New Croissants on 7th! Plant Swap! Contra and Swing Dance on Saturday Night! Tom Waits Photos @ the Library!
Plus: A Festival of Plays! Breakfast Cereal + Cartoons! 'Blazing Saddles' and 'Sense & Sensibility!'
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.
🍿💝Spoons Toons All Ages on 1/3: “Come one, come all to Spoons Toons All Ages! This interactive cartoon watch party brings animated fun for any age group with a menu of over 200 cartoons from 1940 to 2020. Kids and parents can compete in silly Double Dare-style challenges + cartoon trivia games anyone can play! Winners get prizes and to decide what cartoons the audience watches. Help yourself to a FREE Cereal Bar stocked with delicious flakes and puffs! Plus: cereal-infused cocktails for the adults who want to imbibe!” (9:15 PM, Nitehawk)
🍿Nobudge Live #37 on February 5th: “NoBudge is happy to present a new program of twelve short films from a group of emerging indie filmmakers mostly based in New York. This edition explores a range of unusual relationships and questionable behavior that finds its characters in modes of scheming and rationalizing. A mix of drama, comedy, and animation, the program moves between naturalistic, strange, absurd, and provocative. Eight of the films are premieres and each director will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A and Afterparty.” (7:15 PM, Nitehawk)
😂 Chad Daniels on April 11th: “With over a billion streams of his 6 albums to date, and averaging a million more every week, Chad Daniels is one of the most listened to comedians of all time. Originally from, and still based in, Minnesota Chad has been touring the country for over 20 years.” (7:30 PM, The Bell House)
Openings and Closings
🥐Little Honey Cafe & Pizzeria opens on 7th Ave in South Slope: We bought a “savory croissant” this morning—a regular croissant sliced open and filled with a buttery garlic pesto spread—and it was delightful. (Little Honey)
🥪Subs “N” Stuff in South Slope closed: Neighbors mourn some of the best subs in the neighborhood.
Get Involved
Support Care for Citron & Starbust (Above): Last week a helpful reader pointed us to Cat Republic, a cat fostering nonprofit that operates out of Kensington. Founded by the folks from Brooklyn Brainery (located just north of Grand Army Plaza,) Cat Republic finds care and new homes for cats across South Brooklyn. Their Instagram will keep you up to date on who’s new and who’s ready for adoption. (Cat Republic)
🌳🧹Winter Corps @ the Park on 2/7: “Volunteers will assist in raking, minor shoveling, litter pick up, and other landscaping needs. The group meets at a different location every week. All volunteers who RSVP will receive a reminder email with the meeting location before the event.” (10:00 AM, Prospect Park)
News and Links
🎂🚦Crossing Guard at Park Slope School for Over 45 years Celebrates 90th birthday: “Maggie Poston has worked at the same post in Park Slope outside of P.S. 282 since the 1970s. To celebrate her decades of service, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell brought her flowers while she was at work Monday.” (ABC7)
Events
Thursday, 2/1
📷Exhibition Walkthrough With Artist Sylvia Plachy: “Join us in the Grand Lobby for a special evening with photographer and artist Sylvia Plachy as she speaks about her photographs as part of her solo exhibition on view at Central Library. For decades, Sylvia Plachy has captured the varied and rebellious spirit of New York City and its people. The exhibition, It happened in New York: Photographs by Sylvia Plachy is a paean to the city that lends us her immense powers of observation and wit.” [Editor’s note: We’d come just for the Tom Waits pics, in the IG post above.] (6:00 PM, Central Library)
🎶Mike Mcginnis + 9 "Road Trip’ @ Barbès “Composer/clarinetist Mike McGinnis' Roadtrip Band is a 10-piece horn heavy musical experience directed by McGinnis' compositional exporations. There will also be numerous stops along the adventure where McGinnis allows different players in the band to take the wheel and drive the listener through the adventures of McGinnis' musical mind.” (7:00 PM, Barbès)
🤣🎤️Alison Leiby: Abortion Show (Sold Out): “Alison Leiby is taking her acclaimed off-Broadway performance, Oh God, A Show About Abortion, and reworking it. The story is the same (spoiler: she still has an abortion), but she's working through some new thoughts and jokes along with some of the original material to make it fit in this new moment.” (7:30 PM, Union Hall, $15)
🎭Black Box New Play Festival: “Now in its 27th year, our playwright-focused festival aims to polish and perfect a collection of new plays and offer a home where playwrights can deepen their stagecraft and hold a mirror up to our time. ” (7:30 PM, Gallery Players, $25)
🎟Dan Licata & Charles Gould: Two Guys Who Ruin The Vibe! “You don’t wanna get stuck on a ski lift with these guys! With special guest Grace Kuhlenschmidt!” (8:00 PM, Littlefield, $10)
🍿💝Spoons Toons & Booze Valentines After Dark: “Everyone knows that all you need is love and the same goes for our animated friends! Experience the powerful emotions of your favorite Saturday morning cartoons maneuvering crushes, first dates and relationships…and the backswing of heartbreak, breakups and unrequited love. Hosted by SecretFormula’s cartoon and cereal experts Michael Austin and Nell Casey!” (9:15 PM, Nitehawk)
Friday, 2/2
🎶Body Kite: “Body Kite is an experimental improvised dance-rock band started by Pierre de Gaillande featuring a rotating cast of musicians. Every performance is spontaneously composed live on stage. Drums, bass, guitars, keyboards horns, electric koto, loops and percussion are deployed to achieve liftoff for audience and band alike. For fans of early Pink Floyd, Can, Talking Heads, and Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis.” (10:00 PM, Barbès)
🪴Plant Swap At Brooklyn Horticulture!: “Come on out to meet other local plant hobbyists and exchange rooted, pest-free plants/cuttings and care tips at this FREE event. They are always a blast! All Participants will receive 10% OFF PLANTS & GIFT CARDS at the end of the event (7pm) ! Please arrive at 5pm to Check In and enjoy complimentary light refreshments while setting up your station and meeting others. Please note: The swap/trade starts at 6pm sharp!” (5:00 PM, Brooklyn Horticulture)
🎼Brooklyn Conservatory Chorale Winter Concert: “Come enjoy BCC’s winter concert, consisting of distinct choral pieces, including a work composed by choral member Mary Lloyd Butler.” (7:30 PM, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, $20)
🎭Black Box New Play Festival : See Thursday listing. (7:30 PM, Gallery Players, $25)
😂George Civeris: “Proudly alive standup comedian George Civeris and co-host of the podcast StraightioLab, workshops new material centered around the theme of "contemporary society." Featuring superstar guests, shocking revelations, and enough intellectual rigor to kill a tenured professor of semiotics.” (7:30 PM, The Bell House)
💋👠💅Rupaul’S Drag Race Screenings : “RuPaul’s Drag Race is BAAAAAAAACK with 14 new drag queens competing for the $200,000 grand prize and the title of America’s next drag superstar!” (8:00 PM, Littlefield)
🍿’Bushman' Premiere @ BAM: “In 1968, Peace Corps veteran David Schickele enlisted his Nigerian friend Paul Eyam Nzie Okpokam to film a light-hearted comedy about the adventures of a well-educated Nigerian immigrant in San Francisco. In a docu-fictional style, reminiscent of Cassavetes’ Shadows, Okpokam’s character observes the foibles of African-American culture with an outsider's incisive eye, yielding a vibrant snapshot of the nation’s racial politics—until then everything goes sideways. After being falsely accused of terrorism, Okpokam’s life—and their film—spins out of control.” (2PM and other times, BAM, $16)
Saturday, 2/3
🇯🇵Fukushima Fair: “Sunrise Mart Brooklyn store will be hosting Fukushima Fair, featuring delicious food products from Fukushima, Japan.” (All Day, Japan Village)
🌳Saturday Morning Run And Coffee: “Come join us for a casual run in Prospect Park at 9:45 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.” (8:45 AM, Prospect Park)
🌳💪🏼💃🏼Upbeat Pop! Dance Fitness At The Boathouse: “Come prepared to shake, roll, grapevine, and clap to your favorite upbeat pop songs. We will use this time to cultivate joy and silliness while getting a great workout and reaping the benefits of cardiovascular fitness. ” (10:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🐦🐤Introduction To Birdwatching Outings: “Whether you’re just starting out or have already joined the birding ranks, this introductory outings is for you! Every Saturday, join Prospect Park Alliance and a member of the Brooklyn Bird Club on an introductory walk to learn the basics of birding and search for the dozens of species that visit Prospect Park through all seasons.” (10:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🌳🪦Bark Basics: Evergreen Tree Walk For Kids: “You may know the difference between a maple and an oak, but what differentiates a pine from a spruce? A cypress from a cedar? Come learn the basic characteristics of evergreen trees in our accredited Level III Arboretum—one of only three in New York State (and only 43 in the world!)” (10:00 AM, Green-Wood Cemetery, $25)
🎨Family Canvas Paintings: “Create a unique piece of artwork for your home! Families will work together on one 18x24 inch canvas, using tempera paint sticks, drawing and collage materials to create a mixed media masterpiece for your home.” (10:00 AM, Private Picasso's)
🌳👣Prospect Park Tours With Turnstile Tours: “Discover hidden treasures, natural wonders and little-known tales on interactive guided tours of Prospect Park in the heart of Brooklyn, presented by Turnstile Tours in partnership with Prospect Park Alliance. Explore everything about Prospect Park, from its flora and geology, to the architectural movements that shaped the park, to the evolution of recreation and play. See how use of the park has changed over time from designers Olmsted and Vaux’s original vision all the way to present day and Prospect Park Alliance’s sustainability, historic preservation, and recreational projects that make the park the world-class destination it is today.” (10:30 AM, Prospect Park)
🍿’Blazing Saddles' @ Nitehawk: “In this satirical take on Westerns, crafty railroad worker Bart (Cleavon Little) becomes the first black sheriff of Rock Ridge, a frontier town about to be destroyed in order to make way for a new railroad. Initially, the people of Rock Ridge harbor a racial bias toward their new leader. However, they warm to him after realizing that Bart and his perpetually drunk gunfighter friend (Gene Wilder) are the only defense against a wave of thugs sent to rid the town of its population.” (11:00 AM, Nitehawk)
🪦Winter Wanders @ Green-Wood: “It may be cold outside, but don’t let that stop you from discovering Green-Wood! On this leisurely ninety-minute walking tour you’ll visit the elaborate monument of John Matthews, the Soda Fountain King; hear the tragic tale of the young bride, Do-Hum-Me; and learn about the headline-grabbing murder of dentist Harvey Burdell; all while strolling down the winding paths and around the picturesque ponds of the Cemetery’s historic landscape.” (12:00 PM, Green-Wood Cemetery, $25)
🖍🍿BAM Kids Film Festival 2024: “Celebrate courage and creativity with an imaginative collection of this year's best short films for kids, featuring outrageously fun and inspiring tales from around the world. ” (12:00 PM, BAM, $9-$14)
🍿Spoons Toons All Ages @ Nitehawk: See Book Now section above. (12:00 PM, Nitehawk)
🐕Barrow’S Intense: Rescue Dog Adoption Event: “Come by the Barrow’s Intense NY Tasting Room to adopt your newest family member at the Hearts & Bones Rescue Dog Adoption Event.” (12:00 PM, Barrow's Intense, Industry City)
🪦💔Happily Never After @ Green-Wood: “Love and death. They have inspired artists, writers, and philosophers for millennia. But do you know where they are perfectly intertwined? At a cemetery! Forget the box of chocolates and sappy card—treat the special someone in your life to an exploration of Green-Wood. Along the way you will hear tales of the lovesick and the heartbroken, as well as tawdry details of dramatic—and doomed—affairs.” (12:30 PM, Green-Wood Cemetery, $30)
Saturday Night
🤣🎤️Popcorn! -- NYC’s Best & Hottest Rising Comedians: “Join us for laughs, love, and community vibes. T-shirt and/or drink raffle every show. Stay for dinner and live music after the show! 6p show.” (6:00 PM, Freddy's, $10)
💃🏼🕺🏼BCCO Gala: Swing!: “Join us for a night of swing dancing with the Brooklyn Conservatory Community Orchestra! Immerse yourself in timeless favorites by musical legends such as Gershwin, Porter, Ellington, and more! Elevating the night’s charm are the captivating vocals of Christine Cornell and swingin’ saxophone tunes by Jon De Lucia. Learn the art of swing dancing from the talented Laurie Shayler and Dance Connection. Unforgettable cocktails and desserts all night long!” (7:30 PM, St Saviour High School Gymnasium, $65)
🎭Black Box New Play Festival : See Thursday listing. (7:30 PM, Gallery Players, $25)
💃A Contra Dance For All: “The Some Assembly Required Trio brings the energy of NYC's best musicians to the Brooklyn Contra stage. Headlined by Matthew Christian's Irish fiddling, you never know who'll show up, from folks fresh of the Broadway or Grand Ol Opry stage to a harmonious cello or a trombone playing mandolin picker.” (7:30 PM, Camp Friendship, $15)
😂Moses Storm: Perfect Cult: “THE PERFECT CULT is a unique interactive comedy special that invites audience members to participate in the formation of a one-night-only cult. This immersive show is ‘Sleep No More’ meets stand-up comedy.” (7:30 PM, The Bell House)
🎷🎺Banda De Los Muertos : “In the Mexican state of Sinaloa, brass bands (bandas) are part of every public celebration. In the 1940's, the pioneering Banda El Recodo started mixing up traditional brass band tunes with contemporary Mexican music and transformed the idiom into a powerful new popular genre. Oscar Noriega, Jacob Garchik and Los Muertos bring it all it back to Brooklyn.” (10:00 PM, Barbès, $20)
Sunday, 2/4
🪦🐦Birding In Peace: “Before our gates open to the general public, birding expert Rob Jett leads these peaceful early morning walking tours to discover the many birds that call Green-Wood home.” (7:00 AM, Green-Wood Cemetery, $20)
🐦🐤Birdwatching: First Sunday Outings: “Join the Brooklyn Bird Club and Prospect Park Alliance on the first Sunday of each month from thorough June 2023 in search of dozens of species that visit the park through all seasons. Learn about the different habitats in Prospect Park and why they are important for all types of birds. Please bring your own binoculars.” (8:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🪦Winter Wanders: See Saturday listing. (12:00 PM, Green-Wood Cemetery, $25)
🍿’Sense And Sensibility' (1995) @ Nitehawk: “When Elinor Dashwood’s (Emma Thompson) father dies, her family’s finances are crippled. After the Dashwoods move to a cottage in Devonshire, Elinor’s sister Marianne (Kate Winslet) is torn between the handsome John Willoughby (Greg Wise) and the older Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman). Meanwhile, Elinor’s romantic hopes with Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) are hindered due to his prior engagement. Both Elinor and Marianne strive for love while the circumstances in their lives constantly change.” (12:00 PM, Nitehawk)
🎭Black Box New Play Festival : See Thursday listing. (7:30 PM, Gallery Players, $25)
💓📕February Happily Everyone After Book Club Brooklyn: “This months book is "Hot and Badgered" by Shelly Laurenstone. The Happily Everyone After book club is led by our booksellers and reads widely across the romance genre. Everyone is welcome!” (7:15 PM, The Ripped Bodice)
🤣🎤️Punkie Johnson: “Johnson is a comedian and writer from New Orleans, Louisiana who joined the cast of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE in 2020.” (7:30 PM, Union Hall, $20)
🖍🍿BAM Kids Film Festival 2024: “See Saturday listing.” (12:00 PM, BAM, $9-$14)
Monday, 2/5
🍞Hot Bread Kitchen Information Session: “Join us for a special information session presented by representatives from Hot Bread Kitchen to learn about their free culinary training programs and how to apply.” (5:00 PM, Central Library)
🐈🐕🖤Things That Matter: Tails, Paws, Beaks, & Claws: “Our beloved pets are as much a part of the family as any human, and the grief that follows their deaths can hold more weight than we anticipated. As dogs, cats, parakeets, gerbils, lizards, and goldfish have shorter lives, loving and caring for them in both youth and old age can be transformational in our own relationships with death, teaching us important lessons about how to find meaning in life.” (6:15 PM, Virtual Event)
Tuesday, 2/6
🌈’Bark Of Millions' @ BAM: “A powerhouse collective of international artists ignite an electrifying collision of performance, live music, and drag spectacle in the latest from theater-making renegades Taylor Mac, Matt Ray, and Machine Dazzle. The team unleashes their creativity in a rock opera meditation on queerness, featuring 55 original songs by Mac and Ray and a bevy of costumes by Dazzle. With the fierce elation of a pride parade, 'Bark of Millions' is a luxuriant, provocative spectacle unlike any other.” (7:00 PM, BAM, $35)
🍿Nobudge Live #37: See under Worth Booking Now section. (7:15 PM, Nitehawk)
🍿’Streets Of Fire' @ Nitehawk: “Raven Shaddock (Willem Dafoe), along with his gang of merciless biker friends, kidnaps rock singer Ellen Aim (Diane Lane). Ellen’s former lover, soldier-for-hire Tom Cody (Michael Paré), happens to be passing through town on a visit. In an attempt to save his star act, Ellen’s manager, Billy Fish (Rick Moranis), hires Tom to rescue Ellen. Billy and Tom, along with former soldier McCoy (Amy Madigan), battle through dangerous cityscapes, determined to get Ellen back.” (9:15 PM, Nitehawk)
🍿’Super Fly’ (1972) @ Nitehawk: “Priest is a suave top-rung Harlem, New York drug Pusher who decides that he wants to get out of his dangerous trade. Working with his reluctant friend he devises a scheme that will allow him make one last big deal and then retire. When a desperate street dealer informs the police of Priest’s activities, Priest is forced into an uncomfortable arrangement with corrupt narcotics officers. Setting his plan in motion, he aims to both leave the business and stick it to the man.” (9:15 PM, Nitehawk)
Wednesday, 2/7
🌳🧹Winter Corps: “Volunteers will assist in raking, minor shoveling, litter pick up, and other landscaping needs. The group meets at a different location every week. All volunteers who RSVP will receive a reminder email with the meeting location before the event.” (10:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🥭🏠📕Sandra Cisneros Discusses The House On Mango Street At 40, With Edwidge Danticat: “As 'The House on Mango' Street turns forty and arriving newly minted as the winner of the Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award from the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation, Cisneros will discuss her life as a writer, reading selections from both poetry and prose, including recent work and The House on Mango Street. Our audience will be invited to offer questions.” (7:00 PM, Central Library)
🎶🏛🗣Brooklyn Talks: Swizz Beatz.“Don’t miss a one-time-only conversation between celebrated producer Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) and Brooklyn Museum Director Anne Pasternak as we open Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys.” (7:00 PM, Brooklyn Museum, $50)
📕🖋🗣Monica Murphy Brooklyn Book Launch For ‘Lonely For You Only:’ “To celebrate Lonely For You Only, we're hosting a Brooklyn launch event with Monica Murphy on Wednesday, February 7th at 7pm. She will chat with Lauren Layne about her new adult romance.” (7:00 PM, The Ripped Bodice)
🍿’Don’t Tell Her It’s Me' W/ Introduction By Two Podcasters: “Co-hosted by Dan McCoy and Stuart Wellington (The Flop House Podcast) and Kseniya Yarosh and Matt Carman (I Love Bad Movies.) Gus (Steve Guttenberg) is a live-action Ziggy who transforms into an overconfident, mulleted New Zealand biker named Lobo Marunga.” [Editor’s note: If you’re old enough to remember Guttenberg, the trailer above is worth a click.] (9:15 PM, Nitehawk)
Thursday, 2/8
🐉🏮🌱🍊Lunar New Year Plants Tour: “Celebrate the Year of the Dragon with a journey through the Steinhardt Conservatory, discovering Asian fruits and plants associated with the Lunar New Year. We’ll see citrus, BAMboo, ginger, and much more!” (1:00 PM, Brooklyn Botanic Garden)
🌈Bark Of Millions' @ BAM: “See Tuesday Listing.”
😂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)
🇫🇷🍷Raclette Party: “Come and enjoy the favorite dish of the French in winter, La Raclette. For $29 you get Raclette cheese (of course), Prosciutto, Smoked ham, Dry sausage, Potatoes, Salad.” (7:30 PM, Winemak'her Bar, $29)
🎶Miss Maybell & The Jazz Age Artistes: “Miss Maybell and her band play vintage hot jazz, blues & ragtime. They have been featured on The NPR Show "Person, Place, Thing" with Randy Cohen - listen to them sing Minnie the Mermaid..” (8:00 PM, Barbès)
🍿’Yi Yi' @ Nitehawk: “Set in Taiwan, the film follows the lives of the Jian family from the alternating perspectives of the three main family members: father N.J. (Nien-Jen Wu), teenage daughter Ting-Ting (Elaine Jin) and young son Yang-Yang (Issei Ogata). N.J., disgruntled with his current job, attempts to court the favor of a prominent video game company while Ting-Ting and Yang-Yang contend with the various trials of youth, all while caring for N.J.’s mother-in-law, who lies in a coma.” (8:30 PM, Nitehawk)
Let us know what you think of the newsletter in the comments!