(718) 260–2500 Brooklyn Paper’s essential guide to the Borough of Kings June 21–27, 2019
DRINKING
It offers the bear necessities!
A tiny tiki bar is blossoming
in a Greenpoint
backyard each weekend
this summer. Yaki
Tiki is an outdoor bar
and grill pop-up, hidden
behind the creative
space A/D/O. The bar
specializes in a handful
of tropical drinks, including
a tequila, sherry,
and grapefruit beverage
served in an adorable bear-shaped honey container.
Each of the bar’s three $12 tropical drinks
gets an over-the-top presentation, garnished with
flowers, palm leaves, and cocktail umbrellas.
Beer and sake are also available for your daydrinking
needs.
The pop-up’s name nods to the Japanese yakitori
— grilled chicken on a skewer — and it
offers a selection of mostly grilled dishes. The
small plates, which range in price from $3 to
$7, vary by the day, but might include grilled
summer squash with almond miso, skewers of
tuna belly, the aforementioned grilled chicken,
and potato salad.
The spot is hidden from the street, and shaded
from the sun by strips of white canvas that flutter
overhead like sails. Visitors can settle on an
inflatable flamingo pool toy, stretch out on long
benches, or perch on pillows set on overturned
milk cartons. The vibe feels like a friend’s back
yard — if they were really good at decorating.
Yaki Tiki (171 Banker St. between Norman
and Meserole avenues in Greenpoint, www.yakitiki.
com). Open Sat–Sun, noon–8 pm.
— Bill Roundy
Time to get schwifty in here!
A nerdy burlesque show will transport viewers
to a sexy sci-fi world — if the Galactic Federation
doesn’t notice. “Burp-lesque,” a strip
show inspired by the foul-mouthed cartoon show
“Rick and Morty,” will crash land in Coney Island
on June 29. The show’s creator says that
paying tribute to the misadventures of a mad
scientist and his timid grandson is outside the
bounds of most burlesque troupes.
“We do the weird stuff,” said Petite Renard,
who runs Metropolis Burlesque with her husband,
Moe Cheezmo. The group specializes in giving
off-beat television shows, comics, and movies
a goofy, sensual twist. The group first tackled
“Rick and Morty” in a show three years ago, and
its super-fans went wabadubadubdub.
“Rick and Morty pushes a lot of our nerdy
buttons,” Cheezmo said.
The June 29 performance will have seven acts
featuring the show’s lead characters, including
Morty, his mother Beth, and the scientist formerly
known as Rick, alongside minor figures
from the show, such as Ma-Sha, the sexy ruler
of the planet Gazorpazorp (pictured). The scifi
show’s constantly changing cast keeps each
edition of the “Burp-Lesque” show fresh, said
Cheezmo.
“We’ve done the show three times, and it
hasn’t been the same once,” he said.
“Burp-Lesque” at Sideshows by the Seashore
1208 Surf Ave between at W. 12th Street
in Coney Island, (718) 372–5159, www.coneyisland.
com. June 29 at 10 p.m. $20.
— Rose Adams
The march to sea
Your complete guide to this year’s Mermaid Parade Norman Blake
By Tammy Scileppi
for Brooklyn Paper
The ‘maids are back in Brooklyn!
Mermaid encounters may be rare
elsewhere, but in Kings County they
are an annual event! Fabulous sea creatures
and Poseidon worshippers will take
over Coney Island this Saturday for the
37th Annual Mermaid Parade, which attracts
hundreds of thousands of visitors to
the People’s Playground every summer, according
to the parade’s founder.
“It’s the biggest day of the year in Coney
Island,” said Dick Zigun, who also founded
the arts group Coney Island USA. The “unelected
mayor of Coney Island” has donned
a vintage bathing suit and top hat to leads
the costumed marchers every year since
he launched the unique event in 1980. The
event was designed to showcase the uniquely
colorful Coney Island spirit, he said.
“When I moved to Coney Island, it was
an eclectic, bohemian, weirdo neighborhood
full of eccentric people,” he recalled. “In a
big way, I wanted to make a statement about
what an art scene in Coney Island would
look like. The parade was an immediate hit
and it’s gotten bigger and bigger.”
Highlights over the years have included
marching bands with hundreds of people
in uniform; a “cork creature” covered with
corks from champagne bottles, riding on a
unicycle, people dressed as lobsters, and others
PARADE
as cans of tuna, Zigun remembered.
“Someone spent thousands towing a yacht
on a trailer, driving down Surf; there was
an elephant from Ringling Bros Circus,”
he added. “You never know what you’re
gonna see.”
The procession this year will include
antique cars, human-powered and motorized
floats, scantily clad aquatic partiers,
marching bands, and this year’s King
Neptune and Queen Mermaid: folk performer
Arlo Guthrie and his sister, archivist
Nora Guthrie, who both grew up in
Coney Island.
The parade will kick off at 1 p.m. at
Surf Avenue and W. 21st Street; proceeds
down Surf Avenue to West 10th Street;
turns and marches towards the Boardwalk,
then proceeds along the Boardwalk to its
end point at Steeplechase Plaza, near the
parachute drop
The best place to watch the parade is from
the Judge Viewing Stand at the start of the
parade, but those tickets have already sold
Top man: Parade founder Dick Zigun leads the parade each year.
out. A close second might be the secondfloor
patio of the Surf Avenue Applebee’s,
which looks over the parade route. For $40
per person (standing room only) you get
bar snacks and two drinks; $20 for kids 12
or younger. Call (718) 372–0070 to see if
spots are still available.
For those watching from ground level;
Zigun advises staying away from the most
crowded area, between Nathan’s Famous
Frankfurters and Luna Park; the sidewalk
in front of MCU Park offers a good view;
and from there you can visit parade sponsor
Photo by Paul Martinka
Coney Island Brewery for refreshments.
The parade lasts for about three hours,
so if you might want to leave early, be sure
to stay on the side of Surf Avenue away
from the beach, since crossing will be difficult.
After the parade, Zigun will lead the King
and Queen in a procession to the beach,
for a Beach Ceremony opening the ocean
for the summer swimming season. An after
party withe live bands and burlesque
performances will follow on the rooftop
bar of Kitchen 21 nearby.
BURLESQUE
CINEMA
Welcome to the ‘Neighborhood!’
A new documentary short film explores the
development of a Brooklyn block through the
lens of three strangers. “Neighborhood,” premiering
on June 22 as
part of a block of docs
at the Brooklyn Academy
of Music’s film festival,
follows the lives of a pigeon
keeper, a webcam
performer, and a man
who believes in ghosts
to comment on the true
star of the film — Bushwick,
according to its director.
“The initial inception of the film was walking
around the neighborhood, and noticing what
was once empty lots are now luxury condos,”
said Ben Garchar. “I wanted to explore those
questions of change, and development, and impermanence.”
Garchar — who moved to Bushwick from
Ohio in 2009 — hopes that documenting the rapidly
developing Brooklyn will inspire viewers
to re-examine the changing landscape around
them.
“I hope it will make people think about what
they can do —I don’t mean from an activist perspective,
but about the small decisions people
make,” he said. “Am I engaging with people in
the neighborhood? Learning about these people
and their experiences, and finding some common
ground? … It’s about fostering that conversation.”
“Neighborhood” premieres at BAMcinema-
Fest 30 Lafayette Ave. between St. Felix Street
and Ashland Place in Fort Greene, (718) 724-
8023, www.bam.org. June 22 at 2 p.m. $20.
— Aidan Graham
Mermaid Parade (on Surf Avenue from
W. 21st Street to W. 10th Street in Coney
Island, www.mermaidparade.com).
June 22 at 1 p.m. Free.
Mermaid Parade After-Party at Kitchen
21 (W. 21st Street at the Boardwalk in
Coney Island). June 22; 5–11 p.m. $25.
By Chandler Kidd
Brooklyn Paper
If you can make it here; you can
make it — anywhere!
The streets of Brooklyn will
ring with music on the longest day
of the year! The 13th annual Make
Music Day festival, on June 21 —
the summer solstice — will feature
hundreds of free, outdoor music performances
throughout the five boroughs.
At many of the shows, anyone
who wants to can join the music,
said the event’s director.
“Every year we have about 1,000
free concerts in over 400 locations
in New York City alone,” said James
Burke. “This event is special because
it is open to anyone who wants to
participate.”
Some of this year’s most exciting
events are happening in Brooklyn, including
“Water Night,” a choral piece
with singers floating along the Gowanus
Canal. Members of the Gowanus
Dredgers Canoe Club will row along
the polluted waterway, while 30 singers
spread amongst the boats will perform
a choral piece written by Eric
Whitacre, according to Burke.
“His vocal composition is going to
be presented with singers on canoes
that will be paddling up the Gowanus
canal, starting at the Dredgers Boathouse,”
Burke said.
Those who want to hear the composition
can stand on the Third Street
Bridge over the canal, or along the banks
between Carroll Street and the Fourth
Street Basin from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The festival has also teamed up
with the performance art group Improv
Everywhere to create a musical
experiment in Prospect Park. Those
who want to join “MP3 Experiment
16” should download the app from
the Improv Everywhere site, put on
their headphones, and bring a small
musical instrument, a flashlight, and
something that glows in the dark to
the northern end of the Long Meadow
in Prospect Park. At 8:30 p.m., the
app will play instructions, sending
people dancing, playing, and meeting
up all over the Park.
This is the third time Make Music
has worked with the group, said Burke,
and it is always a fun time.
“In the past over 1,000 have attended
this special event,” he said.
Elsewhere in the borough, musicians
and bands will perform on the
sidewalk on the evening of June 21.
Among the busiest thoroughfares will
be Flatbush Avenue between Grand
Army Plaza and Atlantic Avenue; and
Fifth Avenue between Union Street
and the Old Stone House.
“I just encourage everyone in
Brooklyn to hit the streets, open
their ears and listen to the music,”
said Burke.
Find a show near you at the New
York Make Music Day website: www.
makemusicday.org/location/newyork.
Time to
tune in
Make Music Day
returns to boro
Kris Connor
Ear buds: At last year’s Make Music Day festival, participants in the MP3 experiment charged across
Brooklyn Bridge Park. This year’s experiment will happen in Prospect Park on June 21.
Tiny tiki
Burp and grind
Around the block
Photo by Bill Roundy
Ben Garchar
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