5 Best Things to Do In Brooklyn This Weekend That’ll Help You Pretend It’s Still Summer
Photo from last year’s Taste of Williamsburg/Greenpoint
So, this is always the weirdest time of year, isn’t it? Summer isn’t officially over, but it’s unofficially over, which seems to matter more? And so that’s why everything feels so strange and not quite real, like we’re living in some sort of strange alternate universe where there is no summer, or at least no end to summer, because, after all, it’s been hotter this week than it was all summer. So what should we do about this? Simple. Get out of your apartment and enjoy the lingering strangeness of this between-the-seasons time (famously called “that time between Labor Day and 9/11” by some random person who was then memorialized in a Gawker post, but I CAN’T FIND THAT LINK; ugh, stupid season) by doing one (or all!) of the 5 things I’ve listed below. Happy Friday!
5th Annual Taste of Williamsburg/Greenpoint
Now in its 5th year, this food festival features vendors from Antica Pesa, Commodore, The Elm, Reynard, Delaware and Hudson, Maison Premiere, Bedford Star, Donna, and more! The event is held on Sunday at the East River State Park and all proceeds will go to help fund the Northside Town Hall Community and Cultural Center, which is currently raising funds to renovate and operate the former Engine Co. 212 Firehouse for community activity. Plus! There’ll be live music curated by Rough Trade NYC featuring Ben Fields, Jack + Eliza and Son Little. Advance tickets are still available for $25 for 4 food tastes and 2 drink tastes, $45 for 8 food tastes and 4 drink tastes, so go eat and drink and enjoy the sunny Sunday knowing that you’re doing it all for a good cause.
Sunday, 9/7: 90 Kent Avenue, Williamsburg tastewg.com
Mike Birbiglia: Thank God for Jokes
Ok, so technically comedian Mike Birbiglia’s comedy show at BAM tonight is sold out. But don’t let that stop you! Birbiglia is hilarious and seeing him is worth trolling Craigslist for tickets. And this show is all about how jokes get you in trouble. Which is true! Maybe your jokes don’t get you in trouble to the extent that they get Birbiglia in trouble (i.e. he was arrested because of one), but still! We can all relate.
Friday, 9/5: Peter Jay Sharp Building BAM bam.org
Ride or Die
Who knows how long this nice weather will last? Not us. Not at all. So that’s why we think you should take advantage of how beautiful it is and shed your dependence on subways and cabs and buses and just get on a bike and ride! What? You’re still scared of riding in the city? Even though we have miles and miles of bike lanes? Hey! We don’t blame you. It can be scary. So brush up on your city-biking (very different from Citi-biking) skills and sign up for a beginner’s class and ride with Bike New York. This group also organizes the 5-Boro Bike Ride and lots of other great riding events for everyone from novices to the most advanced cyclists among us.
Tennis, Anyone?
Oh, so you don’t have a million dollars to pay for U.S. Open tickets and food and those delicious Honey Deuces or a desire to go to Queens? But you still want to watch the tournament? Well, you’re in luck. Just head on down to Pier 1 at the Brooklyn Bridge Park, because starting at 11am every day, the tourney is being live-streamed for those of us who can’t make it to the actual event. And while there might not be Honey Deuces on offer, there’s lots of other good food in the area. And Gran Electrica is right near by, with its beet margaritas, so, really, you’ll be just fine.
All weekend: Pier 1, Main Street at Fulton Ferry Landing, Brooklyn Heights
Closing Party at the Whether Again Gallery
So, yes. Technically this is in Queens, but, you know, you can see Brooklyn from the Rockaways so it’s really not so different. Anyway. This small beach house-cum-gallery is having a closing party on Sunday for its exhibition, “The Rotation of Language,” which features over a dozen local and international artists interpreting the “inherent strength of the spoken and written word.” The party will feature live music and food trucks (or a food truck?) and, well, you’ll be right near the beach. It’s not the worst way to leave this strange faux-summer week in order to get ready for whatever it is that comes next.
Sunday, September 7 4-10pm: Whether Again Gallery, 364 Beach 85th Street, Far Rockaway, New York
Follow Kristin Iversen on twitter @kmiversen
