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Top 20: The best cheap things to do in Brooklyn this weekend, Folk Fest edition

East River String Band is fixin’ to twang up your weekend (#1)

1. Get your twang on at the eighth annual Brooklyn Folk Festival, with 30 bands over three days, plus workshops, square and swing dancing, a banjo toss, and more. (Friday through Sunday, St. Ann’s Church, $25 per session)

2. Watch some trickery at Wacky of Wallabazoo, a fairytale adventure full of yo-yo feats and variety acts. (Friday & Saturday, Coney Island, $12)

3. Giggle acrobatically at the seventh annual Comedy in Dance Festival, featuring movement-based work from a slew of choreographers, clowns, and comics. (Friday through Sunday, Triskelion Arts, $16)

4. Get dramatic at Sweetness & Mischief, a double bill of cutting-edge theater pairing “manic lullaby” Edgar Allen with “epic prairie love story” Petunia & Chicken. (Friday through Sunday, Cloud City, $20)

5. Be manly at It’s a Guy Thing, where comedians Matt Barats, Chris Thayer, Farah Brook, and Carmen Christopher try to explain dude stuff to a trio of lady hosts. (Friday, Over the Eight, FREE)

6. Or be ladylike at High Femme, a queer gal dance party with DJs Katie Rex and Dream, performances by Margaux Celeste Arico, Paradise, Jacqueline Mary, Rio Sofia, and more. (Friday, Macri Park, FREE)

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Hard Nips is going to treat you like a goddess (#14)

7. If you’re in the market for a little one, check out the Brooklyn Baby Expo, with vendors plying all things babyish, plus demos, workshops, book signings, swag, food, and more. (Saturday, Industry City, $15)

8. Get cheesy at Build Your Own Pizzas, which will then be baked in a 900-degree wood-fired brick oven outdoors. (Saturday, Old Stone House, $5 suggested)

9. Shop local at the Silent Oh! Market, featuring art, zines, tees, tarot readings, books, games, and a pie-in-the-face photo booth. (Saturday, Silent Barn, FREE)

10. Bring your magic wand to two 12-hour Harry Potter Movie Marathons, which you’ll watch on a 100-inch screen, lying on the floor in a fancy art loft. BYO blankets. (Saturday & Sunday, Gemini & Scorpio, $10 suggested)

11. Feel good about yourself at Drunk TED Talks, where Dan McCoy, Jason Diamond, Chelsea G. Summers, and Amy Rose Spiegel will (wastedly) discuss guilty pleasures. (Saturday, Littlefield, $5)

12. Hear some hilarity at Stand and Deliver, with comedians Zach Swan, Max Boyajian, Adel Alizadeh, Aimee Rose Ranger, Sean P. McCarthy, Rebecca Leib, and Rebecca Rush. (Saturday, Freddy’s, FREE)

13. Stick it to the man at Anti-Establishment Hullabaloo, with brasstacular sounds from Triad Brass and Hungry March Band. (Saturday, Industry City Distillery, $10)

14. Empower women with killer music at Goddess Party V, featuring Sateen, SADAF, Hard Nips, Kate Mohanty, and DJ Dark Sea. (Saturday, Secret Project Robot, $5–$10)

15. Dance out your angst at Party Like It’s 1999: No Scrubs Edition, with DJ Steve spinning the best rock, pop, and R&B from the ’90s. (Saturday, Bell House, FREE)

16. Strut your stuff at the three-year anniversary of Horrorchata’s Be Cute, a queer/drag/dance bonanza with performances by Qossip Qurl, April Carrion, Misty Meaner, Patti Spliff, and many more. (Saturday, Littlefield, $5)

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The Earth wants YOU to party with Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir (#20)

17. Learn to tell a linden from a maple at Tree Identification for Beginners, a talk and walk with the Brooklyn Brainery. (Sunday, Fort Greene, $13)

18. Fall into a flurry of art at Pioneer Works’ Second Sunday, with music by Yonatan Gat and Matt Darriau, “art interventions” from School of Apocalypse, Arctic Artist Survival Shack, and the Ashcan Institute of Survival Research, plus a whole lot more. (Sunday, Pioneer Works, FREE)

19. Bang your head (in a romantic sorta way) at Speed Metal Dating, brought to you by the same evil genius who conceived Smiths & Morrissey singles event Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now. (Sunday, Saint Vitus, FREE)

20. Shout “Earthallujah!” at Reverend Billy & the Stop Shopping Choir’s book launch and record release party. (Sunday, Market Hotel, $12)

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Oriana Leckert :Oriana is a writer, editor, and cultural hipstorian [sic] who is kind of obsessed with Brooklyn. She is the author of "Brooklyn Spaces: 50 Hubs of Culture & Creativity" (Monacelli, 2015) and creatrix of the website of the same name. She is the events editor for both Brokelyn and Greenpointers, and her writing has appeared on Slate, Atlas Obscura, New York Post, Matador, Hyperallergic, Gothamist, Curbed, Brooklyn Magazine, Brooklyn Based, and more. Follow her at @orianabklyn.