Improv, cumbia, beer, bourbon & BBQ: 17 things to do this weekend

By Joshua Encinias

It might be the weekend after a short holiday week, but there’s no shortage of things to do.

On Friday, you can head over to Williamsburg for the annual Our Lady of Mount Carmel Feast, featuring the Dances of the Giglio and Boat (which actually takes place on Sunday). The vibrant festival celebrates Italian American culture through July 16. Saturday brings the debut of Jurassic mini-golf at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and a day of sipping and noshing at the 13th annual Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival.

Wrap the weekend up on Sunday with two events on Coney Island: EARTHYGIRTHY, a festival of Earth and art in the beer garden at the Coney Island Brewery, or a free performance by Skip Marley and friends at the Coney Island Amphitheater.

Here are 16 things to do this weekend.

Friday, July 7

Annual Our Lady of Mount Carmel Feast / Giglio Festival
Various dates and times through July 16
Williamsburg celebrates over 100 years of the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on July 5. When early Nolani immigrants moved to Brooklyn, they brought the feast along, and this year the party goes through July 16. Insider tip: Visit on July 9 for Giglio Sunday to witness the Dance of the Giglio and Boat. And bring your dollar bills, because this lady accepts tips!

BrownstoneJAZZ ENSEMBLE
Friday through Sunday at various times
Enjoy a lovely night of jazz in a restored 19th-century Bed-Stuy Victorian brownstone. BrownstoneJAZZ Ensesmble showcases the best in jazz performed by the vanguard of today’s performers. Follow curator Debbie McClain and M.C., bassist Eric Lemons through an evening of jazz essentials, but buy your ticket early, because seating is limited. 107 Macon Street. $38.91.

Fun & Dumb Improv Festival
Various times through Sunday
Fun & Dumb is a four-day festival celebrating all things improv hosted by the Brooklyn Comedy Collective. The weekend features more than 130 shows and 300 improvisers from Europe to Los Angeles, all coming to perform with the BCC on three stages in East Williamsburg. Tickets are available by the day or you can snatch up weekend passes. So are you going? Yes, and you might sign up for improv classes taught by BCC while you’re at it. 167 Graham Avenue.

Stroller Tour at the Brooklyn Museum
10 to 11:15 a.m.
This tour of the Brooklyn Museum’s Africa Fashion exhibit is designed for children up tp 24 months old and their caregivers. Enjoy an interactive, stroller-friendly tour with touchable objects, songs, exploration of artworks on view, and an opportunity to connect with other adults. Single-seat strollers only. 200 Eastern Parkway. Tickets are $29 per adult.

Brooklyn Cumbia Fest
The Brooklyn Cumbia Festival celebrates the Afro-Indigenous-Colombian origins of cumbia music and dance at the Good Life Garden in Bushwick. Come out for a dance workshop and drum circle by Rueda de Oro, a performance by Maraca Bruja, and you can grab a bite from local food vendors. The night wraps up at House of Yes’ newest space, the Onyx room, with DJ Mickey Perez. Tickets for the after-party are sold separately. 50 Goodwin Place. Grab a ticket with a suggested donation.

Summer Fridays at Brooklyn Bridge Park
6 to 9 p.m.
Every first Friday in the summer months, performance and community hub Friends And Lovers present live music and chill vibes at the Greenway Terrace in Brooklyn Bridge Park. This Friday, check out Brass Queens, Fried Dynamite: Run P. x Nina Vicious and Shake! with Monk One and DJ Prestige. Head to the waterfront, grab a drink, hang with friends and family, and enjoy the beautiful skyline with this lush weekend warm-up. Pier 3 Greenway Terrace. Free.

Saturday, July 8

Outdoor Yoga on the Stoop
10 to 11 a.m.
Meet on the plaza steps of the Brooklyn Museum for a morning of yoga and meditation, open to all levels. “Open your hips and your heart” is how the museum sells the class, but if that doesn’t scare you off, come for a guided meditation to start off your morning. In case the weather gets nasty, the class will move inside to the Beaux-Arts Court on the third floor. Bring your own mat. 200 Eastern Parkway. Tickets are $16 and include Museum general admission. Member tickets are $10.

Jurassic Mini-Golf Opening Weekend
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Visit Brooklyn Children’s Museum to experience Jurassic Mini-Golf, a new nine-hole golf course on the Museum’s roof. Kids and parents can practice their putt under their rooftop canopy on a custom-made nine-hole mini-golf course while surrounded by larger-than-life animatronic dinosaurs. The exhibit will be open from July 8 to August 1. 145 Brooklyn Avenue. Tickets are $5 per person after you buy a general admission ticket.

Open Streets on Montague Street
10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Open Streets on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights happens every Saturday through October 28 with free entertainment, activities and public open space. Montague Street, from Hicks Street to Clinton Street, will be closed to traffic until 7 p.m. Come explore local businesses new and old with family friends, and neighbors all day this Saturday. Free.

13th Annual Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival
12 to 6 p.m.
The Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival features a day of, well, beer, bourbon and BBQ. But that’s not all! There’s live music and cigars too. Your ticket comes with a sampling glass to enjoy all-you-can-stomach beer and bourbon. You’ll find the ‘cue at what the festival calls Meatlandia (we call it Industry City), where you can sample meat from all over the East Coast, including mouthwatering beef, lamb, chicken and more. Tickets start at $79.

BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! With Kelela and Liv.e
Doors at 6:30, show at 7:30 p.m.
Six years after her debut “Take Me Apart,” Kelela released the ambient, introspective and misty “Raven” in February to widespread acclaim. Check her out for yourself this Saturday at the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park where she will be performing as part of the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! summer series. BRIC promises “divinity, sonic elegance, and futurism,” and going by sprawling, meditative and lyrical “Raven,” Kelela is poised to deliver. Free.

Sunday, July 9

That 70’s Race 5K and 10M
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Get groovy at the second NYC Parks Summer Race Series in Prospect Park. Run or walk at That 70’s Race 5K & 10M along a scenic tree-lined course within the park. All Round Foods will have snacks and drinks on hand at the finish line. Proceeds benefit the Never Stop Running Foundation, a non-profit that supports athletic and charitable events as they raise awareness and foster community involvement. The run kicks off at the Peristyle in Prospect Park at Park Side Avenue and Parade Place. Registration cost $35.

EARTHYGIRTHY
12 to 6 p.m.
On Sunday, more than 25 artists, alchemists and bands will converge at the Coney Island Brewery beer garden for a community-driven public art exhibition and performance event, EARTHYGIRTHY. Bands will perform on an outdoor stage. Artists working in different mediums will have their work on sale and lead workshops in the beer garden. Come explore Coney Island’s local ecology and learn how to host community-led environmental and art action throughout Brooklyn. 1904 Surf Avenue. Free.

Trans Arts Bazaar
1 to 7 p.m.
Bushwick’s party mecca House of Yes becomes a safe-haven for the trans and non-binary community, hosting with queer vendors and artists selling everything from ceramics to custom clothing and accessories handmade by the very folks selling them as part of NYC’s very first all-trans art market. 2 Wyckoff Avenue. Free with a suggested donation.

Soul Summit
3 to 8 p.m.
The Soul Summit Music Festival is an event that takes place in Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn on Sunday afternoons during the summer. Organized and led by Soul Summit Music, the DJ collective founded in 2002 by Sadiq Bellamy, Tabu, and Jeff Mendoza, the dance party is always free and open to the public. The festival showcases artists of various backgrounds, including DJs, bands, dance companies, fashion designers, filmmakers and photographers, just to name a few. Fort Greene Park. Free.

Skip Marley & Friends in Coney Island
6 to 10 p.m.
Skip Marley performs at the Coney Island Amphitheater on Sunday evening, and he’s bringing some friends. Patrice Roberts, Sarkodie, Bobby Konders and King Cruff are also on the bill for a night of reggae. 3052 W. 21st Street. Free.

Second Sundays at Pioneer Works
Noon to 9 p.m.
Second Sundays returns to Red Hook arts hub Pioneer Works this July with another packed lineup, including the debut of their summer exhibitions, workshops featuring potatoes grown from seeds once sent to space, screenings and a very special music performance from the Sun Ra Arkestra. Delicious Ethiopian & Eritrean specialties by Makina Cafe. Free with a suggested donation of $10. 159 Pioneer Street.