1. Honor MLK all day: Start off at the 31st annual Brooklyn Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., then head to the 13th annual A Shared Dream MLK Tribute Concert, with Vashawn Mitchell, Latice Crawford, James Hall, and more. (Monday, BAM/Walt Whitman Theater, both events FREE)
2. Or for something completely different, say konnichiwa to the Brooklyn Japanese New Year Festival, with a Shamisen sitar performance, folk dances, the Shishimai Lion Dance, mochi pounding, food vendors, crafts, and more. (Monday, Roulette, $15)
3. Combine your love of literature and music at the Bushwick Book Club, where John S. Hall, Terry Radigan, Don Rauf, Sweet Soubrette, and more perform songs inspired by Kurt Vonnegut’s A Man Without a Country. (Tuesday, Barbès, FREE)
4. Blast off at Midnight Radio Show, an evening of shadow puppets and musical performances of “slightly naughty fairytales in space.” (Tuesday, Pete’s Candy Store, FREE)
5. Party for reproductive justice at Happy Birthday, Roe v. Wade, with performance art by Viva Ruiz and Bjorn Majestik, drag by Matty Horrorchata, comedy by Adrienne Truscott and Suni Reyes, and tunes by DJ Eli Escobar; proceeds go to the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. (Wednesday, El Cortez, $15)
6. Watch wasted comedians try to explain tough concepts to an actual expert at Drunk Science, featuring Jo Firestone, Nicole Drespel, and Dylan Marron, plus guest scientist Dr. Kristen Pleil. (Wednesday, Littlefield, $5)
7. Process your political feelings with journalist Matt Taibbi, who will read from his brand-new book Insane Clown President, a compendium of dispatches from the campaign trail, or “a postmortem on the collapse and failure of American democracy.” (Thursday, powerHouse Books, FREE)
8. Spend inauguration eve rocking at the Brooklyn Freedom Concert, with performance art, spoken word, and classical musicians. Proceeds go to the Audre Lorde Project and the Brooklyn Community Pride Center. (Thursday, Unit J, $20)
9. Try to relax at We Shall Overcome: An Inauguration of Love, with a somatic guided meditation and performances by Katy Gunn, Lesley Kernochan, and more. (Friday, Last Frontier, $10–$20 suggested)
10. Find humor where you can at What a Joke, a nationwide comedy festival to benefit the ACLU, featuring Josh Gondelman, Langston Kerman, Mike Recine, Maria Wojciechowski, and more. (Friday, Annoyance Theater, $15)
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