It's showtime on the Showboat!

By Meredith Deliso

We were already big fans of “Showboat Shazzam,” a long-running circus series at the Waterfront Museum and Barge in Red Hook. And now that it’s cheaper, we love it even more!

When the aerialists, jugglers and contortionists return to the Red Hook waterfront on June 5, you can get front-row action for only $10 — down $6 for adults and a couple buck for the kids compared to last year’s rates.

With those savings, you might as well take advantage and go more than once.

“Every weekend there’s wholly different artists,” said Artistic Director Karen Gersch. “It’s a whole new show.”

The diverse acts kicking things off include juggler Adam Kapilow; aerialists Megan and Marui; contortionists The Sorbet Sisters; and clown Tanya Solomon.

Down the pipe, highlights include juggler and comedian Will Shaw, Gabeze Trapeze (pictured) and David Sharps, caretaker of the barge, performing a Chinese vase manipulation act (June 19); and slackrope clown prince Dikki Ellis (June 26).

On July 24, the barge docks at the foot of Atlantic Avenue, at Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6, with aerialist Hilary Sweeney and acrobat Aerial Emery in tow.

The site may change, but its spirit won’t.

“This is the closest children can get to the circus,” said Gersch. “That’s always our MO.”          

 

Showboat Shazzam at the Waterfront Museum and Showboat Barge [Pier 44 at Conover and Beard streets in Red Hook, (718) 624-4719], June 5, 19, and 26 at 1 pm and 4 pm, and at Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6 (Atlantic Avenue at Furman Street in Brooklyn Heights), July 24 at 1 and 4 pm. Tickets $10 (in advance). For info, visit www.waterfrontmuseum.org.

Photo by Deborah Grosmark

Read more...

Who's your crawdaddy?

By Dan MacLeod

If you’ve never had the singular pleasure of diving face first into a bucket of boiled crawfish, head to Sycamore Bar & Flower Shop in Ditmas Park on June 4 when the tavern hosts its second annual boil.

At co-owner Justin Israelson’s party, three pounds of the crustaceans will be cooked in a secret family spice blend (seriously, it’s a secret. We tried!) and served in a bucket boiled with garlic, oranges, potatoes, andouille sausage and corn with a pint of NOLA’s own Abita beer.

“They’re very sweet, but the spices give them a big kick,” said Israelson, a Texan. “They’re like little mini lobsters.”

The event was so popular last year that shell-shocked partiers spilled onto the road, necessitating this year’s twin tasting times. But still, you better get your tickets soon if you want to chow down on some crawdads.

Crawfish Boil at Sycamore [1118 Cortelyou Rd. at Westminster Road in Ditmas Park, (347) 240-5850], June 4 at 2 and 5 pm. Tickets $25. For info, visit www.sycamorebrooklyn.com.

Read more...

The 'Gateway' to Native American culture

By Alex Rush

When you can find hula-clad performers, intricate feathered headdresses and a daring dance with fire in Brooklyn, that can only mean one thing — Floyd Bennett Field’s annual celebration of Native American culture is back.

From June 3 to 5, more than 1,000 artist, performers, scholars and food vendors will take over the park for the annual Gateway to Nations festival.

One of the main events at this powerful powwow are the thrilling dance contests, which pay homage to the competitions that began between in Oklahoma more than a century ago, according to event organizer Cliff Matis.

“Various tribes wanted to showcase their unique dance styles, regalia and costumes,” said Matis, whose Redhawk Native American Arts Council has run the event for 17 years.

Many of the dances will honor nature, such as an indigenous Peruvian dance dedicated to the Andes Mountains.

When you’re not watching the feather-and-bead-clad performers, you can browse the jewelry booths and feast on rustic dishes like venison stew and corn soup.

“Our goal is to celebrate and teach the contributions of the indigenous people of the Americas to American culture,” Matis said.

Gateway to Nations at Aviator Sports and Event Center [3159 Flatbush Ave. off the Belt Parkway in Marine Park, (718) 758-7500], June 3, 10 am–4 pm; June 4 and 5, 11 am-7 pm. Admission $12, $7 for young adults and seniors, children under six are free. For info, visit www.aviatorsports.com/kcf.

Read more...

The 'Summer' of Siri

 By Meredith Deliso

Siri Hustvedt could really use some science fiction in her life.

The writer, teacher, poet, and lecturer is the busiest she’s ever been, one week flying off to speak at the Sorbonne on the psychobiology of trauma, the next  participating in a book club with Jennifer Egan and Margot Livesey, and the one after that giving a reading.

“I’m so busy, that’s my only problem,” said Hustvedt, who reads at Cobble Hill's BookCourt tonight. “I wish I had three selves at the moment.”

In that scenario, one self, at least, would be writing. The longtime Park Sloper (and wife of fellow novelist Paul Auster) recently released her fifth novel, the heady, yet zippy, “The Summer Without Men.”

The summer in question belongs to Mia Fredricksen, a poet who, after her husband leaves her for a younger woman, suffers a breakdown and flees Brooklyn to her Minnesota hometown to recover among a land of women that includes a group of sage widows and, on the opposite spectrum, catty teenage girls whom she winds up teaching.

Despite its serious start, the novel finds the writer stretching her funny bone thanks to Mia’s caustic, ironic voice — much a departure from Hustvedt’s “rational, calmer” one — which calls her husband’s adulterer “the Pause,” as Hustvedt dives into the deep well of inspiration that is love, marriage, and gender differences.

“I’ve never written a character with that kind of voice,” said Hustvedt. “I’ve heard reports of people on planes laughing out loud while reading it. That makes me very happy.”

Hustvedt is already deep into her next work of fiction — the provocatively named “Monsters at Home” — though no doubt will be pulled towards essays and lectures on neurobiology, trauma, psychoanalyst — whatever suits her fancy. When not hitting the keys, she can be found browsing the aisles at her local Blue Apron Foods, or in her backyard garden, tending to her rhododendrons, roses and azaleas.

“When I’m gardening, the thing that I call my internal narrator, the voice in my head that’s generating inner speech, seems to turn off entirely,” said Hustedt. “It’s a relief, because I’m constantly manufacturing sentences in my head.”

Suffice it to say, she must not do a lot of gardening.

Siri Hustvedt reads at BookCourt [163 Court St. between Pacific and Dean streets in Cobble Hill, (718) 875-3677], tonight at 7 pm. Free. For info, visit www.bookcourt.org.

Read more...

Get out and see Bay Ridge this weekend

By Alex Rush

This historical tour is much more than a walk in the park.

A walking tour this Saturday will showcase some of Bay Ridge’s oldest sites, from a cemetery where Revolutionary War soldiers are buried to a park that was once the 19th-century estate of the first editor of the original Brooklyn Eagle (no relation to today’s publication).

“We wanted to pick a tight-knit area with a cluster of interesting places,” said Josephine Beckmann, district manager of Community Board 10, which organized the free tour with the Bay Ridge Historical Society.

In Bay Ridge, there’s no better place to begin than on Senator Street. The three-block stretch between Fourth Avenue and Colonial Road is lined with brownstones built at the turn of the 20th century. History buffs will then visit Owl’s Head Park, Barkaloo Cemetery and the Narrows Botanical Gardens, which was transformed from a weed-strewn lot into a vibrant conservatory by volunteers.

“It’s a magnificent site,” Beckmann said.

Bay Ridge historical tour [meet at 69th Street near Fourth Avenue in Bay Ridge, (718) 745-6827], June 4 from 10 am–1:30 pm. Free. RSVP to communitybd10@nyc.rr.com.

Read more...

A festival of 'Comic' proportions

By Meredith Deliso

The Brick is channeling its inner geek once again.

After the past success of “Game Play,” a video game theater festival; and “Nerdlesque,” a dorky burlesque show, comes the ultimate fan-boy union — the Comic Book Theater Festival.

“Outside of theater, comics have always been my most passionate interest,” said Jeff Lewonczyk, an associate director at the Williamsburg venue. “The Brick’s been having fun curating festivals based around a particular genre or performance style, and this is an idea for a genre.”

The genre includes shows about superheroes and webcomics (“Five Things”), adaptations of comic books (“Action Philosophers”), a live action graphic novel (“Manifesto”), a comic book edition of “Nerdlesque,” a play based on the life of a cartoonist (“Reporter Girl”), and, in an obligatory response to  Broadway’s “Spider-Man,” an indie superhero rock musical, “Ms. Perfect.”

Lewonczyk presents his own spin on the comic book theater genre with “The Bubble of Solace,” about an obsessive comic book fan who gets too immersed in his favorite titles. But don’t let that cautionary tale dissuade from indulging in your own fandom when the festival kicks off tonight with a free cabaret preview of all the shows.

“There’s great spectacle, experimentation and narrative fun,” said Lewonczyk. “If you like comic books or theater, there’s something for everyone.”

Comic Book Theater Festival at the Brick [575 Metropolitan Ave. between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street in Williamsburg, (718) 907-6189], June 2-July 1. Tickets $15. For info, visit www.bricktheater.com.

Read more...

One big art weekend in Brooklyn

By Meredith Deliso

This spring, art is synonymous with the first weekend in June.

In neighborhoods all across the borough from June 2 to 5, unique festivals will bring dance, music, workshops and, of course, art to the galleries, streets and bars of Red Hook, Bushwick, Downtown and Coney Island. It’s a choose your own arts adventure.

  

Red Hook Fest

Are you ready for the remix? On June 3 and 4, the Red Hook Fest returns to the waterfront, with two days of arts events that encourage audience participation, from photojournalism to drawing. That doesn’t mean it’s all you; performers include La Roka RPM and Full Circle, hip-hop, break-dance salsa mash up; Tato Torres y Yerbabuena, a Boricuan roots band; Paul Josephs and MetroSonics; hip-hop theater duo Climbing PoeTree; and the all-female dance collective INSPIRIT.

Red Hook Fest at PS 15 [71 Sullivan St. between Richards and Van Brunt streets in Red Hook, (718) 330-9280], June 3, 6-9 pm; Louis J. Valentino, Jr. Park and Pier (Coffey and Ferris streets), June 4, 11 am-7 pm. Free. For info, visit www.redhookfest.com.

ArtWalk

In Boerum Hill, ArtWalk takes over Atlantic Avenue on June 4 and 5 with art, live music and restaurant deals. Since forming six years ago, the annual arts festival has gradually spilled out into neighboring galleries and studios, with Downtown, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights hosting more than 200 artists at home studios and such diverse sites as Proteus Gowanus, the Micro Museum, Flavor Paper, the Brooklyn Ballet, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and, in a sneak preview, Roulette Brooklyn, which is opening this September.

ArtWalk, June 4-5, 1-6 pm. Locations vary. Free. For info, visit www.artwalk2011.com.

Bushwhack Series and Bushwick Opens Studios

It’s one mad weekend in Bushwick, with the Bushwhack Series from June 2 to 5 and the Bushwick Open Studios from June 3 to 5. The former bunkers down at the Bushwick Starr, with four days of new experimental performance art, while the latter can be found at galleries and street corners-turned-galleries all over the neighborhood. With more than 350 shows promised, they have to improvise.

Bushwhack Series at the Bushwick Starr [207 Starr St. between Wyckoff and Irving avenues in Bushwick, (212) 868-4444], June 2-5 at 8 pm. Tickets $12. For info, visit www.thebushwickstarr.org; Bushwick Open Studios from June 3-5. Venues vary. Free. For info, visit artsinbushwick.org.

Artists Day Out

Maybe it’s a coincidence, but June 4 also happens to be National Drawing Day. To celebrate, Kensington-based artist Sherry Davis is throwing the Coney Island-themed Artists Day Out at Ruby’s on the Boardwalk. Artwork relevant to the area will be shown indoors and out, and artists are invited to add their mark to the fabled bar, which closes after this summer as landlord Central Park Amusement looks to expand its theme park. Fittingly, artists are invited to fight the man and create a “Save Ruby’s” mural inside.

Artists Day Out at Ruby’s [1213 Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island Avenue in Coney Island, (718) 372-9079], June 4, 1-6 pm. For info, visit drawingday.org.

Read more...