Just a reminder that we’ll be discussing Perfect Reader with Maggie Pouncey tonight at Greenlight Bookstore. Hope to see you there!
FABfest Sunday, June 27, 12noon–6pm:
• Salsa Dance Party & Dance Lessons
• BK Misses MJ: On the anniversary of his passing, Brooklyn remembers the life
and legacy of the King of Pop Michael Jackson with an all-day music tribute and
community dance party featuring DJ Reborn
• Readings and prizes from Brooklyn literary magazines A Public Space,
Armchair/Shotgun, BOMB, and Electric Literature hosted by Greenlight
Bookstore
• Literary trivia contest
• Dogs on Parade presented by Fort Greene PUPS and Brooklyn Cares
Veterinary Clinic, plus Pet CPR and First Aid classes and Ask the Trainer
sessions for pet owners
• Crafts, activities and giveaways for kids all day
• Streetside Mad Libs game for all ages
• 3-on-3 Soccer Games for Kids hosted by Ft. Greene Soccer
• SONYA Collaborative Action Mural with Ellie Balk – participatory painting
allowing residents to make their mark on a collective community image
• Environmental demos and activities presented by Habana Outpost
(Schedules subject to change. To get updates, visit faballiance.org)
Fulton Street’s Greenlight Bookstore has been hosting a blogger / author pairing once a month that pairs a local blogger with an author whose subject matter or writing style matches nicely for a discussion. I’ve been invited to lead a discussion with Maggie Pouncey, Fort Greene resident and author of Perfect Reader on Monday, July 12. We’ll be discussing literary fandom, urban “small town” life, and Brooklyn’s writing culture.
I’m very excited to be a part of this event, especially since I so admire Greenlight’s friendly staff, great selection and customer-friendly hours. Hope you’ll join us!
More info available on Facebook.
The Fort Greene Conservancy just emailed me a poster detailing their summer events. There’s lots of stuff here for kids, but most intriguing to me are the September performance by Reggie Watts (NY Mag just profiled him) and the Urban Bat Exploration (cool!). I’m sure the Whitman tour (only one left!) will also be good. I love seeing such a variety of entertainment and education right here at our doorstep.
Thanks to all the great entries for free admission to Senegalese Summer at Le Grand Dakar! It was a tough decision, but we picked the entry that best described a Clinton Hill experience. Congrats to Samantha V!
I hope you’ll all attend and enjoy the sangria — and have some for me. Sadly, Lesterhead has an evening work event.
Long before I knew that Pierre was an acclaimed Chef with a cookbook in stores and a fabulous restaurant in our neighborhood, he was my new neighbor with the bright and warm smile.
I moved to Clinton Hill in 2004 to a block that still had defunct factories and boarded up churches, so very rarely would I see neighbors as I traveled to and from my daily destinations. But one day as I came out of my brownstone, a gentleman was coming out of his dwelling. He smiled and said ‘Good Morning’ and that became our ritual- to greet each other at the train station or bus stop and discuss neighborhood and social happenings, as neighbors do.
Shortly after, my mate and I decided to try out a Senegalese restaurant in our hood. We sit down at the bar, and ease into what promises to be a nice relaxing dinner. I ordered the coconut curried mussels with yuca frites. As I am deep in conversation, guess who descends from the kitchen with my meal? Non other than Pierre, my neighbor!
Here is a man with so much reason to brag or walk with his nose up in the air, yet he remains so humble. Like me, he understands that sometimes just being one’s beloved neighbor, is all the nobriety one needs:)
This is why I would love the opportunity to celebrate with my ‘neighbor’ and congratulate him on his great new opportunity!
Thank You and Congrats Pierre!
Samantha V, Clinton Hill
This Saturday, the Society for Clinton Hill is hosting a Summer Picnic! The folks at the Society are welcoming and passionate about the neighborhood, and this will probably be a great place to meet people or catch up with neighbors.
Make Music New York is a live, free musical celebration across the city that takes place each June 21 — the longest day of the year. Today, hundreds of public spaces throughout the five boroughs — sidewalks, parks, community gardens, and more — become impromptu stages for over 1,000 free concerts.
Eleven participating venues are located on Myrtle Avenue!
PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES in Make Music New York:
Anima Italian Bistro
458 Myrtle Avenue Anthony Cedras Global soul and R&B 1:00pm-8:00pm
Brooklyn Junior 150 Clinton Avenue
-PEMG, a community based program focused on teaching young people about Hip Hop from a cultural and Indie perspective. -Jesse Goldman (http://www.myspace.com/Jessesamgoldman), Experimental / Swing / Americana 2:30-5:00 pm.
Castro’s Mexican Cuisine 511 Myrtle Avenue
5:30p-10pm -DJ Fuerte
Chez Lola 387 Myrtle Avenue
7:30p to 10:30 pm Sedric Choukroroun Brazilian Jazz Trio Shukroon, Smith & and Monaco are a joyous trio, playing their own blend of Samba-Jazz-Pop: acoustic harp-guitar, saxophones-flute and percussion
Chez Oskar 211 DeKalb Avenue
7:30p to 10:30pm The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn consists of: Billy Nemec-guitar/lead vocals, Chris Pistorino-bass/vocals, David Langlois-washboard percussion/vocals, Sam Hoyt-Trumpet/vocals
The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn, an early jazz, swing, and blues band, composed of acoustic guitar/vocals, upright bass, homemade washboard percussion, trumpet and saxophone, plays its’ repertoire of witty songs from 1920′s and 30′s, along with its’ augmented original tunes and often bawdy lyrics sung in catchy 4 part vocal harmony.
Fort Greene SNAP 324 Myrtle Avenue
-Anisa Fujah from 3 to 5 (Jazz) -Soulfolk Experience 5 to 6 (also jazz) -Jesse Goldman from 6 to 7 (experimental jazz)
Gnarly Vines 350 Myrtle Avenue
-Carolyn Leonhart and Jay Leonhart (daughter and dad)—vocals and bass (jazz, soul, standards) 1:30pm-3:00pm and Claire “Raji” Rodriguez folk, indie, pop 5p-6p
Green in BKLYN 432 Myrtle Avenue
Carolyn Leonhart and Jay Leonhart (daughter and dad)—vocals and bass (jazz, soul, standards) 12p-1:15p and Claire “Raji” Rodriguez folk, indie, pop 4p-5p
Los Pollitos III 499 Myrtle Avenue
-5:30pm to 9pm Edwin Vasquez Band, Live Latin band
Move with Grace Yoga, Dance & Pilates Studio 469 Myrtle Avenue
-Nucomme – rock/soul artist 8pm -Cavalier – Hip Hop/Soul artist 8:30pm -The Outabodies – Hip Hop/Jazz/Rock artists 9pm
Sans Souci Restaurant 330 Myrtle Avenue Metric Man aka The Freedom Fighter (reggae) 1pm-9pm
Fort Greene Park (Myrtle Avenue entrance)
All day Upright piano (Sing For Hope): all day (on-site)
12p-1pm WATCH High School
2p-3:00p JHS 185 Drumline [note: I wish this was after work! Damn.]
3:00pm-4:00pm Ronald Edmonds Middle School 113 Choir
6p-7p Maracatu New York (Brazilian Percussion)
Le Grand Dakar chef Pierre Thiam is getting all sorts of acclaim these days – in addition his cookbook, he’s making an appearance on Iron Chef America opposite Bobby Flay!
In celebration, Le Grand Dakar is throwing a celebration on Thursday, June 24. Attendees will enjoy unlimited food/sangria and live Afrobeat music, including Jojo Kuo’s band (he’s a Cameroonian drummer who recorded with Fela back in the day). Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Sounds like a good way to spend a summer evening, and support a local business on Grand Avenue.
Clinton Hill Blog is giving away a free ticket to the event! Want to enter? Email us and tell us why you want to attend. The best entry will be posted on CHB and the winner will enjoy a free evening of food and drinks. (email your entry to clintonhillblog-at-gmail-dot-com).
FABfest Sunday, June 20, 12noon–6pm:
• Salsa Dance Party & Dance Lessons
• Performances on the mainstage presented by Greenlight Bookstore, all with
a focus on local artists and organizations including
- Performance poetry by URBAN WORD
- Stand-up comedy from the STEAM BOAT series
- Readings by authors such as VICTOR LaVALLE, TOURE & NELSON
GEORGE and more
• Environmental demos and activities presented by Habana Outpost
• Walking tour of historic Fort Greene with Adrienne Onofri, author of WALKING
BROOKLYN (3rd of 3 different tours during FABfest)
• SONYA Collaborative Action Mural with Ellie Balk – participatory painting
allowing residents to make their mark on a collective community image
• Crafts, activities and giveaways for kids all day
• Streetside Mad Libs game for all ages
• 3-on-3 Soccer Games for Kids hosted by Ft. Greene Soccer
The Urban Assembly Academy of Arts & Letters, a third-year public middle school in Fort Greene, invites families and community members to attend its 3nd Annual SummerFest! on Saturday, June 19th, from 12:00 to 3:00pm at 225 Adelphi Street, Brooklyn, NY.
Free and open to the public, SummerFest! invites all to this outdoor festival to celebrate students, summer, and community! Area families, businesses, and organizations will have the chance to celebrate the season and learn more about Arts & Letters’ efforts to provide high quality public middle school choice for Brooklyn families. SummerFest! will include an exhibition of student artwork, student performances, face painting, and games for all ages. In addition, a diverse array of area restaurants will be featured in the “Taste of Fort Greene/Clinton Hill Food Fest,” including Bacchus, Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, Choice Restaurant, Graziella’s, General Greene Restaurant, Habana Outpost, La Villa Pizzeria & Restaurant, Mega Bites, Olea Mediterranean Taverna, Ruthie’s Restaurant of Brooklyn, Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pie, Sugarcane and other area favorites. Representing an array of ethnic cuisines, participants will feature child-friendly selections and unique hors d’oeuvres to tempt palates! The Brooklyn Steppers will provide a toe tapping performance that is sure to get the crowd moving. Raffle items will include a “Family Admission to the High School Short List Workshop,” designed for Brooklyn parents and students to help them identify a short list of “good fit” public high schools to tour in the fall.
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