On The Avenue: Annual #ShopPinkBayRidge Event Benefits Cancer Research

October 30, 2021 Editorial Staff

Chrisie Canny (right) of Vented in Brooklyn helped to organize the #ShopPinkBayRidge event along with Charmed proprietors Jeanine Conden, Lisa Larkin and Melissa Franz (left to right). Photo courtesy of Merchants of Third Avenue

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It was a great week for giving back! Shoppers dressed in pink and hit Third Avenue en masse on Saturday, Oct. 23 for the annual “23rd on 3rd” #ShopPinkBayRidge event to raise money for cancer research.

Merchants of Third Avenue board member and Charmed by JLM proprietor Jeanine Condon, who helped organize the event along with Vented in Brooklyn’s Chrisie Canny, said the cooperation from her fellow merchants was encouraging.

“It was great to see the merchants give back to such a worthy cause,” she said. “We’re already looking forward to next year’s event!”

As part of this very special initiative, participating merchants agreed to donate a percentage of the day’s sales to the American Cancer Society in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Last year’s event raised more than $7,000 toward finding a cure, organizers said.

Business owners flew pink balloons outside their stores or in their windows to let everyone know that they were participating in the event. Shoppers flocked to many of the businesses supporting the cause, including Charmed, the Green Spa & Wellness Center, Towne, The BookMark Shoppe, Lipstick Box, The Ridge Kids, Mixx, Lu Bella Boutique and Bridge Pharmacy. After a long day of shopping for the worthy cause, many grabbed a bite to eat at event participants like ALC Italian Grocery, Georgian Cuisine, Polonica, Zio Toto, Cebu, Caffe Café and the Brooklyn Firefly.

Among the day’s notable shoppers spotted “on the avenue” was Third Avenue Festival Chairman Chip Cafiero, who purchased a wide array of groceries at ALC after chatting with proprietor and Merchants of Third Avenue board member Louis Coluccio. Fellow board member and Green Spa proprietor Sheila Brody walked the avenue in earnest and showed her support at several spots. Adelphi Academy of Brooklyn Head of School Iphigenia Romanos also showed support for the cause by enjoying a shopping spree at Charmed before continuing along the avenue.

Speaking of Adelphi Academy of Brooklyn, talented student artists from the historic Bay Ridge private school were seen “on the avenue” painting classic scenes of the season as part of the Bay Ridge Community Council’s 69th Annual Halloween Window Painting Contest on Thursday, Oct. 29. Art instructor and longtime Adelphi faculty member Nikki Fregara guided Middle and Upper Schoolers through the process as they brought their spooky visions to life on the windows of Ridgewood Savings Bank and Northfield Bank — two of the event’s participating businesses.

Adelphi Academy of Brooklyn Class of 2022 members Yura Izachik (left) and Isaac Nasimov show off their finished Halloween paintings now adorning the windows of Northfield Bank. Photo courtesy of Adelphi Academy of Brooklyn

The annual tradition allows for students from throughout Bay Ridge to decorate the windows of businesses along Third, Fourth and Fifth avenues with their most creative tributes to Halloween and the fall season. Be sure to look out for spooky scenes created by Adelphians and other student artists the next time you’re out and about “on the avenue!”