25-28 february 2016. - Brooklyn, I'm Trying

THURSDAY

We Bee Spelling, Pete’s Candy Store, Williamsburg.

i don’t know about you but i still have some unfinished business after my 4th grade spelling bee- i got out on the word “mutton”. MUTTON. all you need to know is i assumed that was a muddy mitten… anyway, be a participant or a spectator, either way your ticket helps fight illiteracy, of children and perhaps your own. in the backroom at pete’s candy store, 730pm, $20 GA, $30 speller, all profits support Change for Kids. 361 metropolitan ave. for more info, c-l-i-c-k. (v.) a slight yet direct spasm of the finger demonstrating intention and curiosity.

Let’s Spoon Workshop, Dusty Rose Vintage, Greenpoint.

ah, the wondrous complexities of slightly concave ceramics. let’s explore them together in the cozy setting of dusty rose vintage and see what happens. ceramic spoon workshop, 730-9pm, $68 includes instruction and all the materials you’ll need. yes, you get to keep the spoon. as long as you can balance it on your nose for 30seconds prior to exiting. 251 greenpoint ave, what the fork! (forking workshop next week) (no it isn’t) (only if you want it to be).

FRIDAY

Yoga at the Brooklyn Museum, Prospect Heights.

ever admired artwork from downward dog? or happy baby? or… tree? well, you haven’t lived then. get into the artists heads and out of your own friday morning at the brooklyn museum with a community yoga class that includes museum admission. $20, 9am-11am, 200 eastern pkwy. be flexible.

The Big Glou, the Wythe Hotel, Williamsburg.

because all of this beer week is a bit discriminatory, the wythe hotel is hosting the city’s first ever natural wine fair, featuring 100 natural wine producers from all over the world discussing their processes, sharing their libations, and keeping you swirling and sipping all weekend. $45 for a weekend pass or $25 for a day, plus head up to the roof for a brooklyn v. france beer face-off. tickets here.

Classical Music + Climbing, Brooklyn Boulders, Gowanus.

hey seems like a random combination to me too, but then again so did nudity and chinese fire drills until i tried it. twice. come hear a live 15-person orchestra playing Tchaikovsky and let their discipline, expert grips, and harmonies put you in the perfect position to climb higher, reach harder, and break through boundaries on over 22,000 ft of climbing wall. 8pm-midnight, $14-29, 575 degraw st. get handsy with me.

ps threes brewing is just down the street…

SATURDAY

Winter Hot Dog No1, Good Room, Greenpoint.

these guys are all but hinting that you-know-who might be making an appearance- and for $25/ticket and the promise (i think?) of hot dogs, we should all be taking that risk. dfa records present hot dog party no.1 at good room (my favorite place to do bad things™) with *a very special guest appearance. *a block from my house. *which basically means they’ll be playing at my house, my house. (figure out all of these references before you go or i will politely pretend not to know you.) tickets, here. magic at 98 meserole, 9pm. ain’t no ordinary sausage fest.

The Five Boroughs of Beer, Lantern Hall, Bushwick.

if you’re getting that nervous feeling that you haven’t done enough to celebrate beer week, and all of a sudden all of your “it would be so crowded!” or “how is this not participating??” (with beer in hand at lake st) make you feel like a drunk kurmudgeon (“kurdrudgeon”) then catch up, real quick, saturday at lantern hall in bushwick- featuring 14 nyc breweries. 5pm-2am, all you have to bring is your enthusiasm. or, not- just sit in the corner and gulp. up to you. 52 harrison place, make suds not duds.

Music Video Make-Out Party, C’Mon Everybody, Clinton Hill.

ah, what’s this?! i don’t really know. but any party with the Teenage Guide to Popularity is awesome in my book. let’s make-out and watch music videos and do all of the other things that make us feel good. so c’mon everybody, (that’s both a command and a venue!) 325 franklin st, 11pm-330am, pucker up, sucker up.

Camera Obscura Exhibit, Gowanus

remember when going to “industrial gowanus” was edgy and the stench was unbearable and the “underground warehouse” parties were in a dirt-floored shoebox filled with smoke and djs spinning until 10am the next day and you felt like you were in berlin, but grubbier? well, it’s different now. there are yuppies. and puppies. but alas, the times they are a changing. however, to feel fully enveloped in a uniquely industrial and disorienting perspective of gowanus that is captured in time, yet still living breathing, visit brooklyn’s camera obscura project- featuring moving images of the neighborhood on a series of translucent fabrics, thousands of tiny lights projected onto rugged walls, reflections distorted by broken glass, all working in cantankerous harmony in a 3000 sq ft space to create one of the most visceral photography exhibits i’ve seen. it only runs through 3/2- so catch it, saturdays and sundays, until it is taken from us.

just like lavendar lake.

info and more accurate description here

SUNDAY

Summer in Winter, Webster Hall, the East Village.

hey guys, it has been new york city beer week! i don’t know about you, but i ditched most of the events to simply throw back a few at my favorite neighborhood haunts. BUT, our good friends at brooklyn brewery are trying to warm us all up sunday with a little summer-in-winter party and this week’s *reason to cross the river this weekend*- special edition cans of summer ale, beachy photo ops, and the heat cranked up to 85 among 300+ of your best friends, noticeably sweating and smiling.. i know i’m in. $10 gets you in, plus your first pint. 125 E 11th st, 3-8pm. so hott right now.

Oscars Viewing Party, Littlefield, Williamsburg.

it’s oscar sunday!!! how many nominated films have you seen?? ok, skip work until sunday and see the rest of them at one of the unique theaters i showcased for you weeks ago (what the hell have you been doing!) then get excited, dress up, and view them- at littlefield in williamsburg, 6pm-midnight, rsvp for free glass of champagne. let’s get fizzical.

where to drink this weekend

RED STAR. Greenpoint.

it’s back. greenpoint’s only sports bar (and that by no means takes away from it’s well-earned title as Very Best Sports Bar in Greenpoint) has survived it’s brazilian takeover (i didn’t hate it- i would have liked it if it was next door, that’s all) and is back. find a sport, become a fan, drink beers, eat wings, and realize that no matter the score, we all win today. because we have our sports bar back. 37 greenpoint ave.

**see you there for the DERBI, saturday at 10am. i’ll be the one in stripes, singing loudly.

el equipo del gobierno, la vergüenza del país

where to eat this weekend

Bar Tabac. Boerum Hill.

Can’t deny it, i’m a bit of a francophile. and there are few things i like more than sitting in a restaurant for a few hours on one of those rounded-back plastic woven chairs, sharing a bottle of bordeaux over foi gras, steak tartare and rabbit three ways (if you have to ask…) other than, of course, actually being in france. this place feels almost as real, especially when stephane wrembel is playing (he has a pretty reliable residency there on thursday nights). their burger is impeccable, and they always have rabbit at least one way. come, avec moi. 128 smith st.