Brooklyn Bombshells! Dog Fashion! Bug Music! Singing Trees!
Welcome back to the best Park Slope events newsletter. Links to sources are in (parentheses) after each event.
We’re overpacked and could use your feedback. We keep discovering more events we’re enthusiastic about than we can fit into in a weekly email. So we’re trying something new this week: Keeping the newsletter long, which will result in many (all?) email readers getting a prompt to click through to a web page to finish the newsletter. I don’t like this, and I can see at least three solutions, possibly including sending two emails each week: A Sunday one for events Monday-Thursday, and a Thursday one for Friday Sunday. Thanks for your vote below!
Worth Booking Now
We have a knack for knowing what sells out.
Mike O'Brien: ‘Let's Get Started’ on Monday: “Creator of the NBC/Peacock sitcom AP Bio, former Saturday Night Live writer/performer performs with special guest SNL's Michael Che.” (7:30 PM, The Bell House $26)
Natalie Rotter-Laitman: ‘Life is Life’ on August 1st: “First Night already Sold out! Don't miss the second.” (7:30 PM, Union Hall)
Get Involved
🫘 Food for Asylum Seekers: “Please support our urgent need by purchasing microwave-friendly rice and beans, tortillas, individual cups of oatmeal and macaroni and cheese and more from our soup kitchen’s wish list on Amazon.” (CHiPS 4th Avenue)
🎒 School Supplies for Kids: “Camp Friendship Brooklyn is collecting school supplies for the 500+ families with school-aged children that visit the food pantry each week. You can make a monetary contribution here, or drop off new school supplies at the following locations: Roots Cafe, Prospect Park YMCA, Park Slope Armory, Little Things Toys and Gifts, Camp Friendship at 39 8th Street (Fridays 6-7:30 pm and Saturdays 8:30 am-2:00 pm.)
Events
Thursday
🎶Jazz Steel Pan @ Botanic Garden: Featuring the Franklin Jazz Quintet. (7:00 PM, Brooklyn Botanic Garden)
🎨Drink and Draw @ Brooklyn Museum: "Sketch from live models and enjoy after-hours access to our special exhibition ‘It’s Pablo-matic: Picasso According to Hannah Gadsby'.’" (7:00 PM, Brooklyn Museum Sculpture Garden $35)
😂’Mean Girls’ from Memory: "Performers will attempt (and most likely fail) to recreate ‘Mean Girls,’ without the aid of scripts, rehearsals, or sobriety.” (8:00 PM, Littlefield $10)
Friday
📚Kayzakian Poetry Reading and Q&A: "Winner of the Inaugural Immigrant Writers Award, debut author Arthur Kayzakian will read from his new poetry collection, with a short Q&A afterwards." (5:30 PM, 440 Gallery)
🎶BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! The Chelsea Symphony feat. Lady Jess | Lucrecia Dalt: “Arrive early for a conversation In The Tent with Nabil Ayers while he discusses his unorthodox origin story and upbringing, a career in music and finding family in unexpected places.” (7:30 PM, Lena Horne Bandshell)
Saturday
🖼Mookntaka Installation @ Old Stone House “‘Hedgehog’ is a large, softly spiked donut covered in pool rings; it invites folks to borrow a ring and take a break." (All Day, Old Stone House)
🌳Park Waterways Pitch-In: “Help Prospect Park Alliance care for its 55-acre lake during our special clean-up series during Waterways Appreciation Month. Volunteers will be given grabbers, nets, and bags to help fish out trash from along the shoreline of our lake. " (12:00 PM, Park Circle Entrance to the Park)
🎩Annual Dog Fashion Show: “@AbbytheDogMom is hosting this year’s fabulousness with treats, swag, & a grand prize 🏆 dog trophy and runner-up medals for everyone!” (1:00 PM, Freddy's Brooklyn)
🧑🍳️Re-imagine Lefferts Culinary Workshop: Vanilla Ice Cream: “Join Prospect Park Alliance and Culinary History Consultant, Tonya Hopkins a.k.a. The Food Griot.” (2:00 PM, Lefferts Historic House)
🛼Gotham Roller Derby Doubleheader: “Queens of Pain vs Bronx Gridlocks, Brooklyn Bombshells vs Manhattan Mayhem.” (5:00 PM, Lefrak Center at Prospect Park $40)
🎶BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Ali Sethi | Raja Kumari | Roshni Samlal: “Drawing from ancient traditions, Pakistani musician and author Ali Sethi’s compositions tell stories of exuberance and joy from the margins.” (7:00 PM, Lena Horne Bandshell)
🎬Rooftop Film Presents: New York Non-Fiction: “Highlights the myriad quirky characters, hidden communities, and overlooked histories that make this city so special.” (7:45 PM, Greenwood Cemetery $17)
Sunday
📚Brooklyn Made: Melanie Hope Greenberg + Brooklyn Public Library: “Meet the Author/Illustrator of the children’s book classic Mermaids on Parade.” (11:00 AM, Industry City-Brooklyn Made Store, Building 5)
🎶Jazz in the Garden: Bertha Hope Quintet: “Hope—a pianist, composer, educator, and bandleader—has toured globally with such artists as Nat Adderley, Dizzy Gillespie, and Eddie Henderson.” (2:00 PM, Brooklyn Museum)
😂I'm Actually From Here: “Molly Ruben-Long is a Park Slope native and is thrilled to present a lineup of the funniest people she knows, mere blocks away from where she went through puberty. In case it wasn't clear, she is actually from here.” (5:30 PM, Union Hall $12)
🎸Middle-Aged Dad Band Jam with Ken Marino and David Wain: “2nd show added due to popular demand!” (8:00 PM, Bell House $25 )
Monday
🌳🎶Floresta: Soundbath: “Bring a mat or towel, find a spot on the grass of Cherry Esplanade, lie back, and soak up an evening of unfolding soundscapes inspired by trees’ underground communication network.” (7:30 PM, Brooklyn Botanic Garden $43)
Tuesday
🧑🏫️Secret Science Club Bugs Out: “Award-winning biologist Daniel Kronauer explores the sophisticated social lives of ants. Raise your glass (and your antennae) to ‘the little things that run the world’ with our cocktail of the night, the Love Bug, groove to six-legged tune and stick around for the scintillating Q&A.” (8:00 PM, The Bell House)
🎬’Runaway’ as part of the Ridiculous-Sublime series @ Nit: “In a world reliant on robots, Tom Selleck is taking down the rogue bots Gene Simmons has programmed to kill. Witness the intimidation of what appears to be a fax machine armed with a gun!” (8:30 PM, Nitehawk Cinema $15.50)
Wednesday
✈️🏐Paramount+ Movie Nights @ the park: ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (6:30 PM, Prospect Park - South Meadow)
😂Pizzazz with Gary Gulman: “Comedian Gary Gulman (HBO, Comedy Central) performs an extended set of new material.” (7:30 PM, Union Hall $19)
Thursday
🧑🌾️NYC's Rat Academy for Gardeners: “BBG is delighted to host an expert from the NYC Department of Health who will tailor the ‘Rat Academy’ curriculum specifically to urban gardening issues. (6:00 PM, Brooklyn Botanic Garden)
🎨Contour Drawing Demo: “Join a BBG instructor for a quick hands-on contour drawing demonstration. Look at a flower. Don’t look at your paper while drawing. The results will surprise you! Free with Garden admission.” (6:00 PM, Brooklyn Botanic Garden)
💞St. Mark’s Comics: Singles Mixer: "Humidity is in the air but so is love. That’s why Autumn’s Dawn Film Festival is partnering with St. Mark’s Comics and The Frying Pan to host a mixer for all you creative singles to meet a partner, both romantically and professionally." (6:00 PM, Industry City- St. Marks Comics)
🎶Midsummer Nights Music Series: "Join old and new friends of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music to enjoy an outdoor concert with Akua Dixon, a multi laureate of the National Endowment for the Arts in composition and performance.” (6:30 PM, BKCM Front Garden at 58 7th Avenue)
🎹Brownstone Jazz: "Enjoy a performance by Brownstone Jazz Ensemble featuring Eric Lemons (bass), Ty Stephens (vocals), Damon DueWhite (drums), and Richard Cummings (piano). Free with Garden admission." (7:00 PM, Brooklyn Botanic Garden )
🖼Artist’s Eye: Jamel Shabazz on Faces and Places, 1980–2023: "Take a close look at Brooklyn artist in this intimate outdoor conversation between the artist and curator Drew Sawyer.“ (7:00 PM, Brooklyn Museum Plaza $25)
😂Shouting at the Screen w/Wyatt Cenac and Donwill: "Comedian Wyatt Cenac and musician Donwill invite you to join them as they recreate the kind of ridiculous, loud mouthed magic that is generally found in movie theaters owned by a guy named Magic." (9:15 PM, Nitehawk $17.50)
Let us know what you’re doing in the comments!