Weekend Events

Annual Coney Island Beard and Moustache Competition
Burly beards and manicured moustaches flock to Coney Island for Donny Vomit’s 4th Annual Coney Island Beard and Moustache Competition. In true Coney Island fashion this event celebrates the amazing and the absurd as contestants compete for Trophy Fez’s categories such as Moustache/Beard Natural and Styled, Best Fake beard, and for those not naturally gifted with the fuzz–Worst in Show (for the tackiest and tasteless presentation). Adding to the nights festivities will be DJ Mike Harr will be spinning music from the 20’s and 30’s on his vintage victrolas. Strait Razor demonstrations some fabulous sideshow performances. September 10, 6-8pm Registration 8-10pm Judging and show, 1208 Surf Avenue, $15.

Sunday’s at Sunny’s
After a summer hiatus, we’re back this Sunday, September 11 at 3 p.m. at Sunny’s bar, 253 Conover Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The reading will feature novelist Megan Abbott, author of The End of Everything; memoirist Michele Carlo, author of Fish Out of Agua: My Life on Neither Side of the (Subway) Tracks; and novelist Kio Stark, author of Follow Me Down. Admission is $5, which includes Italian pastries from Court Pastry Shop and free coffee. The bar phone number is 718-625-8211. BookCourt bookstore cosponsors and the authors will sign books at the reading.

Michael Schall Solo Show
The opening of Michael Schall’s show at Pierogi this Friday night from 7-9pm. The artist will be exhibiting a bunch of new drawings in the front room, and the back room will be showing some great etchings by Tony Fitzpatrick. Click here to read the press release and preview of some of the work.

Brooklyn Flea + Smorgasburg
On Saturday, the Flea is held at 176 Lafayette Ave. (between Clermont + Vanderbilt Avenues) in Fort Greene. On Sunday, the Flea will be at 27 North 6th Street (between Kent Avenue + East River). And on Saturday we also hold Smorgasburg, at the same Williamsburg location. Come join us – and all our food, antique, vintage and art vendors – this weekend. Flea: 10am to 5pm, Smorg: 9am to 5pm. Always free.

After the jump, an art exhibit memorializing 9/11, the Columbia Street Fair and a Coney Island Soap Box Derby…

Columbia Street Fair
Take time this Saturday, 10 September, to visit the Columbia Street Waterfront Fall Festival to be held from 11am to 6 pm. The Carroll Gardens Association is sponsoring the annual event, which stretches from the intersections of DeGraw to Union on Columbia St. and from the intersections of Columbia to Hicks on Union St., and will include a visit from the North Shore Animal League Adoption Trailer, live music, rides, games, and shopping.

Opening Night for ‘grace’, A Light Sculpture Installation to Honor 9/11 Victims
‘grace’ is composed of concentric red neon rings suspended from a 20 foot ceiling forming a light tower. It is held in position vertically without fixed points or knots, only by the simple tension exerted by four plomb bobs. It was a work in progress in 2001 at the time of the World Trade Center attack. The artist, Pietro Costa (Cobble Hill, Brooklyn resident) experienced the shower of burnt, tattered papers floating down from the sky that came from the many offices in the WTC, just as many downtown Brooklyn people did. As a result of that he had recurring nightmares of the sky raining paper and was compelled to introduce this occurrence into the sculpture. Scattered around the sculpture’s base in the form of a wreath Costa placed individual strips of paper representing all the victims of 9/11, with their names, ages, employers, job titles and location when they died. Also included are the names of the hijackers as well as blank strips representing the unknown quantity of homeless & undocumented NYC residents. Visitors are encouraged to take a strip of paper with them. Opening Reception, September 10th from 6 – 8:00PM. Exhibition Dates: Sept. 10th – Oct. 15th, 20011 at 314 Atlantic Avenue (between Smith and Hoyt Street .Closer to Smith Street).

3rd Annual Soap Box Derby Race
To the youth competing in the 3rd Annual Coney Island Generation Gap’s (CIGG) Soap Box Derby Race on Sept. 10, it’s a day of great fun. To the organizers, it’s that and much more—an environment in which parents and other adults help youth (ages 5-18) to develop their strengths, skills and competencies, as well as to encourage innovation, creativity, the true spirit of teamwork, sportsmanship, and the perseverance to complete a project from start to finish. Participants will push the gravity-powered derby cars from atop a path in Kaiser Park in Coney Island. Youth from 17 sponsoring groups decorated and/or constructed their derby cars. In addition to the derby drivers, youth will serve as members of the pit, flag, and race-set up crews. Saturday, 12 pm – 6 pm. Kaiser Park , between West 28th and West 29th Streets, Coney Island.