The Debt Gala, The People’s Ball and lots of comedy: 18 things to do this weekend

By Joshua Encinias

You can catch us outsie this weekend, rain or shine, ’cause we’re not missing Tastes of Bed-Stuy on Saturday and the return of Greenpoint Terminal Market on Sunday.

Friday brings two hot concerts: 100 gecs at the Great Hall in Avant Gardner and Felly at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Bring the kids to the Bed-Stuy YMCA for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday and get started on the right foot this summer. A monthly record flea hits Bar Meridian on Sunday, and so does a wild Coney Island vaudeville show featuring kid performers.

Here’s this best of the borough this weekend:

Friday, April 28

‘Little Richard: I Am Everything’
Various times and locations
Brooklyn filmmaker Lisa Cortés peels back the curtain on Little Richard’s origins as a brash, Black, and gay rock n’ roll music pioneer. Richard later disowned his homosexuality for religious reasons, but his impact on pop culture can never be denied. The artist’s peers and admirers, like John Waters, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, and Nile Rodgers all contribute interviews in this doc that you can see in theaters or stream at home.

Horticulture Walk: Pier 6 The Flower Field and Dunes
5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
This free, family-friendly evening walk at Pier 6’s Flower Field and Dune Meadows will acquaint you with plants, insects, and maintenance practices of Brooklyn Bridge Park’s meadows. Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Horticulture Team leads the walk through our beautiful native flowers. The tour will gather at the Pier 6 entrance near Fornino. RSVP’s are encouraged and walk-ups will be accommodated if possible. 50 Bridge Park Drive. Free.

100 gecs at Avant Gardner
8 p.m.
100 gecs, the unexpected rock/pop/ska/whatever musical breakouts of 2023, play the Great Hall at Avant Gardner on Friday and Saturday nights. “100 gecs present: 10,000 Gecs Tour 2” with opener Machine Girl is coming to Brooklyn to show you why they’re the “dumbest girl alive.” 18+. 140 Stewart Avenue. Tickets are $65.

Felly at Music Hall of Williamsburg
Doors at 8 p.m., show at 9 p.m.
Felly, the rapper and singer/songwriter, brings his blend of musical accouterment to the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday night. Trust he’ll play hits like “Fabrics,” new and unreleased tracks. Opener and SZA collaborator ThankGod4Cody sets the tone with his R&B grooves for what Felly promises to be “ladies night. every night.” 16+. 66 N 6th Street. Tickets are $34.

Saturday, April 29

Brooklyn Book Store Crawl
All day
Bookworms get moving: Saturday marks the conclusion of the Brooklyn Book Store Crawl. With 25 participating bookstores, participants collect signatures or stamps by visiting participating bookstores throughout the week. Visit at least 5 bookstores during the crawl to receive a coupon for 25 percent off a single purchase at one store during the month of May. Then head over to the official Bookstore Day Afterparty at Center for Fiction (15 Lafayette Ave.) at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Bedford Stuyvesant YMCA Healthy Kids Day
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA is hosting its Healthy Kids Day on Saturday. The annual event features a variety of family-friendly activities to encourage healthy kids and healthy families to put you on the right track this summer. Come for the mobile game truck, and stay for the bounce house. 1121 Bedford Avenue. Free.

Tastes of Bed-Stuy
2 to 6 p.m.
Saturday is the second annual Tastes of Bed-Stuy, which honors of Bed-Stuy farm-to-table culinary legend Lloyd Porter. This food/drink crawl features 15 local restaurants offering their best menu items to ticketholders. You can try four tastes for $35, or 12 tastes for $100. Proceeds support the businesses and Seeds in the Middle, a charity nonprofit empowering students in low-income, food-insecure neighborhoods to create healthy places to live and learn. See the event map here. Tickets start at $35.

Candlelight: 100 Years of Warner Bros.
6:30 to 10:30 p.m.
For Warner Bros. studio’s 100th anniversary, The Highline String Quartet will perform songs from their movies under the glow of candlelight on Saturday night at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church. Songs to be performed include “Over the Rainbow,” “Singin’ in the Rain,” and the theme songs from “Batman” and “Scooby-Doo,” among many others. No children under 8 will be admitted, and anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. 157 Montague Street. Tickets are $35 to $65.

Ben Wasserman: Live After Death
8 p.m.
A comedy show in a funeral home, you say? We’re listening. Within the span of 3 years comedian Ben Wasserman lost his dad, granddad, uncle, and four friends. In his new show Live After Death, Ben blends comedy, clowning, and crowd work as he leads the audience on a hilarious yet moving journey through grief, honoring and celebrating the ones we’ve lost along the way. Blair-Mazzarella Funeral Home, 723 Coney Island Avenue. $15.18.

Tinder Live with Lane Moore
8 p.m., doors at 7.
Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. Tinder gets swiped every-which-way in this comedy show. If you’re hoping for some tips, this is the event for you: The show centers around improvised, interactive comedy with helpful and oftentimes ridiculous Tinder tips, tricks, real-time swiping. Special guests include Samantha Ruddy and the New York Times’ Dodai Stewart. Littlefield, 235 Sacket Street.  $25.35.

7th Annual Selena Fest
9 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Saturday night is the 7th annual Selena Fest in honor of the American Tejano singer at 3 Dollar Bill. Chata presents a night of dancing, Selena Drag shows, a Selena punk cover band, and a market with shopping, food, and tattoos. The dress code is your favorite Selena look. 260 Meserole Street. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door.

ACAB: Angry, Crazy & Black!
10 p.m.
Character comedian, Sydney Duncan invite you inside the mind of “an angry and crazy black woman” in this one-woman show, all about the complex relationship black women have with their anger. Union Hall, 702 Union Street. $11.55.

Sunday, April 30

Greenpoint Terminal Market – Grand Opening!
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Rain or shine, Greenpoint Terminal Market is opening for the summer this Sunday. Launched during the pandemic to help keep small businesses open, the market features favorite local foods, drinks, and artisans. The market’s happening every Saturday and Sunday through October. 2 Noble Street on the East River.

Record Flea at Bar Meridian
2 to 6 p.m.
Bar Meridian’s monthly Record Flea returns this Sunday. Flip through a menagerie of vinyl records, vintage duds, and books. Come for the flea market and stay for the drink specials. Live DJ sets going till late. 406 Prospect Place. Free.

Bindlestiff Cavalcade of Youth
4 to 5:30 p.m.
That’s so Coney Island: Bindlestiff Family Cirkus and Playful Productions presents an evening of young vaudeville acts on Sunday. Come see the “juvenile jugglers, diminutive dancers, and adolescent acrobats” before they’re cast in shows like Cirque du Soleil. Also featuring young unicyclists, tap dancers, magicians, clowns, and contortionists. 1208 Surf Avenue. Tickets are $10 for youth under 21 and $15 for adults.

The Debt Gala: A benefit show for RIP Medical Debt
5 p.m.
Screw the Met Gala; attend the Debt Gala! The first-ever dance party aims to “swap pretense for purpose” with a ball battling healthcare inequality and raising money for RIP Medical Debt, a national nonprofit that strengthens communities by abolishing burdensome medical debt. The Bell House, 149 7th Street. $30.

SNL’s Devon Walker and Michael Longfellow at Union Hall
Doors 5 p.m., show 5:30 p.m.
SNL newcomers Devon Walker and Michael Longfellow are trying out a bunch of new jokes they’re still figuring out. That’s all we know about the event so far. Could be good, could be a flop, who knows? 21+. 702 Union Street.

The People’s Ball
7 p.m.
Another alternative to the Met Gala, the People’s Ball is an-open-to-all-comers fashion show and dance party held in the Brooklyn Public Library’s soaring lobby gallery. If last year’s event is any indication, expect performers, DJs and special guests. But the real draw is … you. Hundreds of “ordinary” Brooklynites are encouraged to strut and sashay and dance the night away. 10 Grand Army Plaza. Free, but RSVPs are encouraged.