Film Festival Calls an End to Its Annual Street Fair in Tribeca

In 2002, crowds filled Greenwich Street in Tribeca for the first annual Family Festival, sponsored by the Tribeca Film Festival. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib

It’s the end of the road for the giant street fair that brought thousands of families to Tribeca for one Saturday each year over the past 15 years.

The Tribeca Film Festival announced on Wednesday that its Family Fair, which has taken place on the last Saturday of the annual spring festival, has served its purpose of contributing to the post-9/11 renewal of the neighborhood.

“As the neighborhood has grown and changed, so has the Tribeca Film Festival. As part of our evolution, we are shifting our family programming to increase opportunities for the community to participate in activities rooted in film,” Tammie Rosen, spokeswoman for the festival’s parent company, Tribeca Enterprises, said in a statement.

Rosen said in lieu of hosting the fair, the festival would sponsor more free films for families, including a showing of “Aladdin” at  the Tribeca Performing Arts Center and free sports films and activities, also at TPAC.

“The neighborhood is thriving and we are proud to be a part of it,” Rosen said in the statement.

Over the years, the street fair has provided a stage for young performers from local schools and visibility for neighborhood-based businesses and non-profit organizations.

This year’s festival runs from April 19 to 30. Major Lower Manhattan venues include Spring Studios on Varick Street in Tribeca and Regal Cinemas in Battery Park City as well as TPAC at Borough of Manhattan Community College.