Park Slope Planner: The Best Events July 17-20

Summer events are in full swing! This weekend you can enjoy all kinds of great, free, fun things outside, from live music and dance performances at Celebrate Brooklyn, to a giant block party on 5th Avenue, to some amazing theater at The Old Stone House. Details on those and more:

Writing About Modern Motherhood: A Panel
When: Thursday, July 17, 7pm
Where: Community Bookstore, 143 7th Avenue
What: An evening of stories and conversation about the beautiful, difficult, joyful, painful, culturally fraught experience that is modern motherhood. With Julia Fierro, author of the novel Cutting Teeth and director of the Sackett Street Writing Workshop; Kimberly McCreight, Park Slope neighbor and author of the novel Reconstructing Amelia; and Nicole Kear, author of the memoir Now I See You.
How much: Free!

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
When: Thursday-Saturday, July 17, 18 & 19, 8pm
Where: The Old Stone House, 3rd Street between 4th & 5th Avenues
What: It’s your last chance to see this run of the punk rock musical about our seventh president! This production features profanity and violent themes, so it’s recommended for adults and mature children.
How much: Free!

Celebrate Brooklyn: Shen Wei Dance Arts
When: Thursday, July 17, 8pm
Where: Prospect Park Bandshell, 9th Street and Prospect Park West
What: Internationally celebrated choreographer, dancer, director, painter, and designer Shen Wei’s troupe takes the Celebrate Brooklyn stage on Friday with a dance spectacular. The evening’s performance will feature two of his repertory works, Map and Collective Measures.
How much: $3 suggested donation.

South Slope Summer Stroll
When: Friday, July 18, 5-9pm
Where: 5th Avenue, between 12th and 18th Streets
What: It’s back! Last year’s popular South Slope Summer Stroll, which transforms busy Fifth Avenue into a giant block party, kicks off this Friday, and it’s worth the walk down the Slope. Look for live music, a climbing wall, vintage cars, fun and games from Puppetry Arts, The Gowanus Circus, a doggie fashion show, food, drinks, and more.
How much: Free.

Celebrate Brooklyn: Bebel Gilberto / Vinicius Cantuaria / Netsayi
When: Friday, July 18, 7pm
Where: Prospect Park Bandshell, 9th Street/Prospect Park West entrance
What: Enjoy the Brazilian sounds of Bebel Gilberto and Vinicius Cantuaria, with a set of contemporary African folk from the Zimbabwean singer Netsayi to warm them up.
How much: $3 suggested donation.

Celebrate Brooklyn: Deltron 3030 And Nomadic Massive
When: Saturday, July 19, 7:30pm
Where: Prospect Park Bandshell, 9th Street/Prospect Park West entrance
What: Get ready to revel in the adventures of Deltron 3030 and the “multi-lingual eruption of old school hip-hop with live instrumentation and a deeply global vibe” that is Nomadic Massive on Saturday, because it’s all about hip hop at Celebrate Brooklyn.
How much: $3 suggested donation.

Food Truck Rally
When: Sunday, July 20, 11am-5pm
Where: Grand Army Plaza
What: Have the munchies? Stop by Prospect Park on Sunday — the food trucks are back!

The 4th Annual Knights Of Bruklyn Home Brew Competition
When: Sunday, July 20, 1pm
Where: The Bell House, 149 7th Street
What: Sixteen top placing home brewers from the club’s quarterly competitions brew one more beer to find this year’s ultimate champion, and you get to have a taste!
How much: $15 for samples, $25 or samples and all you can eat Bratwurst, available in advance.

Buffalo Nickels Medicine Show
When: Sunday, July 20, 7:30pm
Where: The Old Stone House, 3rd Street between 4th & 5th Avenues
What: A hybrid of bluegrass gig, vaudevillian scripted comedy, and lowbrow pageantry. It sings and picks its way through the on- and off-stage exploits of its itinerant company, as they pine for and plot against each other and the audience that gathers each evening around their traveling wagons. Appropriate for all ages.
How much: Free!

Mr. Splitfoot
When: Sunday, July 20, 9pm
Where: The Old Stone House, 3rd Street between 4th & 5th Avenues
What: Mr. Splitfoot is a work of physical theatre inspired by the Fox sisters from upstate NY, who as young girls in the 1850s literally conjured the spiritualist movement into being — a suspenseful tale replete with mystics, hucksters, and fantastic-but-true twists of fate. This production is recommended for adults and mature children.
How much: Free!