Weekend Guide: Sneaker Con, Kehlani at Barclays and The Brooklyn Book Festival

By Joshua Encinias

Goodbye summer, our old friend. We’ve come to speak to fall again.

Sunday marks the first official day of autumn, and you can shake your groove thing to help usher in the allegedly cooler temps at the House of Yes’s annual block party. Or if you want to hold on to summer for one more day, Margot’s in Greenpoint will host a traditional Hawaiian lu’au that evening.

On Friday, Cholomosexual brings the Chappell Roan-inspired Pink Pony Rave to Brooklyn Monarch’s 30,000-foot dancefloor. Kehlani brings her tour to Barclays Center on Friday night, and the 3rd Annual Adult Film and Theatre Festival continues in Bushwick.

Sneaker Con returns to NYC for the first time since 2017 on Saturday. They’re bringing the world’s most sought-after kicks to Coney Island for the occasion. The Brooklyn Flea Record Fair will be slinging hot wax at Marsha P. Johnson State Park on Saturday afternoon, and Industry City plays host to the 11th Annual NYC Hot Sauce Expo, if your tastebuds can take it.

With temps dipping into the 50s this weekend, it’s really beginning to feel like fall. Here are our picks for this weekend.

Friday, September 20

‘Picture Day’ by Levon Hawke
Friday, September 20 to Sunday, October 6
Quick and Dirty Theatre Company, a new group based in Red Hook, presents the world premiere of “Picture Day,” a play by Levon Hawke, at Coffey Street Studios. The play explores the hidden lives we all lead and the unspoken truths that shape us. Set in an ordinary living room, it follows five roommates as they navigate their chosen family dynamics, explore their sexuality and identity, and confront the complexities of modern male friendships. With the arrival of the mysterious “Picture Guy,” each character must face their deepest secrets. 153 Coffey Street. Tickets are $50.

3rd Annual Adult Film and Theatre Festival
Friday through Sunday and back from the 27 to 29
Adult Film is an actor’s collective in Bushwick focused on the relationships between actors, writers, and directors. Members live and work on three floors of their Bushwick brownstone where they produce intimate plays, hold acting classes, screenings and more. AF’s third Film and Theatre Festival takes place this weekend and next where you can expect six days of short film and feature film screenings from local NYC filmmakers, including the new short “Summer’s End” by Brooklyn filmmakers Grant and Adam Conversano. Two one-act theatre pieces will also be performed, “This is the Rill Speaking” by Lanford Wilson, and “Savage/Love” by Sam Shepard. 350 Cornelia Street. Tickets are $33.85.

Smith Street Stage’s ‘Richard II’
Ongoing until September 28, various showtimes
Smith Street Stage’s “Richard II” production taps into timely political themes, exploring the transfer of power and its consequences. “Richard II” provides a unique opportunity to reflect on the fragility of leadership and the forces that drive change. Smith Street Stage is committed to demystifying and making Shakespeare’s work relatable and accessible, inviting audiences to see the contemporary world reflected in these very old stories. 291 President Street. Tickets begin at $25.

‘The Voices in Your Head’ at St. Lydia’s
Ongoing until October 6
Egg & Spoon Theatre Collective is remounting the hit dark comedy “The Voices in Your Head,” produced in association with Billy McEntee and Those Guilty Creatures and returning to St. Lydia’s from September 9 to October 6 in the wake of its celebrated, sold-out world premiere in January. “The Voices in Your Head” follows eight New Yorkers as they exchange stories, escape the ridicule of the outside world, and build an oasis, even as individual needs test the group’s stability. The New Yorker’s theater critic Helen Shaw said of the show, staged for an audience of 20 each night at a cozy, storefront church, “If you need a morsel of sweet weirdness, acted by top-shelf Off-Off megastars, try The Voices in Your Head — warm, witty, bonkers.” 304 Bond Street. Tickets are $39.72.

Latino Heritage Month screening of ‘Coco’
3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
The Park Slope Library turns its auditorium into a mini movie theater for their Latino Heritage Month screening of Disney’s “Coco.” Despite his family’s generations-old ban on music, young Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead. After meeting a charming trickster named Héctor, the two new friends embark on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history. Rated PG. 431 6th Avenue. Free.

Kehlani at Barclays Center
8 p.m.
Following the release of her new album, “Crash,” Kehlani is bringing her highly anticipated Crash World Tour to Barclays Center on Friday night. Featuring special guests Flo and Anycia. 620 Atlantic Avenue. Tickets start at $50.

Chlomosexual Presents: Pink Pony Rave
11 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Brooklyn’s favorite party planner Chlomosexual will keep you dancing all night at her Pink Pony Rave on September 20. Head inside the 30,000-foot Brooklyn Monarch to sweat on the dance floor, hang out in the back garden, and yap all night. Luis Fernando, ZOSA and Tasheff will play Chappell Roan and queer pop dance hits, plus there will be a special performance by Chrissy Chlapecka. 23 Meadow Street. Early bird tickets start at $23.18.

Saturday, September 21

Sneaker Con New York
Saturday and Sunday
“The Greatest Sneaker Show On Earth” returns to NYC for the first time since 2017 and they’re coming to Maimonides Park in Coney Island this Saturday and Sunday. With over 400 vendors, the con will showcase the best selection of the most sought-after kicks, the latest releases and OG heat you can’t find anywhere else. There will be tons of special guests, including Jaetips, Coney Island’s very own Stephon Marbury, Kiyan Anthony, and Jeff Staple. 1904 Surf Avenue. General admission tickets cost $32.64.

11th Annual NYC Hot Sauce Expo
10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday
Can you handle the heat? The capsaicin fever dream that is the NYC Hot Sauce Expo is coming back to Industry City. The two day tasting bonanza will feature the greatest hot sauce companies in the world, The Stage of DOOM, craft beers, specialty cocktails, spicy food vendors, milk, antacids and more. Industry City, 51 34th Street. Tickets start at $15.

Brooklyn Flea Record Fair
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Brooklyn Flea Record Fair returns on Saturday with an incredible assortment of your newest vinyl pleasures. Find your new favorite wax at Marsha P. Johnson State Park alongside Smorgasburg and explore over 40 labels, record stores, and collectors while sipping on cold drinks and enjoying a variety of food options. 90 Kent Avenue.

Art is Alive Festival
12 to 9 p.m.
Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation is back with its eighth annual Art is Alive festival in The Space @ Irondale. The day will feature performances, workshops, and classes featuring art and artists from across the African Diasporic experience. Art Is Alive was developed to alleviate the financial barrier preventing some community members from participating in the cultural arts. 85 S Oxford Street. Free.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba In Concert
Performances at 2 and 8 p.m.
Kings Theatre hosts Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba In Concert on Saturday for two performances. The concert is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for anime fans and enthusiasts of the franchise to dive deep into the series’ emotional depth and cinematic grandeur in a live setting for the first time. This awe-inspiring blend of music and visual storytelling showcases the celebrated anime title in all its glory. 1027 Flatbush Avenue. Tickets start at $49.

ABBA Night at Xanadu
7 p.m.
Bushwick’s new skating rink Xanadu hosts their first ABBA Night with Shelby Jacobson and Jordy Scheinberg on Saturday. Take a chance on Xanadu and ABBA! 262 Starr Street. Free but you’ll have to rent skates.

Sunday, September 22

‘The Becomers’ at Spectacle Theater
7:30 p.m.
“The Becomers” is the latest feature from celebrated Brooklyn-based indie filmmaker Zach Clark and it’s coming to Brooklyn’s own Spectacle Theater on Sunday night. The movie is an outrageous and surprisingly emotionally poignant sci-fi genre-bender. You can watch the trailer here. 124 South 3rd Street. GA tickets are $5.

The Brooklyn Book Festival
Various times and locations
The annual Brooklyn Book Festival returns on September 22 and will run through the 30th, spotlighting writers of all genres: fiction and nonfiction, poetry, prose, and graphic storytelling, international and local, for adult and young readers alike. Events are free, but plenty of books will be for sale.

Flatbush Frolic
10 a.m. to 6 p.m
The Flatbush Frolic is an all-day local street fair on Cortelyou Road in the Ditmas Park neighborhood (between Coney Island and Ocean Avenues). Expect live music, great vendors, rides and games, kids’ activities, a pizza-eating contest and dance performances. Free.

25th Annual Sunset Park 5th Avenue Street Festival
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Join the Sunset Park BID on Fifth Avenue for 15 car-free blocks of family fun from 44th to 59th Streets. There will be bounce houses, good eats, community organizations, and vendors galore. Free.

YES! Block Party
12 to 6 p.m.
House of Yes is taking over the whole damn street on September 22, transforming the block into an electric playground carnival wonderland of performances, play, art and outdoor dance party magic. It’s free, it’s all ages and it’s happening rain or shine. 2 Wyckoff Avenue. Free.

Chef Lu’s End of Summer Lu’au
6 p.m.
Party with Margot in Fort Greene for the last day of summer. Enjoy an all-you-can-eat Hawaiian feast by Chef Luis Miguel Reyes Lising. He’s cooking up Hawaiian staples like Pokè, Lomi tomatoes, Laulau and Haupia along with other Hawai’i-inspired dishes. Plus, they’ll have tiki drinks and music all night long. 69 Lafayette Avenue. Tickets are $75.