Slope Weekday Events Spotlight: August 1-4

Welcome to August! The new month features Ask Me Another, Death Cafe, The Last Samurai, and more.

The Jon Sheckler Trio featuring Tyler Luppi and Fima Chupakhin
When: Monday, August 1, 8:15pm
Where: ShapeShifter Lab, 18 Whitwell Place (between 1st and Carroll Streets)
What: At a young age, New York based musician Jon Sheckler is proving to be a well versed musician and an up and coming band leader. All About Jazz calls him and his trio “ones to watch.” As a drummer, Jon has played with some of today’s leading musicians and entertainers including trumpeter Clay Jenkins, award winning vocalist Catherine Jensen-Hole, guitarist Al Rowe, James Wiedman, international recording artist Darrius Willrich, Dan Rufolo, and studio percussionist Micheal Spiro. Sonarchy Radio has twice featured Jon in 2010 and 2013 when he debuted a suite for octet titled “Bodies of Water.” The track “Pensive Matters” from Jon’s debut album “Cable Street” was chosen as a Download of the Day by All About Jazz. Jon has also worked with Grammy winning producer and engineer Bubba Jones. Jon holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado. Jon endorses Turkish Cymbals.
How much: $8, at the door

Ask Me Another
When: Tuesday, August 2, Door at 6:45pm; Show at 7pm
Where: The Bell House, 149 7th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues)
What: Puzzlemaster Will Shortz and Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! host Peter Sagal walk into a bar… No, it’s not the start of a joke. It’s the essence of Ask Me Another, a rambunctious hour that blends brainteasers and local pub trivia night with comedy and music. Host Ophira Eisenberg invites in-studio guests and listeners alike to stretch their noggins, tickle their funny bones, and enjoy witty banter and guitar riffs from house musician Jonathan Coulton.
How much: $20, tickets available online. $25 at the door.

Death Cafe with Funeral Director Amy Cunningham
When: Tuesday, August 2, 6pm-8pm
Where: Morbid Anatomy Museum, 424 3rd Avenue (at 7th Street)
What: Morbid Anatomy remains committed to hosting  monthly Death Cafes, salon-like gatherings  where amazing people meet to  sip wine, tea  or coffee, and converse with  fellow  wayfaring strangers on one of our  favorite  subjects–death and all the lovely conversational tangents death inspires. Amy Cunningham is a Brooklyn funeral director who helps families with green burials, pre-cremation services in Green Wood’s cRematory chapels, home vigils and other sorts of memorials. Her blog, where she discusses these topics, can be found at theinspiredfuneral.com.
How much: Free admission.

A Celebration of The Last Samurai, with Helen DeWitt
When: Tuesday, August 2, 7:00pm
Where: Community Bookstore, 143 7th Avenue (between Garfield Place and Carroll Street)
What: Helen DeWitt’s first novel, The Last Samurai, is a masterpiece of contemporary fiction that’s been out of print for more than a decade. Sybilla is a single mother raising her genius-in-the-making son, Ludo. Teaching a prodigy is hard work, and between lessons on linguistics, Ancient Greek, algebra and film history, it’s getting harder and harder to keep up. In brilliant style, DeWitt explores the lives of two geniuses trying to take care of one another. Co-hosted by New Directions, the saints who have brought this important book back into print.
How much: Free

BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival: Beirut with Fabiano do Nascimento
When: Tuesday, August 2, 6:30pm
Where: Prospect Park Bandshell, Prospect Park (Enter at 9th Street and Prospect Park West)
What: These Brooklyn-based indie rockers look far beyond the borough for their musical inspiration.
How much: $39.50, tickets available online

Summer Movies Under The Stars: Avengers, Age of Ultron
When: Wednesday, August 3, 7:00pm
Where: Long Meadow North in Prospect Park
What: The second of four family-friendly movie nights under the stars presented by Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams. Check out our article on the series.
How much: Free. Bring your own blanket. RSVP here.

εὖτόπος, (Eutopia), a site-responsive installation by the Vanderbilt Republic
When: Through Sunday, September 11. Wednesdays-Sundays, 10am-5pm.
Where: Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island.
What: This large-scale, site-responsive exhibition connects artwork and installations by Sabrina Barrios, Sarah E. Brook, Charles Heppner, Carlton Scott Sturgill,TAXIPLASM, TJ Volonis, and Dale Williams to the storied past and bucolic present of Staten Island’s historic Snug Harbor — creating a space to present the energy and form of dreams made real. Curation, lighting & technical design by George Del Barrio. From Gowanus-based Vanderbilt Republic. Check out our review and why you should plan a day trip to see this exhibition.
How much: $5 Adults, $4 Seniors/Students and free for kids 12 and under.

Twelfth Night performed by South Brooklyn Shakespeare
When: Thursday, August 4 – Saturday, August 6, 8pm
Where: Old Stone House, 336 3rd Street between 4th And 5th Avenues
What: Our very own classical theater company performs one of Shakespeare’s best plays. You can check our review of their excellent production, which debuted on July 23.
How much: Free. You can donate online throughout the year to help support the company.

Literati: A Comedy Show About the Greatest American Novels Never Written
When: Thursday, August 4. Doors at 9:45pm; Show at 10pm
Where: Union Hall, 702 Union Street (near 5th Avenue)
What: Literati is a night of comedians in character performing hilarious readings. Sophisticated, satirical, and sometimes wigs. Do you ever leave a comedy show saying “Hmm that was pretty funny but not enough reading..” Well then this is the show for you! With Cole Escola, Mitra Jouhari, Matt Gehring, Nicole Silverberg, Colin O’Brien, and Michael Wolf.
How much: $6, tickets available online. $8 at the door.

Personal Is Political Is Personal
When: Through August 6. Thursdays and Fridays, 4:00-7:00pm; Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00am-7:00pm.
Where: 440 Gallery, 440 6th Avenue, between 9th and 10th Streets
What: A national juried exhibition about the personal effects of politics, curated by celebrated artist and animal-rights activist Sue Coe. In this intensely political year we hear sound bites and promises that can seem abstract unless it affects us personally. Black Lives Matter. Gender Equality. Gun Control. It’s all just words until we see a child’s body washed ashore, a routine traffic stop becomes deadly, or a family home is destroyed at high tide. 440 Gallery’s theme show this year is centered on the personal effects of politics. Artists selected for the exhibition: Max Alper, Hannah Barnhardt, Lynn Benson, Eva M. Capobianco, Gordon Carlisle, Patricia Denys, Elise Dodeles, Richard Ferrari, Igor Gnedo, Mary Hood, Ibn Kendall, Katrina Majkut, Spencer Moore, Harry Newman, Steve Savitz, Nancy Siesel, Nomi Silverman, Stephen Spiller, Ann Stoddard, Bethany Taylor, Doug Turetsky, Divine Williams, Dale Williams.
How much: Free.

Free Yoga in the Park presented by Bend + Bloom Yoga
When: Thursday, August 4, 7pm-8pm
Where: Prospect Park’s Long Meadow, 7pm-8pm. Enter the park at Grand Army Plaza, Garfield, or 3rd Street. Proceed to Long Meadow and look for the sea of mats. Bring your own mat and water bottle plus a friend or two!
What: Join Bend + Bloom Yoga, lululemon athletica Brooklyn, and the Prospect Park Alliance every Thursday night from June 2 through August 25 for free, fresh-air yoga in beautiful Prospect Park.  The series draws hundreds of Brooklynites, of all experience levels, each week to celebrate and experience yoga and wellness in our treasured park.
How much: Free, however an RSVP is required to sign the online waiver form.