Molière in the Park! Arbor Day Tree Giveaway! The BK Half! Takashi Murakami! Anime Village Market! Paul F. Tompkins!
Plus: Snotgirl! Puppet Karaoke! David Cross! BAM Spring Benefit!
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.
🤣Devon Walker's Secret Surprise Show on 4/26: “We tried this once before - let's do it again. work in progress show by occasional snl cast member devon walker. hope y'all can make it, all good if not tho”(7:30 PM, Union Hall, $12)
🔥🎤️Scream Real Loud @Good Judy's on 4/27: “6PM: Come early to make puppets and watch old episodes of Pee-Wee's Playhouse. We'll have supplies, but feel free to bring old wigs, clothes, stoop finds, and other detritus. 7:30PM: Shows with special guests! Puppet karaoke to follow.” (6:00 PM, Good Judy's, $13)
🎶Long Play Music Festival 5/3-5/5: “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)
RSVP for The People’s Ball @ Central Library on 4/5: “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.” (6:30PM, Central Library)
Get Involved for Arbor Day
🌳Arbor Day Community Tree Planting @ Prospect Park on 4/26: “Each Arbor Day, Prospect Park Alliance plants two community trees in Prospect Park. The Alliance's arborist chooses the species and location of the trees, which will all be planted together in the Park. All donors and their honorees are invited to participate in the tree planting on Arbor Day and share this experience with their community. Make a donation in honor of your loved one to participate in the Arbor Day Community Tree Planting!”(10:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🪦Roots Of Tomorrow: Arbor Day Family Tree Planting @ Green-wood on 4/26: “Bring your loved ones and become a part of a greener future by planting trees together. This event aims to foster environmental awareness, promote family involvement, and beautify our community. We’ll gather at the Sunset Park Entrance (35th Street and Fourth Avenue), where you’ll work with Green-Wood's seasoned horticulturalists and educators to plant trees and learn more about their important role in our ecosystem.”(10:00 AM, Green-Wood Cemetery)
🌳Park Pitch In: Arbor Day on 4/27: “Join Prospect Park Alliance as we celebrate some of our most important park residents—trees! on arbor day weekend, volunteers are invited to help prospect park alliance care for street trees along the park perimeter. volunteers will care for the soil, lay down mulch and remove litter from tree beds along the park perimeter.”(11:00 AM, Prospect Park)
Events
Thursday, 4/25
💋Mia Sheridan Signing @ Ripped Bodice For 'Falling For Gage': “From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Mia Sheridan comes her next novel in the Pelion Lake series. How is it possible that perfect Gage Buchanan is still single after all these years?”(6:00 PM, The Ripped Bodice, $19)
🏠Fair Housing Forum @ Central Library: “Topics to be discussed: Who is protected by the Fair Housing Act? Housing Discrimination. Affordable Housing & much more! We hope to see you there! Light refreshments will be served. ”(6:30 PM, Central Library)
🌸Zuzu's Flower Arranging Workshop: “Join us at the shop for a fun evening of floral design! 💐🥂 Learn from Fonda and all the zuzu's to create your own beautiful vase bouquet to take home and enjoy! You'll learn the basics of flowers preparation and care, how to use color theory to choose blooms, and how to build a sustainable flower arrangement.”(6:30 PM, Zuzu's Petals)
📕Brooklyn Poetry Slam @ Brooklyn Museum: “Celebrate Brooklyn Poetry Slam’s tenth year! Amplify the voices of Brooklyn at a series of pay-what-you-can slams, presented by poets and cofounders Mahogany L. Browne and DJ Jive Poetic. Come to listen to poets, or arrive early to sign up if you’d like to join the slam (limited availability).” (7:00 PM, Brooklyn Museum)
🔥🤣Don't Stop I’m About To Jazz: “NYC's Best Stand-Up Comedians Perform Their Sets With Live Piano Accompaniment. Featuring: Cat Cohen (Netflix) Ike Ufomadu (Showtime) Jon Rudnitsky (SNL) and Chris Gethard (HBO)”(7:30 PM, The Bell House, $15)
🍿Shouting At The Screen @ Nitehawk: “Hosted by Wyatt Cenac and Donwill. Come early for a DJ set by Donwill in Trees Lounge from 8-9pm. Back in the days before live-tweeting, the only way to express your thoughts while watching a movie was to yell them out loud to the delight of your friends, and the disgust of some old people a few rows in front of you. Comedian Wyatt Cenac (HBO’s Problem Areas, Bob’s Burgers) and musician Donwill (Tanya Morgan, Adulting with Michelle Buteau & Jordan Carlos) 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)
Friday, 4/26
👣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)
🌳Arbor Day Community Tree Planting @ Prospect Park: See Get Involved section above.(10:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🪦Roots Of Tomorrow: Arbor Day Family Tree Planting: See Get Involved section above.(10:00 AM, Green-Wood Cemetery)
🌳Open Air Care Connections: “Speak with trained Community Health Workers at LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park! Prospect Park Alliance and the the NYC Health Department have launched Open Air Care Connections, a pilot program which seeks to remove the stigma around mental healthcare through community health outreach, events and educational programs. Through the pilot, community health workers provided by Neighborhood Housing Services of Brooklyn, will be placed at key locations in the park and embedded into Alliance events and public programs to address mental health needs of our community.”(11:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🌳Arbor Day At The Audubon Center: “Join Prospect Park Alliance for Arbor Day fun in Prospect Park with nature activities and exploration focused on Brooklyn's last remaining forest!
Nature on the Go, ID a Tree, 2 – 3 pm: Take an in-depth look at the largest organism within Prospect Park—trees and discover the important role forests play in providing different habitats for the park's wildlife. This program departs from the Audubon Center promptly at 2 pm.
Nature's Helpers, 3 – 4 pm: Did you know that trees help their fellow trees? Learn about how mulch protects tree roots and spend time spreading wood chips around trees to support Prospect Park. This program departs from the Audubon Center promptly at 3 pm.”(12:00 PM, Prospect Park Audobon Center)
🔥🤣Devon Walker's Secret Surprise Show II: See Book Now above. (7:30 PM, Union Hall, $12)
🎻“Broadchannel” By Mia Martelli @ Gowanus Dredgers: “Improvised dances emerge in response to the rhythm, colors, and temperatures of the newly subtropical waterways of South Brooklyn and the Rockaway Peninsula. The rapture – dolphins breaching in the Gowanus Canal – and horror – six-foot-wide whirlpools flooding the same neighborhood – serve as non-fiction mythology, shaking the prospect of building a future in a place surrounded by water.”(7:30 PM, Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse)
🔥🤣🎤️Varietopia With Paul F. Tompkins: “A modern variety show, showcasing the best in contemporary comedy, music, and other forms of live entertainment, hosted by acclaimed comedian Paul F. Tompkins. Debuting at the Largo night club in 2002 under the name The Paul F. Tompkins Show, the program ended its long and only slightly intermittent run in 2014. Now it returns to Brooklyn at The Bell House. Guests are always a surprise and surprises are guaranteed. Past guests of the show include Bob Odenkirk, Donald Glover, Jack Black, Maya Rudolph, “Weird Al” Yankovic and Zach Galifianakis.”(10:00 PM, The Bell House, $30)
Saturday, 4/27
🌳Saturday Morning Run And Coffee: “Come join us for a casual run in Prospect Park at 8:45 am and then have coffee etc if you like with us at Overgreen's Cafe on Prospect Park West between 14th Street and 15th Street two doors down from the movie theater. It is recommended that you be able to run at least 10:30 per mile for 3.5 miles in order to have someone to run with.”(8:45 AM, Prospect Park)
💸2024 Powerup Business Plan Competition Orientation: “Enter PowerUP as we celebrate our 21st year. You could win a $20,000 CASH AWARD to start your business. Attend classes, meet with a business counselor and learn how to write a business plan.” (10:00 AM, Central Library)
🌸Weekends In Bloom @ BBG: “Celebrate cherry blossom season and all the spring blooms at Brooklyn Botanic Garden with casual, pop-up music and dance performances, morning programming for kids and families in the Discovery Garden, and Garden tours. [Editor's note: Click through to see all the musical and botanical programming on Saturday.]”(10:30 AM, Brooklyn Botanic Garden)
🌳Open Air Care Connections: See listing above. (11:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🌳Park Pitch In: Arbor Day. See Get Involved above.(11:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🇯🇵Anime Village Market @ Japan Village: “This weekend experience is completely free to enter for families and friends of all ages. We’ve carefully crafted an incredible lineup of vendors, performances and other interactive in-person games to make this an epic one-of-a-kind experience”(11:00 AM, Industry City)
📕Adulting Is Hard: Graphic Novel Book Club : “To mix things up this year, we'll attempt to read series full through, but will vote after the first volume (yay or nay) whether to move on to another series. Concurrently we'll sample read from a broad range of formats/genres within the Graphic Novel realm (comics, manga, fiction, non-fiction & memoir; sci-fi, fantasy, horror, slice-of-life, etc.) especially if there are tie-ins to the series we select. We'll finish volumes 2 and 3 of the SnotGirl series by Bryan Lee O Malley (a total stretch but maybe her allergies are a commentary on how climate change wreaks havoc on our bodies and the earth...?)”(1:00 PM, Park Slope Library)
🎹Music Production At The Library: An Intro With Garageband: “Apple's GarageBand is a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software application designed to enable novice users to create music without overwhelming them with advanced features. If you’d like to learn about making music on a computer, GarageBand is a great place to start! This workshop will introduce fundamental concepts and practices common to DAW systems.”(1:00 PM, Central Library)
Saturday Night
🔥🎤️Scream Real Loud @Good Judy's: See Book Now above.
(6:00 PM, Good Judy's, $13)
🎭Molière In The Park: The Miser. “Molière in the Park is offering a full production of Molière’s “The Miser”. Written in 1668 and presented upward of 2500 times over the next 350 years at the Comédie Française alone, it is Molière’s most successful play, both in France and internationally. With this production, Molière in the Park will once again reinvent Molière for today’s world while also keeping with the desire to stay true to the original French. It will both lean into non-traditional casting choices, including casting women in male roles and swapping genders, to highlight persistent biases, deconstruct existing power dynamics, and look into the barrel of existential paranoia and greed.” (7:30 PM, LeFrak)
🎻“Broadchannel” By Mia Martelli @ Gowanus Dredgers: “See listing above.”(7:30 PM, Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse)
Sunday, 4/28
Note: Libraries are closed Sunday due to city budget cuts.
🏃NYCruns Brooklyn Marathon + Half Marathon: “The iconic new route starts in hip North Brooklyn and winds around the waterfront taking you under the historic Williamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges while delivering eye popping views of Manhattan. From there, the route heads up the grand concourses of Fulton Street & Flatbush Avenue before passing through Grand Army Plaza and into historic brownstone Brooklyn before finishing in Prospect Park.”(7:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🔔BRCo. X Brooks Running Brooklyn Half Cheer Zone: “Our cheer zone will be located around Mile 7.3, runners' right and will be set up until the final runners pass by. Breakfast & cowbells will be provided by Brooks Running. Coffee provided by Felicia & Domingo.”(7:00 AM, Brooklyn Running Co)
🪦Tree Giveaway With The New York Restoration Project: “Urban trees play an essential role in our City's environmental resilience. That's why each year, the New York Restoration Project distributes thousands of native tree saplings to New York City residents through tree giveaway events across the five boroughs. This April, they are coming to Green-Wood!”(10:00 AM, Green-Wood Cemetery)
🪦City Nature Challenge Family Day @ Green-Wood: “Green-Wood is the perfect place for families to explore nature! In partnership with our friends at Genspace (a community biology lab in Brooklyn), we have planned an adventurous morning of activities and learning for kids of all ages. Expert naturalists will be there to guide and assist you in collecting collect data on birds, insects, fungi, and plants for the City Nature Challenge. ”(10:00 AM, Green-Wood Cemetery)
🎨Ending: Art From Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Florilegium Society: “The works in this exhibit depict plants from the Garden's collection by Florilegium Society artists. The artists portray the plants as they prepare themselves for winter in the landscape, sometimes showing off as they do so; sometimes resisting the long, cold constraints and flowering; or gratefully making themselves at home, with an occasional splash of brilliance, in the very different seasonal patterns of the conservatories.”(10:30 AM, Brooklyn Botanic Garden)
🌼Weekends In Bloom @ BBG: “Celebrate cherry blossom season and all the spring blooms at Brooklyn Botanic Garden with casual, pop-up music and dance performances, morning programming for kids and families in the Discovery Garden, and Garden tours. [Editor's note: Click through to see all the musical and botanical programming on Sunday.]”(10:30 AM, Brooklyn Botanic Garden)
🧶Brooklyn Pop-Up Market @ Brooklyn Museum: “Stop by our market to shop one-of-a-kind, handmade items from local artisans. This weekly event features more than 20 vendors offering artwork, jewelry, fashion, home and apothecary goods, and more.”(10:30 AM, Brooklyn Museum)
🍖🍛🌮🥙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)
🇯🇵Anime Village Market @ Japan Village: See listing above. (11:00 AM, Industry City)
🌎🌳Earth Day Celebration: “Join Prospect Park Alliance at the Boathouse in celebration of Earth Day and enjoy family-friendly nature activities and a multimedia production.
12 PM Nature Education Activities: Enjoy seasonal discovery stations, fun-filled education opportunities and more to celebrate our earth.
2 PM The Arrival: Join Prospect Park Alliance for The Arrival, a dramatized mythical production about how water came to Earth”(12:00 PM, Prospect Park)
🌸Springtime Garden Tour @ Old Stone House: “Join our Garden Coordinator, Angel Lombardo, for a tour of the Spring plants currently blooming at the park. Angel will share mythology, lore, and plant uses. They will cover some basic botany and explain what's happening above and below ground in the gardens!”(1:00 PM, Old Stone House)
❤️Tribute To Tony Berger @ Camp Friendship: “Our beloved leader Tony passed away on Thursday April 18th. Our hearts are broken but we will remain open to honor his loving spirit and generosity... All are welcome to drop in, have some cookies and beverages, grieve together and also share the joy we felt knowing Tony and being in his orbit.”(1:30 PM, Camp Friendship)
Molière In The Park: The Miser. See listing above.(3:00 PM and 8PM, LeFrak)
Monday, 4/29
🏃Complimentary Race Portraits: “Complimentary race portraits taken by photographer @dhash. Bring your NYCRUNS Brooklyn Half, Real Simple Women's Half, Boston, 26.True, Paris, London, Big Sur, Jersey City, TSP -or any spring race- medal.”(12:00 PM, Brooklyn Running Co)
🎨Brooklyn Talks: Takashi Murakami: “Get an inside look at Hiroshige's 100 Famous Views of Edo (feat. Takashi Murakami) as artist Takashi Murakami joins Joan Cummins, Lisa and Bernard Selz Senior Curator of Asian Art, for a conversation about artistic lineages, urban history, and environmental change. ”(7:00 PM, Brooklyn Museum)
🍿Nobudge Live #39 @ Nitehawk: “NoBudge is happy to present a new program of nine short films from a group of emerging indie filmmakers mostly based in New York. This edition explores a range of subjects — sex, relationships, body image, health problems — through a lens of contemporary young adulthood. We tend towards dark comedy, in varying off-kilter styles, but there's a touch of seriousness as well. The program glides between naturalism, surrealism, satire, absurdity, and docu-fiction. Seven of the films are premieres and each director will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A and Afterparty”(7:15 PM, Nitehawk)
🔥🎤️Exploration Live!: “The world is a confusing place, full of mysteries to be probed and questions to be answered. No worries, though: hosts Charlie Bardey and Natalie Rotter-Laitman are on it. Together, with the help of comedian friends from Brooklyn and beyond, Charlie and Natalie address some of our most (and least) pressing questions.”(7:30 PM, The Bell House, $18)
Tuesday, 4/30
🎭Molière In The Park: The Miser: “See listing above.”(7:30 PM, LeFrak)
🔥🌈Alok (Work In Progress Show): “ALOK (they/them) is an internationally acclaimed poet, comedian, public speaker, and actor. ALOK's literary works “Beyond the Gender Binary,” “Femme in Public,” and “Your Wound, My Garden,” have garnered global recognition. Their dynamic presence has captivated audiences in over 40 countries, with sold-out shows at venues including Edinburgh Fringe Festival and London Soho Theatre, and headlining numerous Just For Laughs Festivals. ALOK can currently be seen in Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agendacomedy special on Netflix and is slated to take center stage at the Netflix is a Joke Festival in Los Angeles in May 2024”(10:00 PM, Union Hall, $20)
Wednesday, 5/1
Molière In The Park: The Miser. See listing above.(11:00 AM, LeFrak)
🎶BAM Spring Benefit 2024: “Join us for a festive evening celebrating Mikki Shepard and Solange Knowles with cocktails, performances, dinner, and dancing! The evening will be a celebration of BAM's mission and the honorees’ shared commitment to supporting artists and creating space for meaningful connections. Featuring performances by DJ Bembona, Alva Puppet Theater, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, and Lovie.”(6:00 PM, BAM, $2500)
🎻The Boathouse Jam: “Hosted by the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club to activate our shoreline while fostering the continued resurgence of acoustical collaborations in Brooklyn. We are inclusive of all – young & old, new & seasoned musicians. Just bring a smile and your musical instrument and/or your voice to join our one night makeshift band.”(6:00 PM, Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse)
🍿Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights W/Q&A And After Party: “Following the screening, join us for drinks and dancing at the Trees Lounge bar for an all vinyl 80s + Latin Fused + Disco/Funk inspired by the film by Mark Pagán!”(7:15 PM, Nitehawk)
🤣🎤️David Cross: Shootin' The Shit, Seein' What Sticks: “And now we’re doing it again. It’s time to put together more material for my next tour. So please join me for the latest round of, Shootin’ The Shit, Seein’ What Sticks shows and rediscover the joy of early spring at Littlefield.”(8:00 PM, Littlefield, $19)
Thursday, 5/2
🍼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)
🌳🧹Spring Spruce Up: “These projects include mulching, painting, invasive plant removal and other landscaping tasks. Projects may involve repetitive bending, kneeling, lifting, transporting loaded wheelbarrows, using sharp tools and encountering potentially hazardous plants and materials.”(10:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🌱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 And Matthew Salesses Discuss 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.”
Did we miss an event? Are you doing a stoop sale? Put in the comments!