Weekend Art Events: August 3-5 (International Day Of Friendship, Hindu Lamp Ceremony, Degraw Fest & More)

It’s August! Get out and enjoy the dog days of summer before they pass us by.

Catch a movie or a concert, celebrate Brooklyn’s diversity, adopt a furry companion, and more this weekend.

Check the BKLYNER Calendar for more events happening around town or to list one of your own.

Opera On Tap New Brew Series Presents Quince Ensemble (Sponsored)
When: Friday, August 3, 8pm
Where: Barbes, 376 9th Street, Park Slope
What: The Opera on Tap New Brew series brings you classical music written by some of today’s most exciting composers, presented in entertaining and irreverent programs by young singers and instrumentalists who relish the direct contact with audiences not inhibited in their reactions by the looming menace of giant chandeliers.

Friday’s program will feature Quince Ensemble, an all-female vocal chamber group, singing works by Kate Soper, Amy Beth Kirsten, Kaija Saariaho, Giacinto Scelsi, Gilda Lyons, Pascal Dusapin, and more!
How Much: $10 suggested donation

Canal To Coast: Lock Step & Artists On The Erie
When: Friday, August 3, 7pm to 9pm
Where: Waterfront Museum, 290 Conover Street, Red Hook
What: Artichoke Dance Company presents this dance on the barge that celebrates the bicentennial of the Erie Canal while reflecting movement along the waterway and through its lock system. A panel discussion with musician Chris Bell and maritime artist Marie Lorenz will follow the performance.
How Much: Tickets $2 performance, $5 boat ride

Noname | Topaz Jones | Jazze Belle
When: Friday, August 3, 7:30pm (gates open at 6:30pm)
Where: Prospect Park Bandshell, Prospect Park West & 9th Street, Park Slope
What: The BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! concert series continues with a performance by the Chicago MC and poet Noname. Brooklyn rapper/singer Topaz Jones and Harlem duo Jazze Belle perform opening sets.
How Much: Free

Adoptapalooza
When: Saturday, August 4, 12pm to 5pm (rain or shine)
Where: Prospect Park, Bartel-Pritchard Square (Prospect Park West and 15th Street), Park Slope
What: Find a new best friend at “NYC’s original mega pet adoption event.” The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals hosts the event featuring cats and dogs looking for furever homes. All animals for adoption have been vaccinated, spayed or neutered. Adoption fees vary by organization.

We Are Brooklyn: A Community Block Party
When: Saturday, August 4, 1pm to 5pm
Where: Ingersoll Community Center, 177 Myrtle Avenue (on Fleet Place between Myrtle & Willoughby), Fort Greene
What: BRIC, Artist-in-Residence Najee Omar, and The Intergenerational Community Arts Council (ICAC) host this block party that brings together neighbors for a day of creativity, collaboration, and celebration of ICAC’s “core values of passion, liberation, family, courage, vision and truthfulness.” There will be music, dance, art-making, yoga, a community bike tour, and more.
How Much: Free

Degraw Fest
When: Saturday, August 4, 2pm to 10pm
Where: littlefield, 635 Sackett Street, Gowanus
What: Ben Rice, owner of the recording studio Degraw Sound, hosts this second annual music festival showcasing artists produced by the studio, giving attendees the chance to hear new Brooklyn indie, pop, rock, folk, and Americana-influenced groups. The event will also feature an exhibition of work by music photographer Drew Reynolds, beer specials from Sixpoint Brewery, and a pop-up from Howlin’ Taco serving authentic Austin-style tacos.
How Much: Tickets $10

The Aarti Hindu Lamp Ceremony
When: Saturday, August 4, 4pm to 8pm
Where: Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pebble Beach
What: All are invited to decorate palm leaf lamps and release them onto the East River with wishes for loved ones at this annual event. The Aarti Hindu Lamp Ceremony is traditionally presented to “convey gratitude to mother river” and “reflect on our community.” A traditional percussion ensemble will accompany the ceremony. Read about last year’s lamp ceremony here.

Rooftop Films | Black Panther
When: Saturday, August 4, 7:30pm to 11pm
Where: Brooklyn Army Terminal, 140 58th Street, Sunset Park
What: Check out a free screening of Ryan Coogler’s record-breaking superhero film. Read more about the director and the movie here.
How Much: Free with RSVP

Brooklyn’s 5th Annual International Day Of Friendship
When: Sunday, August 5, 1pm to 5pm
Where: Brooklyn Borough Hall and Columbus Park, 209 Joralemon Street, Downtown Brooklyn
What: Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams hosts this event celebrating the various cultures and ethnicities that make the borough so diverse. There will be a unity parade of flags, cultural performances, ethnic foods, and a global dance party. Read more about Brooklyn’s International Day of Friendship here.
How Much: Free

Canal To Coast: Oh! That Low Bridge!
When: Sunday, August 5, 7pm to 9pm
Where: Waterfront Museum, 290 Conover Street, Red Hook
What: Singer/composer/folklorist George Ward sings and tells stories that illustrate the Erie Canal’s heyday. The grandson of a NYC ship’s chandler, Ward “connects the inland waterway—with its low bridges and mules—to the square riggers and floating grain elevators of New York City’s Upper Harbor.”
How Much: Tickets $2 performance, $5 boat ride

GOD IS TRANS
When: Exhibition on view through Saturday, August 11
Where: Richard Beavers Gallery, 408 Marcus Garvey Boulevard (at Halsey Street), Bed-Stuy
What: Painter Genesis Tramaine presents a series of works that challenges the traditional belief that God is male and encourages viewers to consider God “outside of traditional gender binaries but as ‘trans’ – a spirit that occupies the spectrum between both genders.”

Bedstuy Flea
When: Saturday, June 23 through Saturday, August 11, 11am to 7pm (Saturdays & Sundays)
Where: The Meat Market, 380 Tompkins Avenue (between Putnam & Jefferson Ave.), Bed-Stuy
What: This new summer shopping experience celebrates diversity and will feature more than 30 vendors offering sustainable goods, vintage clothing, handmade items, jewelry, wellness products, arts and crafts, and wares created in the five boroughs and beyond.

Erwin Wurm: Hot Dog Bus
When: On view from Saturday, June 9 through Sunday, August 26, 12pm to 6pm (weekends)
Where: Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 1 and Pier 5
What: The Austrian artist will be passing out free hot dogs to park visitors all summer from a bright yellow, overstuffed Volkswagen Microbus. The bloated-looking bus will force audiences to consider the relationship between capitalism and consumption in society. The Hot Dog Bus will be on view and serving free hot dogs at BBP’s Pier 1 on Saturdays and Pier 5 on Sundays.

Coney Island Creek and the Natural World
When: Exhibition on view Saturday, May 26 through Monday, September 3 (open Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays)
Where: The Coney Island History Project, 3059 West 12th Street (at the entrance to Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park), Coney Island
What: Organized around a timeline of Coney Island Creek from 1645 to 2018, the exhibition illustrates Coney Island’s original attraction with maps, photographs, posters, art, artifacts, oral history, and video. The exhibition describes the Creek’s environment through history, art, and ecology.
How Much: Free

Wes Modes Presents A Secret History Of American River People
When: Exhibition on view Saturday, July 28 through Sunday, September 16
Where: The Waterfront Museum, 290 Conover Street, Red Hook
What: California artist Wes Modes traveled down the Hudson River in a recreation of a 1940s-era shantyboat, collecting stories from the people who live and work along the waterway. The artwork on view in this exhibition is part of a larger project spanning several years and covering multiple river communities.