BAMboo!

Ok, we thought we'd fit in one more Halloween event before the holiday of all holidays is only a faint memory hidden within the headache of one major candy crash. Our other events we posted about were mostly on Friday and Sunday but this one is today, between 4pm and 7pm! Celebrating Halloween on Halloween?! How novel! BAMboo is a free event located in front of BAM (Lafeyette between Ashland Pl and St Felix St) and features live music, roaming entertainers, a puppet show, games, costume contests and candy giveaways! Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill are amazing places to go trick or treating today, but if you wanted to change it up but weren't sure how, BAMboo is a great option to check out. If anyone decides to fore-go the Cobble Hill Park Parade and venture out to Ft. Greene, let us know how it was!

Pok Pok comes to Columbia Street

Leases have been signed and we could not be more excited that Pok Pok is coming to the Columbia Waterfront and taking over the old 5Burro space.  It is a great addition to the already thriving area! We can not wait to eat some wings in their backyard!

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10150904613840096&id=196974325095

Check out the grub here:

http://www.pokpokpdx.com/

theoconnellorg :

Newest addition to Columbia St. thanks to @realtycollectiv - Pok Pok is going to New York City! We have... fb.me/x1rQnzlb

Halloween is coming!!! Part 4

Our last blog about Halloween events is here and we have a very kid-friendly event that sounds like a lot of fun. It's the Families First Halloween Party (250 Baltic Street) and it's on Sunday, October 30th from 9:30AM-12:30 pm, so if you went to a spooky late-night party the night before this one is not for you. For all you other folks who don't have the luxury of sleeping in because your alarm clock, which is one or more children jumping on you, will be going off well before this party starts, it should be a fun time. $10 per family or $8 for members will get you in. And once you're there you and the kids can partake in pumpkin decorating, halloween-themed crafts, on-the-spot photos of your costumed child (which you can take home for $10). They will also have snacks, goodie bags, and sing-along/story time. Please RSVP at 718-237-1862 or info@familiesfirstbrooklyn.org.

We hoped we helped give you some ideas for what to do this weekend. Have fun everyone and Happy Halloween!!!!!!!

Halloween is coming!!! Part 3

It's so much fun to go out and celebrate Halloween by attending a party. Halloween parties are always the most unique and exciting parties and we always have a great time when we go. What's better than having a great time? Feeling fulfilled and giving to the community at the same time. Here's a piece from a newsletter we receive about a worthy cause that should also be a fun activity!

Sean Casey Animal Rescue Howlloween Howl Block Bark

Sunday October 30, 2011 from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Sean Casey Animal Rescue
153 E. 3rd St.
Brooklyn, NY 11218

Sean Casey Animal Rescue is having our 4th Annual Howlloween Howl Block Bark to raise desperately needed funds to finish the completion of our second rescue shelter facility which will enable us to save up to 5000 animals in 2012. By supporting and donating to Sean Casey Animal Rescue, you will help us finish the construction of a second rescue shelter and you will be directly responsible for assisting in potentially rescuing and saving an additional 100 animals a month. We really look forward to seeing you at the Howlloween Howl Block Bark Partyand thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Big hugz and kisses from all of us at Sean Casey Animal Rescue!!! xoxoxo

Get more information

Register Now!

I can't make it

For a $10 donation, you will be given a new, redesigned SCAR rescue bracelet.

For a $25 donation, you will be a SCAR t-shirt.

For a$30 donation, you will be provided with a new, redesigned SCAR rescue bracelet & a SCAR t-shirt.

Haloween is coming!!! Part 2

What do you think of when you think of Halloween? Although it used to be "candy, candy, candy!!!" for most, now it's all about costumes and pumpkins of course! We've got two events below that celebrate those very things.

Halloween Costume Contest: Sponsored by Red Hook Food Vendors - at the Red Hook Ball Fields, Bay St and Clinton St; Sun, Oct 30, Contest starts at 4pm, but come early! Prize categories for children and adults. Costumes judged on originality and creativity. More info: www.redhookfoodvendors.com

Pumpkin Carving Party at Lilla Cafe, 126 Union Street. October 30th from 11AM-2PM. $12 per carver. They'll have pumpkin sketching and carving, as well as treats and food. Call 718-855-5700 or stop by to register.

Don't miss out on these fun activities. Plan your weekend now!

Haloween is coming!!! Part 1

The rest of this week will be dedicated to the best holiday of the year. Halloween!!! We've got the scoop on events you could attend this weekend that are all happening in and around the neighborhood. We all know about the parade at Cobble Hill Park on Halloween day but there are some more obscure events, and some for adults, that are going on as well.

First up, Grow NYC's Costume Swap This Friday, October 28th, between 3pm and 6pm at 69 9th street in Gowanus. This is exactly what it sounds like. A swap. Bring your gently used costumes and accessories to donate or swap. A great way to save money this year and recycle costumes as well. There will also be games, movies, music, face painting, and a haunted house (all spooky of course but also family-friendly).

Next we have the Halloween HIV Awareness Party: An HIV testing event for young adults (18-24), hosted by Red Hook Initiative. With live DJ spinning new music and classics. Give-aways and prizes. 767 Hicks St, Fri, Oct 28. Free.

Buschenschank Brooklyn

The corner of Sackett and Court has been boarded up for a while now. The space used to be an Area Yoga and there had been a sign saying that it would remain at that space. We assumed a renovation was going on but it did seem like it was taking quite a while. Waling by recently, though, we noticed a new sign. This sign was very hard to see since it was above the wood panels attached to the second floor of the building. The sign says Buschenschank Brooklyn. We did a little research and found out that the new tenant, James McGown (owner of South Brooklyn Pizza), will be opening a northern Italian tavern at this spot very soon. They will serve Italian and German wine and beer as well as a mixture of snacks, including cured meats and sausages. As you can tell from the name, although it is a traditional nothern Italian wine tavern it is heavily influenced by German culture. This doesn't stop with the live music they'll be featuring, which will focus mainly on German pop and rock bands. Can't wait to check it out. We'll get pics of the inside as soon as we can sneak a peek!

Soup's On!

A very unlikely thing to have a festival for it would seem, but with the weather getting chilly, soup is on our minds and will be in our bellies tomorrow, October 23rd, for the Smith Street Soup Festival. The fest, on Smith St between Atlantic and Carroll, begins at 1pm and ends and 4pm. For $5, or $10 per family unit, you can get a ticket to sample 20 different soups given out along Smith. Proceeds go to benefit the South Brooklyn LDC and the High School for International Studies’ Culinary Arts Program. So why soup? As read in the Brooklyn Paper the director of the South Brooklyn Local Development Corporation, Bette Stoltz, was inspired by similar soup festivals that take place in the French countryside and had this to say. “Why not do it here? It’s the season for soup and its something that everybody likes, but for some reason it doesn’t get the respect it deserves. This is just making soup the star of show.” That's true. When we first heard about this festival we were like "soup festival" but after thinking about it for a moment we got excited to walk around in the chilly fall air and sample all the different soups restaurants, like Seersucker, Lunetta, and Bar Tabac, have to offer. Bring on the soup!

New Boutique on Court

Formerly N.C.H. Studio, the space at 201 Court Street has reopened as Pink Pepper, a woman's clothing and accessory boutique. It's very nicely designed both inside and out. The inside is fairly simple aside from elegant chandeliers that adorn the store. It's classic and feminine, which is a a good way to describe the merchandise. As described by shop owner, Nicky, the high quality European and American-made clothing is for the working woman and the casual woman but it all has just a touch of sexy in it. In other words Pink is for sweet and Pepper is for spice. Along with the casual wear and work wear they have a dressier selection and a small section of accessories and shoes. We did notice a few candles and house ware-type items as well. If you'd like to see more photos of the inside, Becoming Brooklyn has posted some great pics!

Wine Tasting this Friday.

Dry Dock wine and spirits, 424 Van Brunt Street, has been offering free wine tastings on Fridays (between 5:30 and 8:30pm) and Saturdays (between 4pm and 7pm). They have an especially interesting tasting going on this Friday. Wine in a box. Great for parties but does it taste good? Find out by partaking in this tasting of two Italian wines (duca pinot noir/merlot blend and chardonnay/durello blend) both come in 3 litre boxes. The Saturday tasting will be more traditional. According to their website you can "taste some gorgeous, gutsy and classic French provincial beauties. Claire will be sharing some of France’s best from Ibanez Pleven’s offerings today". For upcoming tastings click here.

Cider Week

It's cider week here in New York and several bars and restaurants throughout Brooklyn are participating. Here's a quick tutorial. The type of cider we're talking about here is not plain old spiced up apple juice, like the stuff you get when you go apple picking. And it's not beer. Cider actually means "fermented apple juice". There are lots of different varieties and flavors just like wine can be so different from one glass to the next. So try them all! For more info click here. Here are some cider week events in the neighborhood.

October 18th 6:30 - 8:00PM

Ice Cider Tasting

Brooklyn Brainery

515 Court Street

Oct 18th 7:00PM

Cider Tasting with Eve's Cidery

Bierkraft

191 5th Ave

Oct 19th 7:00PM

Cider Pairing Dinner

Iris Cafe

20 Columbia Place

Oct 20th 7:30PM

Harvest Dinner with Farnum Hill Ciders

Fort Defiance

365 Van Brunt Street

Meeting Tonight!

A very interesting meeting presented by the Cobble Hill Association will take place tonight. The subject is finding out the history of your home. This is a fascinating topic for home owners and history buffs alike. Plus it's free and everyone is welcome! The meeting is tonight at 7:30 PM at the Long Island College Hospital Conference Room A (enter at main entrance 339 Hicks and Atlantic). Professional historian Francis Morrone will head this discussion and talk you through the steps you need to take for basic building research. She will talk about the changes that have occurred by adding the internet into the mix as well as the importance of consulting physical archives in addition to web-based research. So, whether you own your apartment or home, or are just curious about the history of Brooklyn buildings, this meeting should be fun and informative and if you haven't got anything planned for tonight you should head down there!

It's My Park is Back!

The friends of Red Hook Recreation Center are encouraging residents of the community to come support their local parks tomorrow, October 15th between 10Am and 2Pm. It's My Park Day has proven successful in the past, the last clean-up effort took place on October 7th, but there's still plenty to do and they'd love to have all hands on deck. Painting, cleaning, and gardening are just a few things they need help with. It's really fulfilling to be able to help out and beautify your local parks by putting your hands in the earth or picking up a paint brush, and to sweeten the deal the weather is looking pretty good so far. So come on out and pitch in. While you are there, 155 Bay Street, you are encouraged to check out the Rec Center facilities and programs!

Try Something New Saturday!

There are so many classes and activities in the neighborhood for both adults and children it's hard to know which ones to try out. Wouldn't it be nice to have a sampling of some of your options and then you can pick and choose which ones best fit? Well, the Carroll Gardens Library, 396 Clinton Street, is hosting just that event this Saturday. It's called "Try Something New". With mini lessons and demonstrations you should have no trouble finding a class or activity you or your kids would want to continue. From yoga to acting workshops to language studies there will be a variety of choices, over a dozen. Come early, at 10:30AM if you'd like to watch a storytime prior to the event, which will begin at 11:30AM. Events at the library are free, as usual, so all you need to bring is yourself and an open mind!

Red Hook Film Fest This Weekend

The 5th annual Red Hook Film Festival will be happening this Saturday and Sunday October 15th and 16th at the BWAC screening room, 499 Van Brunt. Get there between 1pm and 6pm to enjoy this free event! They'll be showing shorts, most around 5 or 6 minutes long, with a mixture of documentary, experimental, narrative and fictional films. They seem to have more documentaries than the other genres. But you can check it out for yourself, for a complete film schedule click here.

If the line-up isn't enough to draw you to this awesome event they've upped the anty by offering free popcorn and free Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pies! Free pies, popcorn and movies? What more could you ask for? We'll see you there.

Peek Brooklyn

This new online hosiery store has some really cool and unique stockings, leggings and tights. We are partial to the polka dots! Super cute. As is the name, Peek Brooklyn. Hosiery can be a hard-to-find item sometimes, especially if you're looking for something specific. So, it's great to have such a variety and even better that you can peruse the inventory with just a few clicks. And it's a local business! Owner, Cristina Casciano King, launched her business from Carroll Gardens less than a month ago. Check out their website here, and show your support for this new local business.

Fight Like a Girl.

"Fight Like a Girl" is a health event where you can schedule a mammogram on the premises, and also get fitness, wellness and beauty advice from some experts that will be present. You can make an appointment at LICH's Breast Imaging Center as well as chat with doctors and attend a self exam demo. On the beauty/fitness side of things there will be trainers from Gleason’s Gym on hand to discuss work-out routines, nutrition experts, make-over experts from CityChemist, as well as body treatments and facials. All the info for where and when is below.

DATE: Saturday, October 15, 2011
TIME: 12:00 noon – 4:00 pm
LOCATION: CityChemist
129 Montague St., Brooklyn
(718) 237-CITY

The Flying Lobster is Open!

The space at 144 Union Street, formerly known as The Coffee Den, has recently reopened as a wine bar and is owned by neighboring restaurant, Petite Crevette, owner Neil Ganic. The spot is dimly lit, has dark red walls, and gives off a very romantic yet sinister (in a seductive kind of way) vibe. Perfect for getting out of the coming cold weather and sipping on a glass of deep red wine. It'll definitely be a great place to send people while they wait for a table at it's sister restaurant. If you've ever been to or strolled past Petite Crevette during their peek hours then you know how busy they can get. As far as the name goes, The Flying Lobster, well their is a funny story behind that which is best summed up below with this excerpt from offthepresses.com:

The wine bar's curious name is a joking reference to an incident involving Ganic which received a great deal of publicity in 2009. As the story goes, a couple at Le Petite Crevette sent back their lobster, complaining about how it had been cooked. Ganic reportedly responded to this affront to his cooking by bringing a fresh lobster to the diners' table, asking them, "You think my fish is not fresh? Look how fresh this is!" Some accounts had him throwing the crustacean on the table. Thus: The Flying Lobster. So, I guess the man has a sense of humor about himself.

Made in Brooklyn Tours

These guided walking tours around Brooklyn with a "made in Brooklyn" theme have been going on for quite a while now. Here's a little snip from their website.

Each tour is a celebration of the creativity, ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit of Brooklynites. On Made in Brooklyn Tours the stars of the show are glassmakers, metalsmiths and woodworkers. They make wine, chocolate, bicycles, furniture, ceramics and more. Each tour is a unique experience! So come with me, a native and proud Brooklynite, and “See who’s makin’ it in Brooklyn!”

This Saturday, October 8th at 1:20, will be a special Makin' History in Red Hook Tour, which includes an inside look at The Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and is led by local historian John Burkard . Meet up is at the IKEA Ferry and the cost is $35.

Insideschools Meeting

The school system in New York, specifically finding and applying to middle and high schools, is a little tricky. Luckily their are organizations, like Insideschools, that can help. They are having a discussion at the Carroll Gardens Library next Tuesday, October 11th, from 6pm-8pm (6-7 will be about middle schools and 7-8 will be high schools). It's free, of course, and you can ask all the questions you've had about getting your child into the school that best fits them as well as any queries about the application process. Insideschools managing editor, Pam Wheaton, will be their to lead the talk and answer your questions. The library is located at 396 Clinton (at the corner of Union Street). For more info about this organization go to insideschools.org.

Dekalb Market Growing

Dekalb Market is adding new vendors, as well as more shipping containers, for this fall. Sounds like they are more than doubling what they have right now. If you've never been to this market you should check it out. It's an indoor/outdoor market with local vendors selling food, crafts, clothes, etc. And now it's expanding. This all starts on October 15th and we're all very excited to hear that Jacques Torres is in the line up. Here's a sneak peek of some of the line up that we got from their website.

Pip&Estella | pipandestella.com
Her vintage home wares are inspired by the Satis House, as described in the Charles Dickens piece, Great Expectations. Sana says, “sunlight filtered images of Satis were lovely, albeit aging and let’s not forget, inspiring.”

The {New New} Etsy | thenewnew.blogspot.com
A Vibrant collective of cross-discipline handmade artists devoted to supporting one another in developing their creative and business potential within the New York tri-state area. The group shares the tremendous resources that New York City has to offer, mentors new craft business owners, and seeks out new marketplace and business opportunities for its eclectic membership. Their container will have a rotation of 10 artists featuring 1-2 artists each month.

Jacques Torres | mrchocolate.com
All products are hand crafted with premium ingredients. Every ingredient that goes into a Jacques Torres confection is made from scratch – from the marzipan and the marshmallows to the peanut butter. Each product is a celebration of chocolate in its purest sense and never contains preservatives or additives.
No extracts. No oils. No preservatives. No essences. YUM!

MeeheeNY | meeheeny.com
Made with all high quality fresh water pearls, precious and semi-precious stones and sterling silver MeeheeNY encompasses a unique delicate beauty. Dekalb will be their second home along with the Soho location.

Cinema Rush

There may be more people filling the theaters at Cobble Hill Cinemas for the next few months. These people got a great deal too. They paid $15 on Groupon for 2 tickets, 2 popcorns and 2 sodas. How many people bought this deal? A whopping 7100! Great business for this historic theater that's been around since the 60's. Unfortunately, the deal has ended but this isn't the first time Cobble Hill Cinemas has had a Groupon deal so we're sure it won't be the last. Next time we catch it in time we'll post about it and you too can enjoy a deeply discounted cinematic experience.