The Weekend Guide | 5-8 April 2018

Liz Norment — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 22:29:18 +0000

Hey Brooklyn. It’s your weekend. What will you do? Where will you go? Who will you meet? What decisions will you make that could perhaps alter the journey of your ife? What choices will you make, what chances will you take? I can’t answer most of those questions, but as they say, “Chance favors those who are prepared,” I can at least prepare you. I’ve compiled a list of all the best, the boldest, the rowdiest, the most unique events in town this weekend. Put yourself there. See what happens.

It’s all yours, Brooklyn. Take it.

THURSDAY

Dream Machine Interactive Experience in Williamsburg

We can all say we’re living the dream, right? That life that everyone dreams of, in New York City! The place where dreams come true! I mean, if those dreams are paying way too much for a shitty basement apartment and suffering through daily MTA delays (delailys?) and lowering our self-esteem with the swipey dating machine that infests our town. Yeah. The fucking dream. Well leave all of that behind this weekend at the dream machine, a place built from imagination and immerse yourself in this interactive experience that has manifested all of your good dreams. The ones that keep you going. So in other words, George Clooney is going to be there, naked. And calling my name. Tickets, $38 available here. It’s opening weekend so get there quick before all the dreams get sullied by tourists and influencers. 10am-10pm, 93 N 9th St.

The Living Gallery 6th Anniversary Party in Bushwick

We can all learn a lot about living from our dreams. So gather all of that information and head to the living, breathing gallery and celebrate 6 years of making life happen in Brooklyn. The Living Gallery turns 6 and they want you there, with a drink in hand, celebrating and liberating all the love and art inside of you. Yeah, they do. They told me. Do so by bringing your own piece of artwork (one per person!) and hang it up. Feel like the artist you know you are. It’s all happening 7-11pm. $10, includes entry, chance to hang and sell your art, and see some rad performances. Info here. 1094 Broadway.

https://brokelyn.com/event/byo-art-for-the-living-gallerys-6-year-anniversary/

Mama Yoshi, Japanese Comfort Food Pop-Up at the Diamond in Greenpoint

Japan, home of zen things. Temples. Yin and yangs. Those sand drawing things. A calm and centered culture that feels like a far cry from the hustle and bustle of our fair city… and maybe, just maybe, their secret is in Japanese comfort food. Foods like katsu sandwiches and curry, potato korokke, tonkatsu, and shiso slaw will bring you into the paper-walled houses of Japan and away from the paper-thin apartment walls of Brooklyn. Let Mama Yoshi comfort you this Thursday at the Diamond’s International Pop-Up Dinner series. Then get cozy with a few beers you’ve never heard of from Dave’s always impressive and constantly changing beer list. 7-11pm, info here. 43 Franklin St.

FRIDAY

CJ Hendry’s MONOCHROME Exhibit in Greenpoint

I hate things that feel built for Instagram posts… but I like immersive art and I like ironically audacious exhibits and I like the idea that with all the color, the noise, the distractions in this city, being surrounded by a single color sounds pretty damn therapeutic. Head to this amazing monochrome exhibit by artist CJ Hendry where each room is bathed in Pantone shades of one color. Feel the colors. Be the colors. Do the ‘gram, whatever man it’s cool. See what colors speak to you. It’s only happening this weekend so get there early. You know how this city is. Info here. April 5-8, 10am-5pm, 276 Greenpoint Ave.

1st Friday Fix-Your-Own Bike Al Fresco Workshop at La Plaza Community Garden in Alphabet City

This is your best reason to cross the river this weekend, and then bike over the Williamsburg Bridge back to the promised land. It’s the Fix Your Own Bike! repair class, helping you gear up and get ready for biking season. Although, you know I’m a firm believer in seasonless biking but regardless, always good to get a tune-up. And the beaches will eventually open, and no one wants to be stranded somewhere out in … The class happens in a charming little community garden in Alphabet City and is free, with donations to the garden encouraged. Info here, 3-6pm. East 9th St. and Ave C.

90s Video Rewind Dance Party at Bar Uni in Greenpoint

Sometimes I want to leave all of this cool, hip Brooklyn vibe behind, I want to get above the underground dance scene, I want to go to a dance party where the location is not unknown until an hour before when actually it’s just a fake location with a human in a light-up suit with a spacy demeanor who looks you dead in the eye and gives you a password that you’re ashamed to say outloud “like “oil soiled doilies) and then another address where you go and say the password and then you go and bump around to some deep deep trax all night. Sometimes I want some fucking 90s hits, all night long, on big screens with lyrics (that of course, I don’t need) and to sing and dance all night long. Bar Uni is bringing it all to us Friday night. Yep. So go. It’s going to make you feel good. The event is free, drink specials all night. Info here, 9:30-midnight. 674 Manhattan Ave.

Age of Aries Party with the Midnight Society at Tilt Bk

We can keep waiting for springtime or we can welcome and celebrate the cosmic change and all enter into the fiery, ferocious age of Aries together. The Midnight Society convenes at Tilt Bk and brings us all into their spiritual seance through deep house and experiential techno, atmospheric art installations. Oh yeah, and an open vodka bar from 10-1130pm. Tickets are only $6 get yours here. 10pm-4am, 248 McKibbin St.

SATURDAY

Spoons and Tunes at the Bellhouse in Gowanus

Why Netflix away your hangover at home when you can watch cartoons and eat ALL THE CEREAL YOU WANT in Gowanus in your jammies with your friends? And make new friends too? Because you’re in your jammies so you’re probably feeling a little open and vulnerable and huggable? It starts at 11:30am. And ok so the jammies are optional but don’t be lame. Just wear them. It’s Spoons and Tunes, now at the Bell House because the Nitehawk was overflowing with milk and tuney hipsters. Info here, 149 7th St. (Hey also. You can add Bailey’s or Kahlua to your cereal, or have a white russian topped with Cocoa Puffs. And you don’t have to tell your mom.)

Tropical Metropolis at House of Yes in Bushwick

Cure your Springtime season of relentless weekly wet snow dumps by putting on your tackiest, sexiest, and most inexcusable tropical regalia and heating up the dance floor Saturday night at House of Yes. Transport yourself to a world of eternal summer and sweaty dance moves, of temptation, of one-way tickets, of frozen drinks and native tongues, of go-go dancers and layovers and lay-unders. Tropical looks required for entry. Free before 11pm with RSVP here, or get your $30 here too. 10pm-4am, 2 Wyckoff Ave.

NYC Trash! Exhibit at City Reliquary in Williamsburg.

What do you get when you throw together some of the most creative, artistic, hard-working, and savage people in one city, throw them into small spaces, surround them by tempting furnishings to make their space make them feel better, and then have no other place than the sidewalk and some rather shoddily enforced restrictions on throwing things out? Well, you get some really crazy trash. Like, really crazy. Once I saw a bathtub on its side with blood dripping out of it which turned out was part of this fucked up exhibition. Come to a comparatively cleaner exhibition at the City Reliquary in Williamsburg and take a look at the history of trash in this town. It ends at the end of the month, so go. See the sculpture garden littered (ha!) with trash sculptures by local artists. Go. Get trashed. all info here, 370 metropolitan ave.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

Prospect Park Opening Weekend

Even if the thermometer and the precipitation aren’t participating in the onset of “Spring”, Brooklyn it seems is taking matters into its own hands and summoning the season from the inside out. This weekend marks the official opening of Prospect Park, complete with a slew of activities and performances and (hopefully!) a few coveted patches of non-snow-soaked grass for you to determinedly sit your butt down upon and sigh hopefully and say, ah yes, spring has sprung! See the full schedule here, which includes a running history tour, inaugural baseball game, a greenmarket cookout, a massive scavenger hunt, family yoga, intro to birdwatching, carousel rides, the zoo (yep, they have one) and Smorgasburg’s first weekend on Sunday. Get there. Do it all.

Smorgasburg in Williamsburg and Prospect Park

Following suit (or maybe leading the way?) is everyone’s favorite waterfront food fest, a smattering of the city’s best pop-ups and old standbys to keep us well fed and our instagram feeds well boosted. Smorgasburg kicks off this weekend, and will be staying with us until things get dark again. (but let’s not think about that…) See the full lineup here, including this kid who is making french toast. Presumably with his mom. And with his GI Joes nearby in case he gets sick of making french toast for the masses after… say… 20 minutes? (ok ok I’m kidding, it’s awesome that he’s chasing his dreams and I believe in him, ok?) Every Saturday in Williamsburg and Sundays in Prospect Park. Info here.

Brooklyn Folk Fest, all over the Borough (but mostly Clinton Hill)

And the 10th Annual Brooklyn Folk Festival descends upon our fair land with all of its plucky delightfulness. Come listen to some tunes, square dance your sassy little toes off, and participate in the Banjo Toss into the Gowanus Canal. (yep, not kidding). Despite the cheesiness, this festival attracts some of the most talented folks around right now and most shows are free. See the lineup here and get to it.

SUNDAY

Classic Album Sundays at Magick City in Greenpoint

Why isolate yourself and your hangover with your earbuds in and the music turned loud eating nachos (or whatever you do to lose your Sunday blues) and come to Classic Album Sundays at Magick City. This weekend they’ll be spinning The Wailers and The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on the HiFi, so hear it again like you’ve never heard it before. Tickets, $10 available here. Special Kombucha Cocktails will be happening too, which is basically healthy. 4-7pm, 37 Box St.

Bloody Mary Festival at Grand Prospect Hall in Park Slope

Get in the spirit of brunch’s favorite cocktail, get into the mood for sipping and sampling and listening, then get into character and practice pretending you’re not just there to get drunk. It’s ok! It’s ok. There are much lamer ways to get drunk on a Sunday afternoon and with much fewer people around. So get your $50 ticket here. Make your friends buy some too. Then get ready to fill in this blank… “The last thing I remember was…” Over 100 bloodies to sample, and thank god some food vendors too. More info here. 11-1:30pm or 5-3-5:30pm, although if you plan to use the bathrooms at all, I’d go to the first shift. 263 Prospect Ave.

See you out there, Brooklyn.

Brooklyn, I'm Trying