Out & About

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The New York Sun

Sometimes, the way to survive in this big city is to act a little country. That’s what folks did Wednesday night at the Brooklyn Historical Society’s annual gala.


The top steers of Kings County came out with cowboy boots, shirts with fringe trim, blue jeans, and bolo ties. It was an evening to relax for lots of big dreamers and hard workers, including the president of the Prospect Park Alliance, Tupper Thomas; the executive director of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Gail Stone; and the immediate past president of the Brooklyn Historical Society, Jessie Kelly.


There was beer, barbecue, a bluegrass band, and a square-dance caller. It’s doubtful anyone missed the hay fields and the cows, though. How could they, with the stars overhead and the lights of Manhattan twinkling over the East River? For many guests, the event marked their first visit to the Tobacco Warehouse at Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, an urban wonderland and the star of the DUMBO waterfront.


Whether the mood was country, urban, or simply Brooklyn, people approved.


“It’s nice to be at a New York gala that’s not pretentious,” one of the producers of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, Wes Jackson, said.


The event’s chairwomen, Lisa Detwiler, Harriet Dresher, and Dona Laughlin, helped the society raise more than $225,000.The Brooklyn Historical Society is located in a stately building on Pierrepont Street, offering exhibits, educational programs, and one of the most handsome libraries in the city.


agordon@nysun.com


The New York Sun

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