Next up: cupcakes

Last year's winner, Kate Brown, with her salted caramel frosting cupcakes

There was apple pie. There was casserole. There was chili. There was meat. Now, there's cupcakes.

Next Monday, May 11, Brooklyn Kitchen will hold its Third Annual Cupcake Cook-off at Union Pool.

Last year's Best in Show was awarded to a chocolate cupcake with salted caramel frosting creation, so creativity is a must. Other entrieds ranged widely from fruit flavors including Kari Lobe’s passion fruit and cream cheese frosting to alcohol soaked batters such as the Mint Julep cupcake, as well as a "I can’t believe I moved to Bushwick for you"; specifically, a red velvet strawberry rhubarb pie cupcake.

More information here. Interested bakers can register by e-mailing cupcakes@thebrooklynkitchen.com.

Read more...

Best of New York City

It's no surprise that almost every single act in Deli Magazine's Best of New York Festival, showcasing some of the most exciting acts coming up in the city, are from Brooklyn.

Just some of those acts featured in the May 6, 8 and 10 multi-venue event include Mia Riddle (pictured), April Smith, Lowry and Kaiser Cartel (all in the same night), The Secret Life of Sofia, Crystal Stilts, Takka Takka, and an original indie-rock musical by The Lisps.

The full schedule:

Wednesday, May 6
Southpaw, $10
11:10 Lowry
10:30 Elizabeth and the Catapult
9:40 The King Left
8:50 April Smith
8:10 KaiserCartel
7:30 Mia Riddle

Friday, May 8
The Bell House, $15
12:00 Crystal Stilts
11:00 Blank Dogs
10:00 Religious Knives
9:00 Dinowalrus

Saturday, May 9
Joe's Pub, $15
9:30 The Lisps' FUTURITY Musical
A theatrically staged song cycle, FUTURITY tells the story of a Union soldier in the Civil War who is an aspiring science fiction writer. The work fuses traditional Americana, found text, experimental music, and The Lisps’ own brand of quirky co-ed pop.

Sunday, May 10
The Bell House, $12
10:00 Chairlift
9:00 TBA
8:10 The Secret Life of Sofia
7:20 Takka Takka
6:30 TBA

Read more...

Celebrate Brooklyn! schedule announced

Anticipation is building for summertime events in Brooklyn, from outdoor film screenings to concerts.

The latest buzz comes from BRIC, which just announced its Celebrate Brooklyn! 2009 lineup, featuring a summer of free concerts, dance, film screenings and more at the Prospect Park Bandshell.

All performances, except Benefit Concerts, are free with a $3 suggested donation.

Monday, June 8, 8:00 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) David Byrne
(The concert will be preceded at 5:30 P.M. with Celebrate Brooklyn's firstGreen Gala, which includes cocktails, dinner and reserved seats for Byrne's performance. Gala tickets, for $325 and up, are available at 718.855.7882x33. The 8:00PM concert will be followed, at 9:45 P.M., by a dance partyopen to gala guests and Friends of Celebrate Brooklyn.)

Thursday, June 11, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Goran Bregovic & His Weddings & Funerals Orchestra


Friday, June 19, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) David Rudder/Samantha Thornhill

Saturday, June 20, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) La Nave de los Monstruos, with live score by Ethel and Gutbucket (part of Celebrate Brooklyn!'s Music & Movies Series)

Thursday, June 25, 7:00 P.M. (gates open at 6:00 P.M.) Femi Kuti & The Positive Force/Melvin Gibbs' Elevated Entity

Friday, June 26, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Blonde Redhead

Saturday, June 27, 7:00 P.M. (gates open at 600 P.M.) Celebrate Brooklyn and LimeWire Present Dr. Dog/Phosphorescent/These United States

Thursday, July 2, 7:00 P.M. (gates open at 6:00 P.M.)

Obie Juan Bermudéz/Cucu Diamantes/Rebel DiazBud Light Latin Music Series

Thursday, July 9, 8:00 P.M. (gates open at 7:00 P.M.) DanceSTREB: Invisible Forces

Friday, July 10, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Los Amigos Invisibles/Aterciopelados

Saturday, July 11, 4:00 P.M. (gates open at 3:00 P.M.) A Very Special Show with They Might Be Giants

Thursday, July 16, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Kronos Quartet/Luminescent Orchestrii

Friday, July 17, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) The Robert Cray Band/The Sweet Divines

Saturday, July 18, 2:00 P.M.‹9:00 P.M. (gates open at 1:00 P.M.) African Festival with King Sunny Adé/Freshly Ground/The MandingoAmbassadors/Cheikh M'Baye & Sing Sing/Abena Koomson/Yasser Darwish

Thursday, July 23, 8:00 P.M. (gates open at 7:00 P.M.) Dance: Stephen Petronio Company

Friday, July 24, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Buckwheat Zydeco/The Holmes Brothers

Saturday, July 25, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Kailash Kher/Electro Morocco

Thursday, July 30, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Burning Spear/Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens

Friday, July 31, 7:00 P.M. (gates open at 6:00 P.M.) The Royal Family: Soulive's 10th Anniversary Celebration, with Special Guests John Scofield and Christian Scott/Ivan Neville & Dumpstaphunk

Saturday, August 1, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Music & Movies: Dean & Britta: 13 Most Beautiful Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests/Crystal Stilts

Thursday, August 6, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Music & Movies: Purple Rain Sing-A-Long with Escort

Friday, August 7, 7:00 P.M. (gates open at 6:00 P.M.) Grace Potter & The Nocturnals/ Deer Tick / The London Souls

Saturday, August 8, 7:00 P.M. (gates open at 6:00 P.M.) Celebrate Brooklyn & Lyricist Lounge Present Big Daddy Kane (with Special Guests TBA), plus a Screening of BDK: The Big Daddy Kane Story

Celebrate Brooklyn! Benefit Concerts

July 1 MGMT (Sold Out)

July 21 Jackson Browne

August 11 TV on the Radio

August 12 Bonnie Raitt & Taj Mahal

August 14 & 15 Animal Collective

Read more...

Fresh flicks from Brooklyn filmmakers

A scene from "Woman's Prison," by Katie-Madonna Lee

By Meredith Deliso

(Published in the 4.30 issue of 24/Seven)

A Civil War period piece. A contemporary look at women’s plight in the Midwest. An experimental, mind-altering musical.

These are just some of the selections that will be shown during the School of Visual Arts annual Dusty Film and Animation Festival and Awards, this May 4 through 10 at the college’s theater in Manhattan, and they were all worked on by up-and-coming filmmakers from Brooklyn.

En route to a degree in film at SVA, these college students’ offerings are among the over 100 films, shorts and animation features that will be shown during the free festival, the result of a year of hard work and dedication that has resulted in the diverse offerings.

There’s Marco Chierichella’s “The Bastard Men of Root Flats,” a modern Western taking a cue from films like “3:10 to Yuma” and “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” in its modern feel.

“It’s like any other traditional Western – it’s about revenge, redemption, told through the point of view of the bad guys,” says Chierichella, whose plot kicks off with outlaws celebrating their last night as wanted men, all the while pursued by a gang of bounty hunters. “Although it’s a traditional story, we put a new, contemporary spin on it.”

With Brooklyn not quite the ideal setting for his 1874-based film, the Williamsburg native spent the month of October filming in the Poconos in Pennsylvania. Co-written by Chierichella and his older brother, the two formed a Cohen brothers-esque dynamic on the set.

“He and I have our arguments, but by the end of the day we get what we want,” says Chierichella. “The Cohen brothers are the same way.”

The two live in the house they grew up in in Williamsburg, though both look to head out west after Chierichella graduates to try their luck in the film industry in Los Angeles.

Living in Bay Ridge has helped South Bend, Indiana-native Katie-Madonna Lee stay grounded as she’s worked on her feature film, “Woman’s Prison.”

“Making a movie is very stressful and very chaotic – you need stability, and Bay Ridge is so grounded,” said Lee. “It’s like one of the last neighborhoods. I needed to go to a home and be grounded so I can create human stories, stories about communities.”

Written and directed by Lee, “Woman’s Prison” tells the story of a young woman from Michiana – in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan in South Bend – whose mom was murdered by her dad when she was eight and spends the rest of her life longing to be with her again. That path takes her to prison for shooting her boyfriend, where she meets other women who had limited opportunities in their own lives.

“Prison was the only thing that made them people or gave them a chance to reflect on their life,” said Lee. “It’s a prison film that hardly takes place in prison, though. It’s an institutional prison for many women in the Midwest – they’re not in prison but their social position is the prison. Their lives are completely built on chaos and poverty.”

Having seen the limited economic and social mobility herself, Lee was empowered to go back and document it.

“Everyone on the set was from the East Coast. They had no idea it was like that,” said Lee. “I felt the only way to collectively tell the truth and make people emotionally responsive is through film. [Women’s Prison] was based in part on my anxiety on what would have happened to me if I hadn’t had the charge to leave and pursue my career.”

Brian Gonzalez didn’t have that much of a personal connection to the films he helped make. As a cinematography major, he was recruited by fellow students to work on four different short films, and took the opportunity to really develop his craft and try out different styles.

“One of my professors at SVA said something really provoking last year, that the best cinematographers are the ones who don’t have just one or two styles, but four or five styles,” said Gonzalez. “That was something that I wanted to implement this year. My goal all thesis year was to do something that I hadn’t done before.”

The musical “A Machine Beloved” had Gonzalez experimenting with light and color, drawing inspiration from light installation artist Olafur Eliasson (the man behind last year’s Waterfalls public art project), creating the mood by going from one harsh color to a neutral one in order to jostle the viewer, deriving the same effect Eliasson’s 2004 work “Your color memory” had on the filmmaker. The dramatic short “April Night and Day” was more raw, shot on a handheld camera, while “Wishing, Well” was a more straight-forward narrative short film and “After Silence” a video art piece.

The San Antonio native and current Park Slope resident might try his luck on his own films one day as a director, but for now is immersing himself in various art and video projects.

“I want to do everything,” said Gonzalez, which includes, in addition to film, also art installations, a documentary on Brooklyn photographer Sarah Small, tee shirt screenings, and video shorts of his own. “No one should get too comfortable with any style. The point as an artist is to keep learning.”

The three are currently gearing up for their film debuts at SVA’s Dusty awards, which looks to be an eclectic mix of promising work from the next generation of local filmmakers.

“I can honestly say this year is by far one of the best years this school has seen in a very long time,” said Heidi Hamelin of Bed-Stuy, a co-producer of the festival who herself is a graduate of the program. She now works as an independent producer, including recently on the Biggie Smalls film “Notorious.” “You can park yourself in a seat and not leave until Friday and enjoy movies of every range and spectrum that our students could possibly imagine.”]

The 20th annual Dusty Film and Animation Festival and Awards runs from May 4 to May 10 at the School of Visual Arts Theater (333 W. 23rd Street in Manhattan). The students’ films will be screened all day May 10. All events are free and open to the public.

For a complete schedule of events and screenings, including of these hometown filmmakers, go to www.schoolofvisualarts.edu/dusty/ or call 212-592-2124.

Read more...

Get crafty

Going handmade just got easier.

Chick and owl prints of all shapes and sizes will descend upon the Brooklyn Lyceum this weekend when the Park Slope venue welcomes more than 60 New York City-based artisans to show off their wares - all priced $30 and under - for its Anti-Depression Session!

The free event, this May 2 and 3, runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and also features DUB Pies and Mogador Falafels for when you get hungry.

Also this weekend, Williamsburg's Artists and Fleas moves to McCarren Park (between this, the cherry blossom festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the Five Boro bike tour, we really hope the weather holds out).

If that isn't enough for your craft fair fix, The Bell House will have its Handmade Calvacade the following weekend, on May 8 and 9, featuring over 30 local designers.

Read more...

They're playing where?

You don't see this often: The Banya Russian Baths in Brooklyn will host supergroup The Sway Machinery (comprised of members from Balkan Beat Box, Antibalas, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Arcade Fire) this Saturday for two intimate sets in celebration of their new CD, "Hidden Melodies Revealed."

Hosted by Gemini & Scorpio (whose bath parties were included in The Village Voices "Best of 2006"), the night includes a "Dinner-with-the-band" ticket option, featuring authentic Russian food, and an open vodka bar, as well as the baths' poolside lounge, Swedish steam rooms, jacuzzi, dance floor, hookah lounges, and the Baths' rooftop smoking deck (weather permitting, of course).

The party gets started at 7 p.m., with the band playing at 10 p.m. and midnight.

Cost: $95 VIP ticket (7pm entry + open vodka bar + authentic multi-course Russian dinner) /$55 regular ticket (9pm entry + open vodka bar) / $35 discount ticket (11pm entry). Tickets here.

Read more...

Break out the seersucker

The Kentucky Derby is this Saturday, and while we're a far cry from the Mason-Dixon line, there will be chances to score some BBQ, swig some mint juleps and dress to the nines for the race.

The Bell House in Gowanus will host a free party starting at 1 p.m., featuring BBQ, an ice cream truck, a free mint julep happy hour (from 5 to 6), their first Annual Live Under Card "Horse" Race, prizes for the best hat and best-dressed man, and of course the race shown on a big screen. There will also be band karaoke after the race, wtih free dub pies in between sets.

Over at Union Hall in Park Slope, there will be live music on the back platform, a corn hole toss competition (with prizes), food, $3 Maker's Mark juleps and cocktails, and the race shown on a big screen. The event is also free, starting at 2 p.m.

t.b.d. in Greenpoint gets in on the fun with a best hat contest (this one for the ladies), a Southern "sidewalk" BBQ, $4 Maker's Mark juleps, and bluegrass music from 4 p.m. to the start of the game at 6 p.m., where you can see it on three large flatscreen HDTVs.

If you're looking to make a little money during the race, Sheephead Bay's Ill Fornetto will host a Derby day special, featuring fod and wagering. New York City OTB will be distributing promotional items and the first 50 customers will receive the book "The Most Glorious Crown."

What are your plans for this annual tradition? Share in the comments section.

Read more...