Things To Do This Week, Through March 11: Teen Tech Week, Women Of The World Poetry Slam, African Dance And Folktales
Below you’ll find information on events through the week in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. Check back Thursday to see what’s scheduled this weekend!
Submit your event listing to our BROOKLYN-WIDE CALENDAR.
ONGOING
Book Sale Donation Collection
When: Through Friday, April 8
Where: Clinton Hill Library at 380 Washington Avenue
What: The Friends of Clinton Hill will be holding their next Book Sale on Saturday, April 16th in conjunction with the ASPCA Adoption Van. Donations of books and CD’s in good condition will be accepted during library hours ONLY from Tuesday, January 12th through Friday, April 8th.
Creative Drama: Bringing Stories to Life
When: For nine weeks
Where: Walt Whitman Library at 93 Saint Edwards Street
What: A free drama workshop for ages 6-11 years old. Children will learn how to tell their own stories through acting, creating characters, developing plots, playing theater games and employing props and costumes. For more information or to register, please contact the library at 718-935-0244, ext. 62110.
How Much: FREE
LIterary BFFs: Dawn Tripp and Marie Myung-Ok Lee
When: Monday, March 7 at 7:30pm
Where: Greenlight Bookstore at 686 Fulton Street
What: Greenlight is proud to host the relaunch of the Literary BFFs reading series, where writer friends interview each other about their books, lives, and friendship; the series is hosted by David Gutowski, creator of the acclaimed literary blog Largehearted Boy. At this month’s installment, Dawn Tripp presents Georgia, her boldly imagined novel based on the life and art of Georgia O’Keeffe and her passionate relationship with photographer Alfred Stieglitz. Inspired by Tripp’s visit to a retrospective of O’Keeffe’s abstract paintings at the Whitney Museum, the book is a dramatic departure for the acclaimed novelist: a breathtaking work of imagination that brings a fresh perspective to an artist loved by so many. Tripp discusses the book with her friend Marie Myung-Ok Lee, an acclaimed Korean-American writer and author of the novel Somebody’s Daughter.
Babies and Books
When: Tuesday, March 8 at 10:15am and 11:15am
Where: Clinton Hill Library at 380 Washington Avenue
What: Storytime is for babies, too! Come sing, play, hear stories, and meet with other parents and caregivers.
Story Play with First RIF
When: Tuesday, March 8 at 11am
Where: Walt Whitman Library at 93 Saint Edwards Street
What: Hear stories, sing songs and play with other children. Ages 0-5.
Toddler Time with RIF
When: Tuesday, March 8 at 11am
Where: Bedford Library at 496 Franklin Avenue
What: The more you read, sing and talk with toddlers, the more they learn! Have fun hearing great picture books read aloud and playing with other children during this program dedicated to active toddlers. (18 – 36 months)
Free Movie: “Hot Pursuit”
When: Tuesday, March 8 at 1:45pm
Where: Clinton Hill Library at 380 Washington Avenue
What: An uptight and by-the-book cop (Reese Witherspoon) tries to protect the sexy and outgoing widow (Sofia Vergara) of a drug boss as they race through Texas pursued by crooked cops and murderous gunmen. Starring Reese Witherspoon and Sophia Vergara – Rated PG-13 – 87 minutes
Teen Tech Week: LED Throwies
When: Tuesday, March 8 at 3:30pm
Where: Bedford Library at 496 Franklin Avenue
What: Come join us and create a fun tech project celebrating Teen Tech Week. Tweens and Teens are welcome. (limited to 15 participants)
The Story of Women and Art
When: Tuesday, March 8 from 4-7pm
Where: Walt Whitman Library at 93 Saint Edwards Street
What: Award-winning author and historian Amanda Vickery hosts this engrossing look into an often-overlooked subject: the life and work of female artists. The series offers a comprehensive examination of women artists, beginning with the Renaissance and ending with the early twentieth century.
Zumba Class
When: Tuesday, March 8 at 6:30 pm
Where: Clinton Hill Library at 380 Washington Avenue
What: Have fun and meet new people while fulfilling your New Year fitness resolutions. Our free Zumba classes are taught by certified Zumba instructor Arturo Perez.
Book Launch: Jonathan Lee presents High Dive
When: Tuesday, March 8 at 7:30pm
Where: Greenlight Bookstore at 686 Fulton Street
What: British-born, Brooklyn-based novelist Jonathan Lee’s US debut High Dive opens in September 1984 as a bomb is planted in the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England, set to explode on the day Margaret Thatcher and her entire cabinet will be staying there. High Dive not only takes us inside this audacious assassination attempt—a decisive act of violence on the world stage—but also imagines its way into a group of unforgettable characters: Dan, a young IRA explosives expert; Moose, the deputy hotel manager; and Freya, his teenage daughter. Nimbly weaving together fact and fiction, comedy and tragedy, the novel has received starred advance reviews from both Publishers’ Weekly and Kirkus; has been named a most anticipated book of 2016 by Buzzfeed, Flavorwire, and Garth Risk Hallberg in The Millions; and has been praised by authors such as Lauren Groff, Joshua Ferris, and Téa Obreht, New York Timesbestselling author of The Tiger’s Wife, who writes that High Dive is a “bold, thrilling triumph of a book.” Lee and Obreht discuss High Dive at tonight’s book launch, followed by a wine reception.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9
Drop-in Computer Class
When: Wednesday, March 9 at 1pm
Where: Clinton Hill Library at 380 Washington Avenue
What: Do you have a specific question about how to use computers or find your way around the Internet? No time to attend a formal class? Join our drop-in computer lab for personalized assistance.
AARP Free Tax Help
When: Wednesday, March 9 at 1pm
Where: Bedford Library at 496 Franklin Avenue
What: All AARP free tax preparation sites for low and middle income taxpayers operate on a first come, first served basis. To file taxes electronically on a married-filing-joint tax return, both spouses must be present to sign the required forms.
Teen Tech Week: littleBits
When: Wednesday, March 9 at 3:30pm
Where: Bedford Library at 496 Franklin Avenue
What: littleBits is a platform of easy-to-use electronic building blocks that empower you to invent anything, from your own remote controlled car, to a smart home device. The Bits snap together with magnets, no soldering, no wiring, no programming needed.
Urban Stages Presents: African Dance & Folktales
When: Wednesday, March 9 from 4-5pm
Where: Walt Whitman Library at 93 Saint Edwards Street
What: This program celebrates the differences and similarities of dances within the African Diaspora. Using movement and music, participants will go on an interactive dance tour starting in West Africa, going to the Caribbean and Latin America, and finally landing in the United States. Ages: 6 – 17
Kids Create: Paper Crafts
When: Wednesday, March 9 at 4pm
Where: Clinton Hill LIbrary at 380 Washington Avenue
What: Explore the unlimited creative potential of paper in our free program.
Women of the World Poetry Slam Kickoff show
When: Wednesday, March 9 at 6:30-11:30pm
Where: Brooklyn Commons at 388 Atlantic Avenue
What: 20 poets from all over the nation descend upon downtown Brooklyn to spit their hardest for one last chance to compete at the 2016 Women of the World Poetry Slam. This is easily one of the most exciting kickoff events of the festival. The four-day poetry festival will take place March 9-12, 2016 on the Pratt Institute campus in Brooklyn. All events will be open to the public. The Women of the World Poetry Slam (WOWps) brings together 96 of the best women and gender-non-conforming slam poets to compete against one another for a chance to be crowned champion. In addition to the competition, each day of the festival features poetry workshops, themed open mics and special events designed to foster community-building among participants.
How Much: $10 cash
Shape Up: Dance Fitness
When: Wednesday, March 9 at 6:45pm
Where: Clinton Hill Library at 380 Washington Avenue
What: Free exercise class with a community volunteer. No pre-registration required.
When: Wednesday, March 9 at 7:30pm
Where: Greenlight Bookstore at 686 Fulton Street
What: Nigerian author A. Igoni Barrett (author of Love Is Power, or Something Like That) creates a scorching comic satire with his new novelBlackass, in which Furo, a young man in Lagos, wakes up the morning before a job interview to find that he’s been transformed into a white man. With his red hair, green eyes, and pale skin, it seems he’s been completely changed — except for his family, his accent, and his name. Oh, and his black ass. The book has been highly praised by critics and fellow writers including Jess Row and Chinelo Okparanta, who writes “This novel is full of universal sociocultural truths that extend far beyond its Nigerian setting. The best thing about it? The lightheartedness of the writing; the captivating sense of humor. But Blackass is also a serious book, the best kind of serious: Honest and unflinching, it is a political satire that invites us to rethink the way our world works.” Barrett talks about his work at Greenlight with award-winning Nigerian-American author Okparanta, author of Under the Udala Trees and Happiness, Like Water.
Trivia Night
When: Wednesdays from 8-11pm
Where:
What:
Weekly trivia competition to win gift cards of $100 to Putnam’s. Beer specials all night.How much:
Free
Movement Class For Older Adults
When: Thursdays from 11am-12pm
Where: Ingersoll Community Center at 177 Myrtle Avenue
What: Led by Mark Morris Dance Center faculty. Explore movement and music in a creative and fun way. Designed to use gentle movement to explore and increase range of motion for older adults.
How much: FREE
Teen Tech Week: LED Throwies
When: Thursday, March 10 at 3:30pm
Where: Clinton Hill Library at 380 Washington Avenue
What: Developed by the Graffiti Research Lab, LED Throwies are an inexpensive way to add color to any ferromagnetic surface in your neighborhood. Throw it up high to impress your friends!
Cilla Owens & Monk for President: a tribute to the Great Ladies of Song
When: Thursday, March 10 from 6-7:30pm
Where: Walt Whitman Library at 93 Saint Edwards Street
What: Brooklyn’s own Cilla Owens celebrates the great ladies who gave us timeless interpretations of Jazz songs. Join her and the Monk for President Trio as they bring you classics made famous by Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington, Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald, and Betty Carter.
Book Launch: Kaitlyn Greenidge presents We Love You, Charlie Freeman
When: Thursday, March 10 at 7:30pm
Where: Greenlight Bookstore at 686 Fulton Street
What: Kaitlyn Greenidge’s debut novel tells the story of a black family who move to a nearly all-white town in western Massachusetts to take part in an experiment to teach sign language to a chimpanzee, Charlie, who will live with them. Deftly exploring themes of race, history, family, and language, Greenidge has written a thought-provoking racial satire that signals her arrival as a significant and exciting new voice in fiction. The novel has been praised by critics and writers including Colum McCann, Bill Cheng, Tiphanie Yanique, Téa Obreht, and Victor LaValle. She talks about her fiction, the true stories which inspired it, and the surrounding issues with Lisa Lucas, recently named executive director of the National Book Foundation. A wine reception will follow to celebrate the Brooklyn launch of this acclaimed debut.
Build with DUPLO and LEGOS
When: Friday, March 11 at 4pm
Where: Clinton Hill Library at 380 Washington Avenue
What: LEGOs at the library! Come help us think up new things to build: towers, cities, vehicles, monsters? Collaborate with your friends and get creative.
How Much: FREE
When: Friday, March 11 at 7:30pm
Where: Greenlight Bookstore at 686 Fulton Street
What: Helen Oyeyemi, the award-winning author of Mr. Fox and Boy, Snow, Bird, offers an enchanting collection of intertwined stories with What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours. The collection is built around the idea of keys — to a house, to a heart, or to a secret— which may unlock elements of her characters’ lives, only to promise further labyrinths on the other side. Is a key a gate, a gift, or an invitation? A mystical diary, a house of locks, a puppeteering school, locked libraries and hidden gardens: Oyeyemi’s tales span times, landscapes, and varieties of desire as they tease boundaries between coexisting realities. Oyeyemi talks about her work with her good friend Catherine Chung, award-winning author of the novel Forgotten Country, followed by a book signing and wine reception.
BAMcafé Live curated by Terrance McKnight: PUBLIQuartet
When: Friday, March 11 at 9:30pm
Where: Peter Jay Sharp Building at 30 Lafayette Avenue
What: This acclaimed, forward-thinking string quartet has been shaking up the city’s classical music scene, emphasizing a repertoire of new works by emerging artists. PUBLIQuartet showcases daring contemporary pieces and original compositions that incorporate jazz, world music, and electronic influences. Fresh from their sold-out debut at Carnegie Hall, they take the stage at BAMcafé for a genre-busting evening of cutting-edge classical music.