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What's Up, Weekend: It's A Spring-Fling Event Sort Of Thing

So Mother Nature, fresh off a 30-day detox at one of the more celebrity-heavy rehab centers, will finally give us some weather that reflects the calendar and just in time for Easter Weekend.
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So Mother Nature, fresh off a 30-day detox at one of the more celebrity-heavy rehab centers, will finally give us some weather that reflects the calendar and just in time for Easter Weekend. I know it just snowed the other day, but Mother Nature left the helm to her assistant while she went to dry out, and was just recently released. Hopefully it won't start raining men on Saturday and the forecast seems almost certain that the city won't get hit by a typhoon on Sunday.

In fact, Mother Nature would best keep the wind gusts to a minimum, lest she rustle the church crowd on Easter, who don't take too kindly to flying Easter bonnets or carefully coiffed wigs becoming askew.  So with a decent, quasi-warmish few days on the horizon, it's safe to plan some Brooklyn weekend activities they don't require a bubble goose and skullcap.

FRIDAY

Busker_Ball
Busking Is Boss

 NYC BUSKER BALLUNIT J-338 Moffat Street, 8pm-2am (Williamsburg)

Busking is pretty big in NYC. It's on street corners, in parks and down in the Subway. In fact, buskers should come as part of the fare since the MTA raised it twenty five cents. This year is the 9th annual Busker Ball; nine years of celebrating the spontaneous, live and personal performances that take place all across the city. The 2015 celebration is at a warehouse in Williamsburg and will feature performances from a line up of awesome artists. The type of line-up that you would normally need to criss-cross the city on the iron horse, to catch all the artists in one day.

They'll also be reasonably priced drinks and a $5 suggested donation at the door. Hit up their Facebook event page by clicking HERE, but know that the performance bill includes Stories For Days, featuring gHSTS N gUITARS and my boy the lyrical Jadon Woodard, the three piece band House Of Waters and also Bandits On The Run, who bring excellent harmonies to the table. You can't beat the lineup for the price!

The Nets Might Sneak Into The 8th Seed
The Nets Might Sneak Into The 8th Seed

BARCLAY CENTER, 620 Atlantic Avenue (Fort Greene)

Don't look now, but the Brooklyn Nets are battling for the 8th seed in the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs. It's two things that suck about that:

1. If they didn't underachieve so badly, in a less than stellar conference/division, they should be fighting for the 4th seed, which would have given them a chance to get to the second round

2. Fighting for the 8th spot is like fighting for the affection of the weird-smelly kid in the 3rd grade, because even if you win...you lose! 8th seed just gets wiped out by Atlanta, so if they wasn't going to seed higher, they should have angled for the draft lottery instead

Toronto was the beast of the east in the 1st part of the season, til Atlanta went on that winning streak and LeBron James went on that mini-vacation. They're still a quality team and a good measuring stick of Brooklyn to see how they play against quality, Eastern Conference teams.  I'm pretty sure that you can still get tickets!

The Game Community Needs Some Shaking Up
The Game Community Needs Some Shaking Up

DIFFERENT GAMES, NYU Magnet Center, 2 Metrotech Center (Downtown) Friday April 3rd & Satuday April 4th

The Different Games is an annual, two day, student and volunteer lead conference on diversity and inclusivity in games, because frankly, the gaming community can be a rather homogenous group of people. It's the third year of the conference which welcomes people from all corners of the gaming community for talks/lectures, workshops, networking and of course, playing games.

You can check out there website by clicking HERE, where you can register for the conference and get information on speakers, workshops, and video games that will be on hand and testable for free. Whether you design games, are in the gaming press, on the PR side or teach, and especially if you're in the LGBT community, or if you're a girl, you should definitely think about attending.

SATURDAY

The Easter Bunny is real, So stop your spewing your conspiracy theory propaganda to the kids
The Easter Bunny is real, So stop your spewing your conspiracy theory propaganda to the kids

SHWICK MARKET, 6 Charles Place, 11am (Bushwick)

I have no idea how the Easter Egg hunt became a part of Easter and I just refuse to Google it and read thru some random Wikipedia entrees. I'm also not sure how the Easter Bunny came about and again, I'm not going to Google it just because I'm recommending you take your bad arse kids and hit up the Shwick Easter celebration.

They'll have all the things kids love, including the aforementioned Easter Egg Hunt and a real life Easter Bunny, but they'll also have arts and crafts and a bounce house. If you have kids that never get invited to play dates and who are always having problems on the playground because of aggression or maybe eating boogers and grossing other kids out, just make sure to keep an eye on the little rascals. It's definitely going to be a real blast for the tykes.

Of course it's still Shwick Market, so they'll have the usual kicking, local vendors, both inside and outside, selling everything from grass fed beef burgers to artisanal soaps, along with DJs all day and just general merryment. Hit their Facebook page HERE for more information.

Pillow Fights Are Not For The Squeamish
Pillow Fights Are Not For The Squeamish

THE WICK, 260 Meserole Street, 7pm-4am (Bushwick)

This is going to be an all day affair, which happens right after the huge pillow fight in Washington Square Park. In fact, it's the official after party for the pillow fight, with shuttle buses leaving from WSP and heading directly to The Wick. It's a bevy of happenings at this happening, from live band performances, DJs, visual art and of course, more pillow fighting.

You can hit up the Facebook Event page by clicking HERE and know that it's $20 at the door, but advanced tickets on their EventBrite page can be had for a reduced price. Expect lots of people in costume, some still swinging pillows, with lots of drinking and revelry. It's a long event so pace yourself like you would at a music festival and stay hydrated in case you get in a especially prolonged and brutal pillow fight.

Poppin' Off On Atlantic Ave
Poppin' Off On Atlantic Ave

CHIME, KYMBERLE PROJECT, 1332 Atlantic Avenue, 7pm-4am (Crown Heights)

CHIME, an acronym for Crown Heights Independent Music Extravaganza, is a bi-monthly, live music and art event that shines the light on the shining stars of the Brooklyn music scene. It's the fourth iteration of the event and since the previous three got good word of mouth reviews, and with this being the biggest yet, it's clearly an event to look forward to this weekend.

Hit up there Facebook Event page by clicking HERE for band lineup and more info on how to spend the night before Easter Sunday, aka a good reason to fall asleep at church with your mother.

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This one sounds like a raving good time

RETAIL RAVE, 622 BROADWAY, #302, 2pm-10pm (Williamsburg)

This is a all encompassing situation, where you're getting DJs, Light Shows, Visual Shows, Day Drinking, Retail and in general, a real NYC experience! The day drinking is billed as an open bar, so that's even more reason to go check out DJ's Joey Labeija, Wolfbitch and Brian Whateverer do their thing in a daytime environment, as your surrounded by lights and visuals.

Sounds real trippy while the sun is up and that's often a good thing. Hit up their Facebook Event page by clicking HERE, for more information, like if the retail sales are cash only or if they take cards or maybe ask if there's a place to smoke ciggies without going downstairs and maybe if it's also BYOB...ok, those are some of my own questions, but ask them if you want, because you might want the answers as well.

SUNDAY

Le Last Season
Le Last Season

HANSON DRY, 925 FULTON STREET, 9PM-10PM (Clinton Hills)

If you like Mad Men, then hit up Hanson Dry this Sunday for the season premier of the final season of the show. Mr. Draper just came back from rehab in real life (or rather, the actor Jon Hamm), and word is that this final season is going to be stellar. Me personally, I've never watched the show but I hear that it's quality television. I actually might follow the final season to see what all the hoopla and hub bub has been about.

You could visit their Facebook Event page by clicking HERE, but all you really need to know is that they're showing MAD MEN, on the big screen, with the sound up and it's $4 Martinis from 9pm-11pm. Stop playing and get over there!




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