Bay Ridge Nights is more than polyester and Prosecco — we dig high culture, too, and there’s plenty of sophisticated stuff in the Ridge this weekend.
Take an Indian Summer Friday or go Away Without Leave from work to catch the Harbor Defense Museum (230 Sheridan Loop off of Sterling Drive in Fort Hamilton Army Base), where you can check out U.S. Army weapons, uniforms, and art from the 1700s to the present. A special exhibition promises arms and armor from World War II. But hurry history buffs, the museum closes at 4 pm.
It is not exactly high culture, but we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the 48th annual Ragamuffin Parade on Saturday. It started with a local pastor and a troop of kids wearing their parents’ baggy clothes, but has expanded into one of the neighborhood’s greatest festivals, with gifts for participants and special prizes for the best costumes. The parade runs along Third Avenue between 76th and 92nd streets and steps off at 1 pm.
Autumn may have fallen into our laps, but that doesn’t mean you can’t soak up the last rays of summer before the winter settles in. After Saturday’s parade, head over to the Narrows Botanical Garden (Shore Road between Bay Ridge Avenue and 72nd Street) and enjoy the Native Plant Sanctuary and Wildlife Refuge while it is still green. The sanctuary is open from 10 am to 4 pm.
On Sunday, don that turtle neck and black beret you’re always too bashful to bear and perch yourself at the Owl’s Head (479 74th St. between Fourth and Fifth avenues) for the 21st meeting of the Bay Ridge Poets Society. Deliver some lines of your own or sit back and sip wine at this sonneteers’ soiree — all are welcome, and the versification kicks off at 7 pm.
And the fancy festivities do not end when the weekend does. Dust off your penguin suit or finest gown on Sunday Oct. 5, when soloists from the Regina Opera Company will perform “Regina Pops,” a selection of popular opera and Broadway tunes. The arias start airing at 3 pm at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy (5902 Sixth Ave. between 59th and 60th streets).
Then on Wednesday Oct. 8, get that beret out again and head down to the BookMark Shoppe [8415 Third Ave. between 84th and 85th streets] at 8:30 pm for the first edition of a three-week poetry workshop with poet Lisa Cappiello. It costs $225, but by the end of the course, you will be a published poet, as the class will collaborate to produce a real book of poetry.
