The Weekend List: Luna Park, Parade, Please Give

OPENING DAY AT LUNA PARK

Saturday, May 29th, 2010 the NEW Luna Park opens with a unique collection of state-of-the-art amusement rides and attractions.

THE STATE OF CONEY ISLAND ADDRESS

On Sunday May 30 at 4:30PM at the Coney Island Museum (1208 Surf Ave between Stillwell Ave. and West 12th Street) hear Dick Zigun, the Officially Unelected Mayor of Coney Island, give his annual overview of the current state of affairs in America’s Playground. Zigun is expected to highlight the launch of the New Luna Park, the excitement of the long-anticipated “rebirth” of the amusement area, and the remaining questions about the future of the important historic structures that remain intact in Coney Island’s historic district.

BROOKLYN MEMORIAL DAY PARADE

The 143rd Kings County Memorial Day Parade, the nation’s oldest continuously run Memorial Day parade begins at 11am on Monday, May 31 in Bay Ridge on 91st Street and Third Avenue and travels along Third Avenue to Marine Avenue, up to Fourth Avenue and concluding in John Paul Jones Park on 101st Street and Fourth Avenue. Immediately after the parade, a ceremony will be held in the park.

FILM

Babies, Please Give and Sex & The City 2 at BAM; Iron Man 2, Sex & The City 2, Shrek Forever After at the Pavilion

MUSIC

Monday, May 31, 2010 at 2:30: A Memorial Day concert at Green-Wood Cemetery by the ISO Symphonic Band, featuring select compositions by Green-Wood Cemetery’s permanent residents Fred Ebb, Leonard Bernstein, Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Paul Jabara. Bring a folding chair, a blanket and a picnic lunch. Cookout food, snacks and drinks, as well as Historic Fund books and apparel will be for sale. Admission to this event is FREE. Location: The Grounds of Green-Wood Cemetery at The Gothic Arch of Green-Wood Cemetery.

THEATER

Sunday, May 30 at 7PM at Barbes: The Twenty-Five Cent Opera Company of San Francisco: theater slash performance slash entertainment brought to you once monthly. Featuring new works for the tiny stage by landscape artist Erin Courtney, theater architect Yelena Gluzman, & word contstruction worker Kristen Kosmas.

DANCE

It wouldn’t be Memorial Day Weekend in Brooklyn without DanceAfrica at BAM, presenting troupes from Zambia, Dallas, Philadelphia and Brooklyn’s own BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble will entertain at the Fort Greene venue, performing traditional dance and music to hip hop. The day will also feature film screenings, an art exhibition, and an outdoor bazaar, with nearly 300 vendors from around the world transforming the streets around BAM into a global marketplace offering African, Caribbean, and African-American food, crafts and fashion.

ART

Also part of DanceAfrica at BAM: an exhibition of works in BAMcafe by artists Bara Diokhane, Duhirwe Rushemeza, Francis Simeni and Ezra Wube, who all originally hail from various nations on the African continent, will be featured. Each will choose a piece from their oeuvre and pair it with a piece from BAM’s own collection of predominantly American artists. Organized by BAMarts and MoCADA.

FOOD & FESTIVITY

The BKLYN Yard in Gowanus is sponsoring PARKED, a festival of the city’s best food trucks, including traveling pizza vendor Pizzamoto, selections from the Greenpoint Food Market vendors, and Rickshaw Dumplings for the main event. For dessert, there’s almost too much to choose from, from Steve’s Key Lime Pie to Robicelli Cupcakes to Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream and the  Green Pirate Juice Truck.