Beaches, brunches and breweries: 12 things to do this weekend

By Ethan Jakob Craft

How’s this for a peak Brooklyn to-do list: composting lessons, Jewish comedy shows, and a drinking game paired with a stage adaption of the 1997 cinematic masterpiece “Titanic.”

Whether you’re keen to hit the clubs or you have your 6-year-old in tow—whether you’re a beer snob or cannabis connoisseur—you don’t have to cross any bridges or travel through tunnels this weekend. Enjoy!

Friday, April 8

Get the low-down on composting
11 a.m.
In a bid to reduce waste, the City of New York is partnering with the Lower East Side Ecology Center to teach locals of all ages the basics of composting, including how to set up and maintain their own small-scale composting system from start to finish. This three-hour event is free with pre-registration and is open to the public, whether you’re a first-timer or well on your way to achieving your Master Composter Certificate; it’s held at the Rockaway Avenue Community Compost Site, right at the corner of Rockaway and Avenue D in Canarsie.

Drink to James Cameron’s ‘Titanic’
8 p.m.
This Friday, a troupe of actors is converging in Brooklyn to host a stage adaptation of 1997 blockbuster “Titanic,” in which everyone in the audience—plus the actors themselves—drinks along with using a set of cues in the script, like yelling “Jack!” or playing “My Heart Will Go On.” While the movie’s three-hour run time is “abridged for your health,” you’re still likely to get sauced at this show. It’s going down at the Bell House in Gowanus, with advance general admission tickets priced at $18 each, or $20 if purchased day-of.

Take in a Nets game
8:30 p.m.
The Brooklyn Nets are taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers at Barclays Center on Friday night, with the two neck-and-neck teams in the Eastern Conference sure to play a tough game as both make their final push for a spot in the 2022 NBA Playoffs. Tip off in the arena is at 8:30 p.m.; tickets can still be had online for roughly $80 each in the 200-level “nose-bleeds,” but exceed $400 for the remaining near-courtside seats.

Saturday, April 9

Annie’s Easter Egg Hunt
10 a.m. to noon
Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store is bringing back their annual Easter Egg Hunt for 2022. Kids of all ages are welcome to the popular Fifth Avenue gift shop’s back yard for an egg hunt, crafts and snacks. The event is free, but space is limited. RSVP by Friday, April 8, to makayla@blueribbongeneralstore.com

Clean up Brooklyn’s beaches
9 a.m.
It’s forecast to be a beautiful weekend in Brooklyn, so why not spend part of it doing some good for your community and cleaning up one of the borough’s many beaches ahead of summer? Hosted by the Pratt Institute, volunteers will meet at its Clinton Hill campus at 9 a.m., subway to the beach—exactly which beach isn’t mentioned specifically—and be back at Pratt by 2 p.m. Gloves, trash bags and free breakfast will be provided to everyone who registers to attend online.

Toast to Bushwick’s newest brewery
2 p.m.
After more than two years in the making, Non Sequitur Beer is finally ready to commence brewing operations in Brooklyn and is marking the occasion with a daylong grand opening bash featuring beer tastings, tacos by Bordertown BK and tours of its fancy new brewing equipment. The celebration, which is free to attend, is being held at NS Beer’s taproom at 8 Wilson Avenue in Bushwick, just a few blocks from the Morgan Avenue L line subway stop. Festivities run until 10 p.m.

Toke, drink and game all night
7 p.m.
When there’s a retro gaming night in Brooklyn, it’s rarely just a retro gaming night, and Saturday night’s event of cannabis and cocktails is no exception. Featuring a 420-friendly variety show, cash bar, pot and non-pot vendors and a selection of “light food”—plus the actual retro games—this adults-only event is an homage to all things grown-ups enjoy. It’s happening at 81 Fourth Avenue in Park Slope, just south of Atlantic Terminal; there are several tiers of tickets ranging from $25 (entry, one raffle ticket and one free drink) to $123.45 (entry for two, three raffle tickets and bottomless drinks all night long).

Live out your retrowave dreams
11:30 p.m.
If a night of “retro-futuristic” ’80s dance music spun by some of Brooklyn’s best retrowave and synthwave DJs sounds like a good time, then put the Knitting Factory in Williamsburg on your to-do list Saturday night because it’s hosting a night called “San Junipero”—after that incredible 2016 “Black Mirror” episode that people are apparently still talking about—until the early hours of Sunday morning. Tickets for the event are free for the first 50 people on the RSVP list who show up, or $10 if you’re not in that exclusive club; 1980s-style or retro attire is encouraged.

Sunday, April 10

Take the kids to an Easter brunch
10:30 a.m.
If you’re looking to celebrate Easter with the whole family, check out Winemak’Her Bar in Park Slope, which is hosting a family-friendly brunch on Sunday that’ll include Easter egg decorating, rabbit cookie baking, arts and crafts, and an Easter movie for the kids to enjoy. General admission tickets for one adult, which by default includes one free child, are $23, plus an extra $15 per sibling. Tickets also include free juice or hot chocolate for your child.

Pair candle-making and beer tasting
12 p.m.
Join women-owned Talea Beer Co. in Williamsburg on Sunday for a combination candle-making and beer tasting workshop, billed as a “multi-sensory experience” of beer flights and fragrances that intertwines tasting, smelling and drinking. The two-hour course includes a welcome beer, a four-beer flight, all necessary candle-making materials and more; entry to the event is $65 per person, though you can get a slight discount if you and a partner purchase a bundle of two tickets at once.

Attend a benefit concert for Ukraine
4 p.m.
The war on Ukraine is very much ongoing, which is why Coney Island Brewery on Surf Avenue is stepping up to support the neighborhood’s massive Ukrainian population—and their countrymen who are still living through Russia’s invasion—with its “Music for Peace” benefit event. It’s donating a portion of all beer sales on Sunday to non-profit Sunflower of Peace, and will host Ukrainian music group PAROHOD Eclect-Kollective for a show starting at 4:30 p.m. It’s free to attend, but donations for Ukraine are more than welcome.

Yuck it up at a Jewish comedy show
8:30 p.m.
Featuring a line-up of some of New York’s premier Jewish comedians from the Comedy Cellar, Netflix and more, Sunday night’s “Much-a-‘Jew’-About Nothing” stand-up show is a celebration of the Jewish experience. The show is being hosted by the Vino Theater in East Williamsburg, near the junction of Morgan and Metropolitan avenues, with tickets for the show clocking in at just $5 per person if bought online, or $20 if purchased at the door.