Beers, BagelFest and a Bushwick block party: 14 things to do this weekend

By Ethan Jakob Craft

The dreary forecast and balmy temperatures are hardly an indication, but the last weekend of summer is technically upon us. Assuming you haven’t yet put up your Halloween decorations and rotated some cozy sweaters to the front of your wardrobe, the next few days will see the return of the Brooklyn BagelFest, a “Summer’s Over Rave,” a block party presented by House of Yes, and plenty of other activities that add up to a few last summer flings.

This is your weekend to-do list. Savor the summer. Get busy. The first snow will be here before you know it.

Friday, September 16

Experience a new multimedia art installation in Red Hook
Throughout the weekend
A group of art exhibitions — “The Mathematics of Consciousness” by Charles Atlas, “Shadow Box” by Anya Kielar, and “Made in Trans-Pakistan” by Umber Majeed” — are now open to the public at Pioneer Works, the nonprofit cultural center in Red Hook, fusing a number of mediums across film, sculpture and augmented reality. Entry is free but attendees are required to sign up for a 90-minute visiting window in advance with 1, 2:30, 4, 5:30 and 7 p.m. slots available throughout this weekend and beyond. However, the three installations will run for at least two more months, so don’t sweat it if you can’t make it immediately.

Get in the Oktoberfest spirit
2 p.m.
Despite its name, Oktoberfest actually kicks off in September, though if you can’t make it to Munich on such short notice, then you can take public transit to the next best thing right here in Brooklyn. This Friday from 2 in the afternoon to 11 at night, the Strong Rope brewery is hosting “Strongtober Fest” at its taproom in Red Hook, featuring craft brews from across New York City as well as food from Sliwinski’s General, stein hoisting competitions and a live polka band. General admission tickets are either $5 or $10 depending on how early you snap them up, or if you want a branded one-liter beer stein included, that’ll be $28 per person.

Check out a Southern-inspired rockabilly concert
8 p.m.
Southern Culture on the Skids has played shows everywhere from Japan to the North Carolina State Penitentiary, and this Friday, the rockabilly trio is bringing their quirky brand of Deep South cultural jams to to the Bell House in Gowanus where they’ll sing about everything from “Voodoo Cadillacs” to eight-piece boxes of fried chicken. Doors open at 7:30 for this 8 p.m., 21-and-over show that is just one stop on the band’s seemingly perennial tour around North America; general admission tickets are priced at $25 each.

Relive your college years at Rubulad
9 p.m.
Horny Bushwick institution Rubulad is reviving its Grand Carnival this Friday night, bringing with it live sets by DJs including Mondai and Nas Leber, adult games like beer pong, adult-sized kids’ games like Connect Four and Jenga, live artistic performances throughout the evening and more. Tickets to the event, which is slated to run until 2 a.m., are just $10 if purchased in advance, though Rubulad warns that prices will increase if bought at the door. More details and photos of previous Grand Carnivals can be found on the venue’s Instagram.

Boogie down at a Donna Summer disco
10 p.m.
“Love 2 Love: A Donna Summer Disco Party” is returning to Schimanski in Williamsburg this Friday night, bringing special guest host Vivacious and DJs Michael T and Bill Coleman to the venue for a night of Summer’s greatest hits plus a number of other ’70s disco classics that will collectively keep the party going until 4 a.m., with a handful of $12 drink specials running throughout the night too. If you act fast, the first 50 people who RSVP can get in free, otherwise general admission costs $10 per person for early bird or $15 each for a regular ticket.

Saturday, September 17

Chow down at Brooklyn BagelFest
9:30 a.m.
The Brooklyn BagelFest is back for another year this Saturday and Sunday, bringing 15 top bagel shops from as far away as Portugal and 13 other bagel-related vendors (think lox, schmear and bagel-flavored ice cream) together under one roof for a bagel bonanza. Happening from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. both days at BKLYN Studios at City Point downtown, the event—which also includes the hotly contested Best Bagel Competition—is open to guests in three two-hour, all-you-can-eat blocks each day, with tickets priced at $49 per session or $99 for an all-weekend VIP pass that also includes a couple of alcoholic drinks. Children 12 and under get in free.

Take your kids for a day of morning at Time Out Market
10 a.m.
Children have been back at school in New York for a couple of weeks now, but if they (or you, their parents) are yearning to experience a last little bit of summer fun, then head to Time Out Market in Dumbo on Saturday and Sunday. It’s hosting a couple of all-ages events throughout the mornings, including a childrens’ pizza making workshop by the culinary team at Fornino from 10 to 11 a.m. on September 17, and a matinee showing of “Lightyear” from 10 a.m. to noon on September 18. Tickets for the events are $35 and $15 each, respectively, and include a complimentary ride on the nearby carousel.

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
11 a.m.
September is Hispanic Heritage Month, and Industry City is putting on its Hispanic Artists + Makers Market this Saturday to mark the occasion. Featuring a number of local Hispanic artisans, musicians and food vendors, the fair will be taking over Courtyard 1/2 at the Sunset Park complex from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., just across the street from the Industry City Costco, and is completely free to attend.

Enjoy a day of “simple” pleasures
Noon to 6 p.m.
Honey’s bar and winery in Bushwick (93 Scott Ave.) will be hosting an all day pop-up filled with food, vintage ware, custom clothing, ceramics, tinctures, and more. Dubbed “A Day of Simple Pleasures,” the event will also involve some not-so-simple pleasures: an exclusive, entry level class on BDSM + Impact Play, taught by professional dominatrix and educator, Simone Siren. Tickets for the class range from $30-50. All proceeds from the class and a portion of sales from vendors will go towards ARC Southeast, an organization that provides safe and compassionate reproductive support for states that don’t have it, and New York City Mutual Aid’s West Village sector, which focuses on providing resources and support for the houseless community.

Rub elbows with your fellow Walt Whitman-philes
3 p.m.
The Walt Whitman Initiative is bringing the annual “Song of Myself” marathon back to Brooklyn for its 19th year this Saturday, uniting bibliophiles and history buffs to celebrate the New York-born poet’s life in the borough he called home for much of his 19th century life. Previous marathons have seen dramatic readings of verses and foreign language orations, plus a variety of look-alikes, with all invited to read from Whitman’s seminal work “Leaves of Grass” during the three-hour gathering. The event is located at Pier 1 Granite Prospect in Brooklyn Bridge Park, and is free to attend and open to the public.

Mark the end of summer with a rave
3 p.m.
While the weather may say otherwise, this weekend is technically the last of summer 2022, and Now And Then NYC intends to send off the season with a bang: a “Summer’s Over Rave” that starts as a pleasant mixer in the afternoon before devolving into a high-energy hip-hop and R&B party after the sun goes down, thanks in part to the beats of a DJ by the name of “[KD].” Going until 10 p.m., food, bottle service and hookah will all be available throughout the rave at Now And Then’s indoor-outdoor space in East Williamsburg; remaining tickets are $15 each, or $25 if purchased last-minute.

Sunday, September 18

Head to House of Yes’ fifth annual block party
12 p.m.
The fifth annual YES Block Party is coming to Bushwick on Sunday, taking over a portion of Jefferson Avenue in front of organizer House of Yes’ nightclub space — and unlike almost everything else at House of Yes, this weekend’s block party is all-ages. Running from noon to 6 p.m. rain or shine, the community party will feature music by Soul Summit, Miss Alicia, DJ Ultra Violet and more, plus an on-site artisan market, food and drink vendors, interactive games and live art performances throughout the afternoon. It’s free to attend with an RSVP.

Sip some of the city’s finest homebrews
1 p.m.
Sample the selections of more than a dozen homebrewers from across New York and learn more about the DIY brewing process at Sunday’s Endless Homebrew Competition in Crown Heights. Hosted by Endless Life Brewing on Franklin Avenue, all-inclusive early bird tickets for the event are $20 each, while day-of tickets are $25 if bought online or $30 if bought at the door. All proceeds will go toward the Lovibond Project, whose goal is to recruit and support people of color who are “traditionally underrepresented in the ranks of craft beer professionals,” organizers say.

See a narrative comedy show double-header
7 p.m.
The Brooklyn Comedy Collective is taking this weekend as an opportunity to reintroduce “WOOFs,” which the Williamsburg venue describes as “25-30 minute narrative shows in development” that’ll run every Sunday at 7 p.m. On this weekend’s agenda: “America’s Next Miss Halliburton-Raytheon,” a show by Lily Blumkin that focuses on the weapons maker’s quest to find the country’s “next GIRL oligarch,” and “Lost Vagus,” a one-woman show by Laura Ornella about a character who heads west after finding out her husband’s cheating on her. Tickets are $12 each.