Photos: YouTube Screenshots
BROOKLYN, NY – November 24, 2025 – Just in time for the holiday season, the Bed-Stuy Gateway Business Improvement District (BID), will host its Small Business Saturday Winter Wonderland Arts on the Ave Holiday ceremony. This festive immersive experience will begin with an official kick off ceremony, on November 29, at 2:00 PM at Marcy Plaza, Fulton Street and Marcy Avenue featuring live performances and words for local stakeholders and elected officials.
The kickoff will be followed by an afternoon of fun activities designed to celebrate and support local businesses as part of the BID’s “Shop Small Shop Local” initiative. This family-friendly event includes three distinct activities: the Walk the Ave, Read the Tale adventure, which involves a 25 storefront art installations highlighting the story of Lionel the Lying Lion and encouraging visitors to discover diverse shops; the Seek & Find Challenge, a family-friendly fun scavenger hunt designed to engage the community with local businesses; and the Picture Card Raffle, which provides participants an opportunity to enter completed cards for hourly raffle drawings from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM for a chance to win a $300 Bose Speaker.
“The Bed-Stuy Gateway BID’s Winter Wonderland is more than just a holiday kick-off; it is an economic and cultural declaration of our neighborhood’s strength and creativity,” said Dale Charles, Executive Director, Bed-Stuy Gateway BID. “By bringing a heartwarming story like ‘Lionel the Lying Lion’ to our storefronts, we are turning our commercial corridor into a destination that champions art, literacy, family well-being, and most importantly creating traffic for our local merchants. We are grateful to our sponsors, Wells Fargo, NYC Small Business Services, and Art on the Avenue for their support.”
Designed specifically to champion the spirit of Small Business Saturday, Winter Wonderland strategically creates necessary foot traffic throughout the Bedford-Stuyvesant commercial district. This focused effort provides shoppers with a vibrant opportunity to shop local, discover unique gifts, and directly support the community’s small businesses during the critical holiday shopping season.
Centrally located in Brooklyn, the Bed-Stuy Gateway BID has proudly stood as one of the borough’s most prominent commercial and cultural focal points. Since 2009, the agency has partnered with local neighbors, and stakeholders to enrich its community through economic development while promoting its rich history of cultural diversity. Through a wide array of programs and services, the Bed-Stuy Gateway BID is committed to seeing the community thrive and blossom into the popular destination for all things Brooklyn.
