Meatmarket and Mardi Gras: 12 things to do this weekend

By Joshua Encinias

Spring is allegedly just around the corner. Or is it already here? Did winter ever arrive? Will we ever have seasons again?  In case you want to cosplay winter a little, we’ve found some spicy and sexy ways for you to keep warm.

Get lit on Friday at the Brooklyn Public Library’s writers film festival. Or get sweaty at Himbo and Meat Market, both starting late on Saturday night. Sunday is more chill with Black History month offerings from The Brooklyn Children’s Museum and mixed media artist Demarcus McGaughey.

Find out what’s on tap across Brooklyn this weekend:

Friday, February 17

Laissez les bons temps rouler!
All weekend through Fat Tuesday
Mardi Gras doesn’t have a big cultural footprint in New York, but Brooklyn has a few ways to celebrate. French bakery L’Appartement 4F is selling slices of King Cake. Their Galette Des Rois rolled out in January and run through Fat Tuesday. Brooklyn Kolache sells their delicious, New Orleans-style King Cake Rolls this time of year as well. And Dumbo’s Time Out Market will celebrate Fat Tuesday, the end of Mardi Gras season, with their Mardi Gras Market. You can score a free Hurricane, in a bead-wrapped souvenir glass, if you come dressed in your best New Orleans gear.

LitFilm: Film Festival About Writers
Various times
The Brooklyn Public Library will host a seven-night, free film festival of documentaries and films that highlight some of the most influential and iconoclastic literary minds. Get an inside look at the private lives, artistic processes and political struggles of luminaries such as Leonard Cohen, Patricia Highsmith, Pauli Murray, Joyce Carol Oates, Salman Rushdie, Dylan Thomas, and more. Reservations are required at the link. Central Library, Dweck Center at 10 Grand Army Plaza. Free.

Dance classes for people with Parkinson’s
Every Friday from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m.
People with Parkinson’s can combat their disease with a free dance class at the Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn. Research shows that dance helps slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease, and classes at the Mark Morris Dance Center help improve overall movement, walking ability, cognitive maintenance, and tremor severity for people of all ages and at all stages of the disease. The free classes are also held on Mondays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and Wednesdays from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. 3 Lafayette Avenue. Free.

Zopa in concert
Doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m.
Whether you know Michael Imperioli from “The White Lotus” or the “Sopranos” (or even his wildly popular podcast about the latter), he’s definitely having a moment. His band Zopa comes to Brooklyn on Friday night, playing at Baby’s All Right. Their first show on Wednesday is sold out so grab a ticket while you still can! Stella Rose and DJ Sunflower Bean open the show. 21+. 146 Broadway.

Saturday, February 18

Phil Collins Day
2 to 6 p.m.
It’s the most wonderful time of year … no, not that one, it’s Phil Collins day! The folks at Greenpoint Beer & Ale Co. have Phil Collins in their heart and want to share the Genesis of his genius with everyone. The last in-person gathering of Collinsheads was in 2020, so, there’s a lot of pent-up Philnergy waiting to break out this Saturday. Come celebrate one of Greenpoint’s most unique traditions over a pint, or five. 1150 Manhattan Ave.

Moments of Black Genius in the American Theater
2 and 7 p.m.
The Billie Holiday Theatre reopens this weekend for the first time since the onset of covid, and they’re coming back with the classics. “Moments of Black Genius in the American Theater” features excerpts from six Black plays that have been performed at the Billie over the past five decades. Plays include “Tambourines To Glory” by Langston Hughes, “Brothers From The Bottom” by Jackie Alexander, read by actors such as Harry Lennix, Pauletta Washington, and Denise Burse. You can see the complete list of plays and actors on Billie’s website. 1368 Fulton Street. Tickets are $20.

Himbo
10:30 p.m.
Saturdays are for the boys. The gay boys. Himbo is a party at C’mon Everybody for every type of guy under the rainbow, with house, disco, and other bops by DJ William Francis and Five. Himbo isn’t a party for the squeamish, but it isn’t totally a bacchanal either. So come for the go-go boys, and say for the Daddy Bears. 325 Franklin Avenue. Tickets are $12.

Meat Market
11 p.m.
Market Hotel created a new nightlife experience with Meat Market on Saturday night. They’re calling it “the dark and sexy night out you’ve been looking for,” with music from the borough’s leading techno, club, and experimental artists. You’ll hear CowboyKiller2001, DJ Thank You, DickByAir, Xana 101, and Cyberbull, among the eleven artists in two rooms. The party goes on until the early morning hours, so you’ll be Ubering home. 18+. 1140 Myrtle Avenue. Tickets are $25 to $30.

Sunday, February 19

Black Future Festival
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Brooklyn Children’s Museum hosts their Black Future Festival on Sunday. The event kicks off a week of future-forward fun inspired by the national celebration of the African diaspora and Black History Month. There will be dance performances by the Ase Dance Theater Collective, collage art-making inspired by artist Lauren Halsey, and workshops with Timothy Prolific Edwaujonte that explore the quilt codes used to navigate the Underground Railroad. 145 Brooklyn Avenue. Tickets are $12 to $13.

Black History Month at The Rock and Roll Playhouse
11 a.m. doors, 12 p.m. show
The Rock and Roll Playhouse will play the music of Aretha Franklin on Sunday at Brooklyn Bowl. This month the Playhouse feature Black artists for Black History Month, and this week they celebrate The Queen of Soul with songs from Franklin’s catalog. There are also games, dancing, stories, and the opportunity for kids to explore their creativity. All ages. 61 Wythe Avenue. Kids under 1 get in for free and tickets are $16 for everyone else.

New Orleans-style Cajun brunch
2 p.m.
Coney Island Brewery’s monthly Sunday Roast is Cajun-inspired this Sunday, paying tribute to the Mardi Gras tradition of celebrating before abstaining during Lent. The Brewery’s Chef Katie created a menu filled with Cajun delights such as blackened catfish, jambalaya, red beans and rice, braised collard greens, fried okra, cornbread, and pecan blondies for dessert. And of course, you can cool off from all that spice with a nice pint of Coney Island’s best brew. 1904 Surf Avenue. Tickets are $25.

“Kindred” artist talk with Demarcus McGaughey
2 to 3:30 p.m.
Demarcus McGaughey’s Black History Month solo art exhibit “Kindred” runs through next Sunday, February 25, and this Sunday he will give an artist’s talk at Ti Art Studios. “Kindred” is described as the artist’s most intimate series of work yet, and honors the ancestry of Black Americans. McGaughey’s exhibit shows the cultural contributions of his family’s impact on the American South. His family has lived in the south for six generations after gaining their freedom from slavery, and he shows their memory, identity, and spirituality through mixed media based on his rediscovery of family photographs. Ti Art Studios is at
183 Lorraine Street, third floor.