Things To Do This Weekend: Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Bike The Branches, And Children’s Book Week

Below you’ll find information on events through the weekend in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill this weekend. Check back Monday to see what’s scheduled next week!

FRIDAY, MAY 8

Toddler Time
When: Friday, May 8 at 10am
Where: Clinton Hill Library at 380 Washington Avenue
What: Come hear stories, sing songs, play with toys, and meet new friends! For toddlers (aged 18-36 months) and their care-givers.

DIY Day: Wrapped in Yarn Bracelets and Glass Bottles
When: Friday, May 8 at 2pm
Where: Clinton Hill Library at 380 Washington Avenue
What: Come listen to bilingual stories in English, French, and Spanish, and create a cool paper craft! For kids ages 5-12 years of age.

Line Dancing
When: Friday, May 8 from 7-8pm
Where: Ingersoll Community Center at 177 Myrtle Avenue
What: Free Shape Up NYC Classes are for all! No registration or prior experience necessary.

Comedy Show
When: Friday, May 8 at 8pm
Where: Five Spot Soul Food at 459 Myrtle Avenue
What: Free comedy show every Friday night. Hosted by Pee Wee Dee.
How much: No cover

Karaoke Night
When: Friday, May 8 from 8pm-12am
Where: SIP Bar at 14 Putnam Avenue
What: Every Friday night. Hosted by Kings of Karaoke.
How much: Free

BAMcafé Live curated by Terrance McKnight: Royal Khaoz
When: Friday, May 8 at 9pm
Where: BAM Peter Jay Sharp Building at 30 Lafayette Avenue
What: Hailing from Jamaica, Royal KhaoZ blends reggae rhythms with smooth R&B for a sound that’s both groove inducing and soulful. Having shared the stage with roots legends like Third World, The Wailers, and Michael Rose, this four-piece band boasts no less than three powerhouse vocalists, plus a rock-solid rhythm section. Declared the Bronx champions of WNYC’s 2014 Battle of the Boroughs, Royal KhaoZ delivers a blissed-out take on old-school rocksteady.
How much: Free

SATURDAY, MAY 9

Fort Greene Park Greenmarket
When: Saturday, May 9 from 8am-4pm
Where: Washington Park between DeKalb and Willoughby Avenues
What: Weekly farmers market with live music and family-friendly activities.

Shape Up! Stretching (Essentrics)
When: Saturday, May 9 at 10-11am
Where: Clinton Hill Library at 380 Washington Avenue
What: Our popular NYC Parks Department “Shape Up! program returns with a new local volunteer instructor and an emphasis on stretching (Essentrics). No registration is needed.

Fundamentals of Tai Chi
When: Saturday, May 9 from 10-11am
Where: Ingersoll Community Center at 177 Myrtle Avenue
What: Free class. No registration or experience necessary.

Brooklyn Flea Fort Greene
When: From 10am-5pm (every Saturday through November)
Where: Bishop Laughlin Memorial HS schoolyard at 176 Lafayette Avenue (between Clermont and Vanderbilt)
What: 150 shopping and food vendors every Saturday from April through November.

Curious George and the Banana Hunt
When: Saturday, May 9 at 11am & 2pm & 4pm
Where: Walt Whitman Library at 93 Saint Edwards Street
What: The first 3 patrons to find Curious George and his banana wins a prize.  Of course we’ll give you a few hints!

ShapeUp NYC Low-Impact Aerobics Class
When: Saturday, May 9 at 11am
Where: Bedford Library at 496 Franklin Avenue
What: Free class.

Storytime: Charles George Esperanza
When: Saturday, May 9 at 11am
Where: Greenlight Bookstore at 686 Fulton Street
What: It’s Children’s Book Week! Red, Yellow, Blue (and a Dash of White, Too!) is Bronx-based author and illustrator Charles George Esperanza’s debut children’s book. A little girl is about to discover the wonders of mixing colors. Esperanza’s creative and unique rhythmic stanzas are sure to intrigue kids, and the vibrant illustrations are a riot of color and magic. Join the author and artist for an energetic presentation from his book and an interactive color-mixing art demonstration and craft! Ages 3 to 8.

Bike The Branches: Friends of Clinton Hill Library Plant Sale
When: Saturday, May 9 from 11am-4pm
Where: Clinton Hill Library at 380 Washington Avenue
What: Celebrate spring and beautify your garden and window boxes while supporting the Clinton Hill library. Free crafts and a free music performance by Rolie Polie Guacamole Add to the fun.  Proceeds from Friends of Clinton Hill events will help support programming at the Clinton Hill Branch.

An Introduction to Walt Whitman
When: Saturday, May 9 from 11am-4:30pm (Readings at 2 and 4:30pm)
Where: Walt Whitman Library at 93 Saint Edwards Street
What: Watch continuous viewings of “Walt Whitman (1819-1892): An American Experience,” a PBS film on video about this famous American poet.  Accompanied by librarian read-a-louds of a few poems from his collection, “Leaves of Grass.”
How much: Free, but register online.

Curious George Guessing Game
When: Saturday, May 9 at 12pm & 2:30pm & 3pm
Where: Walt Whitman Library at 93 Saint Edwards Street
What: Join us for the “I’m a fan of Curious George” guessing game. The first 3 patrons to complete the game with all the right answers in 5 mins will win a prize.

ShapeUp NYC Aerobics Class
When: Saturday, May 9 at 12pm
Where: Bedford Library at 496 Franklin Avenue
What: Free class.

Brooklyn Pop-Up Market
When: Saturday, May 9 from 12-7pm
Where: Trilok Fusion Arts at 143 Waverly Avenue
What: Find details about each week at: www.brooklynpopupmarket.com.

Explore and Create: Recycle Water Bottle Flowers
When: Saturday, May 9 at 2pm
Where: Bedford Library at 496 Franklin Avenue
What: Turn your plastic water bottle into a beautiful flower.

Gallery Tour: “Celebrating NYCxDESIGN”
When: Saturday, May 9 at 2pm
Where: Brooklyn Museum, meet in the Rubin Lobby, 200 Eastern Parkway
What: Explore our design collection by joining Barry Harwood, our Curator of Decorative Arts, for a tour of the installation 19th-Century Modern. The installation features 45 objects from the permanent collection that trace the birth of our taste for abstraction and simplicity to precursors of modernism.
How much: Free with Museum admission, but space is limited. Please R.S.V.P. by email. During the weekend, take advantage of our complimentary shuttle service between the Museum and both Brooklyn-based design fairs, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Panel Discussion: “Celebrating NYCxDESIGN”
When: Saturday, May 9 from 4-5:30pm
Where: Brooklyn Museum at 200 Eastern Parkway
What: (1) “Brooklyn Making History: Late 19th and Early 20th Century” (4–4:30 p.m.) — Join Barry Harwood, Curator of Decorative Arts, for presentations on the history of local making during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (2) “What’s Next in Making” (4:40–5:30 p.m.) — A conversation moderated by Leopold Kowolik, Editor-in-Chief at Studio Magazine, with Barry Harwood, Curator of Decorative Arts; Nicolas Henchoz, Director, EPFL+ECAL Lab; and artist and designer Sebastian Errazuriz.
How much: FREE

Mother’s Day Wine Tasting
When: Saturday, May 9 from 5-7pm
Where: Corkscrew Wines at 489 Myrtle Avenue
What: Bubbles & Books (and cookies too!): Meet local author & illustrator Johanna Kindvall presenting her latest book “Fika, The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break” while sipping on some cookie friendly Clairerette de Die. 10% off the wine when buying book+wine.

IN|PRISM: Boxed In & Blacked Out in America
When: Through Sunday, May 10 at 7:30pm
Where: JACK at 505 1/2 Waverly Avenue
What: JACK’s youth theater company-in-residence, led by Samara Gaev, presents their second original theater piece developed during their residency at JACK. Created through direct conversation with incarcerated people-of-color, IN|PRISM examines the impacts and practices of solitary confinement in US prisons, tracing one man’s remarkable capacity for liberation within the walls of death row. For this piece, Truthworker has had the unique and humbling opportunity to work directly with Jarvis Jay Masters, an innocent man on death row, who has been incarcerated since the age of 19 in San Quentin Prison and institutionalized since he was a young boy. Jarvis is working from the inside to collaborate with Truthworker through this creation process.
How much: $15. Tickets available here.

BAMcafé Live curated by Terrance McKnight: 5J Barrow
When: Saturday, May 9 at 9pm
Where: BAM Peter Jay Sharp Building at 30 Lafayette Avenue
What: Indie-folk sextet 5J Barrow draws inspiration from the Greenwich Village revival scene of the 1950s and 60s to fuse music and storytelling in a joyous sound. Evoking dusty Americana with acoustic guitars and down-home violin, their songs go from hushed and intimate to raucous and rousing in the space of a breath. As the 2014 winners of WNYC’s Battle of the Boroughs, 5J Barrow was recently named “Best Band in New York.”
How much: Free

SUNDAY, MAY 10 (MOTHER’S DAY) 

Arty Facts: “En Plein Air”
When: Sunday, May 10 at 11am & 1:30pm
Where: Brooklyn Museum at 200 Eastern Parkway
What: En Plein Air is a French expression meaning “in the open air.” As the spring air warms and summer nears, create art inspired by nature. Each Sunday’s program is a variation on the monthly theme. Visit theArty Facts page for details.
How much: Free with admission

Red Bull’s Yardcore: Brooklyn Bashment
When: Sunday, May 10 from 1-8pm
Where: Fort Greene Park at DeKalb and Washington Park
What: Hosted by the Red Bull Music Academy, this event brings together current, future and pioneering dancehall artists for a free daytime party. Featuring authentic Jamaican cuisine, a special set by dub master and sound system ruler King Jammy, plus site-specific installations from artist collaborative AVAF (Assume Vivid Astro Focus), internationally renowned for their bodacious style, critique of social codes, and their longtime celebration of music’s liberating power.

Music: Orchestra of St. Luke’s: “Tale of Five Cities”
When: Sunday, May 10 at 2pm
Where: Brooklyn Museum, 3rd floor auditorium, 200 Eastern Parkway
What: Take a whirlwind tour with St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble through Paris, Darmstadt, Madrid, Dresden, and New York, with musical postcards by composers ranging from the Baroque to the present day, including Georg Philipp Telemann, Antonio Farina, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Luigi Boccherini, and Maria Chavez. For tickets and more information, visit www.oslmusic.org.

Trunk Show: Toucan Hats
When: Sunday, May 10 from 2-5pm
Where: Brooklyn Museum gift shop at 200 Eastern Parkway
What: Join us in our Shop and find the perfect Mother’s Day gift. Browse our wonderful selection of hats and fascinators from Toucan Hats.

Pop-Up Gallery Talks
When: Sunday, May 10 from 3:30-4:30pm
Where: Brooklyn Museum, 4th and 5th Floors, at 200 Eastern Parkway
What: Enjoy lively, ten-minute conversations about works of art in the exhibitions Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic and Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks. To join, look for Museum Guides wearing orange “Pop-Up Gallery Talks” buttons in our galleries.
How much: Free with admission

IN|PRISM: Boxed In & Blacked Out in America
When: Through Sunday, May 10 at 7:30pm
Where: JACK at 505 1/2 Waverly Avenue
What: JACK’s youth theater company-in-residence, led by Samara Gaev, presents their second original theater piece developed during their residency at JACK. Created through direct conversation with incarcerated people-of-color, IN|PRISM examines the impacts and practices of solitary confinement in US prisons, tracing one man’s remarkable capacity for liberation within the walls of death row. For this piece, Truthworker has had the unique and humbling opportunity to work directly with Jarvis Jay Masters, an innocent man on death row, who has been incarcerated since the age of 19 in San Quentin Prison and institutionalized since he was a young boy. Jarvis is working from the inside to collaborate with Truthworker through this creation process.
How much: $15. Tickets available here.

ONGOING

Fiasco Theater’s “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”
When: Through May 24
Where: Polonsky Shakespeare Center at 262 Ashland Place
What: Crackling and quick-moving, The Two Gentlemen of Verona may well have been Shakespeare’s first play. A seemingly simple tale of shifting devotions among mismatched lovers, it helped launch the enduring genre of rom-com. Yet its delightful madcap surface conceals undercurrents, as its putative hero proves a cad and a faithless friend. A beguiling, nuanced production from the theater that brought us Cymbeline, and Into the Woods to the Roundabout Theatre.
How much: $60-85 per person (use code: GENT55 for $55 tickets). Purchase online or by phone at 866-811-4111.