The 10 Most Awesome Things to Do in Brooklyn This Weekend

It’s going to be a sweaty, happy, 87-degree weekend in Brooklyn — if a little fussy on Sunday, precipitation-wise — and holing up in your air-conditioning for 48 hours will undoubtedly give you great shame and regret, come Monday morning.

So get up and go do stuff, silly! Here are our picks for the 10 best options in town.

Fourth Annual New York City Poetry Festival

• When? Saturday and Sunday, July 25 and July 26, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  
• Where? Governor’s Island
• What? Hundreds of poets, and thousands more poet lovers, will gather on the lawns of Governor’s Island this weekend for a two-day poetry reading. The festival’s founder hopes to ”bring together as many NYC poets as possible, in the bright light of day, to meet, mingle, and collaborate.” Lit and art vendors, food trucks and Brooklyn Brewery beer will also be on hand.
• How much? Free!
• More info (including ferry instructions)
  

Pearls of Wisdom: Brooklyn Then & Now

• When? Saturday, July 25, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Where? Gil Hodges Community Garden, 534 Carroll St, Gowanus
  
• What? The New York Restoration Project, Elders Share the Arts and the Brooklyn Academy of Music have teamed up to help older New Yorkers “cultivate their role as bearers of history and culture.” And this Saturday afternoon, ”three locals will share their experience through dynamic storytelling.” Discussion to follow.
  
• How much? Free!
  
• More info

Introduction to Bird-Watching

• When? Saturday, July 25, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
• Where? Audubon Center, Prospect Park
• What? Experts from the Brooklyn Bird Club will teach you how to spot and identify “the magnificent array of birds that call Prospect Park home.” (And once you’re an expert, you’re invited to return to the Audubon Center on Sunday from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. to put your binocular skills to use alongside park naturalists.)
• How much? Free!
• More info

“The Rise of Sneaker Culture” at the Brooklyn Museum

• When? Saturday and Sunday, July 25 and July 26, at 2 p.m.
• Where? Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Prospect Park
• What? You’ve heard about it, you’ve talked about it — it’s time to go see the thing. “The exhibition, which includes approximately 150 pairs of sneakers, looks at the evolution of the sneaker from its beginnings to its current role as status symbol and urban icon.”
  
• How much? Free!
  
• More info

Flavorpill Presents: Magic Hour

• When? Saturday, July 25, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
  
• Where? The Lefrak Center at Lakeside, 171 East Drive, Prospect Park
• What? Sunset roller-rink party at Prospect Park. “The series celebrates all the feel-good vibes you remember from the roller skating parties of your youth, but with a fresh 21st-century update,” including drinks and DJs. Midway through, if you feel like a change of pace, head over to the 7:30 concert featuring Sylvan Esso and Porches at the Prospect Park Bandshell.
• How much? $14 (including roller skates)
• More info

Gibney Dance Presents: Heidi Latsky Dance in Brooklyn Bridge Park

• When? Saturday, July 25, at 7 p.m.
  
• Where? Harbor View Lawn, Brooklyn Bridge Park
• What? The final dance in a three-dance summer series. This one, called “SOMEWHERE,” is “a spirited suite of solos and duets that embrace difference and the isolation of being human with fierceness and frankness.”
  
• How much? Free!
  
• More info

Reel Slices Film Series: ”Do The Right Thing”

• When? Saturday, July 25, at 8:30 p.m.
• Where? City Reliquary Museum, 370 Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg
• What? Outdoor screening of Spike Lee’s ”Do The Right Thing.” (And a timely one, as the city just named the block of Bed-Stuy where Lee shot the film “Do The Right Thing Way.”) “Pre-movie trivia contest by Drive In Film Festival, pizza, beer and cinema under the stars!”
• How much? $10 (Two Boots Pizza included)
  
• More info
  

Open House: Eagle Street Rooftop Farm

• When? Sunday, July 26, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Where? 44 Eagle Street, Greenpoint
• What? On the last Sunday of every summer month, this fresh and lovely roof garden opens to the public. “On the shoreline of the East River and with a sweeping view of the Manhattan skyline, Eagle Street Rooftop Farm is a 6,000 square foot green roof organic vegetable farm located atop a warehouse rooftop owned by Broadway Stages in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.”
• How much? Free!
• More info

Open House: Church-Turned-Condo in Cobble Hill

• When? Sunday, July 26, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Where? 215 DeGraw Street, Apt, 2G, Cobble Hill
• What? DNAinfo featured this stunning condo in its weekend open-house roundup. It’s one of a kind — a two-bedroom in the renovated shell of an old church in Cobble Hill. Go gawk a little and pretend like you’ve got $1.8 million to spare. And if you want to make a day of it, Brownstoner has some more open-house reccs for Sunday.
  
• How much? Free!
• More info

Tape Festival

• When? Sunday, July 6, at 9:30 p.m.
• Where? The Bell House, 149 7th Street, Gowanus
• What? An arty celebration of public radio, with performances by various NPR and podcast stars. “Tape Festival is a unique one-night event of storytelling and creative live performances, combining the intimacy of radio with a collective experience. Like a film festival — sans film — it’s one big listening party.”
• How much? $25
• More info

And lastly, though it’s in Manhattan, you should do your best to make it over to Central Park on Sunday between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. for a free live set by Brooklyn rap gods Big Daddy Kane and Whodini. Represent.