New to the Neighborhood: Zagaya Wine Bar, Macario Mexican Loncheria, Poseidon, & more! Plus, a Bodega for Dinosaurs & Soundbath @ BBG.
Also this week: Shop 'till you drop at a vintage pop-up, compete in a rotisserie chicken eating contest, craft a ceramic cheese board, and sample the world's hottest gummy bear.
Here’s what’s happening this week:
✨Openings:✨
Zagaya Wine Bar, a “neighborhood wine bar with a global soul", will open at 471 16th Street between Prospect Park West and 10th Avenue.
Macario Mexican Loncheria will soon open on the corner of 4th Avenue and 11th Street. Opening date is TBA!
Poseidon Restaurant Bar & Grill is now open & serving seafood, classic bar dishes, and hookah at 279 Flatbush Ave at St Marks Ave.
HOM Cafe and Wine, serving specialty coffee, an all-day dim sum menu and wine by night, will open July 22nd on 72 7th Avenue between Lincoln and Berkeley Pl. Follow their Instagram for updates!
Yardsale Wines will open this fall next door to Yardsale Cafe at 620 5th Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets.
The first and only bodega for dinosaurs in NYC is located in Park Slope! Artists Sarah Cassidy & Akiva Leffert created this prehistoric installation, which features a 7-foot tall papier-mâché orange dinosaur, inside the Grand Army subway station. The bodega is part of the MTA’s Vacant Unit Activation Program, which aims to fill vacant retail spaces with creative, non-traditional uses. Check out an interview with the artists in Cafe Anne.
📸: Cafe Anne Think you can handle the heat? 🔥 Visit Fferins Candy Store at 438 7th Ave between 14th and 15th Streets and try the candy that has been dubbed “the world’s hottest gummy bear".” It comes with a consume-at-your-own-risk warning [Gothamist]!
A single parking spot in Park Slope just sold for $250K. [Streetsblog NYC]
Check out some of these 19th century iron working tools that were recovered from a recent Gowanus Canal cleanup.
Don’t forget to scroll down for our top events & neighborhood happenings this week!
-Mychal
Our Top Weekly Picks
Events with an asterisk* tend to sell out—reserve tickets early!
Thursday, July 17 (Today):
FLACO Book Signing @ WINNER Prospect Park, 5-7pm: Join WINNER in the Park for a special book signing event for FLACO: The Owl Who Escaped Captivity and Won the Hearts of the World. Meet editor Jonathan Hollingsworth and celebrate Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl’s remarkable year of freedom through the book’s stunning photography, artwork and poignant tributes. Plus, copies of the book, FLACO totebags and a special menu of refreshments will all be available for purchase. FREE to attend.
Movies With A View: Alien @ Brooklyn Bridge Park, 6-10:30pm: This season, the Movies With A View series features movies by and starring leading women with the theme “Women In Hollywood”. This week, join them for Alien (R, 1979, 117 minutes). Sigourney Weaver’s iconic performance as Ripley changed the game for women in sci-fi, launching a franchise and inspiring generations. The lawn opens at 6:00 PM on a first come, first serve basis, and the movie begins at sunset. FREE.
Cooking Class: Dinner in Provence @ The Common Park Slope 7-9pm*: This gourmet Brooklyn-foodie event includes three hours of hands on cooking and baking under chef instruction in a professional restaurant kitchen. The event is perfect for beginners and seasoned home cooks alike. Bring your best friend, your significant other, or come alone and meet like-minded food enthusiasts! Includes complimentary aperitivo of Prosecco, one glass of wine or beer during the class, and two glasses of wine or beer with dinner. You’ll enjoy a delicious spread of hors d'oeuvres beforehand, the final dinner course you’ve prepared, and coffee or tea to end the meal. $119.
Prospect Park Yoga with Brooklyn Flow, 7-8pm: Brooklyn Flow and Prospect Park Alliance present free outdoor yoga on the Long Meadow. Brooklyn’s finest yoga teachers lead free, outdoor group yoga classes in a low-pressure, beautiful environment. Join hundreds of Brooklynites each week to celebrate yoga and wellness in our treasured Prospect Park. FREE (RSVP required).
Friday, July 18th:
Summer Fridays @ Leland Eating and Drinking House, 1-4pm: This seasonal series in partnership with Julia Gin happens every Friday afternoon. Expect a live DJ spinning all-vinyl sets, seasonal food and cocktail specials (including frozen negronis!), and a laid-back, early weekend energy. Sip on refreshing cocktails like the J+T (Julia Gin + tonic), a classic Pimm’s Cup, or a bold Gibson, all while sampling Leland’s updated Vinyl Hour menu. FREE entry.
Acid Summer Party @ Farm.One, 5pm: Come sip, come hang, come dance. This is a summer & welcome party for Acid Spirits, Farm.One's newest on-site collaborator and friend. There will be free Acid samples, a DJ and a very special guest bartender serving up specialty Acid x Farm.One cocktails. All are welcome! FREE.
Weekend Events:
Vintage Pop-Up @ Leroy’s Place (Saturday July 19th & Sunday July 20th, 12-7pm): This popular summer event is held in the courtyard of Leroy’s Place and features vintage collections from East Village Vintage Collective and more. FREE.
Saturday, July 19th:
Craft Your Ceramic Cheese Board @ Blue Room Pottery Studio 2-4pm: Blue Room Pottery Studio and Léa Fromages are joining forces to merge the deliciousness of cheese with the beauty of pottery in this exciting event! Learn the process of pottery and make your very own ceramic cheese plate at Blue Room Pottery Studio, and discover how to plate and present from the cheese expert herself, all while while tasting some of the nicest cheese our neighborhood has to offer. $150.
Free Walk Up Paddling @ Gowanus Dredgers, 3-6pm: Participants utilize club canoes for a paddle at their own pace inside the protected Canal. Enjoy discovering the canal’s unique mix of wildlife and urban waterway infrastructure! FREE/Donation-based.
Salsa & Bachata Night @ Vanderbilt Open Streets, 5pm: Join Salsa Salsa Studio each month for music, movement, and community vibes — plus a free salsa class followed by a dance party ‘til 9:00 PM! Meet at the corner of Vanderbilt Ave & Pacific streets. Bring your friends, bring your energy — and let’s salsa under the Brooklyn sky! FREE.
Found Footage Festival @ The Bell House, 8pm*: Joe Pickett (The Onion) & Nick Prueher (Late Show) have a collection of 13,000+ VHS tapes & have been taking viewers on a guided tour through their finds since 2004. To celebrate 2 decades of this VHS nonsense, Joe & Nick will serve up their all-time greatest finds including the dumbest exercise videos, crazy public access shows & updates with the most wonderful weirdos they have met along the way. Doors open at 7. $28.75.
Sunday, July 20th:
Cafe Reading: A Capacity to Change @ Principles GI Coffee House, 12-1pm: Listen to trans refugee-immigrant storytelling, learn something new about U.S. history, fill out a coloring page, and consider buying a daring new comic book during this live reading followed by an author Q&A! A Capacity to Change is a comic book on transgender equality and our interconnected humanities, written by Tibetan educator Tenzin M Paldron and illustrated by Tibetan Filipina artist Tenzin Tsering. FREE.
Rotisserie Chicken Eating Contest @ Roma Pizza, 1:30pm: Join Old Jewish Men of New York & Roma Pizza for the 69th annual Rotisserie Chicken Eating Competition. Each contestant will eat a $4.99 Costco Rotisserie for the opportunity to achieve “glory”, a $500 cash prize, and merchandise. Each lucky contestant will have the option of eating their chicken with a sauce of their choosing, and several beverages. FREE.
Summer Jazz @ Brooklyn Museum, 2-4pm: Stop by the Museum’s lobby for performances by some of the city’s most acclaimed jazz musicians, whose creative styles incorporate blues, roots, and international sounds.
This month, hear music by esteemed saxophonist and woodwind multi-instrumentalist Gene Ghee, who has performed with acclaimed musicians such as Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, and Etta Jones. Iced teas, loose leafs, and small bites are available for purchase from Bed-Stuy–based Brooklyn Tea. FREE.
Monday, July 21st:
Natural Connections Soundbath @ Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 8:30pm: Bring a mat or towel, find a spot on the grass of Cherry Esplanade, lie back, and soak in this special multisensory experience. In a live performance layering field recordings from BBG neighbors and visitors with accordion, sitar, saxophone, guitar, and three-part vocal harmony, composer and 2023 BBG artist in residence Kamala Sankaram and bandmates Drew Fleming and Jeff Hudgins will conjure a space of collective listening and dreaming. Doors open at 7:30pm. $47.83.
Wednesday, July 23rd:
Outdoor Cinema: Rhinestone at Parklife, 8-10pm: This week’s Outdoor Cinema presents the awesomely bad, fun film Rhinestone (1984). Trying to get out of her contract with her obnoxious manager, Freddie (Ron Leibman), country singer Jake Farris (Dolly Parton) bets that she can turn the next person she sees into a Nashville-style crooner. Walk-ins welcome, but reservations highly recommended. FREE entry (food and drink purchase required).
Book Ahead For These Popular Events:
Free Climb Fridays @ Brooklyn Bouldering Project (Friday, July 25th, 6-10pm)*: Looking for an engaging physical activity to do with friends? New to climbing or stoked to get on the wall for free? Join BBP on the last Friday of every month for Free Climb Fridays—your opportunity to climb socially and experience all that Bouldering Project has to offer. Arc’teryx is sponsoring free rental shoes and chalk! Tickets are released July 18th. FREE.
Cocktail Class @ Whisk & Whiskey (Thursday, July 31st, 7pm): Sip, Shake & Celebrate Black Excellence at this hands-on cocktail class featuring SAJ gin, the first Black woman-owned lavender gin that’s redefining botanical spirits. You’ll learn to build, shake, and master cocktails using this beautifully floral and aromatic gin, all while hearing the story behind the bottle. Perfect for beginners, enthusiasts, and anyone who loves a good drink with a powerful backstory. $35.
Did we miss anything? Add in comments below. 👇
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Business Buzz ⚡️
Sunday, July 20th is National Ice Cream Day!
To celebrate, stop by Smorgasburg at Prospect Park for 10+ incredible ice cream vendors, all-ages activities & games, live performances, exclusive ice cream specials, surprises, giveaways & more!
And don’t miss Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop’s delicious ice cream lineup this week: Dairy-free chocolate, Vanilla Stracciatella, Strawberry Basil Sorbet, Bourbon Brown Sugar Blondie, Cinnamon Bun (off the secret menu- ask for it), and more!
Visit them on 603 4th Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets.
Slope Steal of the Week 💰
Kids eat free pasta @ Giovanni’s Brooklyn Eats every Wednesday with the purchase of one adult entree! Plus, the adult gets a free glass of wine. It’s a win/win! Visit Giovanni’s at 1666 8th Ave between Prospect Avenue and 17th Street.
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