Arty Parties
On Saturday, July 3: MoMA P.S. 1 in Long Island City begins their Warm-Up series with live music from Delorean, Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang, and Glasser. There’s also a Pole Dance exhibit in the courtyard.
Also on Saturday night, July 3rd: the Brooklyn Museum has two local dance acts: Analogue Transit and Dynasty Electric, music, film and more, as part of their First Saturday Series.
Governors Island
On Saturday, July 4 at 2PM (the beach opens at 10 AM) Roseanne Cash performs a free concert on Governors Island. And…
On Saturday, July 4 at 4PM there’s a free show by She and Him with Zooey Deschanel (500 Days of Summer) and MWard.
Coney Island
On the fourth: Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest. Get there early. Needless to say it’s a popular event.
Film
Rooftop Films at the American Can Factory presents striking program of short films, self-constructing buildings battle for fidelity, makers of mold-o-form plastic deer muddle their love, and Werner Herzog plays a discarded plastic bag desperately seeking the meaning of existence.
I Am Love, Winter’s Bone, Cyrus at BAM; Toy Story 3, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse at the Pavilion
Saturday, Jul 3 at 9:30 PM at BAM: Underground, a documentary on the Weather Underground—then members of the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list—features shrouded interviews with Bill Ayers, Kathy Boudin, Bernadine Dohrn, Jeff Jones, and Cathy Wilkerson. After production of the film was completed, the footage was subpoenaed by the government with the hopes that it might lead to arrests—but the filmmakers refused to hand it over. Within a couple years of the film’s release, the Weather Underground dissolved.
Shopping
On Sunday, July 4: The Brooklyn Flea, a source for for top antiques, vintage furniture and clothing, handmade goods, jewelry, design objects, and locally grown and prepared foods, will remain at the Williamsburgh Savings Bank in Fort Greene on Sundays only.
Music
Friday, July 2 at 7:30 (gates open at 6:30 PM) at Celebrate Brooklyn: The Fab 5 and Uzalu, vintage party mix recordings to their credit, The Fab 5 embody the history of reggae and live up to their billing as “Jamaica’s #1 Showband, celebrating 40 years of quality music.” The extraordinary percussionist Junior “Gabu” Wedderburn, master drummer of Broadways Lion King and founder of the Jamaican roots collective Ancient Vibrations, gets things started with his latest project, Uzalu, a cornucopia of rhythm.
Saturday, July 3 at 8PM at Barbes: West African Soul by Badegna led by Malian singer and percussionist Makane Kouyate, Badegna plays predominantly Malian music with some jazz influence brought by the New York based keyboard player John Austria and tenor sax player, Marco Chelo.
Saturday, July 3 at 10PM at Barbes: Authentic Samba and Pagode from Rio with all the flavor and ginga (swing) necessary to keep your feet moving. It’s the sounds of Rio in New York; a shortcut to Lapa (a traditionally musical Rio neighbohhood). It’s the party within. Not to be missed if you want to exorcize the gloomy vibes of winter.