How often will you get the chance to tell people you learned to speak Russian on the Gowanus Canal?
Here’s your chance. The Empty Vessel Project is hosting Sunday afternoon Russian Classes on the deck of its World War II Navy rescue boat. The class runs from 5-6 and there is a donation that will go directly to the instructor. To join email pz@emptyvesselproject.org. A French class will start in June, also on the Empty Vessel boat on the South Brooklyn Seine. To parlez français sur la mer, email dylan@giganticartspace.com.
As if that–or this gorgeous shot made by f.trainer and posted on flickr– is not enough to get our Gowanus fluids flowing, an open work day at the boat is taking place on Sunday from 1 PM-6 PM. The Empty Vessel crew invites all to “borrow the kayak, hang out in the hammock, work on a wall and meet your fellow crew members.”
Sounds almost like a Sunday in the Hamptons, except for the “work on a wall” part.
If a Sunday night party on the Big G is your thing, a fundraiser for a charity bicycle ride from London to Paris to benefit MAG–a UK-based group that funds land mine removal–starts at five. There is a “sliding scale” donation of $5 to $15 that includes two drinks. (Look desperate for a drink and get in for less?)
The party, the organizers say, will go “until someone falls off the boat into the Gowanus Canal. Party goes later if we can pull them out.”
Eew.
Find the Empty Vessel Project boat at the foot of First Street on the north side of the Gowanus Canal (find it by finding Third and Bond or Carroll and Bond–failing that, you can see the boat from the Carroll Street Bridge or the Third Street Bridge).
Also, today, as noted in an earlier entry below, Proteus Gowanus is hosting a discussion today on the “changing currents” in Gowanus. It takes place at the super cool Proteus Gowanus space at 543 Union Street (the entrance is on Nevins) and starts at 3:30 PM. The roster includes historic preservationist Lisa Ackerman, biologist Amy Lesen, author Phillip Lopate, poet Vijay Seshadri, low income housing expert Benjamin Warnke, and settlement house fundraiser and enthusiast of 19th Century housing reformer Alfred Tredway White, Sally Yarmolinsky.
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1 Sonja Shield // May 7, 2006 at 8:29 am
another cool thing going on in gowanus today – at Proteus Gowanus, which is a new interdisciplinary gallery and reading room located in a former 1900 box factory on the Gowanus Canal, they’re holding Alfred Tredway White Day: A look at changing currents along the Gowanus Canal.
Here’s their descripton:
Using the work of the nineteenth century social visionary, Alfred Tredway White, as a jumping off point, an interdisciplinary group of speakers will look at the area along the Gowanus Canal through a broad cultural lens:
Historic preservationist, Lisa Ackerman, biologist, Amy Lesen, author, Phillip Lopate, poet, Vijay Seshadri, low income housing expert, Benjamin Warnke, settlement house fundraiser and Alfred Tredway White enthusiast, Sally Yarmolinsky followed by the world premiere of “The Gowanus Canal Song” performed by composer, Ben Yarmolinsky
A cash oyster and beer bar (a nod to the succulent Gowanus oyster, Brooklyn’s first export, enjoyed by Dutch Settlers in the 17th century)and an interdisciplinary exhibit and sale of Gowanus related art, artifacts, and books.
$10 donation to Brooklyn Community Housing Services.
Space is limited. Please email your reservations to info@proteusgowanus.com or call 718-243-1522.
Proteus Gowanus
543 Union Street at Nevins
enter through large black gate on Nevins
718-243-1572
http://www.proteusgowanus.com