A symphony in the Green-Wood Catacombs, and more: 14 things to do this weekend

By Ethan Jakob Craft

What’s going on in Brooklyn this weekend, you ask? Oh, the usual: Spike Lee is personally hosting a pop-up shop in Fort Greene, there’s a masterclass in tuna fishing for rookie anglers in Coney Island, and two gifted pianists will perform a symphony in the catacombs beneath Green-Wood Cemetery — plus a healthy assortment of the plays, premieres, concerts and fun runs that make Brooklyn the greatest borough in New York.

Here is what’s happening in our fair city this weekend:

Friday, August 5

Attend back-to-back plays about online dread
2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
“TISMO” is an acronym you should get familiar with if you’re planning on attending Friday’s double-header play at the Williamsburg Loft. It’s shorthand for “the internet stresses me out,” and it’s the underlying theme for both comedies about online personas, surveillance and social media, synopses for both of which, “Is Anyone Watching This” and “Crawlspaceblog,” are available online. Tickets are $25 each and seating is first come, first served for both the 2 and 7 p.m. performances.

Listen to a symphony in the Green-Wood Catacombs
6 p.m.
Gustav Mahler’s grand No. 9 Symphony is typically played by 100-piece orchestras, though due to the lack of space at this Friday concert’s unorthodox venue—the cavernous catacombs of Green-Wood Cemetery — it will instead be played by master pianists Jed Distler and Jerome Kuderna presenting a “rarely heard arrangement” of the work with four hands on one piano. Tickets for this show, presented in partnership with Death of Classical, are $80 each, with two performances per night at 6 and 7:30 p.m. scheduled for both Friday, August 5 and Saturday, August 6.

Boogie down at a roller skating dance party
6:30 p.m.
If you’re a menace on skates — or if you’re just on an ’80s kick after binge-watching “Stranger Things” — head to the LeFrak Center at Prospect Park this Friday, which is hosting its Roller Wave dance night with live DJs, food, drinks, splash pad access and more until 10:30 p.m. Tickets to the event range from $27 to $33, depending on whether you require rental skates and whether you’d like an alcoholic or nonalcoholic drink included with admission. Helmets, knee pads and wrist pads are also available for rent on site.

Reinvent your prom experience
7:30 p.m.
Did your prom night suck? Well, this Friday’s “Anti-Prom” is giving you a clean slate with an evening of live pop music, dancing, prize giveaways and more. Billed as a “Toronto x NYC Show Exchange,” this adults-only event at Littlefield in Gowanus is hosted by DJ Eztioko Tickets and will feature performances by the likes of TONIE and Suka. Tickets are $15 per person, with attendees encouraged to rock their best anti-prom attire, otherwise known as “edgy prom chic”; doors open at 7 p.m., the festivities begin at 7:30.

Saturday, August 6

Run (or walk) five kilometers for peace
8:30 a.m.
The 8th annual Bed Stuy 5K Run for Peace is back in the neighborhood this Saturday, so get up bright and early to exercise for the Von King Park Conservancy and 500 Men Making a Difference. Bib pick-up is available at Herbert Von King Park in Bed-Stuy both the morning of and evening before the race, a map of which is available here. It costs $35 per person to participate; if you plan to walk the distance, consider it a donation to a good cause, though if you plan to run, there’s up to $1,000 in prize money up for grabs for the first place finisher.

Swing by Marsha P. Johnson State Park’s open house
10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
The Park House at Marsha P. Johnson State Park is open to visitors of all ages this weekend, and you’re invited to come check out their outdoor reading room, game library, environment-focused crafts and activities, and much more — all for free. Families will be welcomed at the Williamsburg parkland in two timed blocks, the first from 10 a.m. to noon and the second from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., and while advanced registration is appreciated, it’s not required.

Shop a Spike Lee pop-up market
12 p.m.
Spike Lee is bringing back Spike’s Joint Pop-Up Stoop Sale this summer, featuring limited edition merch and specially priced items for the ultimate local fan. It’s happening at 75 S. Elliott Place in Fort Greene in “Da People’s Republic Of Brooklyn,” Lee himself announced on Instagram, from noon to 6 p.m. Make sure to stop by if you’re in the area, because the acclaimed filmmaker himself will be around to sign autographs and greet fans, and after all, “This Joint Is Gonna Be Crazy!”

Check out a mezcal-sponsored art exhibition
1 p.m.
Brooklyn-based artists Acacia, Dani Otrakji and Daniel Irons will be featured in a joint exhibition of original paintings, photographs and illustrations this weekend thanks to Illegal Mezcal, which is hosting a grand opening for the month-long showcase this Saturday at its Brooklyn headquarters. The band Daddy Long Legs and New York DJ Jonathan Toubin will be performing that evening at around 5 p.m., with the event running until 8, though if you’re comfortable with missing the performances, the art exhibition will remain open to the public each weekend until August 29.

Attend a new TV show’s premiere event
1:30, 3 or 4:30 p.m.
“Homegirl” is a new comedy series following a group of first-generation Caribbean-American friends from New York City, and its independently produced pilot is premiering this Saturday at the Purple Wall Theater in East Williamsburg. This free event consists of a few showings throughout the afternoon, each followed by a Q&A with the show’s cast and crew, with a second “Watch & Wrap” party scheduled for Monday evening at Gems Bar in Bushwick. Register for the premiere here.

Have a beer while tie-dyeing your old clothes
3 p.m.
Spend your Saturday afternoon drinking and dyeing in Brooklyn with a crafty, adults-only tie-dyeing workshop at Non Sequitur Beer’s HQ on the border of Bushwick and East Williamsburg. Jointly hosted by the local brewery and StuyDyed, each $40 ticket includes one beer, one Non Sequitur-branded T-shirt for dyeing, and all the instructions you’ll need, though attendees are also encouraged to bring up to three more items from home—as long as they’re made of at least 50 percent natural fibers—to dye.

Celebrate Brooklyn! closing night with Yemi Alade and Amindi
Doors at 6:30 p.m.
BRIC is closing out a stellar summer run of free shows on Saturday with Nigerian singer/songwriter, composer, actress, and entertainer Yemi Alade and an opening performance by L.A.-based Amindi. The weekend show comes after two benefit nights: Texas-based funk-jazz-psychrock trio Khruangbin takes the stage Thursday night, followed by R&B and hip-hop empress Erykah Badu on Friday. If you couldn’t score tickets to those, Saturday’s free concert at the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park should be the perfect cap to a sweet run of summer shows.

Sunday, August 7

Practice your language skills with native speakers
3 p.m.
Whether you’re a native English speaker who’s practicing a foreign language or vice versa, all are welcome at Langroops’ Brooklyn Language Exchange this Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. Tables will be organized into English and one other language, with some of the biweekly event’s most common languages including Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Hebrew and Arabic. It is taking place in the borough’s Central Library next to Grand Army Plaza and completely is free to attend, though RSVPs noting which languages you speak are required. Additional details can be found here.

Learn to fish for free
4 p.m.
Take it from this writer who has tried and failed to catch a fish on more than one occasion: it can be harder than it looks. But if you’re a rookie angler who’s keen to cast a line into the waters off Coney Island, head to the neighborhood’s Pat Auletta Steeplechase Pier on Sunday for a free masterclass that’ll guide you through a hunt for blue tuna, no fishing rod of your own required. Prior to taking part in the class, which runs until 7 p.m., attendees are simply asked to register with the city’s compulsory Recreational Marine Fishing Registry, which is also free.

Laugh along with a ‘Black Ass Comedy Show’
10 p.m.
Derek Gaines and Dave Temple are billed as “two opinionated, argumentative, best friends who love getting their points across,” which is exactly what they’ll do at this 21-and-over comedy show at Williamsburg’s BKLYN Comedy Club on Sunday night. Tickets for this roughly 90-minute performance start at $15 per person, plus a two-drink minimum, though the organizers promise “reasonable drink prices”; doors open at 9:40 p.m. before the comics take to the stage at 10.