We’re just two and a half weeks out from the day when Trump will become the 45th President of the United States. I know it’s hard to hear. I actually like to write it out a few times, in the hopes that either Beetlejuice or the Candyman will appear to swallow the Cheeto whole. Cheeto, Cheeto, Cheeto. Anyway, since that out is looking less and less likely, all we can do is keep protesting, encouraging our elected officials to voice our concerns where they have clout and hit up a few comedy benefits and fundraisers in between.
With that in mind, here are a bunch of worthwhile events happening from tonight through Inauguration Day in NYC. We’ll keep adding to this list as more come in, but there’s already something here to keep you busy most every night between now and then. Most of these are free and all are affordable, btw, so check out as many as you can if you have the time! (I mean, with the time any of us have left.)
Jan. 4: It’s no surprise that BK’s alt-comedy venues are a central site of Trump resistance, but the Annoyance Theater’s First Boy! With Barron Trump comedy show is a unique way to flip off the president-elect: by hosting a comedy show in his son’s name.
“Ever wonder what a loveable 10-year-old might do with unlimited money?” asks the description on the Facebook event. “Host a laugh-out-loud late-night show, of course! […] When the adults go to bed, Barron’s at the head!” Supposedly featuring Tiffany Trump and La La Land‘s own Emma Stone. Well wow! This one isn’t a fundraiser, btw — just an excuse for laughs before everything gets profoundly unfunny.
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Tomorrow (Jan. 5): Protest in true NYC fashion — by walking quickly — along the Dump Trump Crawl, a peaceful tour in protest of all of Trump’s conflicts of interest! Beginning at the Park Ave. home of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner — where Trump owns the retail below — you’ll move along to retail establishments, hotels and of course, Trump Tower, letting your voice be heard at every stop. The circuit takes just 40 minutes, and you can track where else’s the president-elect has stock around the world with this handy Google Map.
Jan. 7: On the occasion of one of its free first Saturdays, the Brooklyn Museum is partnering up with queer fashion org dapperQ for a film screening and talkback about post-Trump activism. HBO’s documentary Suited will be followed by “Queer Style as Resistance in Post-Trump Activism,” a conversation with Suited director Jason Benjamin, the co-founders of Bindle & Keep, EIC of dapperQ Anita Dolce Vita and femme lifestyle blogger Debbie Lamonte. This event is part of the larger year-long series, “A Year of Yes: Reimagining Feminism at the Brooklyn Museum.” Happy hour 4-6pm before the screening, with 310 free tickets available for the film starting at 5pm.
Also Jan. 7: Take some delight in fighting for your rights at Orange is the New President, a nonprofit political arts showcase at the Broadway Comedy Club (318 W. 53rd St.) in midtown Manhattan. 100 percent of the donated proceeds benefit Planned Parenthood and The Trevor Project!
The show will feature political one acts, sketch comedy, music, spoken word and dance in protest of the orange-haired enemy. The roster is yuuuuuge (as in, long) so you’ll certainly be getting your money’s worth. But if you can’t afford the $25 ticket price, contact organizer Natalie Lifson to get a comp.
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Jan. 9: The Brooklyn chapter of environmental sustainability project 350.org is organizing a rally in front of the home of Sen. Chuck Schumer “to ensure that members of his party ask hard questions of Trump’s nominees during their committee hearings and to do everything possible to ensure that Trump’s appointments are not confirmed.” From 7-8pm, gather at 9 Prospect Park West in Prospect Heights to protest Trump’s very un-eco-friendly cabinet picks and demand that Sen. Schumer use his role to help to keep Trump and his cabinet full of climate change deniers in line.
Also on Jan. 9: If Trump’s America has you looking for a way out — i.e., a “Plan B” — then consider hitting up the Plan B (The Welcome to 2017 Show) at KGB Bar (85 E. 4th St.) in the East Village. It’s a by-donation comedy show about abortion featuring local comedians fresh off Full Frontal. TruTV, IFC and Comedy Central and graced by special guest Andrea Martin. Yes, THE Andrea Martin. All proceeds support the Abortion Care Network (ACN). Also, actual Plan B will be raffled off.
Jan. 12: The Nasty Women Art Exhibition, which we first told you about in November, is finally here! Starting with the opening on Jan. 12 at 7pm, lady artists from all over are taking over the atrium space of The Knockdown Center (52-19 Flushing Ave.) in Queens with anti-Trump, pussy-positive art. 100 percent of the proceeds from the art sold will benefit Planned Parenthood.
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Jan. 14: Two radical NYC-based organizations, Free University-NYC and Mayday space, are partnering to offer Anti-Trump Free School/Escuelita Libre Anti-Trump from 12-7pm. It’s a full day of movement-building workshops with a focus on defending community, beginning with a panel on “Building an Ecosystem” of organizers.
The event is still accepting submissions from facilitators who want to host a workshop and welcomes proposals of every kind that fit the theme. Attendance is free, but $20 donations from those who can afford it will help to cover food, workshop translation and use of the Mayday Space (176 St. Nicholas Ave.).
Also on Jan. 14: As part of the aforementioned Nasty Women exhibition, comedian Lorelei Ramirez and friends are hosting a benefit show — i.e. ALL proceeds are donated — for BK-based organization Girls for Gender Equity and the Southern-based SisterSong. The show takes place at the same venue as the exhibition, The Knockdown Center (52-19 Flushing Ave.) in Queens, and features local comedy celebs including Ramirez, Ana Fabrega, Nicole Silverberg and more. 8:30pm, $20.
Jan. 15: New York is showing its support for the Women’s March on Washington with a benefit concert & accompanying (free!) sign-making workshop at City Winery (155 Varick St.) in Manhattan. A donation of $20 or more gets you into the show, which features Mazz Swift, Ani Cordero and Elena Moon Park among others. Doors at 5:30 and show at 6pm. The free signmaking workshop is being held just before the concert from 2-4pm, materials provided.
Also on Jan. 15: The pen is mightier than Trump’s hate: A 1000+ strong #WritersResist protest has emerged “as a bulwark against encroaching threats to free expression, freedom of the press, and the diversity of voices that make up our cultural and political discourse.” Join a band of writers including Roseanne Cash, Laurie Anderson and Jacqueline Woodson on the steps of the New York Public Library at Bryant Park, on the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, as they protest to defend free expression. Oh, and RSVP here.
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Jan. 19-21: The What a Joke Comedy Festival is reclaiming the mania of Inauguration Weekend by hosting a nationwide comedy festival that benefits the ACLU. Ticket prices for the NYC shows at the Stand (Jan. 19), The Annoyance (Jan. 20) and Rough Trade (Jan. 21) range from $15-40. Comedians on the roster are a mix of local and visiting celebs: Josh Gondelman, Jo Firestone, Brett Davis, Janeane Garofalo and more.
Also on Jan. 19: You could spent the night before inauguration sulking, or you could check out some radical protest art at U.S.Over? A Performance Party and Protest in Bushwick. The evening’s lineup includes boylesque, folk and rock music from queer artists, vaudevillian shtick and more, all of which aims to “satirically indict this current reality with a gaudy, star-spangled carnival of excessive zeal, fear, and nationalism.” RSVP to rubulad[at]outlook.com for the party’s address.
Jan. 20: In order to make sure that a bigoted administration’s inauguration doesn’t take center stage, Max Decibel Music and the Anti-Bigot Brigade (real) are teaming up for a charity concert series at Gold Sounds in Bushwick. Performances by Girl Scout, No Nets, Almost Aimless, Swinging Riot, The Thirds and more TBD with proceeds benefiting the Ali Forney Center for LGBTQ youth. They’ll also be doing a coat drive to benefit One Warm Coat. $10, 21+.
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Also on Jan. 20: If flyers are more wont catch your eye, check out a new anti-Trump exhibition and benefit called “Handbills of Subversion — Tremendous Art from Losers, Nasty Women and The Gays,” opening at MF Gallery (213 Bond St.) at 7pm. Why handbills? “Before the age of social media, the best and cheapest way to advertise a show or event was to print up [a] handbill: cut and pasted on 8.5” X 11” piece of paper, xeroxed and quartered.”
You can buy one of said handbills, put forth by a sizable roster of local artists, for $120. Cash and carry, with proceeds benefiting Planned Parenthood and the ACLU.
Afterwards, there’s a punk rock afterparty at Hank’s Saloon (46 3rd Ave.)! Doors at 8pm, bands begin at 10pm, also a benefit for Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. $10+ suggested, featuring local punk musicians, an art raffle, merch from the handbill arts and more.
Also on Jan. 20: An anti-inauguration poetry series refuses to normalize this presidency. “Poets, writers, and artists commit to voicing our collective dissent on day one through day 1,460.” Hosted by Jen Fitzgerald and Terence Degnan, the evening will feature socially-engaged poets and then open the mic “to folks who need to be heard.” They’ll also be live streaming and recording the event.
Did we miss your event? Let us know! Tips[at]brokelyn.com.
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2 Comments
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Whah!!!!!!
What a bunch of babies.
All the workshops, all the little lame poetry slams, LGBTAZBXYZ things won’t change the fact that
TRUMP is PRESIDENT now.
Deal with it.
your boy got hurt because a reporter asked a question yesterday so i’d be careful who you call a baby