How many interesting cultural  festivals can you fit into one weekend in Brooklyn? I’m not sure but this weekend is chock full of interesting festivals and events. It’s a regular marathon of culture.

The Local Produce Festival of the Performing Arts was launched in 1993 by Spoke the Hub with events indoors and out-of-doors, Friday through Sunday, June 4th – 6th, 2010 in Park Slope, Brooklyn. “Revel in the verdure of early summer at this grassroots, family-friendly celebration of music, theater, art, dance, film and food – both homegrown and from around the world!” This year’s festival includes music and dance performances and workshops, fun and games for children, films on the politics of food, and our first international offering, the song, dance and taiko drumming of The USN International Friendship Group from Hachinohe, Japan. Most events are free and open to the general public. For more information, check out the Spoke the Hub website.

The 17th Annual Red Hook Festival with M.U.G.A.B.E.E., La Excelencia, Joseph Webb & Beautiful Fire, Decadancetheater, Cora Dance and over 200 of Brooklyn’s most talented young people. Plus: Community Resources (health services information, job training programs, etc.) from over a dozen local non-profitts; Kayak rides in New York Harbor, face-painting,  art projects, and more and breathtaking views of New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty.

Brooklyn International Film Festival runs from June 4th through June 13th. Now in its 13th year, BFF is an international, competitive festival for and by independent filmmakers. Their mission is to “discover, expose, and promote independent filmmakers while drawing worldwide attention to Brooklyn.” the group writes on their website.Screening locations include, Brooklyn Heights Cinema and indieScreen in Williamsburg.

The 9th International Tiny Toy Theater Festival at Dumbo’s St Ann’s Warehouse presents an eclectic mix of international and local theater miniaturists, both classical and experimental! This is grown-up theater and some of the work is not suitable for kids.

FILM

June 4-13 at Brooklyn Heights Cinema and indieScreen in Williamsburg: The 13th Brooklyn International Film Festival

Note: indieScreen is a brand new entertainment space located on the Southside of Williamsburg, Brooklyn that features a sophisticated A/V room, a restaurant, and a full bar. “The space has been created for all those New Yorkers seeking out the best in film, music, live entertainment, and cuisine,” they write on their website.

Sex and the City 2 and Solitary Man at BAM

THEATER

This Thursday thru Sunday and through June 13th: Toy Theater Festival at St. Ann’s Warehouse Check their website for details.

June 9&10 at 7:30 at the Toy Theater Festival at St. Ann’s Warehouse: “Hudson to China.” In the Bronx, the statue of Henry Hudson believes he has found a route to the mythical Orient. Elsewhere, a young man dreams of success by conquering what he fears (the Chinese economy), and an immigrant longs for home. Co-created by Renee Philippi and Carlo Adinolfi. Performers: Carlo Adinolfi, Diana Chang, Zdenko Slobodnik. Original music by my neighbor: Bob Goldberg. www.ConcreteTempleTheatre.com

MUSIC

Friday, June 4 at 7PM: Opera on Tap at Barbes

Saturday, June 5 at 9PM at Barbes: One Ring Zero is led by Michael Hearst and Joshua Camp. The Brooklyn-based band has released six CDs, including their critically acclaimed album, As Smart As We Are, a book-cum-CD, featuring songs with lyrics contributed by such authors as Jonathan Lethem, Margaret Atwood, Paul Auster, Dave Eggers, A.M. Homes, Rick Moody, Neil Gaiman, Myla Goldberg and Denis Johnson.

BEER GARDEN

Every Friday at BKLYN YARD: Each Friday evening the Yard becomes a waterfront Beer Garden. Locals can stop in to enjoy a rotating selection of hand-crafted beers and music provided by local DJs / bands.

LOCAL PRODUCE FESTIVAL OF THE PERFORMING ARTS

Launched in 1993, The Local Produce Festival of the Performing Arts originated as a weekend marathon of music, theater and dance which now takes place annually in various indoor and outdoor venues around Park Slope. For more information, check out the Spoke the Hub website.

FAMOUS ACCORDIAN ORCHESTRA

Saturday, June 5 at 6PM: Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival the Famous will be playing at Coffey Park in Red Hook. Note: The Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival is produced annually by Dance Theatre Etcetera, and presents work by professional and student groups, free to the public.

FIRST SATURDAY AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM

Target First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum. Funny Face directed by Stanley Donen with Audrey Hepurn and Fred Astaire (surely one of the best musicals ever).

The winners of tonight’s battle of the bands are Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby, who are touring to support their newly releasd album of covers, Two-Way Family Favourites (that’s the cover above).  The practical reason is that tonight’s show is probably the only one that they will do in New York City this year.  The other reason is that I really enjoyed their show in New York last year (you can find my review here).  McGinty & White will open.  Full details and five other worthwhile shows tonight over at Now I’ve Heard Everything.

–Eliot Wagner

Pre-registration for the Brooklyn Blogfest is now closed. Seating in the Lyceum auditorium is “sold out.”

We’re expecting a big crowd and we can only seat 300 people in the Lyceum auditorium. There is room for the overflow crowd upstairs but you will be watching the event on a video monitor. Those who wish to sit upstairs should line up at 6:30 PM on the night of the event.

Those who have pre-registered should also ARRIVE EARLY and LINE UP at 6:30 PM. First priority for seating in the auditorium will be given to the people who pre-registered. We will wait until 6:50 PM for them to arrive but after that we will let people from the overflow line take any vacant seats downstairs (if there are any) or go upstairs to the overflow area.

Thanks for your understanding. If this isn’t clear let me know and I will try to clarify.

How many interesting cultural  festivals can you fit into one weekend in Brooklyn? I’m not sure but this weekend is chock full of interesting festivals and events. It’s a regular marathon of culture.

The Local Produce Festival of the Performing Arts was launched in 1993 by Spoke the Hub with events indoors and out-of-doors, Friday through Sunday, June 4th – 6th, 2010 in Park Slope, Brooklyn. “Revel in the verdure of early summer at this grassroots, family-friendly celebration of music, theater, art, dance, film and food – both homegrown and from around the world!” This year’s festival includes music and dance performances and workshops, fun and games for children, films on the politics of food, and our first international offering, the song, dance and taiko drumming of The USN International Friendship Group from Hachinohe, Japan. Most events are free and open to the general public. For more information, check out the Spoke the Hub website.

The 17th Annual Red Hook Festival with M.U.G.A.B.E.E., La Excelencia, Joseph Webb & Beautiful Fire, Decadancetheater, Cora Dance and over 200 of Brooklyn’s most talented young people. Plus: Community Resources (health services information, job training programs, etc.) from over a dozen local non-profitts; Kayak rides in New York Harbor, face-painting,  art projects, and more and breathtaking views of New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty.

Brooklyn International Film Festival runs from June 4th through June 13th. Now in its 13th year, BFF is an international, competitive festival for and by independent filmmakers. Their mission is to “discover, expose, and promote independent filmmakers while drawing worldwide attention to Brooklyn.” the group writes on their website.Screening locations include, Brooklyn Heights Cinema and indieScreen in Williamsburg.

The 9th International Tiny Toy Theater Festival at Dumbo’s St Ann’s Warehouse presents an eclectic mix of international and local theater miniaturists, both classical and experimental! This is grown-up theater and some of the work is not suitable for kids.

The following was “Tweeted” by  Joseph C. Phillips, one of the PS 321 teachers who performed last night at the Apollo. Alas, their group did not win. But his tweets from the night really tell the story. The following is in reverse chronological order:

–Daryl Jordan is the winner singing Ordinary People; was good. Heartening that Jesse Miller playing blues 2nd #NYCTeachersatApollo     about 11 hours ago  via Twitter for iPhone

–ok the guy doing the Gato Barbieri impression DOESN’T get booed. Good player but c’mon…#NYCTeachersatApollo about 11 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–Stevie Wonder opening up the second half at Apollo, he’s not getting booed!!! #NYCTeachersatApollo about 11 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–in the balcony now having a beer watching the other acts, crowd is tired of booing, last 3 made it #NYCTeachersatApollo about 12 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–it’s student payback time, another bites the dust, but their is love and support in the GreenRoom#NYCTeachersatApollo about 12 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–being 1st, we were the sacrifical lambs of the Night booed off but almost made it to the end, oops there’s another out#NYCTeachersatApollo about 12 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–backstage ready to go on 1st, house band warming up the crowd #NYCTeachersatApollo about 13 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–just announced, 321 Band leads the Night off, 30 minutes to show time #NYCTeachersatApollo about 13 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–spontaneous break out of teachers playing Jobim and the Circle is Unbroken, good way to break the ice in Green Room #NYCTeachersatApollo about 14 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–Apollo Green room, with everyone getting ready like Queen Latifah’s Beauty Shop, only w/o hot combs (curlers only here)#NYCTeachersatApollo about 14 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–people already lined up on 125th St. for sold out Amatuer Night show at the Apollo, the tension & excitement mounts #NYCTeachersatApollo about 14 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–yea some teachers have some singing skills, surprising diverse program (blues, bluegrass, rock, blue-eyed soul pop) #NYCTeachersatApollo about 15 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–Can we get the surviving members of Apollo 13, lock them in a room w/some oil, tubes, mega sponges & have them solve BP’s mess? about 16 hours ago via web Retweeted by Numinousmusic and 1 other

–Ray 2 and the crew, back-up band at the Apollo, pretty killin’, working through rehearsal #NYCTeachersatApollo about 16 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–First thoughts: Apollo is smaller than I thought, I guess TV does add girth, hope I don’t look like Fat Albert up there #NYCTeachersatApollo about 17 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–Apollo Ex. Dir telling stories of Ella, James Brown, etc. booed off stage, ok so that’s going to make us feel better #NYCTeachersatApollo about 17 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–at the Apollo Theatre, downstairs waiting for the dress reh. Many teachers out of school, one grateful, relaxed bunch! #NYCTeachersatApollo about 17 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

–on to Harlem for tonight’s performance at the Apollo Theatre

Thanks to the Brooklyn Paper for a nice shout-out about the Brooklyn Blogfest.

He doesn’t live in Brooklyn anymore, and he doesn’t blog, but Spike Lee will be the main draw at this year’s Brooklyn Blogfest.

And he’ll be shilling vodka, no less.

On June 8, the iconic filmmaker will make an appearance at the annual blog gathering, held in Park Slope at the Brooklyn Lyceum.

The event will serve in part as a coming out for Lee’s latest joint — a Brooklyn-themed vodka made by Absolut — two days before the official launch party for the liquor at powerHouse Arena in DUMBO.

Absolut approached event organizer Louise Crawford, the founder of the seminal Web site Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, about sponsoring the Blogfest, and she was immediately on board.

“I was impressed that they had done their research and found me,” said Crawford, who added that Lee’s a good fit with the Blogfest because of his “creative energy.”

“One of the themes of the Blogfest is, ‘What is this atmosphere, this creativity, that seems to be rampant in Brooklyn right now?’” added Crawford, who, in addition to being the fairy godmother of borough bloggers, is also a columnist for The Brooklyn Paper.

To fully explore that theme of creativity, mixologists will be concocting cocktails using the new limited-edition Brooklyn vodka — a ginger and apple blend — for bloggers, who tend to be thirstier than the general public.

Continue reading Brooklyn Paper: Spike Lee at Blogfest? →

FILM

June 4-13 at Brooklyn Heights Cinema and indieScreen in Williamsburg: The 13th Brooklyn International Film Festival

Note: indieScreen is a brand new entertainment space located on the Southside of Williamsburg, Brooklyn that features a sophisticated A/V room, a restaurant, and a full bar. “The space has been created for all those New Yorkers seeking out the best in film, music, live entertainment, and cuisine,” they write on their website.

Sex and the City 2 and Solitary Man at BAM

THEATER

This Thursday thru Sunday and through June 13th: Toy Theater Festival at St. Ann’s Warehouse Check their website for details.

June 9&10 at 7:30 at the Toy Theater Festival at St. Ann’s Warehouse: “Hudson to China.” In the Bronx, the statue of Henry Hudson believes he has found a route to the mythical Orient. Elsewhere, a young man dreams of success by conquering what he fears (the Chinese economy), and an immigrant longs for home. Co-created by Renee Philippi and Carlo Adinolfi. Performers: Carlo Adinolfi, Diana Chang, Zdenko Slobodnik. Original music by my neighbor: Bob Goldberg. www.ConcreteTempleTheatre.com

MUSIC

Friday, June 4 at 7PM: Opera on Tap at Barbes

Saturday, June 5 at 9PM at Barbes: One Ring Zero is led by Michael Hearst and Joshua Camp. The Brooklyn-based band has released six CDs, including their critically acclaimed album, As Smart As We Are, a book-cum-CD, featuring songs with lyrics contributed by such authors as Jonathan Lethem, Margaret Atwood, Paul Auster, Dave Eggers, A.M. Homes, Rick Moody, Neil Gaiman, Myla Goldberg and Denis Johnson.

BEER GARDEN

Every Friday at BKLYN YARD: Each Friday evening the Yard becomes a waterfront Beer Garden. Locals can stop in to enjoy a rotating selection of hand-crafted beers and music provided by local DJs / bands.

LOCAL PRODUCE FESTIVAL OF THE PERFORMING ARTS

Launched in 1993, The Local Produce Festival of the Performing Arts originated as a weekend marathon of music, theater and dance which now takes place annually in various indoor and outdoor venues around Park Slope. For more information, check out the Spoke the Hub website.

FAMOUS ACCORDIAN ORCHESTRA AND MORE

Saturday, June 5 at 6PM: Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival the Famous will be playing at Coffey Park in Red Hook. Note: The Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival is produced annually by Dance Theatre Etcetera, and presents work by professional and student groups, free to the public.

Target First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum. Funny Face with Audrey Hepurn and Fred Astaire and MORE.

Happy June gardening: CasaCara

The Big Book of Small Cool Spaces: Apartment Therapy

Jen Mankin of Bird: Design Sponge

Blackboard brooch: Swissmiss

Our secret hideaway: Adventures in Renovating a Limestone

Israeli author Amos Oz in today’s NY Times:

But Hamas is not just a terrorist organization. Hamas is an idea, a desperate and fanatical idea that grew out of the desolation and frustration of many Palestinians. No idea has ever been defeated by force — not by siege, not by bombardment, not by being flattened with tank treads and not by marine commandos. To defeat an idea, you have to offer a better idea, a more attractive and acceptable one.

Thus, the only way for Israel to edge out Hamas would be to quickly reach an agreement with the Palestinians on the establishment of an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as defined by the 1967 borders, with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israel has to sign a peace agreement with President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah government in the West Bank — and by doing so, reduce the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip. That latter conflict, in turn, can be resolved only by negotiating with Hamas or, more reasonably, by the integration of Fatah with Hamas.

Even if Israel seizes 100 more ships on their way to Gaza, even if Israel sends in troops to occupy the Gaza Strip 100 more times, no matter how often Israel deploys its military, police and covert power, force cannot solve the problem that we are not alone in this land, and the Palestinians are not alone in this land. We are not alone in Jerusalem and the Palestinians are not alone in Jerusalem. Until Israelis and Palestinians recognize the logical consequences of this simple fact, we will all live in a permanent state of siege — Gaza under an Israeli siege, Israel under an international and Arab siege.

The following is an excerpt from an essay by author David Grossman in today’s Guardian:

No explanation can justify or whitewash the crime that was committed, and no excuse can explain away the stupid actions of the government and the army. Israel did not send its soldiers to kill civilians in cold blood; this is the last thing it wanted. Yet, a small Turkish organisation, fanatical in its religious views and radically hostile to Israel, recruited to its cause several hundred seekers of peace and justice, and managed to lure Israel into a trap, because it knew how Israel would react, knew how Israel is destined and compelled, like a puppet on a string, to react the way it did.

How insecure, confused and panicky a country must be, to act as Israel acted! With a combination of excessive military force, and a fatal failure to anticipate the intensity of the reaction of those aboard the ship, it killed and wounded civilians, and did so – as if it were a band of pirates – outside its territorial waters. This assessment does not imply agreement with the motives, overt or hidden, and often malicious, of some participants in the Gaza flotilla. Not all its people are peace-loving humanitarians, and the declarations of some of them regarding the destruction of the state of Israel are criminal. But these facts are simply not relevant at the moment: such opinions do not deserve the death penalty.

Israel’s actions are but the natural continuation of the shameful, ongoing closure of Gaza, which in turn is the perpetuation of the heavy-handed and condescending approach of the Israeli government, which is prepared to embitter the lives of a million and a half innocent people in the Gaza Strip, in order to obtain the release of one imprisoned soldier, precious and beloved though he may be; and this closure is the all-too-natural consequence of a clumsy and calcified policy, which again and again resorts by default to the use of massive and exaggerated force, at every decisive juncture, where wisdom and sensitivity and creative thinking are called for instead.

And somehow, all these calamities – including Monday’s deadly events – seem to be part of a larger corruptive process afflicting Israel. One has the sense that a sullied and bloated political system, fearfully aware of the steaming mess produced over the years by its own actions and malfunctions, and despairing of the possibility to undo the endless tangle it has wrought, becomes ever more inflexible in the face of pressing and complicated challenges, losing in the process the qualities that once typified Israel and its leadership – freshness, originality, creativity.

June 4 to June 13: it’s the Brooklyn International Film Festival now in its 13th year and run by my friend Nate Kensinger, who is also a wonderful photograher.

BFF is an international, competitive festival for and by independent filmmakers. Their mission is to “discover, expose, and promote independent filmmakers while drawing worldwide attention to Brooklyn.” the group writes on their website.

During the festival more than 100 films: dramas, documentaries, animation and short films are shown.

I’ve already privately screened “Colin Hearts Kay” a really fun live action/animation comedy set in Park Slope about two bloggers who fall in love (see above).

Needless to say: I loved its wacky good humor and animation.

Nathan Kensinger and his team culled through something like  2,400 submissions from throughout the U.S. and abroad. Screening all of them is a Herculean task that ultimately results in an interesting selection of films.

Sixteen of the films shown were made by Brooklyn filmmakers. Quite a few of those were shot right here in Brooklyn.

For the first time in 30 years, Chrissie Hynde is playing music with a group not called The Pretenders.  Her new project, JP, Chrissie & The Fairground Boys will play tonight at Brooklyn Bowl.  You can just hop on the G Train to see this show.  Further details are over at Now I’ve Heard Everything.

–Eliot Wagner

The 2010 World Science Festival starts in New York on Tuesday (going through Sunday) and a couple of the most interesting events will be held in Brooklyn at the Galapagos Art Space.

The Search for Life in the Universe, takes place Thursday evening, is an event that goes into the possibility of extraterrestrial life in the universe. We’re going to have a number of very accomplished participants, including Jill Cornell Tarter, who was portrayed by Jodie Foster in the movie Contact, and Sir Paul Nurse, a Nobel Laureate. Full details, including ticket info, can be found at: http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/the-search-for-life-in-the-universe.

The Science of Star Trek, taking place on Friday evening, will discuss whether the seemingly science fiction elements of the show – time travel, humanoid aliens – could actually become reality. I’ve provided additional details on this event below as well with full details available at: http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/the-science-of-star-trek.

Artist Louise Brougeoise died over the weekend at 98. She was an “overnight” sensation at the age of 70, when she was “discovered” by the artworld after a lifetime of making art.

I loved her work  when I first saw it in person at a Brooklyn Museum exhibition in the 1990’s. Her gorgeous sculptures and “installations” in wood, steel, stone and cast rubber had organic, sometimes sexually explicit shapes, that were formal but with strong personal, psychological and historical themes centering on the human body.

Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn wrote about the artist in 2008, when she had a retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum. Here is an excerpt. Read more here.

Louise Bourgeois is widely considered to be one of the greatest artists of the 20th Century. Although it could appropriately be called a retrospective, Bourgeois was already the subject of a previous retrospective, in 1982. Louise Bourgeois’s exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York was the first retrospective given to a woman artist at that institution. According to the current exhibit’s notes, the artist took the MOMA retrospective as a challenge since she did not wish to be categorized by her retrospective as being at the end of her career. So, at age 71, Bourgeois changed direction and began exploring new subjects, new materials, new media and new ideas, absorbing from the changes occurring all around her in the art world so that she could head off in new directions.

Among these new directions was her move, in the early 1980s, to a large studio space in Brooklyn. Louise Bourgeois began working in a studio in a converted garment factory at 475 Dean Street, between 5th and 6th avenues, near Flatbush Avenue. An interesting choice, since her family in France had been involved in a tapestry restoration business for many, many years. (See”Art kaleidscope” link below for more details.)

She will celebrate her ninety-seventh birthday on December 25th, 2008. She still holds Sunday gatherings with emerging artists and remains as demanding and challenging to younger artists, as she has been toward her own work.

This was the announcement on the Department of Education website:

The Office of Arts and Special Projects in partnership with the Apollo Theater is pleased to announce the first NYCDOE Amateur Night at the Apollo to be held on June 2, 2010 at the world famous Apollo Theater to highlight the extraordinary talents of our teachers.

 Auditions for individual or group acts in dance, vocal and instrumental music, spoken word and comedy are scheduled for three consecutive Saturdays at sites in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.

All you had to be was a current New York City Department of Education public school teacher, a legal resident of the United States
 and available on the performance date, June 2, 2010.

A group of teachers from Park Slope’s PS 321, who perform at school events frequently, decided to audition. Only 16 acts were chosen and this group made the cut.

No surprise there. This is a veritable  super group of PS 321 teachers (some of whom teach music) including John Allgood, kindergarten teacher; Bill Fulbrecht, kindergarten teacher; Elizabeth Heiser, 2nd grade teacher; Adam Lane, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade music teacher; Frank McGarry, 1st and 2nd grade music teacher; and Joseph C. Phillips, who is a teacher and a serious composer in his own right. He also has a blog and wrote the following about the experience thus far.

Now this was not some group we threw together at the last minute to do the audition. We’ve been playing and performing for a number of years now and actually have done a few gigs. Our repertoire usually consists of old folk, rock, and bluegrass tunes and my role is as clarinet and (sometimes) saxophone player and percussionist. It is great fun and a chance for me to be in the band performing the music instead of in my other musical life, of composing and conducting (although that is great fun as well, just a different experience). So for our audition we performed the song Glendale Train, and things went pretty well. While there were a few judges and one did offer a suggestion after the performance, there was no Simon or Paula critique of our “NYC Teacher Idol” worthiness.

Wednesday is the big night when these teachers step onto the stage at the Apollo and show their stuff. We wish them all the best.