Free Comic Book Day! Long Play Music Festival w/Patti Smith! Galas for Non-Rich Folk! Open Streets Returns!
Plus: Free Lightsabers @ the Library and Free LEGO Star Wars building @ B&L! Cinco de Mayo! Baroquelyn Outdoor Music!
Welcome back to your Park Slope events newsletter. As always, links to sources are in (parentheses) after each event. Follow our IG for updates as events change.
Book Now
We have a habit of knowing what sells out.
🎻Baroquelyn Musical Stoop Crawl on Saturday and Sunday: “Follow our guide from mini concert to mini concert, enjoying the beautiful afternoon stroll through brownstone and tree-lined side streets.”(2:00 PM, Old First Reformed Church, $23)
👗The Second Annual Debt Gala on Sunday: “The Debt Gala is back and bolder than ever! And hopefully drier than ever! After last year's show was flooded out halfway through due to historic rains, we’re back and ready to hit the red carpet all over again! On May 5th, 2024, The Debt Gala returns to Brooklyn for a night of fun, fashion, and community.”(5:00 PM, The Bell House)
🕺The People's Ball on Sunday: “You’re invited to THE PEOPLE’S BALL, Brooklyn Public Library’s free annual celebration of fashion, personal style and inclusivity. THE PEOPLE’S BALL, named Time Out New York’s Best Nightlife Event of 2023, welcomes you to dress up and walk the runway in Central Library's iconic lobby.” (7:00 PM, Central Library)
🎹🎻 🎺Open Stages on May 11: “Stoops, schoolyards, parks and local cafes throughout Park Slope will host 150+ inspiring artists sure to amaze families. Past acts have included Grammy Award-winners, talented teen rockers, high-octane marching bands, hip-hop artists, and music-makers of all kinds. As always, Open Stages is free and open to the public, but we also offer a number of ways to support this annual festival and all of BKCM’s vital community programs, which bring the gift of music education and therapy to thousands across all five boroughs of New York City. Our VIP tickets give you access to private festival musical performances and delicious food and drinks from local vendors.” (Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Suggested Minimum Donation $50)
Get Involved: Parks, Parks, Parks
🌳🧹Park Pitch In: ‘I Love My Park Day’ on Sunday. “Attracts thousands of volunteers from across the state to participate in cleanup, improvement and beautification events at New York State parks, historic sites and public lands. Join Prospect Park Alliance as we support this effort in Brooklyn’s Backyard. Appropriate for groups, teens ages 14+ and adults.”(11:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🌳🧹’It's My Park Day’ on Monday: “Looking to get involved in a park clean-up effort? Join Prospect Park Alliance for It’s My Park Day to care for the park after busy weekends. All necessary tools will be provided for your volunteer experience.”(10:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🌳🪧Rally For Parks @ Union Square on Tuesday: “advocate for funding and rally in support of NYC's beloved green spaces! Enjoy raffles, music, dancing and art as we celebrate parks and Parks workers, oppose @NYCParks budget cuts and demand safe, clean & green parks. ”(6:00 PM, Union Square in Manhattan)
News, Links and Debuts
Remembering Paul Auster’s Park Slope: The Times referred to the beloved author as “The Patron Saint of Literary Brooklyn,” but it’s especially notable how Auster immortalized the streets of our neighborhood.
30 years ago he wrote the screenplay for “Smoke,” Miramax’s Harvey Keitel-William Hurt movie that immortalized the thin storefront across from Farrell’s where Betty Bakery is now. (If you haven’t seen it, watch this scene of Keitel and Hurt discussing the snapshots of life on that corner of PPW every day.)
20 years ago Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn detailed how women in the neighborhood were gushing over him. “He’s a world-class writer, a real innovator. He speaks French, makes wonderful independent movies and lives in a brownstone in Brooklyn. He is said to be a very generous, good person and has stayed married to a famous writer for years. He also has a dog. What more could you want in a sex symbol?”
And as Gersh Kuntzman detailed in The Brooklyn Paper, his main character in “The Brooklyn Follies” breakfasted at La Bagel Delight, dined at a facsimile of Little Purity, and got his hair cut at the wonderful old barbershop on 7th Ave that closed a few years ago.
Park Slope’s Open Streets Will Return This Saturday: ‘“As a participant of it for the last four years, I saw how the community came together and how everybody loves the program and comes out every Saturday,” said Brendan Byrnes, owner of The Commissioner bar and member of the newly formed merchants’ association. “It’s going to have to be smaller because we’re an all volunteer organization, and the management of it’s going to be a little bit more difficult.” (Brooklyn Paper)
Debuted: CJ Hendry’s “Pink Chairs” by the Lake: “As part of her ‘Inflatable’ series, artist CJ Hendry set out to reconceptualize public art through the lens of public space and its utilitarian components, like seating. The “Pink Chair” is an experiment in weight and scale by subverting the idea of the usually light and impermanent inflatable chair.” (Prospect Park)
Events
The 🔥 emoji means tickets are going fast.
Thursday, 5/2
✨Grab N' Go Kit : May The 4th Be With You! Make A Mini Light Saber @ Park Slope Library: “Make a mini light saber! Chek out this fun and simple STEM activity to make a mini light saber that actually lights up! May the Force be with you! Check out the simple instructions here.”(10:00 AM, Park Slope Library)
🌱Crash Course: Starting A Vegetable Garden @ BBG: “In this class you will learn the basics of how to grow vegetables including how to do a site assessment, amend your soil, plan what to grow, choose seeds, grow seedlings, plant, transplant, water, weed, use organic pest control, and harvest. You can also take home seedlings to get started or to add to your garden.”(5:00 PM, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, $47)
📕Viet Thanh Nguyen Discusses A Man Of Two Faces: “Join BPL Presents for a conversation with Viet Thanh Nguyen on his memoir, A Man of Two Faces. With insight, humor, formal invention, and lyricism, in A Man of Two Faces Nguyen rewinds the film of his own life. He expands the genre of personal memoir by acknowledging larger stories of refugeehood, colonization, and ideas about Vietnam and America, writing with his trademark sardonic wit and incisive analysis, as well as a deep emotional openness about his life as a father and a son.”(7:00 PM, Central Library)
🍿Spoons Toons & Booze: May The 4th Be With You! “Your Favorite Evening Cartoon, Booze & Free Cereal party with a Space-Themed Menu of toons geared towards adults/teens! It’s the even more R-rated version of our brunch show! Hosted by SecretFormula’s pop culture and cereal experts Michael Austin and Nell Casey, with comedic commentary in-between episodes.”(9:15 PM, Nitehawk)
🔥🤣Robby Hoffman: “Hoffman is a small ex-Hasidic queer Jewish stand-up comedian, writer, and true original. She can currently be seen as the breakout of Netflix’s Verified, their new selection of next generation stand-up comedians. New York Times comedy critic Jason Zinoman compares her "bulldozing stand-up to Larry David because of her mountain-out-of-a-molehill kvetching, but her hilarious rage over people who complain about interruptions during a conversation makes her sound like a modern lesbian Andrew Dice Clay.”(10:00 PM, The Bell House, $30)
Friday, 5/3
✨Grab N' Go Kit : May The 4th Be With You! Make A Mini Light Saber @ Park Slope Library: See listing above.(10:00 AM, Park Slope Library)
👣Prospect Park Wellness Walk: “Join Prospect Park Alliance at the Prospect Park Audubon Center for an uplifting and energizing morning walk including scenic trails along the Lullwater, Peninsula, Midwood or Waterfall. Please note, this walk leaves promptly at 10 am from the Prospect Park Audubon Center.”(10:00 AM, Prospect Park)
💫Star Wars Weekend @ Gun Hill Publick House: “Starting on Friday we will be showing all the Star Wars films starting with Episode 1. Friday Night there will be Star Wars Trivia hosted by Julie Tran with prizes for the winner. May the 4th, Star Wars Day, Empanada Papa will be here with Empanadas while we keep the weekend rolling. May the 5th, Just Eat Burgers will be here all day.”(1:00 PM, Gun Hill Publick House)
🍕Community Pizza Nights With Angela Lombardo @ Old Stone House: “Angela Lombardo, Old Stone House's Garden Coordinator and Hearth Master, will be baking pizza pies in our outdoor wood-burning brick hearth. Feel free to come by anytime to meet your neighbors. Drinks, snacks, and salad will be available for purchase all afternoon.”(4:00 PM, Old Stone House, $23)
🎶Soundwalk Collective With Patti Smith: “Soundwalk Collective’s founder, Stephan Crasneanscki, has explored, captured, and collected the world’s remotest places in sound to awaken a sonic memory within the landscape, uncovering traces of past and current histories of the world we are living in. Initially composed as soundtracks to an invisible movie, Stephan brought these recordings to Patti Smith, giving her new landscapes to channel her poetic vision. This ongoing resonance between the artists—which started during a chance encounter on a plane—has been shaped by their correspondences: ongoing conversations with the intention of reflecting on life and nature.”(7:30 PM, BAM)
🎶Long Play Music Festival: “Bang on a Can takes over downtown Brooklyn with their annual Long Play festival, featuring over 50 concerts across three days. With three marquee performances at BAM—featuring Soundwalk Collective with Patti Smith, Detroit techno pioneer Jeff Mills, and Steve Reich’s legendary work Music for 18 Musicians—Long Play is a jubilant celebration of all that music can be and all the people who make it. ”(7:30 PM, BAM and other venues, $235)
Saturday, 5/4
🐶Fido Coffee Bark @ Prospect Bark: “Held the first Saturday of every month, Coffee Bark is an opportunity for Brooklyn dog owners to chat over coffee and pastries while their dogs romp and play over dog biscuits. With dozens of dogs and people, Coffee Bark is an amazing sight. Look for coffee, pastries, dog biscuits and information about off-leash activities just south of the Picnic House.”(7:30 AM, Prospect Park)
🛒Greenmarket @ Grand Army Plaza: “Established in 1989, the Grand Army Plaza greenmarket is the flagship Brooklyn market. ”(8:00 AM, Prospect Park)
⚽Free Kids' Trial Mult-Sportclass @ Prospect Park: “All sports and gross motor skills are coached in a fun and age-appropriate environment. Classes provide the perfect setting for children to interact, and problem solve at and improve cognitive, social, and motor skills development. ”(9:30 AM, Prospect Park)
Free Comic Book Day: “All day long while supplies last.” (10:00 AM, Cosmic Comics & St. Mark's Comics)
✨Grab N' Go Kit : May The 4th Be With You! Make A Mini Light Saber @ Park Slope Library: See listing above.(10:00 AM, Park Slope Library)
🐦🐤Wonderful Warblers @ Prospect Park: “Join the Alliance to discover why Prospect Park is an important place for over 250 species of birds.
Migration Games 10 – 11 am: Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a migrating bird? Wonder no longer, because the Prospect Park Audubon Center offers a series of floor games designed to replicate all the stages of a bird’s long journey.
Animal Encounter 11am – 12pm: Join Alliance Naturalists in learning more about the animals in the Audubon Center’s collection.
Bird Walk 12pm – 1pm: Did you know that 25 types of warblers stop by Prospect Park in May? Learn how to identify these cute and colorful birds on a bird walk.”(10:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🎁Brooklyn Pop-Up: The Old Stone House Spring Artisans Bazaar: “Expect perfect gifts for Mother's Day and more from Brooklyn's best independent designers and makers. Handmade jewelry, independent fashion, beauty and wellness, tasty treats for people and pets, ceramics, toys and kids' wear too.”(10:00 AM, Old Stone House)
📸The L.E.N.S. Method: A Five-Week Creative Photography Workshop For Adults: “Over the course of five weeks, participants will take photos using Carey Kirkella's L.E.N.S. (Light, Empathy, Now and Storytelling) Method, then share the photos in a group setting. The series will culminate in a celebratory photography exhibition at Park Slope Library on Thursday, June 20, from 6–7:30 pm.”(10:30 AM, Park Slope Library)
🪦And Then, Now @ Green-Wood: “An immersive performative walk exploring the significance of reliance—be it on each other, the environment, or our collective humanity. Choreographed by Jody Oberfelder, in collaboration with Glass Clouds Ensemble, participants will traverse Green-Wood’s spring landscape to experience moments of music, dance, and reflective conversation.”(11:00 AM, Green-Wood Cemetery)
First Saturdays Afternoon Lineup @ Brooklyn Museum: Pop-up talks during the day focusing on this months exhibits. "Join Phaidon and the Brooklyn Museum for an art-making workshop to celebrate the new edition of The Art Book for Children." Then enjoy a guided walkthrough of "Legendary, canon-expanding, and larger-than-life artworks in Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys during free, short talks led by our A.R.T. Guides.”(12:00 PM, Brooklyn Musuem)
🕺Mother’s Day Dance Celebration: “Join students from Calpulli Community in a festive dance celebration for Mother's Day! Learn about the traditions and cultures of Mexico, listen to live Mariachi music, and dance with us!”(1:00 PM, Central Library)
💫Star Wars Weekend @ Gun Hill Publick House: See listing above.(1:00 PM, Gun Hill Publick House)
🎻Baroquelyn Musical Stoop Crawl: See Book Now above.(2:00 PM, Old First Reformed Church, $23)
Neighbor's Mother's Day Market: “Check out our handmade pieces and get very special presents made by local makers.”(2:20 PM, Prospect Park)
💫Star Wars Day - Lego X-Wing Build Event @ Barnes & Noble: “We're partnerning with LEGO to host a LEGO build event for Star Wars Day on May 4th! To celebrate the return of Episode I - The Phantom Menace to theaters, we're going to build a mini X-Wing! Ages 8 and up are invited and please call the store for information on reserving a spot as this is a popular event.”(3:00 PM, Barnes & Noble)
💃A May Day Double Dance!: “We’ll have music from Good Company, calling from Harris Lapiroff, plus a balkan dance lesson to get ready for GoldenFest and a May Pole! Come celebrate the coming of spring with us! Good Company is a recently formed trio that primarily plays for contra dances around New England. ”(3:30
Saturday Night
🎨First Saturdays Evening Lineup @ Brooklyn Musuem: “Kick off the night with dancers and musicians from the percussion orchestra Gamelan Dharma Swara. They’ll perform Balinese gamelan music, exploring their traditional repertoire alongside new works. Add to the ever-growing Artland, Do Ho Suh’s fantastical ecosystem of colorful clay islands and creatures." Plus half a dozen more musical and poetry acts.(5:00 PM, Brooklyn Museum)
🎶Long Play Music Festival: See listing above. (7:30 PM, BAM and other venues, $235)
🎛Jeff Mills: Tomorrow Comes The Harvest: “The Detroit techno pioneer Jeff Mills makes his BAM debut with a spell-binding, trance-inducing evening of thrumming sonic bliss and 808 transcendence. Launched in 2018 in collaboration with the late Afrobeat creator and Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, the ever-evolving Tomorrow Comes the Harvest features Mills alongside pianist Kathleen Supové, percussionist Sundiata, and flutist Rasheeda Ali in its latest iteration.”(8:00 PM, BAM, $35)
🔥🎤️The Galactic Strum-Off: Us Air Guitar Championships - Brooklyn: “Air guitarists will clash in a battle of strums, shreds, and whammy bar wizardry, all without touching a single string. Why? Because in the world of air guitar, the force of your imagination is the only weapon you need. Dress as your favorite Star Wars character and compete in our Costume Contest! ”(10:00 PM, Barrow's Intense Tasting Room, $10)
Sunday, 5/5
Note: Libraries are closed Sunday due to city budget cuts.
🐦🐤Wonderful Warblers @ Prospect Park: See listing above.(10:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🎶Symphonic Sundays With Brooklyn Orchestra: “This totally immersive experience includes an interactive pre and post concert moment for children to meet the musicians (and their instruments!) Children and their families get a glimpse of the musical collaborative process in this mock-rehearsal setting.”(10:30 AM, Old Stone House)
🎨Private Picassos Watercolor Workshop At Grounded Cafe For Cinco De Mayo: “Students will explore basic watercolor techniques, such as dry brush, wet into wet, oil pastel and salt resists. Follow along with our teacher as they demonstrate each technique and offer tricks to painting flowers, inspired by the vibrant folk art of Mexico. Or choose your own adventure and dive in using all of the materials we have on hand and colorful floral bouquets for inspiration.”(10:30 AM, Grounded Cafe, $50)
🌳🧹Park Pitch In: I Love My Park Day: See Get Involved above. (11:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🍖🍛🌮🥙Smorgasburg: “Presented in partnership with Prospect Park Alliance, is considered the “Woodstock of Eating.” The celebrated open-air food fair is back in Prospect Park for the 2024 season! Over 60 local businesses will gather on Breeze Hill, near the Lincoln Road entrance, to offer a range of food and drink every Sunday.” (11:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🔊Steve Reich: Music For 18 Musicians Featuring Bang On A Can All-Stars And Friends: “The Bang on a Can All-Stars premiere their dynamic new interpretation of Steve Reich's legendary 1976 work. Joined by luminaries in an ensemble that celebrates the present-day diversity of New York’s avant-garde scene, these trailblazers of new music explore the work’s wide ranging influences —from process music to jazz, ambient to world beats. Above all, the ensemble celebrates Reich’s singular compositional style in this richly textured work that, as acclaimed critic Alex Ross argued, gives the purest musical pleasure in the composer’s oeuvre.”(1:00 PM, BAM, $35)
💫Star Wars Weekend @ Gun Hill Publick House: See listing above.(1:00 PM, Gun Hill Publick House)
🎻Doyeon Kim Quartet: “DoYeon Kim brings her musical virtuosity and deep knowledge of traditional Korean music into the 21st century, combining her mastery of the gayageum (a traditional Korean plucked zither with 12 strings) with a fierce dedication to improvisation.” (2:00 PM, BAM, Free)
🎻Baroquelyn Musical Stoop Crawl: See Book Now above. (2:00 PM, Old First Reformed Church, $23)
🪗Iwo Jedynecki: “Of the very few concert accordionists working today, Iwo Jedynecki is an undisputed button accordion master. The virtuoso joins us from Poland for this year’s Long Play festival, bringing his inventive accordion arrangements of the Philip Glass Piano Etudes to The Adam Space (BAMcafé).”(4:00 PM, BAM, Free)
🎨Mama Needs A Raise! Closing Event: “Meet some of the artists and curators at our brief curator introduction and walk-through at 4:30 . Share your personal reflections and questions with them. We'll also have hands-on activities including making cards to thank the caregivers in our lives (ahead of the Mother's Day holiday). Plus, access to a compiled list of resources for caregivers and artists.”(4:30 PM, Old Stone House)
🎹Nomon: “Drawing on their passion for experimental, industrial, contemporary, and electronic music, NOMON’s music is at times fierce, intense, serene, and calm. Utilizing a blend of percussion, drum machine, and synthesizers, sisters Shayna and Nava Dunkelman design seemingly endless layers of electronics, touching on fragments of memories from their lives in Tokyo, Oakland, and now New York, where they both currently reside. NOMON brings their unique sonic blend to The Adam Space (BAMcafé) as part of Long Play.”(5:00 PM, BAM, $Free)
👗The Second Annual Debt Gala: See Book Now above. (5:00 PM, The Bell House)
🕺The People's Ball: Stand Out/Stand Up!: “You’re invited to THE PEOPLE’S BALL, Brooklyn Public Library’s free annual celebration of fashion, personal style and inclusivity. THE PEOPLE’S BALL, named Time Out New York’s Best Nightlife Event of 2023, welcomes you to dress up and walk the runway in Central Library's iconic lobby. ”(7:00 PM, Central Library)
🎶Long Play Music Festival: “Bang on a Can takes over downtown Brooklyn with their annual Long Play festival, featuring over 50 concerts across three days. With three marquee performances at BAM—featuring Soundwalk Collective with Patti Smith, Detroit techno pioneer Jeff Mills, and Steve Reich’s legendary work Music for 18 Musicians—Long Play is a jubilant celebration of all that music can be and all the people who make it. ”(7:30 PM, BAM and other venues, $235)
Monday, 5/6
🌎🧹It's My Park Day: See Get Involved above. (10:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🎶And Sing! @ BAM: “Davóne Tines, BAM’s Artist-in-Residence and Artist Mentor at Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and Arreon A. Harley-Emerson invite creatives from on stage and off to the proverbial fireside to examine choral music of the Black Diaspora in this collaborative exploration of what makes us unique—our voices, histories, and traditions.”(7:00 PM, BAM, $30)
🔥🎤️The Moth Storyslam: “Prepare a five-minute story about being nosy. Eavesdropping, meddling and sneaking around. Seemingly harmless questions or internet stalking. Flipping through a sibling's diary, hiring a private eye, or peeking at someone's browser history. Intrusive neighbors, overnight stake outs, or facial recognition surveillance. Or, tell us about your own prying and spying. Mind your own business!”(8:00 PM, The Bell House)
Tuesday, 5/7
🕺Stomp, Clap And Sing With Bilingual Birdies Duo Concert In Spanish & English: “¡Hola, hola! ¿Cómo estás? Get ready to sing, dance, jump, shake, laugh, march, run, freeze, tap, smile, and have the most fun ever en español with Bilingual Birdies! Families go on a joyful adventure with songs, dance, and puppetry, to learn new words in Spanish while they're having a blast in this 45-minute live music interactive experience.”(10:30 AM, Central Library)
🌳🧹Rally For Parks @ Union Square: See Get Involved above. (6:00 PM, Union Square in Manhattan)
Wednesday, 5/8
🍺Happy Hour & Career Conversations At Prospect Bar & Grill: “Relax over a drink and/or food while talking about your career aspirations! I will provide some low-key type mixer activity to spark conversation and help everyone feel more comfortable and prepared when talking about their jobs and careers!”(5:30 PM, Prospect Bar)
🔥🤣Mary Beth’s New Material Night (With Friends): “Barone and her guests as they try new stuff and see what sticks! Might be some old stuff too don’t be mad.”(10:00 PM, Union Hall, $16)
Thursday, 5/9
🍼Prospect Park Stroller Walk: “Calling all parents and caregivers with children! Join a Prospect Park Alliance Naturalist at the Prospect Park Audubon Center for a leisurely stroll along Prospect Park’s waterways. Embrace the sound of streams and songs of birds. Enjoy fragrant flowers and explore the towering trees of Brooklyn’s Backyard. Please note that this walk leaves promptly at 10 am from the Prospect Park Audubon Center.”(10:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🍄Central Cookbook Club: Mushrooms: “Join the Central Cookbook Club as we slice and dice all things mushroom”(3:00 PM, Central Library)
🔥🤣Greta Titelman: The Gift - Pt. III: “Greta is a comedian, actress, and writer known for her breakout role as ‘Ambassador Gibbons' on both seasons of HBO’s hit series LOS ESPOOKYS. Greta stars in season 5 of HBO Max’s SEARCH PARTY. Greta stars opposite Tilda Swinton in the upcoming feature film PROBLEMISTA for A24 – directed by Julio Torres. ”(7:00 PM, The Bell House, $30)
Did we miss an event? Are you doing a stoop sale? Put in the comments!
Hi Friends and Neighbors!
SATURDAY, MAY 4TH: 6/15 Green Community Garden--at the corner of 15th Street & 6th Avenue in Park Slope (with the big weeping willow tree) is celebrating it's annual Spring Festival from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. 15th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues will be closed to traffic during the Festival
And...we are also celebrating our 30th Anniversary this year!
Join us for children's programming and activities, live music for kids and adults, a bake sale, a plant sale, an open street, community-wide potluck at 3:00 pm (bring a dish to share if you can), and a whole great day of sunshine and fun.
More details and a scheduler of events on our website:
https://www.615green.org/spring-festival-2024
Hope to see you there!