Some Personal News
Plus, over 65 events & neighborhood news!🌈
TL;DR I’m taking a break from the newsletter for a bit because I HAD A BABY!
Starting Monday, June 16th all paid subscriptions will be put on pause. This means you won’t receive any new charges until I turn the paywall back on, and if you have an annual subscription, this break won’t count toward that subscription. This will happen automatically; there is no action required from you.
If you’d like to read the longer story, you’ll find it below.
And this week’s events, newsy links, and puzzle are below that.
I started working on this letter over a month ago and just couldn’t get it right. I knew what I wanted to say — I’m pregnant and I’m going to take a break once the baby is here — but each time I sat down to write, I found myself staring at a blinking cursor, questioning everything. I kept telling myself I had time, but then our son came a little earlier than expected, so…here we are!
I don’t have an exact plan, but I’ll be taking the next several weeks to dote on the little guy. Plus, our daughter is officially on summer break now, so I’m bracing for how the lack of school structure impacts my time to work.
BUT — new letters will still hit your inbox! I lined up a few friends to take over Park Slope Times, and I’m really excited to see what they share with us. Also, I’ll pop in now and again with updates and neighborhood news too.
Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for being here. I really love this newsletter, and it wouldn’t be possible without you. xoxo
This week’s puzzle is a photo I took at last year’s Brooklyn Pride Festival on Fifth Avenue.
The puzzle is 60 pieces, but you can change it by clicking on the box of nine dots on the left of the bar, selecting the number of puzzle pieces you want, and clicking OK. Also, you can view the original image by clicking the photo icon on the top bar, and you can make your workspace full screen by clicking at the top right.
DO THE PUZZLE!
Important election dates and deadlines: June 14th: Mail ballot request deadline; June 14th: Early voting starts; June 14th: Voter registration deadline; June 22nd: Early voting ends; June 24th: Primary election day (6AM-9PM).
Calling all mobile food vendors: Prospect Park Alliance is looking for a mobile food vendor at 9th Street and Prospect Park West. Find the RFP here. Proposals are due on June 23rd.
BBG celebrates 100 years of Bonsai: You can view the BBG’s incredible Bonsai Collection, including additional specimens and special tours, exhibits, and workshops, now through October 19th, 2025.
The Grand Army Plaza restoration project is complete: “The work included replacing the roof, cleaning and repointing the granite stonework, repairing decorative bronze and cast-iron spiral staircases, restoring entrance gates, and installing new energy-efficient lighting to highlight the arch’s historic sculptures,” reported Brooklyn Paper.
Hazardous section of Jacob Riis beach will stay closed this summer.
NOW SHOWING: Bonsai Collection Centennial & Outdoor Bonsai Display, 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
06/15 Father's Day Sunday Funday Celebration, All day 📍Kick Axe Throwing
06/15 50th Seventh Heaven Street Fair, 10PM-6PM 📍7th Ave between Lincoln Place and 14th Street
06/15 JAPAN Fes, 10PM-6PM 📍7th Ave between 9th and 10th Streets
06/15 & 06/21 Nature Exploration: Pollinator Month, 10AM-1PM 📍Audubon Center
06/15 Smorgasburg, 11AM-6PM 📍Prospect Park, Breeze Hill
06/15 & 06/21 Pop-Up Audubon I, 12PM-4PM 📍Prospect Park, Nellie's Lawn
06/15 & 06/21 Pop-Up Audubon II, 12PM-4PM 📍Prospect Park Entrance, Ocean Avenue
06/15 Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra: Opera Selections and Tchaikovsky, 2PM-4PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
06/15 Aaron & Josh Do Improv-athon AFTERNOON SHOW, 3PM & 7PM 📍The Bell House
06/15 BEAUTY: A Father/Daughter Story with Katrina Davis, 5PM-6:30PM 📍Union Hall
06/15 Everybooty 2025, 5PM 📍BAM
06/15 June Queer Lit Book Club, 7:15PM-8:30PM 📍The Ripped Bodice
06/15 Good God, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
06/15 David Gborie, 8PM-10PM 📍Littlefield
06/16 Frankenstein’s Baby, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
06/17 Stomp, Clap and Sing with Suzi Shelton, Strawbitty Yops, & Friends, 10:30AM-11:30AM 📍Central Library
06/17 Jack and Friends Summer Concert Series Juneteenth Celebration: Conroy Warren, 4PM-4:45PM 📍Park Slope Library Garden
06/17 Wise Wonder Spring Storytime Series, 4PM-5PM 📍Old Stone House
06/17 Intellectual Freedom Teen Meetup: Creativity as a Resource for Resistance, 6PM-7PM 📍Virtual
06/17 LGBTQ+ Know Your Rights! 6PM-8PM 📍Park Slope Library
06/17 Zen & The Art of Filming Family Interviews, 6:30PM-8:30PM 📍Green-Wood Cemetery
06/17 NYCRUNS Lousy T-Shirt Race, 7PM-8PM 📍Prospect Park
06/17 Resonance & Resilience: The Power of Music in Uncertain Times, 7PM 📍Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
06/17 Demetri Martin: The Quick Draw Tour, 7:30PM 📍The Bell House
06/17 LATE BLOOMERS a lineup of unexpected solo characters, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
06/17 The Occasionalists Present: A Night of Live Band Karaoke, 8PM-11PM 📍Littlefield
06/18 Community Bookstore Book Club: You Dreamed of Empires, 7PM-8PM 📍Community Bookstore
06/18 Hear Me Out: Hosted by Nick Smith, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
06/18 Samantha Bee Presents: WITS END, 7:30PM-10PM 📍Littlefield
06/18 The Darkroom MCs Premiere, 8PM-9:30PM 📍Central Library
06/18 WHY ARE YOU SINGLE? A GAME SHOW WITH MARIE FAUSTIN, 8PM 📍The Bell House
06/18 Planet Courtney, 10PM-11:30PM 📍Union Hall
06/19-07/06 Uhuru Season: 17 Days of Freedom, All day 📍Prospect Park, Lefferts Historic House
06/19 & 06/20 Nature Exploration: Pollinator Month, 10AM-3PM 📍Audubon Center
06/19 Sing with Suzi in the Park, 10AM 📍Old Stone House
06/19 Juneteenth Family Trolley Tour, 10:30AM & 1PM 📍Green-Wood Cemetery
06/19 Juneteenth Celebration with Classique, 1PM 📍Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
06/19 Juneteenth School Holiday in Prospect Park, 2PM-5PM 📍Audubon Center
06/19 BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn’s 3rd Annual Juneteenth in the Park, 5PM 📍Prospect Park, Lena Horne Bandshell
06/19 Black Nature Films in the Park: Eve’s Bayou (Kasi Lemmons, 1997), 6:30PM-10PM 📍Audubon Center
06/19 Prospect Park Yoga with Brooklyn Flow, 7PM-8PM 📍Prospect Park, Long Meadow North
06/19 Drunk Black History, 8PM 📍The Bell House
06/19 Gyalifest: The After-Party, 10PM 📍Littlefield
06/19 I WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD with Jack Bensinger, 10PM-11:30PM 📍Union Hall
06/20 Summer Solstice Celebration Sunrise Performance, 5:15AM-6AM 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
06/20 Celebrating Caribbean Heritage and Juneteenth: A Musical Celebration, 3:30PM-4:30PM 📍Park Slope Library Garden
06/20 Artist Talk - Things Fall Apart: Meena Hasan, 6PM-8PM 📍Old Stone House
06/20 BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Habibi Festival at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! 6PM-8PM 📍Lena Horne Bandshell
06/20 Jazz Night, 7:30PM-9:30PM 📍Art Collective Café
06/20 KC Shornima: Detachment Theory, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
06/20 This Will Destroy You w/ Jesse Beaman, 8PM-10:30PM 📍Littlefield
06/20 Summer Solstice Celebration Sunset Performance, 8:30PM-10PM 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
06/20 Nocturnal Navigators: Green-Wood Bat Walk, 8:45PM-10:45PM 📍Green-Wood Cemetery
06/20 Brittany Carney and Accomplices, 10PM-11:30PM 📍Union Hall
06/21 The Boy Who Drew Cats Dance Party! 10AM-11AM 📍Old Stone House
06/21 LevelUP Day 2025: Future Forward with Juneteenth Tech™, 11AM-4PM 📍Central Library
06/21 A Midsummer Afternoon’s Perfumed Walk in the Shakespeare Garden: Perfume in the Time of Shakespeare, 11AM-2PM 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
06/21 Speak Up! Festival, 12PM-3PM 📍Old Stone House
06/21 Invasive Ikebana, 12:30PM-3:30PM 📍Green-Wood Cemetery
06/21 Juneteenth Jubilee, 1PM-5PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
06/21 Climate Café: From Plate to Planet: The journey of food scraps and waste in our environment, 3PM-5PM 📍Central Library
06/21 Prospect Park Soiree 2025, 5PM-10PM 📍Prospect Park Peninsula
06/21 Dan Carney (And Some Friends), 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
06/21 Peretsky "It Doesn't Get Cold in October Anymore" LP Release, 8PM-10:30PM 📍Littlefield
06/21 Sandwich with Gastor Almonte and Jess Salomon, 10PM-11:30PM 📍Union Hall
06/21 Vintage Vibez, 11PM 📍Littlefield
Thank you for reading! Please subscribe if you’d like to get future letters, including the guest letters coming soon. And Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers and father figures out there!
Kelley xo
Congratulations!!!!!!
Wow!!! Congratulations!!!!