Slope Weekday Events Spotlight: March 28-31

The Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club holds their annual meeting Tuesday, March 29 at the 5th Avenue Committee office. (Photo via Gowanus Dredgers)

Are you ready for an incredible selection of events this week? Meet about paddling on the Gowanus, Death, Sex, and Money talk, public philosophy, and more.

For even more things to do around Brooklyn, and to add your own upcoming events (some of which we’ll feature in this roundup in the future!), check out our calendar.

Common Shade: A Discussion with Anna Sale of WNYC’s Death, Sex, and Money Podcast
When: Monday, March 28, 7pm
Where: Green-Wood Cemetery Chapel. For directions, click here.
What: On her podcast Death, Sex & Money, Anna Sale talks with writers, actors, adventurers – and everyday people – about some intensely personal topics. She gets her guests to open up about things that we tend to worry about often but openly discuss much less frequently – including death. For this year’s first installment of Common Shade, we’ll welcome Anna to Green-Wood’s Historic Chapel and get her to do the talking. Common Shade host Evan Michelson will sit down with Anna to discuss her podcast, the allure of those tough topics, and her own experiences with life’s (and death’s) inevitabilities. Questions and discussion from the audience will follow.
How much: $25/$20 members of Green-Wood or Morbid Anatomy Museum, tickets available here.

Book Launch: Death, Brooklyn, and the Gritty Side of Grace by Carolyn Gartner
When: Tuesday, March 29, 6:30-8pm
Where: Powerhouse on 8th, 1111 8th Avenue, between 11th and 12th Streets
What: Gen-X hospice social worker Carolyn Gartner recounts her internship through the wilds of Brooklyn, weaving together various patients’ stories and the lessons she gleaned from them.
RSVP: RSVP appreciated. Email RSVP@powerHouseon8th.com.

Brooklyn by the Book Presidents Erik Larson
When: Tuesday, March 29, 7:30pm
Where: Brooklyn Public Library, Dweck Auditorium, 10 Grand Army Plaza.
What: Erik Larson’s Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania is a provocative and deeply researched take on the sinking by German torpedo of an ocean liner that was the epitome of Edwardian technology and luxury. Larson, whose many other histories include The Devil in the White City, weaves together letters and diaries with historical records from the shipping industry and the German and British navies in an effort not just to explain how and why the Lusitania was sunk but to humanize one of the most notorious disasters of the twentieth century. In conversation with Evan Ratliff.
RSVP: Event is free with RSVP.

Slavic Soul Party
When: Tuesday, March 29, 9:00pm
Where: Barbes, 376 9th Street near 6th Avenue.
What: If you’re looking for “fiery Balkan brass, throbbing funk grooves, Gypsy accordion wizardry, and virtuoso jazz chops,” don’t miss Slavic Soul Party, hitting the Barbes stage on Tuesday night. 8pm show by Marck Snyder.
How much: $10 (strongly) suggested donation.

Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club
When: Tuesday, March 29, 7:00pm-8:30pm
Where: 5th Avenue Committee, 621 Degraw Street, between 3rd and 4th Avenues
What: The Dredgers Annual meeting is open to the public to discuss and plan our seasonal programs on the Canal, LIC, Red Hook and Staten Island. Please join us and bring ideas!

Brooklyn Public Philosophers: Islamic Modernism — Philosophy, Politics, and the Strange Case of Jalal Al-e Ahmad with Ajay Chaudhary
When: Wednesday, March 30, 7:00pm
Where: Brooklyn Public Library, Info Commons Lab, 10 Grand Army Plaza
What: In many histories of philosophy, Islamic philosophers have appeared primarily as messengers, safeguarding Aristotle’s writings for a few hundred years until European philosophers were ready to rediscover them in the middle ages. But despite its near erasure from Western histories of philosophy, a robust philosophical conversation has carried on in the Islamic world from the middle ages to the present day. On Wednesday, March 30th at 7:00 P.M., Ajay Chaudhary (founding Director of the awesome Brooklyn Institute for Social Research) joins Brooklyn Public Philosophers to help bring us up to speed on modern Islamic philosophy by introducing us to the work of the 20th century Iranian political philosopher Jalal Al-e Ahmad.
How much: Free.

NYPD 78th Precinct Community Council Monthly Meeting
When: Wednesday, March 30, 7:30pm
Where: 78th Precinct Station House, 65 6th Avenue at Bergen Street
What: The 78th Precinct Community Council is a citizen group that meets with police officials to exchange mutual views and seek ways to solve local problems. Join your neighbors to discuss quality of life issues, learn about the NYPD’s latest crime and traffic enforcement efforts, and get to know your local police officers. Contact PO Brian Laffey, Community Affairs Officer at 718-636-6410 for additional information. Please note while this meeting usually takes place on the last Tuesday of every month, it has been switched to Wednesday for this month. Please spread the word.

How I Learned There’s No Business Like Show Business
When: Wednesday, March 30, Doors: 7:30pm, Show: 8:00pm
Where: Union Hall, 702 Union Street and 5th Avenue
What: HOW I LEARNED features writers, storytellers, comedians, and other raconteurs holding forth on a rotating theme. It’s been named one of “Five Best NYC Storytelling Series” by Time Out New York, and CBS New York calls it one of the “Best Comedy Shows Hosted by Funny Women.” It should be added that they also said, “host Blaise Allysen Kearsley keeps it AWKWARDLY funny.” With Julian Fleisher, Akilah Hughes, Adam Wade, Alex Mar, Jason Diamond, and Blaise Allysen Kearsley.
How Much: $6, tickets available in advance. $10 at the door. 21 and over. This event will be mixed seated/standing. Arrive early for best seat selection.

Danny Green Trio with Chico Pinheiro and Hotel Elefant
When: Thursday, March 31, 7pm-10:30pm
Where: ShapeShifter Lab, 18 Whitwell Place (between 1st and Carroll Streets)
What: A rising creative force on the Southern California jazz scene, critically acclaimed pianist and composer Danny Green has distinguished himself with his beautifully articulated touch and deep affinity for Brazilian music. Green, along with bassist Justin Grinnell and drummer Julien Cantelm, has wowed critics and audiences alike with fresh and engaging jazz sounds, taking home Best Jazz Album at the 2015 San Diego Music Awards. On tour for their new album Altered Narratives, Green’s stellar trio explores a panoply of moods and grooves, sublimating Brazilian influences in favor of blues, swing, and European classical influences.
How much: $15.

Gowanus Waters: An Exhibition by Steven Hirsch
When: Through April 3. Regular hours Thursdays and Fridays, 3pm-7pm, Saturdays and Sundays, 11am-7pm..
Where: Gowanus Souvenir Shop, 543 Union Street (the entrance is on Nevins Street, and down the alley, and on the left)
What: Gowanus Waters is the result of Hirsch’s multi-year effort to capture the Gowanus Canal’s toxic water surfaces and render them as abstract compositions. His painterly images swirl in a frenzy of elusive shapes and bright explosive colors. The result is a meditation on the sublime beauty and remarkable abstractions on the surface of the canal that remains fully aware of the noxious origin.
How much: Free