Valentine's Selling Out! Alicia Keys & Swizz Beats' Art @ BK Museum! Super Bowl @ Nitehawk! New Year & Black History Month Events!
Plus: Bonsai Trees & Beer! Raclette Party! An Empanada Pop-up!
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 For Valentine’s Day Gifts
Nothing says “thoughtful gift” like tickets to a sold-out show nearby. And these are all selling out. [Editor’s note: This week’s events before Valentine’s Day that are selling out are marked with a 🔥 emoji]
📕💌Why Are You Single? A Dating Game Show With Marie Faustin on 2/14: “Join comedian Marie Faustin in a hunt for red flags in total strangers, live on stage! One by one single contestants are subjected to in depth emotional questioning and physical challenges. Who will be sent packing to the singles lounge, and who will be named the Super Single? Contestants are selected from online submission!” (8:00 PM, The Bell House, $20)
🗣The Moth StorySLAM on 2/21: “The Moth StorySLAMs are story telling competitions where the stage is open to any and all with a story to tell on the evening's theme: CHEMISTRY. Prepare a five-minute story about the power of combinations. Complex reactions, sparks, explosions…magical solutions. Dynamic rapport and explosive interactions. Opposites that attract or pheromones that fizzle. Lessons in the lab of life. Transformation. Safety goggles ON. Cu There.” (8:00 PM, The Bell House$15)(8:00 PM, The Bell House, $15)
🌳✂️🍺Bonsai Bar @ Gun Hill Publick House on 3/5: [Editor’s note: These bonsai-pruning events always go fast.] “Beginner workshops are perfect for you to grab your friends, grab a drink and come make tiny trees! We’re bringing the awesome art of bonsai out of the hedged in gardens and into the streets! Or at least into your favorite bars/breweries/pubs. Bonsai Bar is a night of fun you don’t want to miss. Learn the fundamental skills and techniques behind the art of bonsai while enjoying a night out with friends! Our teachers will introduce core concepts and guide your experience as you pot, prune, and design your very own bonsai tree!” (6:30 PM, Industry City, $80)
🌳✂️🍺Bonsai Bar @ Strong Rope Brewery on 3/13: See Gun Hill event above. (6:00 PM, Strong Rope Brewery, $80)
🍿ULTRA-MEGA OSCARS 2024 @ Nitehawk on 3/10: “Nitehawk Cinema proudly presents our annual OSCARS VIEWING PARTY on March 10! Our hosted event in Theater 1 has sold out, so we’re adding a show in Theater 2. No hosts, but the Oscars on the big screen, starting with the red carpet at 6pm.” (6:00 PM, Nitehawk)
Get Involved
🛍️Donate Your FreshDirect Bags to a Food Pantry: “Neighbors, Camp Friendship can use all your fresh direct bags!” writes the 6th Avenue food pantry’s Soni Sangha. “Bring them to 339 8th street next week— Friday night 6-7:30 pm; Saturday 8 am to 2:30 pm. We are running dangerously low! (Neatly stacked or folded please because we need to stack the bags in bags)” (Park Slope Parents IG)
🌳🧹Winter Corps on 2/14: “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
✊Nitehawk Cinema Workers Take Steps To Unionize In Brooklyn: “The same-day releases of Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" and Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" not only rocked cinema screens nationwide but also showed employees at the independent dine-in theater in Park Slope the need to unionize, workers said.” (Park Slope Patch)
🌮Check out Prospect Park’s Concession RFP: “For the sale of food and beverage items from Mobile Food Units at several key locations around the park, including Third Street and Prospect Park West, Bartel-Pritchard Square, the Willink Entrance, the Lincoln Road Entrance, the Parkside Entrance and the Vanderbilt Playground Loop.” (Prospect Park Alliance)
Events
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)
🗣Ellen Hopkins: On Writing Banned Books: “Hopkins is a poet, a former journalist, and the award-winning author of twenty nonfiction books for young readers, fourteen bestselling young-adult novels, two middle grade novels and four novels for adult readers. SYNC, out in August, is her fifteenth YA novel-in-verse.” (5:30 PM, Central Library)
🌈’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.” (7pm, BAM)
🍷Celebrate Black History Month @ Old Stone House With Good Wine: “Good Wine is hosting a delicious class featuring Black Winemakers and Vineyards at The Old Stone House. We will be sampling six incredible wines from around the world, paired with an inspired and festive menu.” (7:00 PM, Old Stone House, $90)
😂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)
Friday, 2/9
👸🐸Black History Month Family Movie Night: 'The Princess And The Frog' @ Park Slope Library: “Tiana, Disney's first black Princess, is Hardworking and ambitious. Tiana dreams of one day opening the finest restaurant in New Orleans. Her dream takes a slight detour when she meets Prince Naveen who has been turned into an amphibian by evil Dr. Facilier. Mistaking her for a princess and hoping to break the spell, Naveen plants a kiss on poor Tiana -- thereby turning her into a frog as well. The pair hop along on an adventure through the bayous to seek the help in becoming human again. We see Tiana's journey through African-American influenced music styles including jazz, zydeco, blues and gospel.” (3:30 PM, Park Slope Library)
⛸️IC Ice Rink: Tgif Taylor Swift Skate Night: “Enjoy an afternoon of Taylor Swift hits on the ice with the whole family, gal pals, or as a date night.” (4:00 PM, Industry City)
💌Valentine’s Week At Parklife & Friends!: “Parklife is celebrating Valentine’s Day over 7 nights! Enjoy a night out with dinner at Parklife plus a fun activity at littlefield, Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club BK and Kick Axe Throwing BK! Select your preferred night and see what activity awaits! Begin your date at Parklife with a three course prix fixe dinner starting at $40, and get a special complimentary Valentine’s cocktail. Then choose one of the post-dinner activities: a show next door, shuffleboard or axe throwing!” (5:00 PM, Littlefield)
🎼🎟Movie Night: ‘The Wiz!’ “Join us in celebrating Black History Month through one of the most iconic, musical movies of all time! We’ll be showing The Wiz in our Concert Hall with all of your favorite cinematic accoutrements – and each ticket comes with popcorn and a drink.” (6:30 PM, BKCM Concert Hall, $15)
♟️Board Game Night Is Back: “We provide the games, soft drinks, seltzers, water, and beers, but please feel free to bring any drinks and food you like! You'll see silly, social party games, European economic simulators, social deduction experiences, and everything in-between. We love teaching the games and sharing all the great stuff that's going on in modern game design, so even if you're not familiar (yet!) with what games can do lately, you'll come away having learned something new.” (6:30 PM, Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, $12)
🌈’Bark Of Millions' @ BAM: See Friday listing.
😂Jerrod Carmichael: Self Importance (SOLD OUT) “Jerrod Carmichael is an Emmy-winning comedian from Winston-Salem, NC. His most recent special, Rothaniel, can be streamed on Max.” (8:00 PM, The Bell House)
🔥🤣🎤️Ok Stupid on 2/9: “A comedy show featuring blind dates live onstage. Each show features three comedians being set up on a date with someone they’ve never met before, supervised by hosts Caroline and Kob” (10:00 PM, Union Hall, $12)
Saturday, 2/10
🐦🐤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)
🔥🪦Black Brooklynites: Pioneers & Progress Trolley Tour: “You’ll visit the monuments of Jean-Michel Basquiat, the innovative artist of the 1970s and 80s; Grace Nail Johnson and James Weldon Johnson, civil rights activists and prominent participants in the Harlem Renaissance; Elizabeth Gloucester, a wealthy abolitionist who supported the Underground Railroad; and others who made lasting marks in the ongoing struggle for progress.” (10:00 AM, Green-Wood Cemetery, $30)
🐉🏮🌱🍊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!” (11:00 AM, Brooklyn Botanic Garden)
🎁Brooklyn Pop-Up Winter Artisans Market @ BK Museum: “Stop by our winter artisans market! Presented in partnership with Brooklyn Pop-Up, this monthly weekend market features local vendors offering one-of-a-kind, handmade artwork, jewelry, fashion, and home goods. ” (11:00 AM,Brooklyn Museum)
🍿Opening Day For 'Giants: Art From The Dean Collection Of Swizz Beatz And Alicia Keys' @ Brooklyn Museum: “Gordon Parks. Jean-Michel Basquiat. Lorna Simpson. Kehinde Wiley. Nina Chanel Abney. These names loom large in the past and present of art—as do many others in the collection of musical and cultural icons Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) and Alicia Keys. Expansive in their collecting habits, the Deans, both born and raised in New York, champion a philosophy of “artists supporting artists.” The first major exhibition of the Dean Collection, Giants showcases a focused selection from the couple’s world-class holdings. The Brooklyn Museum’s presentation spotlights works by Black diasporic artists, part of our ongoing efforts to expand the art-historical narrative. ” (11:30 AM, Brooklyn Museum, $25)
♟️*Free* Story-Driven Trial Classes In Park Slope: “Calling all young minds aged 3 and above! Discover the world of strategy and critical thinking with Chess at Three free trial classes, where stories and strategy make learning an exciting adventure! Chess at Three trial classes are tailored for ages 3 and up, ensuring an enriching experience for young thinkers. Kids learn to move the chess pieces through story-driven lessons, starting with King Shaky, a frightened king who tiptoes across the chessboard one step at a time.” (12:00 PM, Chess at Three)
🎨'Artland Workshops: World Building' @ Brooklyn Museum: “Take a trip to Artland: An Installation by Do Ho Suh and Children, an enchanting ecosystem of color and clay, and discover how to create your own world. In these free, all-ages drop-in workshops, you’ll draw inspiration from the real world to imagine a new one. Free with Museum admission. Parents and guardians must remain with their children during the program.” (1:00 PM, Brooklyn Museum)
🇪🇸Empanada Papa Food Pop Up: “Your favorite Empanadas are back at Industry City for one day, only at Gun Hill Publick House. From 1 pm til sold out. Come in for a beer, have some food, and enjoy your Saturday.” (1:00 PM, Industry City)
💍💍💍💍💍💍💍💍💍💍Book Flix Movie Night: 'Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings' @ Park Slope Library: “The Lunar New Year is an annual celebration that is observed in many Asian cultures. To help raise awareness and pay hommage to this popular celebration, the Park Slope Library will kick off with a brief video about the cultural meaning and importance of the Lunar New Year, followed by the Feature Presentation. Although the show is being hosted for our Young Adult community, ages 13 to 18, tweens ages 10 and up may also attend this special event, with parental permission. This is a BYOP (Bring your own popcorn!) event! ” (2:00 PM, Park Slope Library)
💌Neighbors Valentine’s Market @ Prospect Park 15th Street Entrance: “Come say hi! Meet some neighbors, check out some handmade pieces and show your support for local makers.” (Monimant Jewelry IG)
📆Court Tree Collective: British Invasion/Lunar New Year Celebration: “Join Court Tree Collective in celebration of the Lunar New Year along with their latest art exhibition opening “British Invasion”. There will be food, drinks and music.” (4:00 PM, Industry City)
🐉🏮🥢Lunar New Year Celebration! (Sold Out): “Ring in the Year of the Blue Dragon at BKCM – our famous Lunar New Year Celebration is back! Spend your holiday with us to enjoy live music, festive snacks, candy, calligraphy, crafts and more. We’re excited to welcome back the Columbia Lion Dancers as well as many of beloved community partners. This year each ticket will include a snack box with dumplings (pork or veggie), lo mein, a spring roll, a fried sesame ball and a bubble tea! Festive attire is highly encouraged!” (4:30 PM, Brooklyn Conservatory of Msuic)
Saturday Night
💌Valentine’s Week At Parklife & Friends!: See Thursday listing. (5:00 PM, Littlefield)
🍰💖Vintage Heart Cake Decorating Workshop: “Learn how to build and decorate your very own 6" cake for Valentine's Day” (6:00 PM, Buttermilk Bake Shop, $120)
🗣Free Live Music - Chris And The Automat Music: “Experience the soulful tunes of country music in the heart of Brooklyn. Don't miss this chance for a night of great music, good company, and fine wine!” (6:00 PM, Winemak'her Bar)
💖🍷30's And 40's Find Your Valentine Speed Dating: “Enjoy craft cocktails and complimentary appetizers while mingling with a diverse group of singles who are eager to make connections.” (6:30 PM, Barrow's Intense, Industry City)
❤️🏺Pal'entine'S Day Clay Handbuilding : “An unmissable Pal-entine’s Day event at The Painted Pot! Bring all your favorites and join us for complimentary wine, art and of course ♥️” (6:30 PM, Painted Pot)
🌈’Bark Of Millions' @ BAM: See Thursday listing.
Sunday, 2/11
🌳👣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)
🎁Brooklyn Pop-Up Winter Artisans Market @ Bk Museum: “See Saturday's listing above.” (11:00 AM,Brooklyn Museum)
🍿Sundays On Fire: Secret Hong Kong 35Mm Feature: “This Sunday on Fire delivers a two-fisted, high caliber exploitation flick from one of Hong Kong’s (and Hollywood’s) most famous filmmakers before he became famous. This director’s name has become an adjective, and here’s your chance to see him before he got polished up and put on a shelf, delivering a raw, uncompromising “men on a mission” movie that punches you in the face with dynamite fists.” (12:00 PM, Nitehawk)
🗣Concerts On The Slope @ St. John'S Presents: New York And Paris: “An exciting new series producing monthly chamber music performances in the picturesque, historical parish of St. John’s Episcopal Church in the heart of Park Slope, Brooklyn. The aim of this series is that audiences from all over New York City will come out to Brooklyn to escape their busy lives, sit outside and enjoy the peacefulness of the courtyard, and then come inside to enjoy some world class chamber music, featuring some of the most exciting young musicians today.” (3:00 PM, St. John's Episcopal Church, $10)
🍿🏈The Big Game @ Nitehawk: “You may have a large screen television, but nothing beats seeing The Big Game on Nitehawk’s big theater screen with table-side service. Buying our $20 food and beverage voucher saves you a seat to watch the game with friends, family and football loving strangers. In addition to our dinner menu, we’ll be serving up wings, totchos and regional beer specials:” (6:00 PM, Nitehawk)
Monday, 2/12
🍿'Time Bandits' @ Nitehawk: “While Stephen Hawking searches for black holes in the universe, a young boy discovers a time hole in his very own wardrobe! Through this opening, a band of dwarves enter into his life while escaping their evil master, The Supreme Being, taking him through Napoleonic times to the Middle Ages to the early 20th century in search of treasure to steal. A philosophical endeavor while also an enduring children’s film favorite, and a truly lovely bizarre one at that, Time Bandits tackles forces of good versus evil in the realm of the Fortress of Ultimate Darkness.” (9:15 PM, Nitehawk)
Tuesday, 2/13
🕺Stomp, Clap & Sing With Vivian Fang Liu: “Liu, a classical pianist, children's music artist, and Grammy U mentor, has graced renowned stages like Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, captivating audiences with her musical versatility. Her acclaimed children's music albums, Shape of Crowns and Accents of Love, have garnered many awards and praise. As February ushers in the lunar new year, Vivian embarks on a delightful musical journey, sharing the richness of cultures, traditions, and enchanting stories of the Year of the Dragon through her beautiful, upbeat, and fun music. Audiences can anticipate an enchanting celebration, as Vivian Fang Liu weaves a tapestry of joy and cultural exploration through her musical prowess.” (10:30 AM, Central Library)
📕Teen Time : Teens Create Friendship Bracelets: “Join us and meet other teens, for an arts and crafts afternoon.... or just Grab and Go! Drop by to pick up a kit and make your friendship bracelet on your own! We provide supplies, you bring the imagination!” (4:00 PM, Park Slope Library)
💌Valentine’s Week At Parklife & Friends!: See Thursday listing. (5:00 PM, Littlefield)
📕Ken Siegelman'S Brooklyn Poetry Outreach Featuring Joe Allen Jr. Aka Joetry: “Joetry can be described in many different ways. His history is best told through his life and his published works. They tell a saga that has ended, restarted and is an ongoing learning experience. In his work Odell his Life, the poem “Progression” is a mixture of ugly times and overcoming. “Still Breathing” reflects on his importance of living, and “And the Beat Goes on, at My Own Pace” is the place he is in now.” (5:30 PM, Park Slope Library)
🔥🤣🎤️#Adulting With Michelle Buteau And Jordan Carlos: “Michelle & Jordan welcome guests to break down the what, the how, the where and the why #ADULTING is the puberty you opt into.” (8:00 PM, The Bell House, $20)
Wednesday, 2/14
🌳🧹Winter Corps: See Get Involved above. (10:00 AM, Prospect Park)
🧑🏼🍳️🍿Central Cookbook Club: Babette's Feast: “Join us the for a Valentine's Day treat as the Central Cookbook Club screens, Gabriel Axel's film, Babette's Feast, (1987,). Please note this film is in Danish, French, and Swedish, with English Subtitles. Registration is not required but if you sign up we'll send you a reminder about upcoming Central Cookbook Club events.” (3:00 PM, Central Library)
💌Valentine’s Week At Parklife & Friends! See Thursday listing. (5:00 PM, Littlefield)
📕Book Club: Scattered All Over The Earth: “Welcome to the not-too-distant future: Japan, having vanished from the face of the earth, is now remembered as 'the land of sushi.' Hiruko, its former citizen and a climate refugee herself, has a job teaching immigrant children in Denmark with her invented language Panska (Pan-Scandinavian): 'homemade language. no country to stay in. three countries I experienced. insufficient space in brain. so made new language. homemade language.'” (7:00 PM, Community Bookstore)
📕💌Why Are You Single? A Dating Game Show With Marie Faustin: See Book Now section above. (8:00 PM, The Bell House, $20)
💌Young Hot Sluts (Valentine’s Edition): “Leave it to fierce-as-fuck comedian Carly Ann Filbin to get you laid this Valentine’s Day season. At this adults-only dating show, the viciously funny host sets up millennial matches through a series of bracing questions. Let’s make some love connections, and at the very least, we’ll all leave with a one night stand to gab about at brunch.” (8:00 PM, Littlefield, $15)
💌My Chummy Valentine @ Parklife: “Calling all gals and pals! This Valentine’s Day, we’re celebrating the beauty of friendship and platonic love at MY CHUMMY VALENTINE! Featuring an assortment of games, dinner and drink deals, prizes, candy, and more! Hosted by Hope Morawa!” (8:00 PM, Littlefield)
🍿'Paris, Texas' @ Nitehawk: “A disheveled man who wanders out of the desert, Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton) seems to have no idea who he is. When a stranger manages to contact his brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell), Travis is awkwardly reunited with his sibling. Travis has been missing for years, and his presence unsettles Walt and his family, which also includes Travis’s own son, Hunter (Hunter Carson). Soon Travis must confront his wife, Jane (Nastassja Kinski), and try to put his life back together.” (8:30 PM, Nitehawk)
Thursday, 2/15
💌Valentine’s Week At Parklife & Friends!: See Thursday listing. (5:00 PM, Littlefield)
💌🏛📖Brooklyn Reads: Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt With Brontez Purnell: “Celebrate Valentine’s Day and the release of Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt with author Brontez Purnell, the “bard of the underloved and overlooked.” In his first collection of verse, Purnell reflects on his peripatetic life marked by misadventures and sexcapades.” (7:00 PM, Brooklyn Museum, $20)
🕺’Remembering' Premiere @ BAM: “This multimedia production explores the historical accounts of the Middle Passage, Slavery, and Emancipation. Inspired by “The MAAFA Suite” and the teachings of Bishop Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood, REMEMBERING is American history told by African Voices, lacing Contemporary and African Dance with audio-visual elements, including spoken word, music, and African drumming.” (7:30 PM, BAM, $40)
🍿'Shouting At The Screen' @ Nitehawk: “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)
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