What to do this Week(end): May 21- May 26
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Photo by Nelson Ndongala
Did you all hear it’s supposed to hit 90 degrees this weekend? Better get those A/Cs in windows stat or else you’re staring down an extremely hot Saturday, even if you’re not planning to run in the Brooklyn Half. “Oh well, at least it’s almost beach season,” you may be thinking to yourself. Not so fast, friends, it looks like the main stretch of The Rockaways is going to be closed for the first half of the summer, which has me scrambling to figure out who I know with access to a pool within an hour of the city. Will bring snacks and unfettered enthusiasm for being in the water on a hot day, if you’re interested!
Dunno about you, but I’ve had A WEEK. Nothing horrible, but I did kick things off by locking myself out of my apartment at 7am, sans phone and in pjs, in a frantic attempt to get my ailing, elderly dog outside before my kitchen floor met another accident. After a grim sojourn through my building’s basement, I broke into one of my back windows in one of the least graceful maneuvers of all time, which ended with a face-plant on my bedroom floor and lots of bruises. Sigh. Of course it wasn’t all bad though, especially as I was still riding high off a birthday weekend spent with friends and family who took me to dinner at Anton’s and Victor and showered me with things like fresh-cut lilacs and homemade blondies and a bottle of vanilla maple syrup. It was tough to not feel like a very lucky lady indeed after all that, but I could have done without the parking ticket, my Internet crapping out at the exact time I was supposed to host a really important Zoom meeting, and having to bail last-minute on Cyrano at BAM because of work.
Thankfully, this weekend is bringing the fun in a big way. The Frieze Art Fair, now in its tenth year in New York, is back at The Shed with curated exhibitions from 65 major international galleries, and this is one of the last weekends you can catch Andy Warhol: Revelation at the Brooklyn Museum or Faith Ringgold: American People at the New Museum. Last year, I spent a really lovely summer evening at an outdoor performance at the Lefrak Center by Moliere in the Park, and this weekend’s production of The Misanthrope is well-timed for the warm nights ahead.
Saturday is what would have been the Notorious B.I.G.’s 50th birthday, and his hometown is pulling out all the stops to celebrate, including a party at the Empire State Building, which will be displaying red and white lights to honor the slain rap icon. Meanwhile, back in Brooklyn, Biggie’s daughter T’Yanna Wallace is hosting a pop-up for the occasion at Lilly’s Pizza Bar on Fulton Street. For a totally different kind of night, head to Dumbo for a totally unique annual block party — the Dumbo Drop, which involves thousands of tiny elephants with parachutes falling from the sky to benefit local Title 1 schools, plus music, food, prizes, and deals at nearby businesses. Further south, Industry City is playing host to the 2022 Texas Chili Cookoff, which features five hours and all-you-can-eat chili and queso with drinks from Texas-based brands.
On Sunday, Brooklyn Crab is bringing back its beloved annual Oyster Fest, which has been on an extended hiatus due to the pandemic, and while you are in the neighborhood you might pop in on some of the spots that were highlighted in our recent interview with actor and longtime Red Hook resident Patrick Gallo, who plays Mario Puzo in The Offer on Paramount+.
The action doesn’t stop just because the weekend is over, though. On Wednesday night at The Bell House, Janeane Garafolo is hosting a standup show with a standout slate of performers, including Gary Gulman, Jo Firestone, David Cross, and Joyelle Nicole Johnson. And next Friday, Death of Classical is back at Green-Wood Cemetery with an evening of Hot Dogs, Hooch, and Handel, which is exactly what it sounds like and will likely sell out.
What else are you all up to this weekend? Has the steamy forecast made you rethink any plans you already had? Any tips to beat the heat? No matter what you get up to, have a fantastic week and get psyched for a glorious long weekend in the very near future.
The post What to do this Week(end): May 21- May 26 first appeared on Brooklyn Based.