5 Best Eating And Drinking Events This Weekend
It's almost fall! Celebrate by entering a cannoli-eating contest, learning about wine, and/or wandering around the city's largest photographic event. But these aren't the only things happening in the city on Saturday and Sunday. Read on for our picks for the best eating, drinking, and merrymaking events this weekend. By Jessica Allen.
As in past years, the Feast of San Gennaro transforms the streets of Little Italy into a veritable wonderland of food, friends, family, and fun. 2014 marks the 88th year of the festival, which celebrates the patron saint of Naples. In addition to live music, church services, and restaurant specials, you can attend (or participate in) cannoli-eating and pizza-eating contests. Thursday, September 11, through Sunday, September 21, see schedule for details.
Photoville, as you might suspect from the name, celebrates the photo, primarily via a series of photo exhibitions on, in, and around repurposed shipping containers. The photos, which come from around the world, emphasize "visual storytelling," and were taken by professionals, photojournalists, fine art practitioners, and graduate students. Check the website for events, including talks. Thursday, September 18, through Sunday, September 28, free.
Named one of the "coolest film festivals in the world," the Coney Island Film Festival is three days of sand, surf, and screen. A benefit for Coney Island USA, a nonprofit arts organization, this year's festival (the 14th!) features the debut of Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the American Drive-in Movie and the Brooklyn premiere of Famous Nathan. Friday, September 19, through Sunday, September 21, see schedule for details and ticket info.
Food & Wine's blog recently called Wine Riot "the most fun you can have at a wine tasting." The two-day event gives participants the chance to learn about and sample more than 250 wines from around the world. In addition to imbibing, you can pick up a temporary tattoo, hang out at the Instagram station, and take a 20-minute crash course in all things wine-related. Friday, September 19, and Saturday, September 20, $60, tickets required.
The city's largest free literary event is back once again, taking over Borough Hall and its plaza and turning them into an epicenter of literary culture. Among the scheduled events at this year's Brooklyn Book Festival are more than 100 events, panels, and signings, featuring such superstars of the pen/keyboard as Roz Chast, Salman Rushdie, Chip Kidd, and Lev Grossman. Sunday, September 21, 10 am to 6 pm, free, see schedule for details.
