Hey Brooklyn. The sun is (almost) setting on your week and that means it’s time to weekend. You know, dance all night, dream all day, paint the town blue, say it wasn’t you. Springtime is here and with it comes so many amazing opportunities to celebrate. Read on, it’s all here for you.
Things to do in Brooklyn on Thursday
Little Cinema Presents: Frida at the Brooklyn Museum in Prospect Heights
Doesn’t it seem like everyone is going to Mexico City these days and Frida Kahlo is everywhere and you can’t even leave the house without a taco in your mouth? There’s no denying we’re gladly embracing the proximity and pervasiveness of Mexican culture beyond our wall-less border. Immerse yourself in this cultural renaissance with Little Cinema’s Frida. They’ll be immersing you in the film and unapologetic lifestyle of the artist through dance, movement, and live image and sound remixing. Note that tickets do not include admission to the completely sold out exhibition, but it gets you close to it… at least. Tickets and info here, event starts at 7pm. 200 Eastern Parkway.
Art Battle Competitive Painting at House of Yes in Bushwick
Find the next Keith Harring in the heart of Brooklyn’s most famous street art district at this local and international live painting competition. Summon the artist who famously would sketch drawings on blacked-out subway ads before the closing doors and cops could catch him at this 20-minute paint competition inviting local artists to compete against each other and against other cities worldwide to determine a winner. Oh, and expect also all of the magic and wonder that the amazing people at House of Yes always provide. Tickets available here. It’s all happening from 6:30-10pm at 2 Wyckoff Ave.
Sicilian Vegan Dinner at Archestratus in Greenpoint
Think Sicily isn’t normally a place where you find Vegan delicacies? (after all, stigghiola is a thing… and it’s damn delicious fyi) Well also maybe North Brooklyn isn’t where you’d expect to find a specialty cookbook store/cafe that specializes in community dinners, celebrity author/chef demonstrations, and free arancini with the purchase of a beer on weekends. So forget what you thought. Come to this Vegan Sicilian dinner tonight at Archestratus in Greenpoint. Tickets, $30 (available right here) include a 3-course meal, plus beer and wine available for purchase. Two seatings. 160 Huron St.
Things to do in Brooklyn on Friday
House of Love: Femme Fatale at House of Yes in Bushwick
What’s the next best step along our feminine journey of feeling accepted, respected, equally treated and elevated? Feeling really fucking dangerous, intimidating, fatale. Let the claws come out along with the latex, the whips, the fishnets, the leather and lace, the fetishy. (not to be confused with fattoushy, which would be to dress as a Lebanese salad). House of Yes’s monthly love party invites you to come and embrace your sexuality and enjoy aphrodisiac edibles, performances of pleasure, champagne and candles, bondage and blindfolds, seductive installations and secret rooms, feathers and all the feelings. Tickets, $20 are available here. 10pm-4am, 2 Wyckoff Ave.
Bad Film Fest at Cloud City in Williamsburg
A bad film fest is basically what I feel any form of “Netflix and chill” is. This, on the other hand, is a new festival highlighting the best of the worst, the worst of the best, all the good intentions and the bad ways they’ve unfolded, on screen. They’ll show you how being bad can make you feel so good in genres from sci-fi to animation, grindhouse and no-to-low budget. They’ll be highlighted and voted upon at Cloud City this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! Two showings each night. Tickets, $8 available here. 85 N. 1st St.
Demonology 101 at Catland in Bushwick
We are all painfully aware of our inner demons. But what about the outer ones? Those evil, spiritual beings who have taunted us, tainted us, and lived among us (maybe?) for all of time? Come learn more about the ancient art of demonology with local witch and spiritual worker Dakota, at Catland books. They’ll take you through a deep, dark, and overall enlightening exploration of fallen angels, evil spirits, and forgotten gods. Tickets for this event are $10 and available here. 7-9pm at 987 Flushing Ave
Silent Disco at The Well in Bushwick
What’s the best way to fight against the city’s ridiculous noise complaint lucidity on the weekends? Ah well, it’s happening this Friday night at the Well. It’s silent disco night baby, and you know what that means – I’m here to make fun of it. Disco is for music, for loudness, for laughing and talking over each other and then making out under each other. It’s about living and breathing and screaming and dancing. It will not be silenced. It will not go quietly. It will not die. So, yeah. There’s a silent disco happening at the Well. There are tickets available, but there will be no link here for you. There’s a time this event starts, but you won’t find that here either. The Well has an address. You have a smartphone.
Wondering when I’ll stop making fun of silent discos? Never. I’ll never stop making fun of them. On my tombstone, just put, “She just wanted to be heard at parties.” I’m fine with that. I’M FINE WITH THAT.
Things to do in Brooklyn on Saturday
Local Roots 8 Year Party at Crystal Lake in Williamsburg
The fight to reduce food waste is about more than selecting the ugly, soon-to-be rejected fruits at the market (although, you should be doing that too). And no one knows that better, and has known it better for 8 years, than Local Roots, a progressive and modern CSA that helps connect you with local farmers and bring curated boxes right to your doorstep. They’ll be celebrating their 8th anniversary at Crystal Lake Saturday night with an immersive produce tasting, cooking demo, free cake, a veggie-shaped pinata, and 1 free shot per person, poured by my favorite local writer and whiskey pourer Steve Ives. YEAH. It’s all happening from 7-10pm, tickets available here. 647 Grand St.
Brooklyn Crab’s 7th Annual Oyster Fest in Red Hook
What better way to welcome in this warmer season than with all of your friends playing games outdoors and drinking pitchers of beers and slurping some briney-boogery like things on the half shell together? There is no better way. Trust me. I’ve tried all the ways. Head down to Red Hook’s beloved Brooklyn Crab for their 7th Annual Oyster Fest and celebrate being young and wild and free and feeling alive and actively consuming lots of little aphrodisiacs and then seduce everyone with your new knowledge of east versus west coast bivalves. Tickets are $65 and can be purchased here. See you out there. 2-5pm, 24 Reed St.
Sakura Matsuri at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Prospect Heights
Come celebrate Spring in the best, the brightest, and the freshest way possible this Saturday (or Sunday!) at Sakura Matsuri, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Cherry Blossom Festival. There will be Japanese music and dancing and cherry blossoms to summon your own inner warmth and beauty and celebrate the arrival of the city’s favorite season. You know, that one in between I-can’t-feel-my-face-it’s-so-fucking-cold and everything-smells-like-hot-steamy-homeless-man-piss. Tickets are $10 available here, the event is from 10am-6pm both days. 990 Washington Ave.
Fourth Annual Book Crawl throughout the Borough
Every day can be a bar crawl when you live in a neighborhood with so many amazing watering holes just steps from each other, but how about a borough-wide book crawl that will have your spine tingling and your mind racing and likely your tote bags happily full? Well, that requires a designated day and a guide and a sturdy tote. Come be part of the 4th annual book crawl throughout the borough, through all of your favorite independent bookstores. After party at Cherry Tree Bar, where you cannot tell a lie (or you have to be good at it). Info here, 9am-8pm. Cherry Tree is located at 65 4th Ave.
The Living Installation presents Jadda Cat For President at the Active Space in Bushwick
Face it- we need a new president. And we can say that all we want, but to immerse ourselves in the experience that will become any better option than our current flagrant asshole? Now that sounds like a good way to spend a Saturday night. Local performance artists Michael Alan and Jadda Cat present their latest living installation this Saturday at their studio in Bushwick, and also live online. While it’s easy to get on board with anyone else for president, it’s not easy to present it in a way that’s colorful and alive, wild and adventurous, immersive and seductive. It’s art. Limited tickets available here. 8pm-midnight, secret location.
Spoons, Tunes & Booze Says No to Drugs at the Nitehawk in Prospect Park
Say no now so you can say yes later! Right?! Or, so you can say maybe later! Or you can say no with your fingers crossed! Regardless, wake up with good intentions and decent animations and puffy libations at the Nitehawk this Saturday morning. They’ll be showing tunes that help you say No to drugs, and also Kahlua to add to your Cocoa Puffs, and Fruity Pebbles to your Aperol Spritzes. All cartoons themed toward drug prevention and intended for an adult audience. Tickets available here. 10:45am, Saturday and Sunday. 188 Prospect Park West.
Young Adult Friction Indie-Alt Dance Party at the Brooklyn Bazaar in Greenpoint
Your favorite weekend rub down, for those of us who are looking for the anti-rave. Young Adult Friction, the indie-alt dance party that gets you to dance yrself clean and then dirty again in Brooklyn and will be heating up the dancefloor at the Brooklyn Bazaar Saturday night. Leave the hypnotic trance-dance warehouse scene behind in exchange for all of your favorite indie pop, alt rock, post punk, dance punk, and oldies, all night. Tickets and love are free. Dance all night and leave with a new lover. Info here, 11-3am, 150 Greenpoint Ave.
Things to do in Brooklyn on Sunday
The Great Flux Bake-Off at Flux Factory in LIC
The lovely people at Flux Factory bring the first of their new bake-off series to their space in LIC. Sunday’s event will be like live Chopped, posing impossible baking challenges to four of their in-house bakers. Watch them sweat and mix and bake and attempt to seduce the judges, and audience, then head up to the rooftop for a potluck and picnic as they announce the winner. The event is from noon-5pm. Tickets here. 29-31 29th St.
Skip the Small Talk at Threes Brewing in Gowanus
The fact that events like this exist gives me hope for humanity. Skip the Small Talk is like a speed dating event that replaces all the get-to-know-you questions with deep topics. You know, the ones that you feel tugging at your soul when you wake up on a Sunday morning afternoon and realize that you didn’t have one meaningful conversation the night before. Come with a friend or alone (most people do) and prepare to connect with real humans. Oh, and it’s at the best brewery in the borough so you can ease those nerves with a beer or two. Tickets are $15 available here. Arrive at 5:30pm. 333 Douglass St. at Threes Brewing, I’ll try anything thrice!
Sooooo Extra Dinner at House of Yes in Bushwick
Are two event posts about food waste in one weekend guide too many? Hm. How many brown bananas did you throw away this week? Yeah. That’s what I thought. Rethink Food will take over the space at House of Yes to present Sooooo Extra, a lavish night of food, drinks and music all for a good cause. Rethink Food helps turn the city’s excess food into ready-to-eat meals for our underserved community, so you can #revelwithacause from 8-11pm. Tickets, $15 available here. 2 Wyckoff Ave.
See you out there, Brooklyn.
<3L.
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