Bid farewell to the Knitting Factory, and more: 15 things to do this weekend

By Ethan Jakob Craft

Brooklyn will say goodbye to an icon this weekend as the Knitting Factory, a beloved venue that has stood on Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg since 2009, turns out the house lights for the final time on Sunday following a Hannibal Buress stand-up set.

But don’t spend too much time mourning the loss — for starters, its owners plan to re-open the club somewhere else in New York in the near future. Plus, there’s also no shortage of things to do in the borough this weekend: Fancy a world-class pinball competition? There’s one going on in Industry City. Interested in an LL Cool J-themed bike ride? Head to the steps of the Brooklyn Museum on Saturday. Feel like just picking up trash to help make your neighborhood a nicer place? The city’s got you covered.

Apply some sunscreen and go make the most of your remaining summer weekends, because we’ll all be whining about the cold before you know it. Here’s your weekend to-do list: 

Friday, August 19

Unleash your inner pinball wizard
All weekend long
The New York Pinball Championships are happening right in our backyard this weekend — with a series of seminars, displays, free play areas and competitions open to all ages and skill levels — in Industry City from 9 a.m. Friday through Sunday evening. Single-day tickets are $50 per adult and $25 per child between the ages of 6 and 12, or $100 for a three-day weekend pass; a few last-minute registration slots to compete in the NYCPC 2022 are also still available for $105 per player. More information about the event’s schedule, vendors and tournaments can be found on its website.

Unwind with an evening of art therapy
6:30 or 8 p.m.
The Surya Sound Temple in Bushwick, right next to the DeKalb Avenue L train stop, is hosting two of its regular “Art Therapy with Music Relaxation” workshops this Friday evening, welcoming you to explore art in any medium you’re comfortable with while listening to live music by Siddhartha. Held in an “intimate setting ideal for a private couple or small group of friends,” according to the venue, this 90-minute relaxation session costs $99 to attend, running at both 6:30 and 8 p.m., and includes all art making materials from colored pencils to paints and canvases.

See Wilfredo at Coney Island USA
8 p.m.
“Wilfredo’s One Night Stand” is coming to Brooklyn this Friday, when British comedian Matt Roper’s character will be joined on stage by a variety of burlesque acts and performance artists including Dirty Martini, the Maine Attraction and Deity Delgado at Coney Island USA on Surf Avenue. Tickets for the very 18-and-over show are $20 each, and attendees can “expect pasties, panties and extravaganties,” the venue promises.

Check out some of the Midwest’s best comedians
8:30 p.m.
New Yorkers occasionally catch some flack for acting like New Jersey is the westernmost edge of the world, so to counter that self-centering stereotype, head to the Brooklyn Comedy Collective in Williamsburg on Friday for its “Best from the Midwest” showcase. Featuring a lineup of stand-ups with roots in the Rust Belt, this 21-and-over show will deliver a night of laughs while giving you the chance to tell your friends that you saw a comedian from Ohio like it’s a charitable act. Tickets are available online for $15, with doors opening 15 minutes prior to showtime.

Saturday, August 20

Clean up the borough you call home
Throughout the day
You needn’t look far to attest that New York City, Brooklyn included, generates a lot of garbage, but you can pitch in to lessen the impact of all that trash on your community this weekend. On Saturday alone, the Nu Africa Foundation is hosting its regular neighborhood clean-up on the border of Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights from 10 a.m. to noon; the Newtown Creek Alliance is welcoming volunteers to help clean up the area around Penny Bridge in Greenpoint from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Shirley Chisholm State Park is sponsoring a shoreline clean-up along Fresh Creek from 1 to 3 o’clock. All of the aforementioned events are free with gloves, trash bags and other necessary materials provided.

Support your favorite local publications
10 a.m.
Small Press Flea is returning to the city’s Central Library off of Grand Army Plaza this weekend with an army of nearly three dozen small Brooklyn-based book and magazine publishers, in addition to an installation from artist Hannah Eve Rothbard and sweet treats (while supplies last) from nearby ice cream parlor The Social. The literary marketplace will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “rain or shine, unless it’s pouring,” organizers say, and is completely free to attend.

Discover the history of Gowanus from a canoe
10 a.m.
Join the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club and head out on the waters of Gowanus Bay to learn about the history of the neighborhood, from its role in the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776 to the present-day fight for environmental justice. Guests will be sorted based on the color of their life jackets: blue to align with the revolutionaries, or red to show allegiance to King George III (the former color is in shorter supply, so arrive early to ensure you’re not mistaken for a redcoat or a British loyalist). Tickets are $29 each with the voyage, which lasts until 11:30 a.m., departing from the bunker launch on 19th Street.

Embark on an LL Cool J-themed bike ride
12 p.m.
Calling all old school hip-hop fans: the Good Company Bike Club is hosting an afternoon ride that doubles as a tribute to LL Cool J this Saturday, traveling from the steps of the Brooklyn Museum to a newly unveiled monument to the rapper in Fresh Meadows, Queens. Departing 20 minutes after the stated meeting time, this ride is open to all and has a Good Co. expertise rating of two bicycle wheels — ostensibly out of three, implying medium difficulty. Don’t forget to bring a helmet, bike lock and bottle of water.

‘1v1 me Rust’
3 p.m.
If you instantly recognize that timeless quote, then you likely: (A) spent much of the late 2000s with a video game controller in your hand, and (B) know that there’s no higher call to battle in the world of first-person shooters. Well this Saturday, Bushwick video game bar BrookLAN invites you to prove yourself in a series of one-on-one matches in “Rust”— one of the smallest multiplayer maps in the “Call of Duty” game franchise — from 3 p.m. onward. Tickets to take part in the tournament are $15 each, with that money going towards a prize pool for the champion.

The Beer and Beats Festival
3 p.m.
The Brooklyn Music School Theater is hosting the fourth day of its Beer & Beats Festival at 18th Ward Brewing in Williamsburg. Come through live music from BMS students, faculty and guest Brooklyn-based performers. The event will event will raise revenue and awareness for local businesses, and local artists and doubles as a fundraiser for Brooklyn Music School, as a portion of the beer proceeds will go to the brewery. The event is free to attend.

Learn the art of soldering synthesizers
5 p.m.
Have you ever wanted to craft your own music synthesizer? Well this Saturday you can at Willie Mae Rock Camp in Gowanus, which is holding a three-hour session open to beginners over the age of 18, regardless of past soldering experience. Hosted by JacqNoise, an experimental musician visiting the city from Germany, attendees will have the option to build either a “BlindNoise” or “Data Synth” from Error Instruments, a purveyor of “noise makers,” neither of which require other components or an external power supply to create music. Admission, which includes all materials, is $100 each.

Sunday, August 21

Shadow a beekeeper at the Prospect Park Zoo
12 p.m.
Get up close and personal with honeybees alongside The Bee Conservancy’s staff beekeepers, who will be leading “Hive Dive” tours of their bee colonies at the Prospect Park Zoo this Saturday, giving the public a chance to see the pollinators in action and learn just how crucial they are to the world around us. This family-friendly event is free to attend with admission to the zoo, which costs $9.95 per adult or $6.95 per child, and begins promptly at noon following the 11:30 a.m. sea lion feeding.

Help pack lunches for the hungry
12 p.m.
“#HashtagLunchbag: Brooklyn Edition” is fighting to “end world hunger, one lunch bag at a time,” say organizers, who are calling for volunteers to prepare and distribute meals in Brooklyn this Sunday. Attendees will meet at noon at the BrooklynWorks co-working space in Sunset Park and pack until their goal is met before hitting the street and passing out filled lunch bags to those in need. It’s free to help out, though volunteers are encouraged to donate $10 each if they’re able to offset the cost of the groceries; RSVPs are required.

Close down the Knitting Factory with Hannibal Buress
7 p.m.
All good things must come to an end, and so too will the Knitting Factory as we now know it, with the Williamsburg venue planning to shut its doors for the last time on Sunday night after being faced with a whopping 75 percent rent hike. And while the Knitting Factory’s owners have pledged to find a new space somewhere in the city in the coming months, its current incarnation — in operation since 2009 — plans to go out on a high note this weekend with “Goodbye, Knitting Factory Brooklyn,” a comedy-slash-music bonanza with Hannibal Buress, Quelle Chris, Roofeeo, and more. All of the event’s $35 tickets have, unsurprisingly, already sold out, though any resourceful Brooklynite likely has a trick or two up their sleeve to potentially score a seat.

Tim Heidecker Live!
7 p.m.
Can’t get into the Knitting Factory? Fortunately for you, the … shorter … half of Tim and Eric is taking his “No More Bullshit” stand-up character on the road, as well as his Very Good Band to present the first two-act evening of Tim Heidecker comedy and music. The Sunday show was added after his five night run sold out, so this night will probably go too. It’ll be at the Bell House on 149 7th Street. Tickets Are $45.