Because of the burning success of past Chile Pepper Fiestas, this year’s annual event at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has doubled in length. Chile-heads will overrun the normally genteel garden for two days, this Saturday and Sunday - Oct. 2-3 - as they celebrate the harvest, culinary uses and cultural significance of these spicy little numbers. Comment.

She does not wear a dazzling crown nor is her home a palace. No train of large, beefy men protect her every move and her chariot rarely awaits. Still, Shanah Walton, 26, the self-proclaimed "Cupcake Queen of Brooklyn," considers herself royalty because of the rich, sweet treats she whips up in the kitchen. Comment.

In 1911, 146 immigrant workers died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire because the owners kept the doors locked and the lone fire escape buckled under the weight of the fleeing girls. Comment.

On Oct. 2, Stepping Out Dance Studios (pictured) will offer free dance lessons at the Brooklyn Museum. The hour-long clinic, which begins at 8 pm, will teach visitors how to cut a rug in time for a 9 pm dance party featuring music and tango dancing by Pablo Aslan’s Avantango. Comment.

Declan Donnellan, director of Cheek by Jowl’s "Othello," which will be at BAM’s Harvey Theater Oct. 5-10, originally studied law at Cambridge University but gave it up at age 22 to try his hand at drama. Comment.

Just when you thought Palmira’s in Brooklyn Heights couldn’t get any grander, owners Roger and Victoria Desmond have surprised customers with a new lounge area in the front of their already spacious establishment. Comment.

Do you ever just want to sit back, relax and sink into a heaping pile of pillows as you read your favorite book and sip a ginger honey shake? Perhaps you just wish to indulge your health-conscious taste buds with the homemade goodness of an organic sandwich. Comments (1).

Terry Riley may be the founding father of minimalism - his 1965 composition, "In C," was the piece that begat the hypnotically repetitive musical genre made famous by Philip Glass, John Adams and Steve Reich - but the 69-year-old composer could never be accused of working with minimal means. Comment.

On Aug. 26, a fire in 81 and 81A Seventh Ave. destroyed ZuZu’s Petals, Fonda Sara’s flower shop which had served the Park Slope community for 33 years. Comment.