July Events in Prospect Park BROOKLYN, July 1, 2016 – Beat the heat by the Prospect Park Lake! On Saturdays and Sundays in July, Fishing Clinics are back at both Pop Up Audubon roving natural education tents. See if your family can hook a sunfish or a bluegill as Alliance educators teach participants all about lake ecology and environmental diversity. Adults can get in on the nature fun too! At the Prospect Park Audubon Center's Creatures of the Night, attendees will relax with a light dinner of wine and cheese before exploring the Park's nocturnal wildlife with expert naturalist Paul Keim. - Indicates kid-friendly event Ezra Jack Keats Story Hour Saturdays + Sundays in July, 2–3 pm Imagination Playground, Free Gather around Peter and Willie, the statue of two beloved Keats characters, for storytelling adventures brought to life by Tammy Hall. Sponsored by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. Pop Up Audubon: Macy’s Fishing Clinic Saturdays + Sundays in July, 12–6 pm Peninsula, Free with RSVP Join Alliance educators to learn about ecology under the water and in the air! RSVP to reserve your spot. • Macy’s Fishing Clinic, 1 + 3 pm: This popular summer program offers kids and adults of all ages the opportunity to fish . Participants learn about aquatic ecology, fishing safety, how to use a cane pole and will even get to collect their own bait.. First come, first serve. • Family Bird Watching, 4:30 pm: Did you know that as an Important Bird Area, Prospect Park supports an exceptional diversity of migrating birds and is an essential stopover for about 250 species of birds? After learning how to use binoculars, participants of all ages can join Alliance Naturalists on a walk to learn how to identify these birds! Pop-Up Audubon II: Fishing Fun Saturdays + Sundays in July, 12–6 pm North End of Esplanade, Free with RSVP Join Alliance educators to learn about ecology under the water and in the air! RSVP to reserve your spot. • Fishing Clinic, 1 + 3 pm: This popular summer program offers kids over the age of 8 and adults the opportunity to fish. Participants learn about aquatic ecology, fishing safety, how to cast a spincasting rod and will even get to collect their own bait. First come, first serve. • Family Bird Watching, 4:30 pm: Did you know that as an Important Bird Area, Prospect Park supports an exceptional diversity of migrating birds and is an essential stopover for about 250 species of birds? After learning how to use binoculars, participants of all ages can join Alliance Naturalists on a walk to learn how to identify these birds! Farm Fun Saturdays + Sundays in July, 2–4 pm Lefferts Historic House, Free Visitors of all ages can come help Alliance educators take care of the potato plot, herb gardens and berry patches by pulling weeds and helping to water. We will provide the tools and gloves, but recommend that you bring a hat and a bottle of water. Early Morning Bird Walk: Taking Wing Sunday, July 3rd, 8–9 am Prospect Park Audubon Center, Free This is the time of year when young birds outnumber adult birds. Join the Prospect Park Alliance in search of fledglings as they test their wings! Tour leaves promptly at 8 am. Led by the Brooklyn Bird Club. Independence Day in Prospect Park Monday, July 4, 12–6 pm Join the Prospect Park Alliance this Independence Day for family-friendly activities at the Prospect Park Audubon Center, Lefferts Historic House and the 1912 Carousel. • Nature Exploration, 12–4 pm Prospect Park Audubon Center, Free Discovery Pack, 12–3 pm: The Prospect Park Alliance invites you to get inspired by nature with our new Discovery Packs, a ready-to-go kits filled with nature activities for families. Bird Nerds Game Hour, 1–2 pm: Test your knowledge of birds in this fun, mildly competitive hour of puzzles, Bingo, card games, and more! Nature on the Go!, 2–3 pm: An Alliance Naturalist will lead children and families to areas near the Audubon Center, where you can learn about the nature that is all around us and participate in a Citizen Science project. • Independence Day, 1–4 pm Lefferts Historic House, Free Celebrate America's birthday and one of the greatest documents ever written. Look extra patriotic as you make yourself a plumed hat to wear while signing your own "John Hancock" on a reproduction of the Declaration of Independence. • Carousel Rides, 12–6 pm Children’s Corner, $2 per ride, $9 for a book of 5 tickets, free with Alliance Family Plus membership Celebrate with a ride on the Park’s beloved 1912 carousel. Join the Alliance at the $150 level and your family (up to 4 people) will receive unlimited rides on the Carousel for a full year! A Midsummer Night’s Dream Wednesday, July 6–Sunday, July 10, 7–9 pm Long Meadow In celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's life & work, New York Classical Theatre returns to Prospect Park for another season of free, outdoor performances. Join the troupe on the Long Meadow on July 6-10 for daily performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of the Bard's most beloved works. The performance begins promptly at 7 pm, and runs for 120 minutes with no intermission. For more information, visit NY Classical online. Celebrate Brooklyn!: Red Baraat’s Brooklyn Mela Thursday, July 7, 7:30–10:30 pm Prospect Park Bandshell, Free Brooklyn Mela takes place at the Bandshell as part of Celebrate Brooklyn!, presented by BRIC in partnership with the Prospect Park Alliance. For the latest information, including weather updates, set times, seating configurations, and FAQs, please visit the BRIC website. The fiery dhol player and frontman Sunny Jain gathers up his friends and fellow musical travelers for a night of contemporary South Asian sounds. DJ Rekhad takes to the turntables to set the mood, followed by a full set of music from Karsh Kale Soundsystem. Rekha returns with Ajna Dance, and then Jain’s band Red Baraat, which “plays rollicking funk music steeped in Northern India's wedding celebrations, with a dash of D.C. go-go beats and hip-hop,” (NPR) arrives for a Prospect Park-shaking closing set featuring guest appearances by the M.C. Heems (of Das Racist), Bhi Bhiman, Falu, and other surprises. Gates open an hour before the performance unless otherwise noted, and all performances are rain or shine. Creatures of the Night Thursday, July 7, 7–9 pm Prospect Park Audubon Center, $25 per person, advance registration required Explore Prospect Park after dark with expert naturalist Paul Keim. Share wine and cheese with Paul as he speaks about the ecological role that bats and nocturnal insects play in our environment, followed by a walking tour to spot and identify the Park's various species of resident bats in flight. Please note that this event is 21+ and advance registration is required. $25 per attendee will be collected at the door, cash only. Celebrate Brooklyn!: American Express Series with Josh Ritter, Martha Redbone + Birds of Chicago Friday, July 8, 7:00–10:30 pm Prospect Park Bandshell, Free Josh Ritter performs at the Bandshell as part of Celebrate Brooklyn!, presented by BRIC in partnership with the Prospect Park Alliance. For the latest information, including weather updates, set times, seating configurations, and FAQs, please visit the BRIC website. Ten years ago Paste Magazine put Josh Ritter on its 100 Greatest Living Songwriters list, and the honor was well-deserved; his incisive narratives and warm delivery make him one of the finest storytellers in music. Exceptional writing abounds on this triple bill: the soulful vocalist Martha Redbone adapts William Blake’s poetry in her new project The Garden of Love, and Birds of Chicago, led by husband and wife JT Nero and Allison Russell, reflect on “the intense, freewheeling, all-too-fleeting attachments of youth” (NPR) with wistful, meditative lyrics, and luminous harmonies. Gates open an hour before the performance unless otherwise noted, and all performances are rain or shine. Celebrate Brooklyn!: Bud Light Music Series with Carla Morrison, Hurray for the Riff Raff + Buscabulla Saturday, July 9, 7:00–10:30 pm Prospect Park Bandshell, Free Carla Morrison performs at the Bandshell as part of Celebrate Brooklyn!, presented by BRIC in partnership with the Prospect Park Alliance. For the latest information, including weather updates, set times, seating configurations, and FAQs, please visit the BRIC website. LAMC returns to the Bandshell with a bang with Mexico City’s Carla Morrison, whose voice “has the desperate grandeur associated with Robert Smith or Björk…(she’s) a doomed, spectral torch singer, incandescent with longing, desire, and grief.” (New Yorker) The bluesy Americana of Hurray for the Riff Raff, led by Puerto Rican-American singer Alynda Lee Segarra, “sweeps across eras and genres with grace and grit;” (NPR) Brooklyn’s own Buscabulla rounds out this diverse showcase with a set of electro-psych pop. Presented in association with the Latin Alternative Music Conference. Gates open an hour before the performance unless otherwise noted, and all performances are rain or shine. Creatures of the Night Thursday, July 14, 7–9 pm Prospect Park Audubon Center, $25 per person, advance registration required Explore Prospect Park after dark with expert naturalist Paul Keim. Share wine and cheese with Paul as he speaks about the ecological role that bats and nocturnal insects play in our environment, followed by a walking tour to spot and identify the Park's various species of resident bats in flight. Please note that this event is 21+ and advance registration is required.