Oct. 18 - Oct. 25

Gutentag everyone, and greetings from a high-speed train that is currently zipping through the German countryside en route from Amsterdam to Berlin. I’ve got my laptop and a bottle of Bitburger Radler both open in front of me, and although I won’t get to partake in any of the great stuff happening in Brooklyn this Ideal Week, I’m pretty excited to tell you guys about it. I myself will be reveling in the novelty of pristine, quiet, punctual, and overall delightful public transportation (in addition to, ya know, cultural immersion and adventure), which I’m thrilled about, but it hasn’t escaped me that I’m probably missing the best couple of weeks of weather at home that we’ll get all year. Hope you all are out and about drinking hot apple cider, wearing sweaters, leaf-peeping, and road tripping up to Storm King in my absence!

There’s a lot going on in NYC this week, so let’s dive right in with a reminder that Nightfall, the immersive music and art installation spread throughout Green-Wood Cemetery after dark, is happening Friday and Saturday night and there are still tickets available. In the same vein, but without having to spend any money, you can head out to Governors Island to check out Found Footage, a paranormal mystery installation this weekend and next, and Halloween night. The atrium at Brookfield Place is continuing its live performance of David Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy over the next two evenings, which sounds like it could be pretty cool way to spend a Thursday night (plus it’s free). Or you could see "Jack &," a play about the trauma of imprisonment and reentering society after being released, which premiered as part of BAM’s New Wave Festival last night and runs through Saturday. Stockard Channing is a personal hero of mine dating back to Rizzo times, so I was not surprised to see that she’s gotten great reviews for her performance in "Apologia," which will run at The Roundabout Theatre until mid-December.

Give into your comfort food cravings on Sunday at the Brooklyn Casserole Takedown happening at Royal Palms from noon-on, or head to Brooklyn Cider House in Bushwick to celebrate National Apple Day. The Bell House just added a second show of Padma Lakshmi’s comedy show to benefit the Movement Voter Project on Wednesday night, or you could instead attend what is sure to be a very eye-opening discussion on The Path to A Post-Rikers NYC at the Brooklyn Historical Society—speakers include experts from the New York Times, CUNY, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and the Vera Institute. You might consider securing at spot now for a one-night-only concert “of musical oddities and delights” with artist Nick Yurman that Atlas Obscura is putting on next Friday night at Arete Venue and Gallery, or you may rush out to see Beautiful Boy on its opening weekend, or dive straight into Tana French’s latest mystery novel—The Witch Elm—which is now finally out and purchased by yours truly at the Hudson News in JFK before I boarded my flight here.

Otherwise, we scared up heaps of other things on the slate this week that we thought you might enjoy—read on and get to it!

—Kate Hooker