Weekend Guide: Bed-Stuy’s Mural Festival, Red Hook’s Open Studios, and a Pinball Museum’s Grand Opening 

By Shawn Setaro

This one is going to be good. Monday is Indigenous Peoples’ Day (though who knows how much longer it’ll be legal to call it that, given how things are going), so you’ve got every reason in the world to start partying on Thursday and not let up until you get home from wherever you ended up on Sunday night. If you need suggestions for how to keep busy, we’ve got a bunch of fantastic ones: art, music, movies, and even circus performers. Check it all out in the Weekend Guide below.

Courtesy of Le Pére

Thursday, October 9

Sarah K. Khan Exhibition Opening: What Is the Language of Taste? @ BRIC House
6:30 p.m.
This is the opening for Khan’s exhibit “Speak Sing Shout: We, Too, Sing America,” a gorgeous eight-piece porcelain set that delves into issues of culture, language, colonialism, geography, and more. At this event, you’ll see the art, check out a performance from Khan, watch a panel conversation, and, of course, party afterwards with complimentary drinks, great food, and music.

Fall Fête: Monet and Venice and Seydou Keïta @ Brooklyn Museum
8 p.m.
One art opening-slash-party isn’t enough for a day. Here, the BK Museum is commemorating the opening of not one, but two exhibits: “Monet and Venice” and “Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens.” As befitting such a major occasion, we’ve got DJ sets, live music, dance and drum performances, and even a drag artist. Plus, special photo booths, food, and cocktails.

BILLIE & BEYOND: Felicia Temple @ The Billie Holiday Theatre
8 p.m.
The venue’s season opens up with an entry in their BILLIE & BEYOND series, co-produced with music journalism legend Bonsu Thompson. Temple is a wonderful r&b singer/songwriter. She’ll be introduced by media personality and culture critic Dawn Montgomery. DJ NYLA and Siaira Shawn open up.

Le Pére and Pigeons & Planes Present: One Night Only with TiaCorine, Chow Lee, Swavay, and Annabelle Kline @ 154 Scott Ave.
9 p.m.
For something billed as “one night only,” Le Pére and P&P have certainly squeezed their fair share of nights out of this ongoing event partnership. But that’s to our benefit, really, as the latest line-up gathers some heavy hitters leading the new vanguards of this city and a few to the south (respectively).

Jael and Kels @ Public Records
10:30 p.m.
Cozy up in Public Records with some cross-pond pollination from D&B delinquent Jael and house maven Kels, who are splitting duties on the decks Thursday night in the sound room

Courtesy of Baby’s Alright

Friday, October 10

Team Dresch, Noun (Marissa Paternoster solo), vitapup @ Elsewhere
6:30 p.m.
‘90s Riot Grrrl types no doubt remember Team Dresch, the radical queercore band led by Donna Dresch. Now, they’re on a 30th anniversary tour, playing their albums Personal Best and Captain My Captain in full. Opening up will be Marissa Paternoster (formerly of the Screaming Females) and vitapup.

A Little Unwell @ Brooklyn Art Haus
7:30 p.m.
You might not think of circus performances and mental health advocacy in the same sentence, but this show brings them together. Circus performances “from diverse backgrounds and disciplines” will perform pieces inspired by mental health challenges.

Kneecap Livestream @ Kings Theatre
8 p.m.
Kneecap was supposed to be playing at NYC’s Pier 17 today but, as you might have heard, that ended up not happening. But you can still get your fix: the band will be performing at “a secret location in Ireland,” and it’ll be beamed into this theater in Flatbush.

Yola Mezcal and Baby’s Present: duendita, Anysia Kym, and Semiratruh @ Baby’s Alright
10 p.m.
This night at Baby’s is rare for both its price of admission and bill-the former, free, the latter, a collection of artists who independently dropped some of the year’s best bodies of work. Pull up and pour a few while soaking up the latest from some groundbreaking locals.

Courtesy of DJ Tara

Saturday, October 11

4th Annual Bed-Stuy Walls Mural Festival @ Lexington Avenue between Stuyvesant and Lewis
10 a.m.
Perhaps you’ve lolled along Lafayette or Lexington Avenues in the northeastern corner of Bed-Stuy and thought to yourself, like any reasonable human, “there’s enough art across these walls to power a giant multi-block outdoor gallery.” Well, that’s just about precisely what we have here, with dozens of mural artists and exhibitors piling in to display their mammoth works across five-ish blocks, as well as tons of vendors and a few DJs, for this festival’s fourth annual installment.

Atlantic Terminal Fall Fest @ Atlantic Terminal Plaza
11 a.m.
Yes, the Atlantic Antic was just last week. But that’s no reason for the fun to stop. Get all the fall family-friendly outdoor fun you need. Activities include arts & crafts, both pumpkin and face painting, block building, a haunted truck, a costume dance party, and more.

Raptorama! @ Salt Marsh Nature Center
12 p.m.
Where else could you possibly have a chance to see birds of prey right up close? Plus, let’s be real—it’s been way too long since you’ve been to this absolutely beautiful part of Marine Park.

Artbook and D.A.P. Sample Sale⁠ @ Singer’s
1 p.m.
If those bookshelves are looking a little bare, you have quite the opportunity to pick up some new, used, and rare titles at this Artbook takeover of Singer’s in Bed-Stuy. DJs will be spinning, drink deals will be flowing, books are priced to move, and there’s even a raffle for a shot at some pricier, more obscure reads.

Red Hook Open Studios 2025 @ all over Red Hook
1 p.m.
This huge art event will be taking place all around the area. You can get maps at the Food Bazaar or online, and visit tons of artists up close and personal. The organizers have even created a sculpture garden in the park behind the Ikea.

The Sound of Ourselves: A Meditative Music Activation @ The Vale of Cashmere, Prospect Park
2 p.m.
Sound baths and meditations aren’t new to these pages or the programming of some of the venues we feature on them. But here, finally, there’s an appropriate, arguably ideal, setting and system for a little spiritual sonic send-up. Powered by the Karlala Sound System, that giant pink roaming rhythm machine pumping wattage and decibels into some of the borough’s best block parties and park hangs, “The Sound of Ourselves” features performance from Surya Botofasina and A Space for Sound, both returning for another round of cleansing and ethereal analog atmospherics.

Cochemea’s Vol 3: Ancestros Futuros LP Release Show @ National Sawdust
7:30 p.m.
Cochemea Gastelum is a multi-instrumentalist and composer whose unique brand of psychedelic jazz is shown off to stellar effect on his brand new album Vol 3: Ancestros Futuros. Those of our readers who are Daptone Records fans undoubtedly know Gastelum not just for his solo work, but also for his time with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.

DJ Tara Presents: UpBeat @ Rodeo
9 p.m.
This weekend, DJ Tara is bringing her long-running Soho Radio show to life, going solo open-to-close live and direct from Rodeo in Crown Heights, where a singular sound room and a stellar wine menu provide ample infrastucture for a party that should need no intro. Post up on the floor or along the patio on President Street with with some pale orange vino and get ready for a good one.

Mus Give Thanks with Melo-X, DJ Ivory, and more @ Cafe Erzulie
10 p.m.
Crack open the weekend (and, really, the fall season), at one of Cafe Erzulie’s consistently essential recurring bashments, with “a night fully dedicated to shaking a$$,” hosted by Oliver Luke, and a bill featuring DJ Ivory and the mighty Melo-X.

Courtesy of Red Hook Pinball Museum

Sunday, October 12

The New York Taco & Tequila Festival
12 p.m.
For this one, it’s all in the name. Sample tacos, small-batch tequilas, margaritas, and Mexican beers from a huge variety of vendors. Then you can dance off all those calories, as DJs will be spinning the whole time. You have your choice of two sessions: 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. And remember, Monday’s a holiday!

The New York City AeroPress Championship @ Atolye NYC
12 p.m.
You may take coffee seriously, but do you take it seriously enough to put your best cup to the test, in front of judges and a packed house? Welcome to the AeroPress Championship, where you’ll get to see 18 people go head-to-head in a multi-round competition to see who can use the titular coffee maker to brew the best cup in just five minutes.

Red Hook Pinball Museum Grand Opening @ 362 Van Brunt St.
12 p.m. start, 3 p.m. food, 6 p.m. music
After shuffling through a few temporary locations, the Red Hook Pinball Museum appears to have finally found a home, and it’s ready to christen the new space with an all-day blow-out. Doors are at noon, the grill gets going around 3, and at 6 p.m., Edan is dropping the needle on picks pulled from 360 Record Shop, the neighborhood vinyl hub next door.

Open Mic For Short Films Night @ Main Drag Music
4 p.m.
This city is teeming with talented filmmakers, but there are fewer places than you might think for them to show their work. So with that in mind, this event series, which begins tonight, was created. Anyone can submit their work, whether it’s a full short film or a smaller part of a larger project. And there’s a full hour at the end to meet and network.

Desert Hearts @ BAM Rose Cinemas
6:30 p.m.
This 1986 classic is—incredibly, given the year it was made—the first lesbian-themed feature film that was both written and directed by a woman. It’s showing at BAM as part of NewFest, the LGBTQ+ film festival. The screening will be followed by a Q&A moderated by writer and film programmer Shayna Maci Warner.

718 Sessions with Danny Krivit, Rich Medina, Love Injection, and Ten City-Live @ Good Room
8 p.m.
This Sunday, the 718 Sessions return to Good room to go long and late into the night with some top-tier selectors, including Danny Krivit, Rich Medina, and the borough’s own DJ duo, Love Injection, holding court in the “bad room.”