There are so many aspects of the Northside Festival, it’s easy to overlook two compelling features that are bigger and more bad-ass this year. The first is the Entrepreneurship Conference at 149 Kent Ave., where they will be unveiling a glowing, data streaming cocoon called The Hüb and hosting 100+ panels about innovation, design, software development, music, films. It actually begins Thursday, together with discussions with folks from BuzzFeed, Union Square Ventures and more at a satellite site called Startup Campus. But we’ll be there on Friday for the Business of Brooklyn panel at 2:45pm with Steve Hindy of Brooklyn Brewery, Jason Goodman of 3rd Ward and Charlie O’Donnell of Brooklyn Bridge Ventures. Later that night, Northside Art, presented with art blog Hyperallergic, kicks off with a group exhibition of 26 North Brooklyn artists at Present Company, and continues Saturday with a pedestrian and artist takeover of Bedford Ave. between North 8th and 9th Streets as part of Williamsburg Walks, with mural-making, nail art and activities for kids. Then on Sunday, over 80 artists working and living in Williamsburg and Greenpoint will open up their studios between noon and 6pm.
