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The Best Things To Do In NYC This Week, From Vibe Of The Village To The Winter Lantern Festival
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Oriana Leckert
Published Nov 18, 2019
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Allen Beaulieu
By
Oriana Leckert
Published Nov 18, 2019
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Prince: The Beautiful Ones @ Town Hall
Start your week off celebrating one of the very best at Prince: The Beautiful Ones, a tribute to the great artist’s life and legacy, and the launch of his memoir. The multifaceted evening features music from the New Power Generation and Greg Tate of Burnt Sugar Arkestra as well as talks from Spike Lee, Prince’s editor Chris Jackson, and Dan Piepenbring, whom Prince chose to co-author the book (which is an appropriately wild story). Proceeds go to Harlem Children’s Zone, and all tickets include a hardcover copy of The Beautiful Ones.
Monday, November 18th, 8 p.m. // Town Hall, 123 West 43rd St., Manhattan // Tickets: $67 and up (still available!)
NYC Queer Literary Celebration @ McNally Jackson Williamsburg
Each month, literary community Pigeon Pages hosts its flagship reading series, which champions local and emerging artists. This month they’re co-presenting an NYC Queer Literary Celebration with several other lovely lit orgs: Luna Luna Magazine, No Tokens, and the Rumpus. Readers will be: writer and curator Hugh Ryan, poet and visual artist Elliott Sky Case, storyteller Allyson McCabe, pop-culture writer Leah Schnelbach, and author Joanna C. Valente.
Monday, November 18th, 7 p.m. // McNally Jackson Williamsburg, 76 North 4th St., Brooklyn // Free
The Year Ahead @ Bell House
It’s time for yet another democratic primary debate! And we’re already down to *checks notes* yeah still 10 candidates. If you’d like a fresh perspective on how we got here and what’s coming next, head to The Year Ahead to let seven of Slate’s excellent female journalists womansplain it to you. You’ll hear from writers and podcasters including Ashley Feinberg, Dahlia Lithwick, Christina Cauterucci, and Julia Craven; they’ll get you up to speed and then help you through the debate itself with humor and sass.
Wednesday, November 20th, 6:30 p.m. // Bell House, 149 Seventh St., Brooklyn // Tickets: $25
Step into a destabilized dance universe at BAM
Herman Sorgeloos
32 Rue Vandenbranden @ BAM Harvey Theater
Get a good dose of hyperrealism from genre-defying Belgian dance-theater company Peeping Tom, who will make their BAM debut with 32 Rue Vandenbranden. The “hilariously unpredictable, relentlessly clever” work sets five dancers plus one mezzo-soprano in a surreal and unstable universe; the performers contort, bend, jerk, and levitate to a soundtrack that includes everything from Bach to KPOP. The performance is part of this year’s Next Wave season.
Wednesday, November 20th, to Saturday, November 23rd // BAM Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn // Tickets: $25 and up
Winter Lantern Festival @ Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden
If you’re still in the doldrums from the end of Daylight Savings Time, head down to Staten Island to roam around the Winter Lantern Festival, which boasts more than 1,000 pieces of luminescent art shaped like animals, flowers, and creatures. There will also be international Asian food vendors and a range of cultural performances like plate and bowl spinning, hoop tumbling, Tibetan folk dance, and a sub-genre of Chinese Sichuan opera called “face-changing magician.” The festival is open until January 12th.
Opens Wednesday, November 20th // Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terr., Staten Island // Tickets: $23
Take a bite of Harlem history at MOFAD
Matt Dutile
Our Harlem Live @ Museum of Food and Drink
Dive into the culture and cuisine of Harlem with Our Harlem Live, the story of award-winning chef, restauranteur, and author Marcus Samuelsson’s journey to found the Red Rooster. The evening will celebrate Samuelsson’s new audio cookbook Our Harlem: Seven Days of Cooking, Music and Soul at the Red Rooster. There will be a panel discussion with Harlem fashion icon Lana Turner, author and professor April Reynolds, and Red Rooster Chef de Cuisine Edward Brumfield, followed by a reception with bites from the Red Rooster.
Thursday, November 21st, 7 p.m. // Museum of Food and Drink, 62 Bayard St., Brooklyn // Tickets: $35
The Vibe of the Village Festival @ Museum of the City of New York
It’s been a year since the Village Voice died, so take the weekend to honor the legacy of both the paper and the neighborhood that built it at The Vibe of the Village Festival. There will be conversations, breakout sessions, live music, film, tours, cocktails, and more, including panels on the Voice’s photography and journalism with its former writers and photographers. On Sunday there will be additional family-focused activities, like art-making, poetry workshops, and a scavenger hunt.
Friday, November 22nd, through Sunday, November 24th // Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave., Harlem // Free with museum admission
Strap on your skates for Beyoncé
Lola Star
Beyoncé Dreamland Roller Disco @ City Point
This fall, Lola Star brought her beloved Dreamland roller disco from Prospect Park down to City Point, and she’s thrown weekend parties there since. This Friday is themed for the queen—Beyoncé, that is. Expect DJs spinning all her hits, performers doing roller go-go and dancing with illuminated hula-hoops, a skate-dance competition, and a costume contest, so don’t forget to dress on-theme. Tickets include skate rentals, but you’re welcome to bring your own.
Friday, November 22nd, 7:30 p.m. // City Point, 445 Albee Sq., Brooklyn // Tickets: $23
Get luminous!
Magical Winter Lights
LuminoCity Festival @ Randall's Island
Here’s another chance to light up the night: the enormous LuminoCity Festival covers more than 16 acres with 20+ sets of larger-than-life light displays, from a giant donut tunnel to a castle in the sky to dinosaurs by a roaring volcano. The scintillating installation is divided into three sections: Winter Fantasy, Wild Adventure, and Sweet Dream. Beyond the lights will be a night market with dozens of food and drink vendors like Bao Shoppe, Gorilla Cheese, Empire BBQ, Sam’s Fried Ice Cream, and many more. The fest goes through January 5th.
Opens Saturday, November 23rd // Randall’s Island, 20 Randall’s Island Park // Tickets: $38
Brooklyn Children's Book Fair @ Brooklyn Museum
Bring all your favorite literary kiddos (including the young at heart) to the 13th annual Brooklyn Children's Book Fair. The fair will be filled with more than 40 authors reading and illustrators presenting storybooks, picture books, and graphic novels. There will also be book-related art-making activities for kids of all ages—particularly those who have trouble sitting still for too long.
Saturday, November 23rd, 11:30 a.m. // Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Pkwy., Brooklyn // Free
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Oriana Leckert
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