offManhattan

What: NY Creates Sixth Annual Craft Fair at BHS

Where: Brooklyn Historical Society, Ground Floor

When: Dec. 11-16th, weekdays 11:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.; weekends 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.

Why: If you’re in the mood to do a little one-for-me-and-one-for-you holiday shopping while enjoying free admission to one of New York City’s great cultural hidden gems, make time for this event. Back at the Brooklyn Historical Society for the third year, New York Creates organizer Ted Berger (and former executive director of the New York Foundation for the Arts) said, “One of the reasons we do it here [BHS] is because we think people need to see this important cultural resource. Architecturally, it’s a beautiful building and it has wonderful exhibits. This event is an opportunity to shop, support a broad spectrum of artists in the city, and see an extraordinary place.”

What: Mariana Bekerman Dance Premiere

Where: LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Long Island City, Queens 

When: Saturday, December 5th, 8:00p.m.

Why: With her new multi-cultural ten-member dance troupe, the Ukrainian-born Tisch graduate Mariana Bekerman is striving to “make performers and viewers aware that we are all connected, regardless if our world is comprised of chaos, complexity and disorder.” This Saturday, the company will perform “Black and White,” a dialogue on power, hate, death, and love—you’d do well to add a little substance to your lazy winter weekends. For the price of two Chipotle burritos, take in a moving performance that celebrates life, which is what this season’s all about.

Cost: $15 in advance; $20 at the door; $10 for students

At an abandoned factory in Queens, the four stories are dripping in Technicolor graffiti, and curbed by people who’ve turned their bodies into a canvas of blue ink and silver piercings. This is 5Pointz Aerosol Art Center. Here in Long Island City, the guerilla artists—and the underrepresented communities they come from—have found a place to put their writing on the proverbial wall. Curator Jonathan Cohen divvies up garage doors, courtyard walls, ventilation ducts (basically anything that can be reached with his 50-foot orange bucket-lift) and reclaims the gallery by thinking outside it.

For one more day, CMJ is all the rave in New York with scores of indie bands playing stages and halls throughout the boroughs. It’s a chance for existing fans to share their fave musicians with, perhaps, a new cult following of others. Before this year’s CMJ festival, the British band Fanfarlo finished their first American tour by gracing the borough of Brooklyn, playing previously released singles and songs from their debut album “Reservoir.” On behalf of the group who’s currently reading “The Vagina Monologues” on the tour bus—Cathy Lucas, Leon Beckenham, Simon Balthazar, Justin Finch and Jeremy Warmsley—percussionist and vocalist Amos Menon sat down with oM to answer a few questions on the band name, glockenspiels, and how Fanfarlo’s music should really be defined.

How did you form and come to name yourselves, Fanfarlo?
Fanfarlo was Simon’s recording project from his home in Gothenburg, Sweden. After moving to London and playing early shows with backing tracks, he handpicked the best of his musical friends, who morphed into the band that recorded “Reservoir.”  Fanfarlo is named after the character La Fanfarlo from Charles Baudelaire’s novella La Fanfarlo.

Imagine a movie theater that can transport people to the golden age of Hollywood, when powerful film studios built extravagant palaces to showcase their upcoming releases. A movie theater where classic films like “Gone with the Wind” were accompanied by a live orchestra, and the stage alternated as a venue for legendary performers like Duke Ellington, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, and Cab Calloway. Today, many of these historic theaters have been demolished to make room for plain-looking multiplex cinemas, which have emerged along highways and nearby malls. But for local movie patrons keen on rekindling the glamor of that era, The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre is one way to feel the classic, grand vibes of the 1920s and 1930s.

The world renowned Dia: Beacon museum is reason enough to follow the train tracks north for a city escape. But the town of Beacon is also an enclave for art lovers looking for a cultural getaway. This weekend, artists around town will once again open their workplace for Beacon Open Studios, a town-wide artwalk, and the old printing factory will participate in the free Smithsonian Museum Day. Beacon’s signature event, the 32nd annual Spirit of Beacon Day, takes over the city on Sunday with a full parade including marching band, floats, and costumes inspired by the quad-centennial honoring Henry Hudson.

“The richness and history of the city itself is alive on Main Street. The community, its residents and the city’s growing success all comprise the spirit and essence of Beacon,” said Ann Meagher, president and CEO of Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce.

When we last visited Beacon for the bi-annual Fall Cavalcade, we wound up exploring old red bricked buildings, the historic railroad at East End, and secret garden cafes, and in the process found nine must-see Main Street stops for artists and foodies alike.

What: 2nd Annual Fall Handmade Cavalcade

When: Sat, Sept 12th, 11:00 a.m.—7:00p.m.

Where: Beacon, New York

Why: If they make it, a group of Etsy-ers believe you will come. That is why the {NewNew} and Hudson Valley Etsy teams have joined forces to convert a local Beacon woodshop into their second annual D.I.Y. event. This Saturday, in conjunction with the town’s second Saturday art walk series, a little more than 20 vendors will take over a section of Main Street with food, silk scarves, funky toys, upcycled handbags, vintage finery, eco-friendly wares, and unique stationary.

What: Impose Magazine’s Party With Tables

When: Saturday, Aug 29th, 1p.m.

Where: BKLYN Yard, 388-400 Carroll St.

Why: Impose Magazine is plugged in to the best up and coming music in the world of all things independent and underground. Through their print magazine, website, record label, and events, they are dedicated to the pulse of new music.