Latkes, light shows and a little bit of merriment: 13 things to do this weekend

By Ethan Jakob Craft

It’s not officially “winter” until December 21, but let’s face it: It’s wintertime in the city, and that means you don’t need any more reasons to chow down on latkes and sit on Santa’s lap (screaming children optional). If a spoken opera dance performance or pop-art pet painting lesson is more your speed, that’s cool too. We’ve got you covered.

No matter what your scene is, there’s sure to be something for you going on in Brooklyn this weekend. So, what are you waiting for?

The full run-down:

Friday, December 3

Light Brooklyn’s largest menorah
3:30 p.m.
This weekend will mark the final three nights of Hanukkah, and while the world’s largest menorah may be across the river in Manhattan, Chabad of Park Slope lays claim to the biggest one in the borough—and will be lighting it for the duration of the holiday—latkes included. Event times differ each evening, so check the Chabad’s website for exact details.

Brooklyn Holiday Market
4 to 8 p.m.
This year’s one-night-only wintertime festivities at Fort Hamilton will feature food vendors, local craftsmen, live music and a meet-and-greet with Santa Claus himself, all capped by the “Tree Lighting Spectacular.” The Brooklyn Holiday Market is free and open to the public with prior online registration.

LCD Soundsystem at Brooklyn Steel
Doors at 7 p.m., show at 8
Brooklyn’s own are continuing their month-long residency at the East Williamsburg venue with another show Friday night. For hardcore fans: the band has recently been playing some of their tracks, such as 2017’s “Other Voices,” live for the first time ever. Advance tickets are $79.50; day-of-show tickets are $85.

Big Dance Theater: The Mood Room
7 and 9 p.m.
This weekend is your last chance to catch BDT’s latest multidisciplinary performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music before the award-winning, all-female troupe—led by local choreographer Annie-B Parson—takes its show on the road to the Midwest in 2022. Tickets start at $35 with three additional shows this weekend; one on Saturday and two on Sunday, including a matinée.

Saturday, December 4

Opening weekend of the Japanese Artisans Market
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Head over to Industry City in Sunset Park this Saturday to check out the grand opening of Ippin Project’s latest pop-up: the Japanese Artisans and Makers Market, featuring genuine made-in-Japan artwork, housewares, furniture and more that’s all rooted in the culture’s traditional lifestyles and products. The pop-up is held in Building 5, entry is free.

Queer Art Winterfest ’21
2 to 8 p.m.
This 21+ event at 3 Dollar Bill in East Williamsburg is a celebration of LGBTQ+ artists with more than three-dozen vendors and performers on the docket—as well as health services offered in partnership with Apicha Community Health Center, including Covid-19 booster shots and STI testing. Hosted by local drag queens Vinny Gaga and Vicky DeVille, this event is 100 percent free to attend.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Lightscape
4:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The East Coast’s only Lightscape of 2021 (take that, other cities!), this colorfully illuminated trail winds its way through the Prospect Park-adjacent Brooklyn Botanic Garden and features myriad works from local artists. Advanced reservations required; tickets are priced at $34, though tickets for children under 12 are about half that, and infants enter free.

Afro Caribbean Saturdays
9 p.m. into the wee hours of Friday
The borough’s premier Afro-Caribbean dance party returns to the 25th floor of the Aloft Hotel in Downtown Brooklyn on Saturday night, spanning from reggae to dancehall to Top 40 with a line-up of some of the city’s best DJs. The event is free to attend with registration—the only requirement is that you, according to the listing, “dress to impress.”

Sunday, December 5

Carroll Gardens Greenmarket
8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This year-round artisanal food market already features an enormous variety of locally sourced meat, cheese and produce, and is joined by a special guest vendor on the first Sunday of each month: GrowNYC Grains, a hometown supplier of whole grains, flours and pastas. Free entry across from Carroll Park, a few blocks north of the Carroll Street F and G line station.

Cookies with Santa
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Santa has come early in Brooklyn, with jolly ol’ St. Nick headlining this family-friendly event at Williamsburg’s FourFiveSix that’s filled with homemade cookies, music and hot chocolate—plus some, uh, “special” drinks for chaperones at the cash bar. Entry is $20 per person in advance, with a “$5 Special for mommies and daddies”; hourly seatings are available with a prior RSVP starting at 10 o’clock in the morning.

FAD Market: Holiday Pop-Up—BergenXCourt
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
If you’re already in Carroll Gardens for the aforementioned farmer’s market, might as well pop into FAD Market’s annual Christmas pop-up too, which is featuring nearly 100 of the city’s indie designers and entrepreneurs at two locations in the borough: the Invisible Dog Art Center on Bergen Street, and St. Paul’s Church on Court Street, both with free entry.

Paint your pet
4:30 p.m.
With the theme “Santa Fur Babies” in mind, artists of any level are invited to transform a photo of their pet—or an animal from Muddy Paws Rescue—into a pop-art portrait this Sunday during a two-hour painting workshop at the Happy Creative Dig arts loft in Williamsburg. Entry is $55 each and includes materials, with a portion of the proceeds going towards supporting Muddy Paws Rescue.

A Very House of Yes Hanukkah
9 p.m. until late
Celebrate the last night of the festival of lights in style: with latkes, live music, a candle-lighting ceremony and “eight nights of debauchery” crammed into “one spectacularly fabulous event.” Hosted by Brooklyn artist David Kiss, the mitzvah is going down at Bushwick’s House of Yes on Sunday night, with remaining priority entry tickets ranging from $25 to $35.