant and kids got to take a stab at “ice fishing” at Cosentino’s Fish Market.

Carla Danielson came to the festival with her daughter, Sofia, who attends the Christ Church After School Program.

“It’s nice. I wouldn’t have come in and seen this new restaurant if we had not been walking around,” she said, referring to La Lune, where the children gave an impromptu performance of “That’s Amore.”

Esther Tonessen was also having a good time. “At Salty Dog, they had good Hawaiian dancing,” she said. “It’s very good.”

Even Councilmember Vincent Gentile came out to celebrate. He was having a late lunch at La Lune.

“This is great. It’s an opportunity to see stores that participate. You not only get to see the stores but the art and skills of people in Bay Ridge, whether it’s children or adults,” he said. “I started at Circles. I went ice fishing. It was fun.”

Michael Cosentino owns Cosentino’s Fish Market, which has been in his family since 1920. He had a makeshift ice fishing game in his shop.

“I thought it would be a good thing for shoppers on the avenue with their families,” he said of his decision to participate. “We did have a few kids in here.”

Participating patrons included: Circles, The Storefront, Nordic Deli, Scandinavian East Coast Museum, Christ Church After School, Cosentino’s, Anapoli, Yellow Hook Grille, Remy’s Lounge, Vesuvio’s, King Falafel, Bay Ridge Historical Society, Butcher Bar and Salty Dog.