We first heard about Stoopendous at a Park Slope Civic Council meeting during the winter when summer seemed so far off in the distance that we chuckled as bitterly as the cold wind blowing outside. Yet, here we are.

Stoopendous, which is kind of neighborhood-wide block party to celebrate summer, takes place tomorrow night all over Park Slope. The event is sponsored by the Park Slope Civic Council and has been conceived in part and promoted tirelessly by Louise Crawford of Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn. Here’s what the Stoopendous website says in part:

Join your neighbors on Saturday, June 23, for a STOOPendous party that is as big as the Slope! Mark the start of summer with your neighbors on your own stoops and sidewalks. Celebrate the summer solstice, the day when planet earth enjoys the most sunlight during the year.

This short guide offers you suggestions for how you can create a simple yet engaging solstice event on your block, in your building, or along an avenue.
Your celebration can occur any time of day, but at 8:31 pm, when the sun sets, the All-Slope-Solstice-Shout-Out will start. Use kazoos, bang pots and pans, swing bells, or play drums. Make a racket to bid farewell to the sun’s long day and to ring in the new season. Or sing to the sun.

So, if you’re in Park Slope tomorrow and you see a bunch of people outside blowing kazoos at 8:31, there’s a reason for it. And, if you live in Park Slope and you’re outside, get out there and blow a kazoo or bang on a pot or point your speakers out the window and blast Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life or something.