Jamaica gets another day of free family fun with ‘Weekend Walk’ event

This Saturday’s Weekend Walk will feature free games, face painting and more. Photo by Domo Photography, courtesy of the Jamaica Center BID.

By Victoria Merlino

Expect an extra dose of fun on Jamaica Avenue this weekend.

The Jamaica Center Business Improvement District will host its second Weekend Walks summer event on Saturday, Aug. 17, called “Family Fun on the Ave.” 

The event will feature free face painting, games and art workshops. Musical and dance performances will include the Edge School of the Arts, featuring tap dancer Omar Edwards, Afro-Latineers and an educational musical performance by Miss Keila’s Jukebox.

“It brings the community together,” Jamaica Center BID Executive Director Jennifer Furioli told the Eagle. She said the BID’s first Weekend Walk event on July 13 was a “huge success.”

“Some people were surprised by what was going on, surprised in a good way,” the BID’s Director of Marketing and Business Services Trey Jenkins said.

Jamaica Center BID coordinated the Saturday Weekend Walk after residents, businesses and others in the community called for more family-friendly community events in Jamaica in a Commercial District Needs Assessment survey. 

Weekend Walks are a Department of Transportation initiative to spotlight local institutions, businesses and neighborhood resources, and they happen throughout the five boroughs. 

“We’re hoping to do a lot more of this in the future,” Furioli said, highlighting a Halloween event that the BID has in the works, as well as an event guide that lists more to do in the district. 

The Weekend Walk will occur from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Jamaica Avenue between Parsons Boulevard and 162nd Street.