weekend-long party will kick off summer in the city, Brooklyn style, during the annual Brooklyn Best celebration, scheduled to take place, this year, on June 2nd and 3rd.The celebration, which will be held in and around Grand Army Plaza and Prospect Park, is designed to give Brooklynites and those from beyond the borough's borders a tantalizing taste of everything that Brooklyn has to offer, said Borough President Marty Markowitz, whose office is sponsoring the initiative, which is being presented by the Brooklyn Tourism and Visitors Center."This is a destination event," said Markowitz, during a phone interview. "It introduces Brooklyn to Brooklyn, and Brooklyn to the world. There's not a better place to spend a weekend than Brooklyn. I encourage everyone to join us and really experience Brooklyn big-time."AdvertisementTo that end, said Markowitz, events have been scheduled to showcase both the borough's perennial attractions and its diversity.On both days, the cultural institutions and attractions that are part of the Heart of Brooklyn -- Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Museum, the Prospect Park Zoo, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Brooklyn Public Library and the Brooklyn Children's Museum -- will offer a plethora of special events.These include tours of BBG's rose garden, timed for Rose Month, an Ice Cream Social at the Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park, Target First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum, and a celebrity puppet performance at the Prospect Park Zoo's Wildlife Theater.The institutions will also be providing entertainment at Grand Army Plaza, ranging from a live animal show, courtesy of the Brooklyn Children's Museum to BPL's Kidsmobile.Saturday night will feature a free 30th anniversary screening of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind in Prospect Park's Long Meadow, preceded by fireworks.And, for those who like to play with their food, movie-goers will get to enjoy free mashed potatoes, made by Schnack, that will give them the opportunity to do exactly what Brooklyn boy Richard Dreyfuss did in the film -- make the mysterious mountain that is the film's symbol out of a pile of the creamy spuds.On Sunday, performances on a stage in Grand Army Plaza will provide tantalizing samples of a wide range of events taking place across the borough over the next several months, from Coney Island's Mermaid Parade to the Brooklyn Book Festival, the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival to the Boriqua Festival, BAM's Afro-Punk Festival to the Siren Music Festival, and many more.In addition, a pair of fashion shows, on Sunday afternoon, in front of the Brooklyn Museum, will show off the cutting-edge design talents blossoming in the borough. One of the shows will be put together by the borough president's office; the other will be mounted by the Brooklyn Style Council, which organizes the annual Brooklyn Fashion Weekend.And, for those who would rather do than watch, Brooklyn Icons Mini-Golf -- a six-hole miniature golf course featuring replicas of such renowned structures as the Brooklyn Bridge, the arch at Grand Army Plaza and KeySpan Park -- will be set up for free putting around Grand Army Plaza's Bailey Fountain on Sunday.For those who are really energetic, the third annual Tour de Brooklyn -- an 18-mile free family bike ride organized by Transportation Alternatives -- will take cyclists on a Sunday ride from Grand Army Plaza through waterfront neighborhoods such as Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst, before returning through Kensington and Prospect Park South to Prospect Park's historic Carousel. Registration for the bike ride begins at Grand Army Plaza at 8 a.m. and kicks off at 9:30 a.m.Brooklyn Best has been produced annually since 2003. "It's good family fun, and that's a good thing," remarked Markowitz.The first Brooklyn Best celebrated the 120th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge. Subsequent Brooklyn Best extravaganzas have taken place in Grand Army Plaza, Coney Island and Bedford-Stuyvesant. Two years ago, approximately 50,000 people attended the festival, a number that Markowitz said he would like to see go up, this year.For additional information and schedule of events call Brooklyn Tourism and Visitor's Center at 718-802-3846 or visit www.visitbrooklyn.org and follow the link.