Get sweaty and literary this weekend in the Ridge!
Kick off the weekend with a free Friday night celebration of Bay Ridge novelist Gilbert Sorrentino at the Stand4 Gallery (414 78th St. between Fourth and Fifth avenues), on what would have been his 89th birthday. The neighborhood son-turned-scribe mentioned his hometown neighborhood in his book “Steelwork,” and is also known for his tomes “Imaginative Qualities of Actual Things,” “Blue Pastoral,” and “Mulligan Stew.” Visitors will read their favorite Sorrentino excerpts and discuss the literary nature of the neighborhood during the two-hour soiree, which starts at 7 pm.
After a night drunk only on words, you can spring out of bed early on Saturday and jog to Bookmark Shoppe (8415 Third Ave. between 84th and 85th streets) for a 9 am informational meeting with the New York Road Runners, which runs and walks along Shore Road Park every Saturday during the summer. Then browse the books until 10 am, when the store celebrates Independent Bookstore Day with muffins, mimosas, a photo booth, and discounts.
Then dance on down to Red, White, and Brew (8910 Fifth Ave. between 89th and 90th streets), where you can pound a few pints while listening to four free hours of classic rock hits from the Groove band. The set starts at 3:30 pm.
And on Sunday, travel the spooky, ooky path to St. Patrick’s Catholic Academy (401 97th St. at Fourth Avenue) to see its drama club perform “The Addams Family Young at Part,” an adaptation of the Broadway musical about morbid parents Gomez and Morticia, who worry about little Wednesday when falls for a boy from drearily ordinary Ohio. You can catch the show at 2 pm or 4 pm for $10.
