Saturday: Tour Red Hook's Historic Past and Commercial Present

RED HOOK, BROOKLYN — If you have a few free hours this Saturday, you can spend them walking through Red Hook's history while getting clued in to its vibrant present.

A walking neighborhood tour put on by Local Expeditions, an organization that coordinates tours designed by locals, will leave from Ikea at 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 7.

Tour guide Andrea Coyle says she'll cover about "400 years in two hours," guiding guests through Red Hook's manufacturing and seafaring past.

Local Expeditions also aims to, as Coyle explained it, "mix in the history as well as highlighting the business of today," so she said she'll be introducing guests to numerous restaurants and area enterprises along the way. The $40 admissions fee also includes a free wine tasting at The Red Hook Winery. Plus, Local Expeditions donates five percent of its ticket sales to a local charity of the guide's choosing — in this case, the Red Hook Initiative, which works with area youth.

You can learn more about the tour, and buy a ticket, on the Local Expeditions website.

Pictured at top: Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. Image via Google Maps.